Singaporeans splurge on spicy Indian food

More and more non-Indians in Singapore are taking to the spicy Indian food, adding to the huge customer base of Indian restaurants.
"Some of the leading Indian restaurants are reporting 90 per cent patronage by non-Indians, and others are 40 per cent," V Bimel Ram, Festival Director of the Indian Restaurants Association in Singapore (IRAS) said at the ongoing Food Festival being held July 19-28.
Singapore has about 350 Indian restaurants, according to IRAS.
The festival is part of the ongoing Singapore Food Festival which promotes the city state as food paradise among Singaporeans and tourists.
"Spices, food products and dishes of Indian-origin are being promoted at the festival," Ram told PTI.

"Most of the products, including wines, are imported from India," he added.

This year, Singapore's 21 leading Indian restaurants are participating in the festival, some of whom have made Singapore Indian dishes globally famous such as the blended 'fish head' curry, and fusion of Indian, Chinese and Malay dishes.
Multi-national Singapore is a good platform to promote fusion food for Chinese and Malay tastes, said Ram last night at the festival's Indian wine promotion event.
Some 70-80 per cent of Singaporeans, with all adults in the family working, eat at hawker centres, food courts, restaurants and other eatery places, according to Ram.

In fact, Singaporeans start eating food cooked by restaurants and hawkers from early age, starting from the school's tuck shops.
Cooking food at home has become a major weekend family event in some Singapore households.
To promote home cooked food, the festival held a cooking contest, bringing together parents and their children to build bonds by trying out skills on woks and with laddles.
"Singapore Indian restaurants are doing good businesses with a huge customer base," said R Narayanamohan, Chairman of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which joined IRAS in organising the food festival.