Spicy, creamy and luscious, curry has been challenging fond diners all over the world with its warm and fiery embrace that just keeps you on your toes as you take bite after bite whilst trying to resist going for the nearest glass of water. The term “curry” was actually coined by the British during its colonial rule of India and with a much debatable controversy, does not exist as any more than a categorical term that eventually came to be used by countries all across the world. That being said, Singapore, with its distant colonial roots and its bustling cultural landscape holds various curry dishes from Japanese curries to Jamaican curries in her bosom. Amongst these curries, the popularity in traditional Hainanese curry does not fail to show itself in the many dishes of economic rice ordered, or a wholesome bowl of curry chicken at a typical zi char (煮炒) table.

One place in particular that holds their family’s curry recipes and nails it down to serving flavours that are symbolic of Singapore’s rich heritage is Fu Xiang Signatures. A second-generation business helmed by twins Edric and Edwin, Fu Xiang Signatures is not just your everyday food stall making curry rice and serving it with accompaniments, but rather an establishment that is rich in its heritage and dishes that are representative of the story it tells. Originally a coffee shop stall owned by their parents in the 1990s, the fitting inception of the Fu Xiang Signatures stall in VivoCity’s Food Republic serves up their delicious curry that is painstakingly and precisely made with 9 hours of crafting the recipe with 21 herbs & spices that are kept secret to the family’s trade. Their Signature Chicken Biscuit Curry Rice ($6.80) features a succulent piece of chicken breaded with biscuit crumbs rather than breadcrumbs. Deliciously comforting and reminiscent of the humility of a simple dish like curry poured over rice. Their Emperor Cream Sauce Chicken ($6.90) is rich and creamy with a subtle foreground of spice. However, as insisted by the owners of Fu Xiang Signatures, although it bears similarity to the more popular salted egg sauce, their Emperor Cream Sauce does not in fact, contain a single trace of salted egg. Truly outstanding.