UK-based celebrity chef Elizabeth Haigh shares her must-have meals when in Singapore

Singapore-born celebrity chef Elizabeth Haigh is back home for a week and she's craving some local food.

For the uninitiated, Elizabeth's something of a big deal in the culinary world. 

She rose to fame in 2011 after competing on the BBC television series MasterChef and eventually founded Mei Mei in 2019, a popular restaurant in London serving up Singaporean grub.

She's currently in town, and after a 13-hour flight, Elizabeth zoomed straight to Fengshan Centre, a hawker centre in Bedok, for a refreshing bowl of minced pork noodle.

She got the dry version, with soup on the side, and described her meal as "absolutely gorgeous".

It was just a day ago that Elizabeth was tucking into a full English breakfast in sub-zero temperatures.

But now, she's sweating away in a hawker centre while slurping her bowl of noodles.

"Funny how mad life can be sometimes," the 35-year-old quipped.

In a YouTube video posted on Monday (Dec 11), she headed to Old Airport Road for a meal with a friend and fellow chef Victor Liong.

As Elizabeth was devouring her hearty bowl of prawn mee, Victor asked if she has "must-haves" for when she's in Singapore.

There wasn't an immediate response. Elizabeth was taking this question very seriously it seems.

After pondering for a few seconds more, she showed her true Singaporean side with her choice of dish.

"I think belachan fish. I love belachan fish on the barbecue," Elizabeth said.

She went for stingray as her fish of choice, which will likely gain a few nods from Singaporeans.

Other notable shoutouts included prawn mee and laksa but both chefs mentioned how a good serving of laksa can be found in Europe too.

Elizabeth also mentioned the variety of curries available in Singapore as well.

In a separate video, she was seen enjoying a plate of roti prata, accompanied with mutton and fish curry.

"It's really hard to define what my favourite dishes are, it depends on my mood," she added.

However, one dish that's on her radar during this trip is bak chor mee, and the UK-based chef admitted how she could eat "so much" of it.

Chances are that she'll be able to satisfy this craving and it's just one of the perks of having a food-based YouTube channel. 

From MasterChef contestant to Michelin-star winner

In 2015, the young chef co-founded Pidgin, and the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star a year later.

She left soon after that and in 2019, Elizabeth began a new journey in the heart of London's iconic Borough Market with her restaurant Mei Mei.

Describing itself as a "kopitiam for everyone", the restaurant offers favourites from Singaporean cuisine like Hainanese chicken rice, nasi lemak and chicken curry.

ALSO READ: 'It looks a bit anaemic': Man tries chicken rice, other Singapore food for the first time in UK, gives honest feedback

amierul@asiaone.com

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