FEEDING THE FOODIE NATION

With little local agricultural production and a food-obsessed populace, how and what can a highly urbanised country feed its hungry citizens?

- LAUREAN TAN & KENNETH SZ GOH

The Peak speaks to four business leaders from across the food value chain.

Restaurateur Lim Kian Chun of Ebb & Flow knows how to whet appetites.

For Lim Kian Chun, nothing beats hawker fare and a simple bowl of wanton mee. “Singapore is a foodie nation and eating is our national pastime,” he laughs.

However, Lim’s professional journey may have been quite different if it weren’t for the distressed sale of Michelin-starred Bacchanalia. Now, Cerena Capital’s Bacchanalia. Now, Cerena Capital’s managing partner juggles early-stage investments with his second job as CEO of Ebb & Flow Group, the F&B venture he co-founded with two partners after they acquired Bacchanalia (now defunct) in 2018.

Today, Ebb & Flow operates nine F&B concepts. Among them are revived heritage confectionery Chin Mee Chin, the Michelin-starred Sommer Dining, panAsian fine dining spot Willow, and directto-consumer Kairos Caviar.

Two more are in development and set to launch next year. Casa Vostra, a pizza delivery service with La Bottega Enoteca’s Antonio Miscellaneo, is the first. The second project, slated for the second half of 2023, is the rebranding of online grocer Supafresh Japan. Rather than just selling Japanese produce, it will expand into an Asian speciality grocer augmented with a 15,000 sq ft retail supermarket and food hall.