SINGAPORE – In this week’s Singapore Shelf, The Straits Times surveys the latest local fiction, non-fiction and poetry titles. Buy the books at Amazon. These articles include affiliate links. When you buy through them, we may earn a small commission.

Book review: Taste the sea in Lala-land: Singapore’s Seafood Heritage

Singaporeans like to brag that they know their food and, yet, how many have tried the elusive Siglap laksa – precursor to the iconic Katong variant – or stir-fried ikan buntal, or pufferfish?

Though this delectable but deadly fish has become synonymous with Japanese fine dining, it can be found right here, swimming along the shores of Singapore. And one community, the Orang Laut, has caught and cooked it successfully for centuries. 

Such hidden stories wash up on the pages of Lala-land: Singapore’s Seafood Heritage, a collection of essays edited by Anthony D. Medrano, the NUS Presidential Young Professor of Environmental Studies at Yale-NUS College. 

Part ecological textbook, part historical survey and part recipe book, it weaves together myriad voices, from undergraduates to seasoned writers. Their meticulously researched essays aim to chart the journey from ocean to table, and prove an insightful read for anyone whose interest in seafood goes beyond just its taste. 

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