Quan Fa Organic Farm’s history dates back to the late 1990s, when founder Liao Chuan Huat first started running it as a conventional vegetable garden, before the work of farmers in Japan and Taiwan convinced him to switch to using more agrarian farming methods.
Established in 1999, it has grown from being a small organic vegetable retailer to one of Singapore’s leading organic fruits and vegetable suppliers and distributors today. The farm is run by the Liao family, including his son, Liao Jun Jie, and nephew, Fabian Liao, who handles most of the demanding operations these days.
With land being a scarcity in Singapore, they had started out in Lorong Serambi but later moved to a more spacious two-hectare plot in Murai Agrotechnology Park when the government took the land back for military purposes. At their second location, they were one of Singapore’s largest organic farm then.
His uncle quickly mastered the Takakura Composting Method, developed by Koji Takakura, where microorganisms from fermented foods such as natto and yoghurt help break down organic waste. The microorganisms are fed with sugar water to grow and multiply, which helps speed up the composting and produces a fermentation liquid.
“The Takakura method sits at the core of how we grow our produce without the use of any chemicals, pesticides or harmful fertilisers,” says Fabian.
This story is from the July - August 2020 edition of WINE&DINE.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July - August 2020 edition of WINE&DINE.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
New Blood
The next-generation is breathing new life into the forgotten art of spice-mixing, peppering the traditional trade with renewed ideas and fresh perspectives.
Sharing Is Caring
Compared to its flagship at Serene Centre, Fat Belly Social at Boon Tat Street is a classier and bolder affair, in more than one sense.
Nutmeg's Role In Singapore's History
From tales of it being used to ward off the plague in mid-1300s Europe to one of the ingredients in dessert, we have all known, tasted, or at least heard of nutmeg. But not many know of the spice’s role in Singapore’s history.
New And Improved
The ever-profound chef-owner Kenjiro ‘Hatch’ Hashida finds more room, three to be exact, to express a Ha Ri philosophy at Hashida Singapore’s new location at Amoy Street.
Pairing Spice-Driven Cuisines With Wine
Pairing spice-driven cuisines with wine has long been a challenge but with a little imagination, it doesn’t have to be.
Let Land Grow Wild
Niew Tai-Ran has worn many hats: aeronautical engineering major, investment banker, avid surfer, and, for the last 14 years, winemaker. Discover how this Malaysia-born, Singapore-native is championing the “do-nothing farming” philosophy at his vineyard in Oregon.
The South Asian Misnomer
Incredibly diverse and varied than most know, Indian food is far more intriguing than butter chicken or thosai. Here is a crash course on the extensive cuisine from region to region, recognisable for the seemingly infinite ways of using spices.
Keepers Of The Spice Trade
From its glory days along trade routes to pantry staples all over the world, spices have become so commonplace that we’ve taken them for granted. For these three trailblazers, however, spice is their livelihood and motivation: Langit Collective working with indigenous rural farming communities in Malaysia; IDH’s Sustainable Spice Initiative; and chef Nak’s one-woman mission to share forgotten Khmer cuisine.
Sugar, Spice And Everything Nice
Like food, spices bring vibrancy and variety to alcoholic beverages. Surfacing in unexpected ways on the palate, find everything from cumin to tamarind, cloves to cardamom enriching these drinks.
Building Blocks From The Archipelago
For the smorgasbord of dishes found in Indonesian cuisine, it is a little known secret that the modest bumbu, in all its variants, is the bedrock of such flavourful fare.
