THE NEW SHAPE OF SUSTAINABLE LIVING
The New Shape of Sustainable Living: A Conscious Approach to the Table
by Priyanka Elhence
29 Sep 2025
29 Sep 2025
Reducing food waste, procuring sustainable produce directly from farmers, designing menus around seasonal produce, and innovative, eco-friendly creations that respect culinary integrity –meet the establishments at the forefront of green dining in Singapore.
- SEROJA
- FIZ
- BELIMBING
- FURA
- NATIVE
Sustainability is at the core of Kevin Wong’s culinary ethos, chef-owner of Seroja. “Sustainability and a produce-driven ethos are central to Seroja’s identity not just as culinary trends, but as deeply rooted values that reflect cultural respect, environmental responsibility, and gastronomic integrity.”
Previously the head chef at two-Michelin-starred Meta, Wong made history with his hattrick win at the Michelin Guide Ceremony 2023, bagging the Michelin Guide Singapore 2023 Young Chef Award, Seroja’s first Michelin Star, as well as winning the Michelin Green Star award for sustainability.
“We do ethical, local, and regional sourcing to support the region's agricultural economy that focuses on high quality farming with a green approach,” says Wong. “We plan our menu based on our farmers, fishermen, and what inspires us around the region. Line-caught tilefish and hand-harvested scallops to reduce waste by letting younger scallops mature and spawn. These methods are more time-and-labour-intensive, but they’re also less invasive and prevent harming the marine ecosystem.”
“Sustainability has been part of our training, vision, and ethos at Seroja since we opened, and team members undergo courses on sustainable practices and resource-conscious operations. Our vegetables are sourced from organically certified farmers, who have the freedom to send us the day’s best produce, with the understanding that our team will honour it on that day’s menu. “For example, Tropical Landscape, the vegetable dish from our farm changes daily depending on the harvest.”
Meanwhile, Seroja’s beverage programme is also influenced by the produce the restaurant receives. “Our non-alcoholic beverages change depending on the dynamic menu and how well they can pair. Sometimes a fruit or vegetable can be better turned into a beverage, than food,” shares Wong.
“Chefs come to Seroja to learn how to minimise waste and source locally; but sustainability has been a long-standing Southeast Asian heritage practice before globalisation. Back in the days, we turned overgrown rice into rice wine, bi-catch into fish sauce, and over-harvested shrimps into prawn paste. So, it is very natural for us to do what we do. I always tell them to look internally and not do it for the sake of marketing. Nobody is going to pay to listen to sustainable stories, people have to like your food.”
- SEROJA
- FIZ
- BELIMBING
- FURA
- NATIVE
FIZ
Chef-owner Hafizzul Hashim helms Fiz, the contemporary Southeast Asian fine dining restaurant championing Nusantara cuisine, and winner of Singapore’s Michelin Green Star 2024.
Sustainability is the basis of Hashim’s culinary ethos. “For me, sustainability is about respect – for the ingredients, the people behind them, and the land they come from. It’s also about common sense. You use what you have, minimise waste, and make sure everything serves a purpose. That’s how I was raised, and that’s how we run Fiz. It’s about being efficient without cutting corners, with discipline, respect, and practicality,” he says.
Hashim credits his sustainability-oriented ethos to his childhood where his grandmothers grew their own produce, composted kitchen waste, and never threw anything that could be used again. “Neighbours did the same, and people would share or barter what was in season. That kind of community-driven, resourceful way of living shaped how I see food. It wasn’t about being trendy or ‘eco’ – it was just how people lived. That mindset stuck with me.”
Nusantara cuisine comes from the Malay Archipelago, where people cooked with seasonal ingredients and preserved food out of necessity, using traditional practices including foraging, fermentation, zero-waste cooking, and using naturally sustainable ingredients sourced from small, local producers. “Smoking, fermenting, pickling, drying – these were everyday techniques, but they weren’t labelled “sustainable” back then. It’s a cuisine built on seasonality, biodiversity, and respect for ingredients – all the things we now associate with sustainability.”
Some of Hashim’s favourite under-rated ingredients include buah kulim, jering, torch ginger flower, and wild ferns. “These (often overlooked) ingredients have always been part of our food history and are usually more sustainable than imported ingredients.” Fiz’s menu changes approximately every two months and preservation is a big part of how Hashim manages seasonality. “If an herb or fruit is going out of season, we preserve it – ferment, pickle, or dry it, so we can carry the flavour through. We also work closely with suppliers and farmers to plan ahead, and think how can we use this again?”
He adds: “Younger chefs now see that cooking with purpose matters. It’s not just about technique. The Green Star helps show that it’s possible to run a professional kitchen and still be responsible. It’s not about preaching; it’s about leading by example and being consistent. Sustainability isn’t just about doing more – it’s about doing better.”
- SEROJA
- FIZ
- BELIMBING
- FURA
- NATIVE
BELIMBING
Belimbing is the new-gen Singaporean restaurant from the team behind The Coconut Club, helmed by Head Chef Marcus Leow, who is also Head of R&D at The Coconut Club,.
Named after an often-overlooked indigenous fruit and paying homage to the hidden potential of local Singaporean cuisine, Belimbing reimagines native flavours in ways that are both familiar and unexpected, reusing and repurposing ingredient scraps to demonstrate the versatility of the ingredients he grew up with – especially local fruits. “At Belimbing, we build on a backbone of local flavours that are at the core of our dishes and give that familiar taste, even though the presentation may look updated and untraditional,” says Leow.
Wagyu rib finger satay glazed in buah keluak? “We’re taking quite a risk when elevating familiar local flavours!” For instance, Leow uses the heads and shells of red Argentinean prawns to make a lighter, umami haegor (dialect for a traditional dressing used for rojak in Singapore) caramel for his Grilled Firefly Squid dish. “These premium quality prawns are first used for the snack before the meal begins, and then given a second life with this signature starter,” he shares.
Likewise, fermenting overripe mangoes with a raw sambal, and spiking it with curry leaf oil is another way of giving ingredients a new lease of life on the menu.
“Doing so not only helps us rescue ugly produce. At the same time, a new product is formed without losing that nostalgic, local taste,” Leow reveals.
- SEROJA
- FIZ
- BELIMBING
- FURA
- NATIVE
FURA
Winner of the Sustainable Bar Award at Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024, FURA is a sustainability-focused drinking and dining cocktail bar, known for using ingredients with a low carbon footprint and planet-friendly alternatives, which include insect proteins and cell-cultured milk.
Led by Mixologist Sasha Wijidessa and (Noma’s former head forager) Chef Christina Rasmussen, FURA was borne from the duo’s vision of a future legacy. Says Rasmussen, “FURA is about our future, showcasing how our diet could eventually look like with climate change. Our concept and menu are designed around highlighting ingredients that have now become prevalent, invasive, or in abundance due to the imbalance of the ecosystem and are overall lower in carbon emission.”
FURA also recently launched its second menu, the Journal of Future Foods, Volume 2. “We wanted it to be more fun this time, with familiar and unexpected components. Think Jellyfish Martini or Black Garlic Banana Bread. We firmly believe in intention over trend, weaving thoughtfulness in every practice. Conscious dining can be fun, tasty, and without sacrifice,” says Rasmussen.
Likewise, FURA’s cocktails feature low carbon footprint ingredients, such as ugly produce that would typically be tossed away. “Beyond Caviar Papi, we’ve created NPC Cola (a 7x distillate to emulate Coca-Cola), as well as using cell cultured quail for a Dirty Martini.” The Caviar Papi features Rasmussen’s black garlic caviar – a witty take on the harmful practices of caviar farming and putting caviar on everything just for the luxe factor.
- SEROJA
- FIZ
- BELIMBING
- FURA
- NATIVE
NATIVE
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Vijay Mudaliar
Award-winning bartender Vijay Mudaliar was a trailblazer for sustainability on the drinks scene almost a decade ago with Native, which highlighted his innovative zero-waste approach, using local foraging and unsung regional finds.
Winner of the Sustainable Bar Award in 2019, Mudaliar’s novel creations include insect-based infusions and house-fermented spirits. “I’ve always been fascinated by the idea that inspiration can be found right under our feet. Singapore isn’t known for foraging, but our region is rich in biodiversity and culture,” shares Mudaliar. “By using what’s around us, we’re not only reducing our carbon footprint, but also telling the story of the land and its people. Zero-waste isn’t just about being ‘eco-friendly’; it’s about respecting the full life cycle of an ingredient and finding value where others see waste.”
Staff are trained through storytelling and hands-on experience, visiting local producers, and experimenting with transforming ‘waste’ into something valuable. “It’s easier to believe in a philosophy when you’ve experienced it first-hand rather than just reading it in a manual.”
Ants and fermented grasshoppers in cocktails? “It started with curiosity and travel. Insects are part of many traditional diets in Asia and Latin America, and they’re nutrient-dense, sustainable sources of protein. Ants bring a natural citrusy flavour, while fermented grasshoppers add umami and depth. It’s about opening people’s minds to flavours they might have never imagined,” he says.
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