Inside The IRVINS Factory: How Singapore’s Favourite Salted Egg Snacks Are Made | Singapore Hour

Key Concepts:

• Homegrown Singaporean flavors
• Salted egg snacks (IRVINS)
• Bean-to-bar chocolate (craft chocolate)
• Craft beer brewing (Brewlander)
• Flavor innovation using local ingredients
• Scaling up production while maintaining quality
• Representing Singaporean heritage through food and beverage

IRVINS: Elevating a Singaporean Dish

• Origin: IRVINS started as a Chinese restaurant in 2009. A move to a quieter location forced Irvin to innovate to save the business.
• Inspiration: The restaurant's popular salted egg crab dish inspired the creation of salted egg snacks. "Every single table would have the salted egg crab. So, why don't we try to focus on that?"
• Product Development: They adapted the salted egg mixture from the crab dish to crispy fish skin and potato chips.
• Early Sales: Initially sold at the restaurant's cashier, the snacks' sales eventually surpassed the restaurant's revenue.
• Global Expansion: IRVINS snacks are now sold in over 20 countries.
• Production Process:
  • The production process is described as a "big kitchen" emphasizing the use of real ingredients and cooking processes.
  • Fresh curry leaves are sifted by hand, and chillies are blended for heat.
  • Salted egg yolks are cooked and mixed until creamy, forming the base of IRVINS' signature sauce.
  • The sauce is mixed with fish skin or potato chips and baked to achieve crispiness.
  • Quality control is performed before the snacks move to the final stage of automation.
  • Nitrogen flushing is used to maintain crispness, and the pouches are sealed to preserve flavor and shelf life.
• Key to Success: Embracing Singaporean heritage and elevating a local dish to a global product. "I think what makes IRVINS special is that we embrace our own heritage. It didn't come from trying to follow a trend or something like that. And we proved that we can elevate a Singaporean dish to become something global."

Bean-to-Bar Chocolate: Crafting Unique Flavors

• Background: Jay, the founder, discovered craft chocolate eight years ago and saw the potential to create something unique.
• Bean Sourcing: Good flavor starts with good beans, sourced from trusted producers and sorted by hand.
• Roasting: Roasting is a crucial step where time and temperature adjustments bring out different flavor notes. "When you roast the beans, it’s about how fast the beans absorb thermal energy and convert it into a process that caramelises. So that basically changes the chemical combination of the beans inside and that transforms into flavour."
• Processing:
  • After roasting, the beans are cooled, cracked, and the husks are removed, leaving the nibs (100% pure cacao).
  • The nibs are ground into cocoa liquor and refined in a ball mill until smooth.
  • Conching allows volatile flavor compounds to evaporate, controlling the intensity of the chocolate.
  • The chocolate is filtered, tempered, and molded.
• Flavor Innovation: Jay experiments with unexpected ingredients, drawing inspiration from local Singaporean flavors.
• Nostalgia and Representation: The goal is to evoke nostalgia in Singaporeans and provide foreigners with a taste of Singapore. Examples include Bak Kut Teh and Rojak-flavored chocolate. "We want Singaporeans to evoke a sense of nostalgia from the kind of flavours that we have locally. And for foreigners to have a taste of Singapore."

Brewlander: Crafting Singaporean Beer

• Origin: John, the founder, started home brewing as a hobby and escape.
• Motivation: Spotting a gap in Singapore's beer scene, dominated by international commercial brands, motivated John to create Brewlander as an iconic representation of Singaporean craft beer.
• Brewing Process:
  • Malted barley is crushed and soaked in hot water (mashing) to extract sugars.
  • The mash is lautered to separate the sweet liquid (wort) from the grain.
  • The wort is boiled, and hops are added for bitterness, aroma, and complexity.
  • After boiling, the wort is cooled and transferred to a fermentation tank.
  • Yeast is added to ferment the sugars into alcohol.
• Yeast Expertise: Brewlander uses more than 10 different yeasts, blending them to create unique flavors. "If you understand your yeasts and keep it happy and put it in an environment that makes it happy, your beers will be amazing."
• Vision: To establish Singapore as a player in the global craft beer scene. "Singapore is leading the world in so many things and aspects, right? I think that we can also endeavour to make our beer seen."

Conclusion:

The video highlights three Singaporean food and beverage companies – IRVINS, a salted egg snack producer; a bean-to-bar chocolate maker; and Brewlander, a craft beer brewery – that are crafting unique, homegrown flavors and gaining international recognition. These makers prioritize quality, innovation, and representing Singaporean heritage through their products. They demonstrate that with passion, creativity, and a focus on local ingredients, Singaporean brands can make a significant impact on the global taste map.