Settling into its new sky-high home 51 levels up on the rooftop of CapitaSpring is Kaarla Restaurant and Bar, a contemporary Australian dining concept that first opened in mid-April 2022. At Kaarla, which means ‘where the home fires burn’, fire is central to the cooking of the coastal Australian cuisine and is synonymous with life of the great outdoors in the coastal regions.
Kaarla warmly welcomes the Honourable Will Hodgman, Australian High Commissioner to Singapore, who will grace the ceremonial launch on Thursday 28 July 2022, as Guest of honour. This momentous occasion is celebrated with an Australian indigenous cultural performance amidst the greenery of the 1-Arden Food Forest – the world’s highest urban farm.
In a symbolic welcoming of Kaarla to its new home, Sharon Winsor, an indigenous chef, cultural advisor, educator and entrepreneur from Indigiearth, Australia, will perform a sacred Traditional Smoking Ceremony. This ancient and contemporary Aboriginal custom involves the smouldering of native plants to produce smoke that is believed to have spiritual and physical cleansing properties as well as the ability to ward off evil spirits.
As part of the ceremony, Sharon’s son will play the didgeridoo, a sacred wind instrument performed at significant ceremonies including initiations, healings and funerals. One of the oldest instruments in the world, the didgeridoo is traditionally played by Aboriginal Australians using a circular breathing technique to create the droning ‘sound of Australia’, and at times, it is accompanied by the mimicked sounds of the surroundings.
To lend further cultural significance to the evening, Sharon will showcase a selection of unique Australian indigenous ingredients, while sharing her own personal stories as an indigenous chef. She will also delve into the historical and cultural relevance of these ingredients and how they relate to Aboriginal ‘Dreaming’ – a term that describes the important features of Aboriginal spiritual beliefs and existence, and it explains the origin of the universe at the very beginning of time when the Ancestral Spirits made the entire world.
After the cultural performance and showcase, take in the sunset views while enjoying specially concocted garden-to-glass cocktails and snacks.
The evening culminates at Kaarla Restaurant with a one-night-only 4-hands Dinner featuring Sharon Winsor and Kaarla’s Australian Resident Chef, John-Paul Fiechtner. At the heart of Kaarla’s coastal Australian cuisine is the use of fire by burning sustainably sourced native Iron Bark wood from Blue Mountains in New South Wales to cook in a custom-built wood-fired grill and oven.
In close collaboration, both chefs have collectively curated a thoughtful 6-course menu focused on responsibly sourced, seasonal native Australian produce, and inspired by the varying indigenous use of fire as well as the six aboriginal seasons. These seasons are essential to Aboriginal Australians as it is guided by changes in the weather and when animal and plant resources are in abundance; indicating times to use the land for food, shelter, and general well-being.
Each chef will present two dishes and another two created together that reflect a harmonious and creative expression of their affinity with native Australian produce.
a. 88 Market St, #51-02, CapitaSpring 048948
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