When we think of local food, kopitiams and hawker centres come to mind. And yes, that headline is Singlish at its finest.

However, hawker food is increasingly turning into Mod-Sin Cuisine (which is short for Modern Singaporean Cuisine), where another take on local dishes see them evolving into reinvented, upper class fares.

Here are eight local dishes with non-local prices for you to gawk at before returning to your S$3.50 chicken rice with egg added on.

1. Quintessential Nonya Laksa by CreatureS: S$24

CreatureS is a relatively new restaurant that offers "comfort food with an Asian flair".

Its latest creation -- the Quintessential Nonya Laksa -- is served with fresh prawns, quail eggs, chicken, fish cakes and cucumber laces.

Cucumber laces?

We're not sure which ingredient warrants the price. The cucumber laces, maybe?

This dish is only available on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, & public holidays.

2. Hainanese Chicken Rice by Privé: S$17

The menu of Privé Café lists the following elements in their version of our national dish: free-roaming chicken, fragrant Jasmine rice, chicken broth, house-made chilli, ginger, dark soya sauce. Is free-roaming chicken a euphemism for kampong chicken?

Doesn't matter as long as the chicken has slender legs and died painlessly, right?

3. Nasi Lemak by The Coconut Club: S$12.80

The Coconut Club's Nasi Lemak is supposedly famed for its fragrance, tenderness and mouth-watering attributes in general. Although it has been said to be good as a whole, it is not worth S$12.80 at the moment.

But since it's one of the cheaper items on the list, you can judge it for yourself.

4. Hae Mee Tng by The Naked Finn: S$25

"Hae Mee Tng" translates to prawn noodle soup, a local dish found in many hawker centres and kopitiams.

However, The Naken Finn version is made with farmed giant tiger prawns, Salmon Creek Farms’ natural pork belly. The broth is made from whole prawns (not just the head) simmered for seven hours with pork stock.

Seven hours is the amount of sleep you should get each night. Think about that.

5. Lobster Noodles by Sumo Big Prawn: S$24.90

From Sumo Big Prawn, this is your basic prawn mee but with the prawns upgraded to lobster.

Unfortunately, this famed food-eating critic found the crustacean tough and bland and struggled to get the meat out of the shell. Go for the S$8 version he said, where you can get the rich, savoury broth with prawns for a fraction of the price.

6. Mum's Curry Chicken by Bakerzin: S$16.50

Bakerzin's rendition of this local favourite doesn't appear too different on the surface, unless you count the option of being served with ciabatta. Would your mum charge you S$16.50 for curry chicken though?

If she does, go for a DNA test.

7. Chap Chye, Braised Cabbage, Black Mushroom, Lilybuds, Black Fungus by Candlenut: S$16

Candlenut features Peranakan cooking with innovative tweaks by Chef Malcolm.

If you feel that paying S$16 for chap chye is the same as paying S$11 for a can of Coke at a nightclub, do note that this dish has gotten rave reviews online.

Usually, online is where hate and fear breeds. So for it to get praised, you know this is da bomb.

Note that this is only available on the dinner menu.

8. Oyster Omelette, S$14

Chui Huay Lim Teochew Cuisine is the sort of restaurant you dine at to celebrate your grandmother's birthday, with prices befitting the occasion.

However, their oyster omelette is To. Die. For. It also appears to be meant for sharing among a few pax, so the price might not be that much of a starch

I mean, stretch.

Top image from CreatureS Facebook

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