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Cher Yam Tian, believed to be the creator of Singapore's iconic chilli crab, passed away on Feb. 15.
She was 90 years old.
Photo from ieatishootipost's Facebook page.
According to Singapore Infopedia, the national dish was invented by Cher in the mid-1950s when she added bottled chilli sauce to stir-fried crabs instead of the usual tomato sauce.
Photo from Roland Restaurant's Facebook page.
By 1956, she and her husband went from selling the dish from a roadside pushcart to opening a humble shack called Palm Beach Seafood, according to a post by food blogger Leslie Tay who runs ieatishootipost.
The family sold off Palm Beach Restaurant in 1985 when they emigrated to New Zealand.
However, Cher's son, Roland Lim, moved back to Singapore a few months later because he felt he couldn't open a seafood restaurant in New Zealand.
He joined his godfather's restaurant at Sin Leong Restaurant. The restaurant was handed over to Lim, who subsequently renamed it Roland Restaurant.
Roland Restaurant, located in Marine Parade, still uses the original chilli crab recipe created by the late Cher.
2009 chilli crab saga
In 2009, chilli crab hit the headlines again when then Malaysian tourism minister Ng Yen Yen claimed that chilli crab was one of several Malaysian dishes that had been wrongly credited to other countries.
This caused quite a controversy back then, with many Singaporeans proudly defending the seafood dish as a uniquely Singaporean creation.
Tributes
Several food connoisseurs have expressed their condolences in remembrance of the late Cher.
In a Facebook post, Tay bade farewell to Cher, calling her a "culinary legend".
Makansutra founder KF Seetoh said in a Facebook post: "We will remember you and thank you for this gift of culinary. May you rest in peace."