Bollywood Farms Chef Of 22 Years ‘Not Worried’ Despite Year-End Lease Expiry

Farm is no longer closing in December

Lynn says the farm is seeking a tenancy extension from the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), but is waiting for written confirmation before sharing details. She maintains that they will not be leaving this December.

“There’s no way we can pack up in 1.5 months,” she says.

For now, the team is carrying on as usual. If they eventually have to leave, some of the older staff are looking forward to retirement, while younger employees have backup plans or are studying for other careers.

“I’m not a sentimental person,” she says. “I see it as the closing of one chapter and the start of something new.”

Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef is Lim Kim San’s granddaughter

Lynn’s path to the farm was hardly straightforward. She has a mass communications degree from San Jose State University, an MBA from the University of Western Sydney and previously worked in corporate communications at Singapore Press Holdings. 

“As a grandchild of a political scion, I had to be the good Singaporean child and complete my bachelor’s and MBA,” she says. 

Her late father was an accountant, while her late mother taught at Raffles Girls’ School before becoming an interior designer.

Growing up surrounded by good cooks, she recalls sitting atop a chest freezer and watching her ma jie (a traditional domestic helper) prepare dinner.

“I don’t remember doing much cooking as I got older and had different priorities,” she says. Her interest resurfaced while studying abroad, eventually leading her to enrol at Le Cordon Bleu in London.

Studied cooking as a hobby before Ivy came calling

Lynn initially pursued culinary training as purely a hobby. Around the time she graduated, Ivy, now 77, was thinking of starting an eatery at the farm and asked Lynn to help. 

Ivy, a friend of both Lynn's mother and aunt, had taken her under her wing after her mother died in 2001.

Lynn joined the farm in 2004 as chef de cuisine, taking on kitchen leadership and management duties from the start.

“Working at Bollywood is every chef’s dream come true. It’s the ultimate playground,” she says.

The working hours are another plus. The bistro does not serve dinner and is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. “For a chef, those hours are a dream. It’s a career where people burn out very quickly.”

Today, Lynn develops the menu and manages operations, while a four-person kitchen team handles the daily cooking. She steps in for special events and private dining.

Ivy doesn’t cook, but supplies ideas

Lynn jokes that Poison Ivy’s name is fitting because Ivy cannot cook. However, its namesake does contribute ideas, often by recalling dishes she ate growing up. “It is my job to figure out how to recreate it to put on the menu,” says Lynn.

One example is the banana curry, which is available when the farm has plantains ready for harvest. These days, Ivy leaves more of the bistro’s day-to-day running to the team as she tires more easily.

$18 nasi lemak platter for two

The bestseller is nasi lemak, priced at $10 for one or $18 for a platter for two.

“Everyone that comes usually orders the nasi lemak platter before the menu hits the table,” Lynn says.

The coconut rice is coloured with blue pea flowers grown on the farm, and comes with cucumber, sambal, ikan bilis, peanuts, egg, chicken wings and moringa leaf tempura.

Her other recommendation is the Warrior’s Tasting Platter ($6), which comes with banana bread, kueh bingka (baked tapioca cake) and kueh kosui (steamed palm sugar cakes coated in grated coconut). All are made in-house.

Off-menu nasi ulam, $20 for four

Lynn’s personal favourite is nasi ulam (herbed rice), made with eight herbs including turmeric leaf, laksa leaf and torch ginger flower. Some of these herbs can be difficult to find at regular markets, she says.

The dish costs $20 and serves four. It requires two days' advance notice and is available on weekends between noon and 2pm.

Monthly weekend specials also depend on what's ready to harvest at the farm. Its location makes it difficult for the kitchen to replenish ingredients at short notice.

“It’s not like we can just walk over to the store to pick up a sauce, or buy more coriander,” she says. “If something is finished, it’s off the menu.”

Could its next chapter be all about bananas?

Lynn is developing plans for an online business or small café specialising in banana products.

“That’s where Bollywood started, and that’s our continuing legacy,” she says.

Bananas have long been a feature of the farm, which has grown unusual varieties such as Praying Hands and Thousand Finger bananas. Ivy has previously described the farm as one of Singapore's largest banana producers.

Lynn adds that the bistro’s banana bread was originally made with the farm’s own fruit. But demand now exceeds what the farm can grow, so the kitchen also buys from a supplier.

Whatever happens next, Lynn says she will miss the calming countryside commute.

“When you reach Bollywood, and start walking from the car park in, you feel your stress melt away. That’s the power of the countryside,” she adds.

Poison Ivy Bistro is at Bollywood Farms, 100 Neo Tiew Rd, S719026. Open Wed–Fri, 10am–3pm; Sat, Sun & PH, 7am–6pm. More info via website.