Emily Lim established 'Dabao Singapore' in San Francisco, initially aiming to sustain herself and her friends after being laid off. The food venture led to discovering a close-knit community that loves her Singaporean hawker dishes. 

Few chefs would have had the privilege of cooking for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, let alone win praise from PM Lee himself. Emily Lim, chef and founder of Dabao Singapore – an online food business based in San Francisco, can proudly say that she had the honour of both. The Dabao Singapore team was invited to prepare chicken rice for the attendees at a recent Singapore Global Networking event at Westin San Francisco Airport, graced by PM Lee. He gave it the thumbs up.

CIA alumnus Ramsay Ho (third from right) and Emily Lim (second from right) prepared chicken rice for Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and guests at the Singapore Global Networking event on 15 November. (MCI Photo by Ngau Kai Yan)

From Corporate Job to Culinary Passion

“Food has always been an integral part of me. It’s fascinating to see how each ingredient comes together to form the dish,” said the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) alumnus. Emily contemplated pursuing culinary arts after her ‘O’ levels but heeded her mother’s advice to study Mass Communications at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. She then proceeded to be a marketeer. 

To address her true calling, she decided to quit her job and pursue a culinary arts degree when the opportunity arose. In 2011, Emily enrolled in the Food Business Management (Culinary Arts) degree programme offered by CIA in collaboration with SIT. “It was refreshing being among like-minded people who cared about food and learning from chefs who are experts in their craft.”

After graduating, Emily headed to the US in 2014 to embark on her culinary career, securing positions with Michelin-starred restaurants like Alexander's Steakhouse, ALX by Alexander's Steakhouse and JAAN. “I wanted to learn from the best. Chefs in fine-dining restaurants are very serious go-getters – the cream of the crop. They are meticulous; learning from them gave me a better understanding of culinary techniques and a good foundation,” Emily shared. 

The Birth of Dabao Singapore 

All was going well until the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and Emily found herself and her close friends retrenched. Jobless and driven by the need to retain her visa, she took a bold step to establish Dabao Singapore, an online food business offering Singaporean hawker fare meal kits on a pre-order basis.  “Starting a business in the middle of a pandemic was overwhelming. I was in survival mode to make things work for myself and my friends. Selling Singaporean hawker food made sense as we missed home and were isolated by closed borders,” recalled Emily.

The classic chicken rice dish from Dabao Singapore. (Photo: Emily Lim)

The business took off at rocket speed when launched in 2020 as word about her food spread through Instagram. Before she knew it, Emily was preparing 90 laksa meal kits out of her home kitchen. “I did not have an established ordering system then. Orders came in through messages on my social media account,” Emily shared affably. “I was handling everything myself – from administrative details, website and branding, social media, sourcing for ingredients, to fulfilling orders and plotting routes on Google Maps.Those were crazy times.” It was also a time when Emily’s learnings from the CIA were put into action. Modules such as Controlling Costs and Purchasing, as well as Menu Development, turned out to be instrumental in developing her business. Within two years, the business underwent two upgrades to larger commercial kitchens to accommodate growing demand.

Emily roped in her friends, who were retrenched during the pandemic, to help with her food business; some became full-time employees. (Photo: Emily Lim)

The menu now features 12 varieties of Singaporean favourites, including Chicken Rice, Sliced Fish Bee Hoon, and even Black and White Carrot Cake. Emily has since expanded to offer catering options, invested in equipment to handle cooking in larger quantities, and outsourced logistics and administrative functions to vendors. From her current four-member team, she is looking at expanding by recruiting additional kitchen staff and a Singaporean chef.

A Community that Craves for Singaporean Food

Looking ahead, 32-year-old Emily hopes to start her own YouTube cooking channel to educate people on the intricate steps behind creating seemingly simple Singaporean hawker dishes. “I hope that with a greater understanding of what’s involved behind a hawker dish, people will come to recognise the true value of hawker fare and appreciate it enough to pay for what it’s really worth,” Emily said. 

Emily Lim with her signature Laksa dish and Singaporean classic dessert delicacies. (Photo: Emily Lim)

Interestingly, the birth of Dabao Singapore revealed to Emily a Singaporean community she had never known existed throughout her six years in the Bay area. “It felt like I found a sense of home when connected to the local community. It is a space where I can be my true self, to speak Singlish and be understood,” Emily shared. 

Her connection to the local Singaporean community became a significant driving force behind Dabao Singapore’s continued existence after the pandemic abated. “While Dabao Singapore was founded as a means of survival for a group of us, its existence is now fuelled by the community’s love for our food. It feels good that I can provide a taste of home for the Singaporeans here and spread the love for authentic Singaporean hawker fare,” Emily said. 

"Chef Emily Lim flies the Singapore flag high. As a result of following her heart, she is on track to become an excellent chef and a savvy businesswoman with a dedicated community spirit. We are thrilled with her rise into the realm of a celebrity chef," said Chef Eve Felder, Managing Director, The Culinary Institute of America, Singapore.