As a young boy living in Sydney, Adam Speering wanted to be a butcher when he grew up. "I come from a family of butchers. My father was a butcher. After school I would always go help out at the butchery shops. I left school at 14 and have never done anything else; I have always wanted to be a butcher,” he recalled.
He enrolled in a butchery school, where he could be formally certified as a professional. “In Australia, [butchery] is a trade. You go to school for it – it’s like a technical college. We studied everything from how to talk to customers to breaking down the whole cow, pig or sheep. The teachers also made sure you know how to make sausages, like what goes in it and how to create your own recipe,” Speering, 42, told 8days.sg.
Adam Speering and his wife, Ann, 44, a Singaporean. (Photo: Mediacorp/Yip Jieying)
Then he met his future wife, Ann, 44, a Singaporean. “She was on holiday in Australia, and we met when we were both on a night out. I’m the lucky one!“ he recounted. The couple later got married and are now parents to five kids – three daughters and two sons with ages ranging from three to 24.
In 2015, Speering and his family moved to Ann’s native Singapore. (Photo: Mediacorp/Yip Jieying)
In 2015, they decided to pack their bags and move to Ann’s native Singapore when three of their kids were nearing primary school age. “We came here with just two suitcases, but we think it’s for the best. The rent in Sydney was very expensive, like $1,000 a week. And we can live near our family here. In Australia, we would need to travel over six hours to see Adam’s family. I would want my boys to serve NS here too, [the military life] will be good for them,” Ann pointed out.
Being in multicultural Singapore also meant that Speering and Ann’s kids could pick up other languages, and they are currently learning Chinese in school. Speering added: “The kids can get a good education here. In Australia, the parents are easygoing, and the students are more interested in things like sports. Sometimes my kids tell me they don’t want to do their homework and I’d be like, ‘Okay’. But my wife would say, ‘You must finish your homework!’ And that is good. Singapore is also very safe. In Sydney you’d have to be careful walking around at night.”
(Photo: Mediacorp/Yip Jieying)
When he first relocated to Singapore, Speering took up a job at a meat-processing company, where he trained staff on butchery techniques. Last year, he opened his own standalone butchery in Katong Shopping Centre called Outback Butchery.
“We had the shop for a year, but the landlord raised the rent, so we moved out,” said Speering. That was when he decided to try bidding for a wet market stall near his HDB flat in Toa Payoh Lor 8.
While he didn’t manage to snag a stall at Lor 8, he successfully bid for a second-floor unit at the Lor 4 wet market and started operating there one and a half months ago.
“My in-laws live near this stall and it’s also near my kids’ school, so it’s very convenient,” he said. Ann, who works as a project lead in the corporate sector, helps her husband out whenever she has time.
Adam opened Outback Butchery nearly two months ago. (Photo: Mediacorp/Yip Jieying)
Clad in his Australian Wests Tigers rugby jersey, Speering is an unusual sight at a Toa Payoh pasar. However, since opening nearly two months ago, he has steadily garnered a pool of regulars, some of whom don’t speak a word of English.
While his own command of Mandarin is “not good”, Speering has figured out how to communicate with his customers – using gestures. “They would point to [the item] they want, or if they want a particular cut, they would point to a body part,” he said.
Speering started working as a butcher in his youth in Sydney. (Photo: Mediacorp/Yip Jieying)
When he started working as a butcher in his youth in Sydney, the job was considered relatively high-paying by Australian standards. “The salary was good. It was A$1,200 a week. But it didn’t increase over the years, so now it’s viewed as a low-paying job over there,” he shared.
“In Singapore, butchers [tend to be perceived as] meat cutters, and they are not classified as proper butchers. But in Australia you can get certification for butchery.”
Setting up a wet market stall in Toa Payoh didn’t pose much of a culture shock to him. “I have been shuttling between Singapore and Australia for years. I think people were more shocked to see me here,” Speering laughed.
Speering's stall offers a more Western selection of meats similar to upscale butcheries. (Photo: Mediacorp/Yip Jieying)
Speering’s stall offers a more Western selection similar to upscale butcheries here, but at wet market price points.
He also has an online website (www.outbackbutchery.com) selling a vast variety of Australia-imported beef, pork and lamb as well as chicken, fish and sausages, with an islandwide same-day delivery option.
This includes shabu shabu beef sirloin (from S$12 for 300g), minced pork (from S$6.60 for 300g) and even bak but teh ribs (from S$13.15 for 300g) and ready-to-cook pork schnitzel (from S$13.50). According to Outback Butchery's website, you can also book a "BBQ Catering Experience" for small gatherings and large events, where you can enjoy an "authentic Australian BBQ".
Speering's stall also offers house-made sausages. (Photo: Mediacorp/Yip Jieying)
There are also house-made sausages like herb & garlic beef sausage (S$2.50 each), spicy Italian pork sausage (S$2 each), herbaceous Irish pork sausage (S$2 each) as well as golf ball-sized herb & garlic meatballs (S$2 for four) that would make a good addition to the upcoming CNY hotpot sessions.
Speering makes the sausages by hand himself using a proprietary recipe. “We learnt the percentages for ingredients in trade school, then we worked it out from there,” he explained. He uses a gluten-free rice flour binder, and collagen casing “so the sausages can last longer”.
(Photo: Mediacorp/Yip Jieying)
We bought a few links that he had made that morning, and found them satisfyingly juicy and flavourful after being pan-seared. The collagen casing is very delicate, and should be cooked at low heat to avoid bursting. But compared to natural casing (which is made from the animal’s small intestine), the collagen casing offers less snap to the bite.
Outback Butchery currently accepts CDC vouchers and will be open on CNY eve for last-minute shoppers. Speering shared: “We are still trying to figure out how this market works, like the operating hours for the stalls. So, we will be open for CNY eve for as long as there are customers.”
Outback Butchery is at #02-14, Toa Payoh Vista Market & Food Centre, Blk 74 Toa Payoh Lor 4, Singapore 310074. Open daily except Mon, 5am-11am (closed on first day of Chinese New Year). Tel: 8286-5359. For online orders, go to www.outbackbutchery.com.
This story was originally published in 8Days.
For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/
Continue reading...
He enrolled in a butchery school, where he could be formally certified as a professional. “In Australia, [butchery] is a trade. You go to school for it – it’s like a technical college. We studied everything from how to talk to customers to breaking down the whole cow, pig or sheep. The teachers also made sure you know how to make sausages, like what goes in it and how to create your own recipe,” Speering, 42, told 8days.sg.
Adam Speering and his wife, Ann, 44, a Singaporean. (Photo: Mediacorp/Yip Jieying)
Then he met his future wife, Ann, 44, a Singaporean. “She was on holiday in Australia, and we met when we were both on a night out. I’m the lucky one!“ he recounted. The couple later got married and are now parents to five kids – three daughters and two sons with ages ranging from three to 24.
In 2015, Speering and his family moved to Ann’s native Singapore. (Photo: Mediacorp/Yip Jieying)
MOVING FROM AUSTRALIA TO SINGAPORE
In 2015, they decided to pack their bags and move to Ann’s native Singapore when three of their kids were nearing primary school age. “We came here with just two suitcases, but we think it’s for the best. The rent in Sydney was very expensive, like $1,000 a week. And we can live near our family here. In Australia, we would need to travel over six hours to see Adam’s family. I would want my boys to serve NS here too, [the military life] will be good for them,” Ann pointed out.
Being in multicultural Singapore also meant that Speering and Ann’s kids could pick up other languages, and they are currently learning Chinese in school. Speering added: “The kids can get a good education here. In Australia, the parents are easygoing, and the students are more interested in things like sports. Sometimes my kids tell me they don’t want to do their homework and I’d be like, ‘Okay’. But my wife would say, ‘You must finish your homework!’ And that is good. Singapore is also very safe. In Sydney you’d have to be careful walking around at night.”
(Photo: Mediacorp/Yip Jieying)
When he first relocated to Singapore, Speering took up a job at a meat-processing company, where he trained staff on butchery techniques. Last year, he opened his own standalone butchery in Katong Shopping Centre called Outback Butchery.
“We had the shop for a year, but the landlord raised the rent, so we moved out,” said Speering. That was when he decided to try bidding for a wet market stall near his HDB flat in Toa Payoh Lor 8.
While he didn’t manage to snag a stall at Lor 8, he successfully bid for a second-floor unit at the Lor 4 wet market and started operating there one and a half months ago.
“My in-laws live near this stall and it’s also near my kids’ school, so it’s very convenient,” he said. Ann, who works as a project lead in the corporate sector, helps her husband out whenever she has time.
Adam opened Outback Butchery nearly two months ago. (Photo: Mediacorp/Yip Jieying)
Clad in his Australian Wests Tigers rugby jersey, Speering is an unusual sight at a Toa Payoh pasar. However, since opening nearly two months ago, he has steadily garnered a pool of regulars, some of whom don’t speak a word of English.
While his own command of Mandarin is “not good”, Speering has figured out how to communicate with his customers – using gestures. “They would point to [the item] they want, or if they want a particular cut, they would point to a body part,” he said.
Speering started working as a butcher in his youth in Sydney. (Photo: Mediacorp/Yip Jieying)
ON WORKING AS A BUTCHER IN SINGAPORE
When he started working as a butcher in his youth in Sydney, the job was considered relatively high-paying by Australian standards. “The salary was good. It was A$1,200 a week. But it didn’t increase over the years, so now it’s viewed as a low-paying job over there,” he shared.
“In Singapore, butchers [tend to be perceived as] meat cutters, and they are not classified as proper butchers. But in Australia you can get certification for butchery.”
Setting up a wet market stall in Toa Payoh didn’t pose much of a culture shock to him. “I have been shuttling between Singapore and Australia for years. I think people were more shocked to see me here,” Speering laughed.
Speering's stall offers a more Western selection of meats similar to upscale butcheries. (Photo: Mediacorp/Yip Jieying)
WHAT'S FOR SALE AT OUTBACK BUTCHERY
Speering’s stall offers a more Western selection similar to upscale butcheries here, but at wet market price points.
He also has an online website (www.outbackbutchery.com) selling a vast variety of Australia-imported beef, pork and lamb as well as chicken, fish and sausages, with an islandwide same-day delivery option.
This includes shabu shabu beef sirloin (from S$12 for 300g), minced pork (from S$6.60 for 300g) and even bak but teh ribs (from S$13.15 for 300g) and ready-to-cook pork schnitzel (from S$13.50). According to Outback Butchery's website, you can also book a "BBQ Catering Experience" for small gatherings and large events, where you can enjoy an "authentic Australian BBQ".
Speering's stall also offers house-made sausages. (Photo: Mediacorp/Yip Jieying)
There are also house-made sausages like herb & garlic beef sausage (S$2.50 each), spicy Italian pork sausage (S$2 each), herbaceous Irish pork sausage (S$2 each) as well as golf ball-sized herb & garlic meatballs (S$2 for four) that would make a good addition to the upcoming CNY hotpot sessions.
Speering makes the sausages by hand himself using a proprietary recipe. “We learnt the percentages for ingredients in trade school, then we worked it out from there,” he explained. He uses a gluten-free rice flour binder, and collagen casing “so the sausages can last longer”.
(Photo: Mediacorp/Yip Jieying)
We bought a few links that he had made that morning, and found them satisfyingly juicy and flavourful after being pan-seared. The collagen casing is very delicate, and should be cooked at low heat to avoid bursting. But compared to natural casing (which is made from the animal’s small intestine), the collagen casing offers less snap to the bite.
Outback Butchery currently accepts CDC vouchers and will be open on CNY eve for last-minute shoppers. Speering shared: “We are still trying to figure out how this market works, like the operating hours for the stalls. So, we will be open for CNY eve for as long as there are customers.”
Outback Butchery is at #02-14, Toa Payoh Vista Market & Food Centre, Blk 74 Toa Payoh Lor 4, Singapore 310074. Open daily except Mon, 5am-11am (closed on first day of Chinese New Year). Tel: 8286-5359. For online orders, go to www.outbackbutchery.com.
This story was originally published in 8Days.
For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/
Continue reading...