nikkib

Rest assured that fish heads will be making an appearance! Glad you are enjoying it!

At this the half way mark of my dinner i shall bid you goodnight and aim to complete the post tomorrow if i am able to drag myself and all the extra weight i must have put on tonight out of bed!

Roti Babi or more literally bread pig is essentially a french toast type dish stuffed with miced pork is another popular Perankanen dish As is Ayam Buah - chicken stewed with black (or keluak) nuts. It is a very disctintive dish - not a million miles from mole i suppose, although this i was not such a big fan of.. Assam Pedas is a Malay dish cooked in a sour and hot sauce along with okra, tomatoes, chilli and tamarind which is one of the key ingredients (assam/tamarind) This was one of the nights highlights, i am not usually a big fan of tamarind but i enjoyed this. Mulligatawny - which i have only have had in canned form came next- a famous Anglo Indian dish.Literally meaning "pepper water" in Tamil. This was a vegetarian version with dahls and chickpeas as well as a little rice. Beef Rendang was definitely one of my favourites. An Indonesian dish of slow cooked beef (although mutton, chicken and other meats can also be used) and coconut this was melt in the mouth tender and the spices used such as ginger, tumeric, lemongrass and chilli gave this dish another dimension.

Ok so i promised something special for dinner and i'm hoping that you will agree as i am absolutey stuffed beyond belief after spending the last 6 hours on a food tour in Joo Chiat and Katong culminating in an epic 25 dish or so tasting.... I don't think i'm going to be able to post them all tonight as i am literally falling asleep as i type this but will give it my best shot. We started off at this little fruit sellers where we tried yellow and red watermelon, star fruit, mango, dragonfuit (pink and white fleshed) as well as pineapple, a special type of red apple which name i forget now sorry and finally guava with sour plum salt added to it. Longons (like small lychees) and a variety of rambutan were also added when we finished. The fruits were delicious and a nice start on the long road ahead - i especially liked the sour plum salt with the guava and shall be buying some soon so i can enjoy it at home.. Back at our base for the night we started on the meal, all picked up earlier in the day from local stalls Otek or Oteh is fish such as mackerel mixed with herbs and spices and baked inside a banana leaf. It is milder than you might imagine - i enjoyed this Hebi Hiam is a dried shrimp and chilli paste which i have eaten before as breakfast when spread on toast or served in a soft bun - not as pungent as a dried shrimp and chili dish suggests either - it was served with cucmber slices Zongzi was next - a glutinous rice mixed with various different fillings (in this case pork) and cooked in a pandan leaf popular in Peranakan cuisine as well as chinese, thai and cambodian amongst others Followed by a 4 angled bean and chilli sald which i really enjoyed, it had a very satisfying crunch to it and a good kick of chilli

@Kent - no issues with spice here, having never been to India before I can't speak from experience but nothing seems to be watered down for anyone else's benefit, certainly where I tend to eat it seems authentic and the hoardes of Indian migrant workers at the weekend don't seem to have any complaints... With a few dishes of Malay origin I have been asked if I want it spicy or not and I say yes I do, which hasn't seen me suffer either way in terms of heat/lack of. On the cocktail front, alcohol is pricy full stop - $ 16 was the cheapest drink at barkode which I considered a steal. Cocktails at over $20 seems to be the norm here..

@jenny We tend to either get banana leaves or this paper as shown above which is almost waxed - it's actually very good and infinitely preferable to the Nast plastic plates found elsewhere

Brunch today as i am off and have big plans for tonight, anothe favourite at the Mon Ami - apologies that this place features so regularly but i had an appointment near my house so this was the most convenient option for today. Masala Dosai which is a really thin pancake wrapped around a potato curry mix and served with sambar - an infrequent treat i more commonly have as dinner I will post some more photos later and dinner which should hopefully be pretty exciting...

In fairness, i knew i was going to have a busy day as i am off tomorow and have a lot to arrange so i skipped lunch and almost missed out on dinner - Liquid dinners still count right?! I Couldn't do a blog on Singapore without a singapore sling. Invented at Raffles Long Bar in 1915 it is made up of 30 mls gin, 15mls Cherry heering, 7.5ml Benedictine, 7.5ml Cointreau, 120ml Sarawak pineapple juice, 15ml lime juice, 10ml grenadine, a dash of angostura and a pineapple and cherry garnish. Nowadays to sample this "delight" at raffles it will set you back $26 (over $30 once taxes and service are added) and they serve pre mixed cocktails in order to keep up with the demand/control consistency. At that price it is never going to be a regaular hang out - and to be honest the bar is jam packed with tourists so it is not all that appealing prospect BUT.... like a martini at the Algonquin (i know it wasnt invented there but you gotta love Dorothy Parker)a Bloody Mary at Harrys New York bar and a bellini at Harrys Bar (no relation) in Venice its almost GOT to be done. I know i will take all my visitors here and i know i will enjoy it, despite the cocktail itself being far, far too sweet for me and the price stinging a bit (to put it into context , the rest of the meals on this blog so far, added up arent as expensive as this one drink) Dinner was the "monkey nuts" served with the cocktail and shells discarded on the floor

Breakfast this morning was another Singaporean favourite - Roti Prata. Rotis made fresh to order and served with curry sauce on the side - i usually have vegetarian but the place i go to know i like my curries pretty hot and wanted me to try the chicken version as it is spicer. Umm you can say that again! The curry had a real kick, in a good way and was the boost i needed to wake up thats for sure. I also love the fact that the Rotis aren't greasy here (The Mon Ami Cafe again in Farrer park) like they can be. If this isn't the breakfast of champions, i have no idea what is....

@Dian - GREAT coffee guide - will be using it to get a stronger coffee from now on! Thanks!! @jenni - coming from someone I consider to be one of my "inspiration gurus" on my quest for outstanding Indian food that is a bigger compliment than you can imagine!

Add me to the curry puff fanbase - will add them to the list of treats this week with pleasure! Thanks for the tips on malacca, I will probably leave it until the new year but looked into it very seriously for this week and am extremely excited to go! As for Cafe Iguana - I LOVE it!! Not only do they have cracking Don Julio Reposado Margaritas but yes the chile con queso is a big hit - as is the spicy prawn appetizer they have. It is one of the few times i brave the meat market that is Clark Quay....

Kent - don't be telling me all these noodles fried in lard aren't healthy Usually i don't consume quite so much as this week, i am spoiling myself for the blog - i usually skip lunch and/or breakfast as i am busy working - i am also on my feet for at least 9-10 hours a day as well as trying to walk the 2K to/from work at least 4 times a week so i burn up a lot of calories - enough to keep my weight constant just the right side of cuddly ......

@percyn - I realized it was a diiderent vada as couldn't imagine my version eaten as a sandwich - the hunt for vadas will continue...

@Kent - it's a mystery to me - maybe as hassouni suggests or just cooking oil? @judiu- a black spider appears to just be a coke float, Its a new one to me too though! @Heidi - I must have missed the durians, certainly haven't noticed them so far, I did try them in Thailand a few years back - admittedly a bit odd but I didn't have any major reaction to it either positive or negative unlike some... Will keep my eyes peeled for any durian related sweets/drinks etc though in the meantime.

For dinner i went to the Newton Circus Hawker Centre - one of the most famous (and controversial) hawker centres in singapore. It was renovated a few years back and general opinion now seems to be it is too watered down, expensive and touristy. It is still a fun place to go but i have to agree with the critics on this one - it is reknowned for its seafood whioch explains the higher prices somewhat but i was quite surprised at how different the prices were here to other places i prefer. I wasnt really too hungry and just fancied something light so i just had Popiah. Popiah is a Chinese dish of a light, fresh spring roll popular in Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. The wrapper is a thin crepe (un fried) and it is filled with egg, jicama, turnip, bean sprouts, lettuce, peanuts and carrots amongst others and it is served drizzled with a sweet soy sauce or hoi sin most commonly. M ine was pretty good - $3.40. To drink i had my first barley water, a drink poplular here and served both hot and cold - i'm not really sure what as i was expecting (Barley + Water doesnt leave much to the imagination) but i was completely underwhelmed. Probably better hotter as a pre bedtime drink like a malt but i think i will stick to something else in future. Brilliantly and bizarrely the Chinese guy next to me was eating steak, chips and baked beans - on sale at another stall for about $10!!

@Hassouni - The Kopi O Kopi C etc are i gather from Google derived from chinese or Malay but they are just listed short hand like that so wouldnt know for sure, i just ask for Kopi and get the right drink so thats all i'm really worried about @YSL - Thanks! It is great fun here, either as a destination on its own, a stopover en route to OZ or tied in with a beach holiday somewhere like Langkawi, Penang or Thailand - highly recommend it!

oops forgot the best bit.....

Lunch today was a quick bite at Din Tai Fung - a Tawainese restaurant chain. I opted for a vegetarian tofu salad with veggies and pork, chilli and crab steamed buns all for less than $10. They are Michelin recommended (which i was not aware of the first time i ate there but it did not surprise me to learn) This place runs like clockwork, there is nearly always a queue - whatever time they tell you the wait will be is almost always spot on to the minute - you are given an order pad while you wait which they take from you as soon as you are seated and despite the dumplings being made to order, you will always have at least one dish within 10 minutes - if you see a Din tai Fung on your travels i would highly recommend you check them out...

@Heidi yes I really enjoy all the fruit juices, I usually have sour lime juice or melon if available, if I don't go with a tiger beer of course! I was familiar with quite a few of the dishes but many are completely new to me- depending on how I'm feeling I tend to just order something new to see if I like it or not, most of the stalls either have pictures or specialize in one dish so you look for the biggest queues and head in that direction. It doesn't always result in a delicious meal but at a couple of dollars a pop I can always abandon any unsuccessful dishes and try something else, it's all in the name of research afterall! There have been more hits than misses I should add!

@genkinnaona - Singapore is very compact and has a great subway system known as the mrt. Cabs are also not too badly priced ( although I miss my Lebanese service taxis more than you could ever believe!) most of the places I visit are pretty near where I either live or work, on a day off I might head a few extra stops out but so far I am being a bit lazy in that respect. Prasantrin mentioned Malacca and I did look into a visit but I only have the one day off this week and have an appointment it is proving hard to reschedule, I will do my best to head there in a week or two and do a smaller blog on that trip.

@Shelby - it's more that the appartments aren't so suited to cooking, they may have a microwave or a single induction heater but that's often it. Other adverts specify "light" cooking only. I gather the main reason is due to the smell of the local food whilst it's being prepared - we aren't talking simple stews or roasts but dried anchovies, curry sauces, preserved eggs etc ( FYI I also saw adverts stating they wouldn't rent to "Indians or Chinese" which really freaked me out and I refused to view any of them on principle which confused my rental agent no end -speaking to people I am led to believe this is for the aforementioned culinary reasons but still made me incredibly uncomfortable) @hassouni - thanks! I am hoping you will do a blog sooner rather than later and yes, chilli crab will most definitely feature!

Breakfast this morning was at another regular haunt of mine - Toast Box is a chain that serve tea/coffee and local breakfast specialities throughout the day. As it is based next to the MRT (subway) it is ideally located and the coffee is good. Singaporean Coffee or Kopi as i mentioned before is made in a different way to regular coffee - it is udually served withe condensed milk to serve as both the milk/sugar. Kopi Gau is the same but a stronger, less watered down version of Kopi, Kopi C is a weaker version with more condensed milk and water than coffee. Kopi O is black coffee with sugar (keeping up at the back?!) There are other versions including iced or blended amongst others but these are the ones you see more often than not. I drink regular Kopi, it is sweeter than coffee i usually like but as a first drink of the day my body appreciates the sugary sweetness to shock it awake! Kaya as i also mentioned before is the traditional accompaniment to toast here - a very sweet egg and coconut jam served spread over toast with a slice of chilled butter on the other piece and sandwiched together - they usually use one piece of thick bread cut like melba toast (but not so thin) and then sandwiched together again. Thick toasts are also available along with French toast, various buns, laksa and mee siam (more on these later) Soft boiled eggs are often served too - cracked into a small bowl and eaten with dark soy sauce and pepper and then either spooned up and eaten like that or by dipping the toast into it. They are just too soft for me to enjoy really - i cracked one open and gave up - too slimy! This morning i had Bolou Yau which is a sweet brioche type pineapple bun and Kopi, it came as part of the meal deal with the eggs for i think $4.50.

If she is not going to eat at all i shouldn't imagine it would be an issue - they may say not let you order from the tasting menu if she goes ALC though. I have eaten at Le gavroche solo and was extremely well looked after indeed...

I ended up in Arab street where i met a friend for shisha and tea and spent a few hours relaxing and sheltering from the rain. On the way back i stopped at barKode http://www.greatnewplaces.com/c862-Barkode where i sampled an Earthy Temptation - Martin millers Gin, Earl Grey tea, lemongrass and marmalade. It was good but perhaps a bit too subtle for me, never the less this is a great bar - definitely worth a visit. Then it was back to the Tekka Centre for dinner - Char Kway Teoh, another local noodle dish, this time with prawns, cockles, fried egg and fish cake slices as well as a good dose of chilli. Whilst not food related i thought you may like to see the Jothi flower garland sellers that pepper the route back to my house amongst the different temples, restaurants and shops.

And some more..............