Food and Dining in Singapore

[prasantrin]

I've been meaning to get this started for quite some time. . . oops. That respiratory infection I developed by the end of my trip is still lingering, but if I don't do this now, I'll never get it done!

Day 1--Singapore

We took at late morning Singapore Airlines flight to Singapore from KIX. While at KIX, we had breakfast--OK, this should belong in the Japan forum, but since it's the start of my trip, I'm including it here!

Look at all that delicious seafood!

It was soooo good, despite being older than it should have been. A couple of days earlier, we went to my local Hankyu Dept. Store food floor, and they were having a Hokkaido Fair. I think this was about Y1200, but it might have been Y1600. It should have been eaten the night we bought it, but we had so much other food to eat, that we kept forgetting about it. Oops.

After boarding the plane, we took advantage of SingAir's free Singapore Slings! One of my mother's young adulthood dreams was to have a Singapore Sling in Singapore. My plan was for us to find a nice hotel bar/lounge and for her to have her Singapore Sling. Unfortunately, we never got around to that, but at least she had one Sling! Nevermind that we were technically still in Japanese air space, and it was served in a plastic cup. . .She can't drink much alcohol, so I had to drink most of hers, anyway.

I like SingAir's food. It's pretty decent for airplane food. I had some kind of beef--maybe sukiyaki?

But look how squished my bun was! I think someone sat on it!

After arriving in Singapore, we hopped on a free tourist shuttle bus into the city. We were leaving early the next morning, so we didn't bother with a hotel. The shuttle brought us to Suntec--a very large, very disturbing mall. I hate malls, in general, and found this mall to be particularly bad. It was crowded, confusing, and poorly designed, and it had a dirty feel to it (relatively speaking, this was Singapore, after all). But it also had not just one, but two Crystal Jade restaurants. We ended up at Crystal Jade Kitchen, just because it was closest one and we were both starving.

Starter--I know these things aren't good values, and we should just send them back to avoid paying for them, but my mother loves peanuts like these. She was quite happy to eat the whole little plateful by herself.

We ordered a version of pepper-salt squid. It was tasty, and each piece of squid was stuffed with garlic. Wowsers! I felt sorry for our seatmates on the plane to Cambodia.

And we ordered seafood ho fun with gravy (you can order it dry or with gravy). I love ho fun and cheung fun, but I can't get them in Japan. Or at least I haven't found them in my area, yet. This was also good, though I thought the noodles were a bit mushy. It had that nice wok hey flavour to it, though.

According to my credit card statement, this cost us a whopping S$35.20, which included the peanuts, two moist towelletes, and a small tip (I can't remember how much I left--maybe S$3 or S$5). It was by Canadian standards a bit expensive considering the portions (I remember thinking the squid, in particular, was not a good value), but by Japanese standards, it wasn't too bad.

On our way back to the shuttle bus, we dropped in the Crystal Jade bakery to pick up some breakfast for the plane. I got a cocktail bun filled with buttery sugary coconut filling. I love them.

So ends Day 1 of our trip. I've got to sort the rest of my trip pictures now.

[prasantrin]

Day 2--Singapore

OK, this is sort of out of order. This is Day 2 in Singapore, but Day 9 of our trip. In between Singapore Day 1 and 2 we were in Cambodia, but it's easier for me to do each country in one swoop, so that's the way it's going to be!

Taking an early morning flight, we arrived back in Singapore around 11am. By the time we got to our hotel, or rather, our correct hotel, it was around 2. Not having eaten since 6am, my mother's blood sugar was starting to crash, so as soon as we checked in and freshened up a bit, we walked to Clarke Quay to find a place to eat. There were many places to choose from, but we went to the very first one because my mother was really starting feel nauseated from hunger.

Jumbo Seafood. I think I've heard of it before, but perhaps they have other branches, because I don't associate it with Clarke Quay. It's a Chinese restaurant specializing in seafood, from what we could tell. Unfortunately, it was 3pm by this time, and they were closing! They kicked us out, and we walked next door to Cafe Iguana.

Cafe Iguana, it turns out, is a Mexican restaurant. I really didn't want to eat Mexican food in Singapore. I mean, Mexican food in Japan usually sucks, how good could it be in Singapore, especially in a touristy area like Clarke Quay? And it's sort of kitschy.

We decided to stick with simple stuff, because it's pretty hard to screw up the simple stuff. My mother ordered queso fundido. When it arrived, it sort of looked like processed cheese food. It may have, in fact, been processed cheese food. But it was really good! It was cheesy enough, but not too cheesy or greasy, and it had a bit of a kick to it. And the tortilla chips were warm. We thought maybe they fried them onsite, but it's hard to say.

We really liked this, so we asked what was in it. They said cheese, tomatoes, capsicum, chile. . . and I think that was it. But look at it! There's no way that can be just cheese unless it's processed cheese food--can it? Here's another look:

I'd be willing to use processed cheese food (if i can find it in Japan) if someone could give me a recipe. I looked a bunch up, like those crock pot cheese dips made with cheez whiz, but none of them seemed like they'd turn out like our beloved queso fundido. And I tried doing a cheese sauce (just bechamel with lots of cheese) mixed with jalapenos and tomatoes, but it wasn't the same at all.

Back to food, As I was looking at the menu, I noticed that brunch dishes were available till 4pm on Sat. and Sun. and they had chilaquiles! I love chilaquiles! I had to ask the waiter what day it was (hey, I was on holidays. I didn't need to know what day it was!) and confirmed that it was Sunday (he only laughed at me a little), I ordered my chilaquiles con pollo.

No, that is not a side of poop. Refried beans with a crusty exterior, is what that is! The whole dish wasn't too bad, but it was oddly sweet and it couldn't hold a candle to the queso fundido!

We paid, leaving a tip despite the 10% service charge because we asked if we could do take-away later on. Maybe they usually do take-away, I don't know, but the waiter had to go to the kitchen to ask, so we assumed it would be a special request and we wanted them to be nice to us when we returned (and we would definitely be returning).

Then we headed to Orchard Road, where I stumbled across this fellow:

Fresh ice cream sandwiches! The ice cream comes in blocks that he slices to just the right size, then he sandwiches it between cup-cone like cookies. I liked it, though it did have a slight medicinal flavour.

I had decided my quest would be to find the perfect curry puff. I love curry puffs, but they're not easy to find in Japan. Our first stop was Old Chang Kee, where we picked up (from left to right) a curry puff, sardine puff, and pineapple pie (which they call a pineapple feel'in).

Curry puff innards

Sardine puff innards

Pineapple pie innards

The curry puff was tasty, but the shell was more like a pie crust. It crumbled rather than flaked, and I prefer the flaky kind. My mother liked her sardine puff, but I don't like tomato-sauce sardines, so I didn't care for it. I loved the pineapple pie! It was like a fried McD's apple pie, but better! Except it didn't have enough filling. I really wanted more of them, though!

That seems to be it for Day 2. I think we just had the curry puffs for dinner, and maybe some yoghurt. That's all I remember.

Whew! Another day posted for a two-week trip, almost a month after it ended! That didn't take long at all! I think I'm learning from Peter Green here.

Edited January 30, 2009 by prasantrin (log)

[prasantrin]

After losing an almost-finished post, I am starting again. Sucks.

Singapore Day 3

We woke up bright and early for breakfast. Our hotel, it turned out, as we discovered the night before (after being turned around exiting the MRT) was right across the street from a Ya Kun Kaya Toast coffee shop! If you don’t know its history, it’s a rather sweet story of a Chinese immigrant done good, and you can now find Ya Kun all over Singapore, as well as in several other Asian countries. I had heard about it many years ago, but for some reason, although I had tried kaya toast before, I’d never tried Ya Kun

My mother ordered the cheese toast set, and I ordered the kaya toast set. Props for being eco-friendly and using only one plate for both sets, but which one was which? They both look like they have slices of white processed cheese in them!

Upon closer examination, we found the one on the left was my mother’s—the white stuff was slightly more stringy. There’s kaya in there, too. She said it was good, but quite rich. It wasn’t really that rich, but she had eaten some leftover curry and sardine puffs before heading over (my mother is a hobbit), so it was a bit much for her.

Mine was the one on the right. That’s a pat of butter (margarine?) sticking out. I love butter, I really do. But when your pat of butter is thicker than the bread it’s on, it’s a bit off-putting. I didn’t really have a problem eating it, though. I’m made of animal fat, so a little more wouldn’t kill me. I couldn’t really taste the kaya—they use a very thin schmear and the butter predominates. Had I been serving myself, I would have but much more on, but I guess that’s why they don’t let customers serve themselves. The coffee was hot and tasty (they put condensed milk in it). It wasn’t as strong or sweet as Vietnamese coffee, but it had a good kick to it.

The soft-boiled eggs are more like yummy onsen tamago. I love onsen tamago. I noticed the one Singaporean family in the shop (with their Filipina maid) put soy sauce on theirs, but I like mine plain. Runny yolk goodness

I noticed some of the signs that were in the shop were also translated into Japanese, and the two or three other occupied tables were filled with Japanese tourists with their guidebooks turned to the Ya Kun page. There’s also a Ya Kun in Japan, so I guess Japanese people love kaya, too!

We left Ya Kun to head to Chinatown. It was, in a way, fortunate that we were staying at the wrong hotel. You see, when I booked, I was quite sure I had booked at Swissotel The Stamford. But when we arrived at The Stamford, I was told (by lovely man who didn’t laugh at me) our reservations were at Swissotel Merchant Court! How did that happen? Luckily it was a quick cab ride to our wrong hotel, and it turned out to be very lucky, because a) we would never have found Café Iguana from The Stamford, b) we were right across from Ya Kun, and c) we were within a 5-minute walk to Chinatown! It was a bit unlucky, though, because we’re both kind of lazy, so instead of exploring other areas, we would say, “Let’s just go to Chinatown.” Oh well.

We arrived a bit too early to go to Yue Hwa, so we walked around a bit. Because I was on a curry puff quest, whenever we passed a curry puff stall, I needed to try one.

People’s Park is right behind Yue Hwa, I think.

It was early, so not all the stalls were open, but there was this one Muslim stall that had puffs.

Sardine on the right (red dot), potato on the left. I liked the looks of these. The skin looks crispy and not too greasy. I think had they been hot, as one might have expected them to be at 10am, they would have been ok. Unfortunately, these were cold.

Innards—potato then sardine. The fillings were fine—not terribly memorable in a good or bad way. The potato filling was a bit sparse, though.

About a block down from People’s Park is another food court, I think called Pearl Centre. There was a little cart, and I wasn’t going to buy a puff, but I did. They only had potato.

I liked the looks of the curry puff, plus it was hot! These were the best so far. The crust was a little more flaky than crumbly, and the filling was well-spiced. The only problem was the filling was a bit mushy. I think the potatoes absorbed too much water. But these probably ranked second in my curry puff quest (first is coming up soon).

Yue Hwa finally opened at 11, so we went straight to the food floor. If you’re ever short of time in Singapore, Yue Hwa is a good one-stop-shopping kind of place. My mother was able to pick up some chicken rice seasonings, and other stuff I can’t remember. I spied these cucumber-flavoured potato chips, but didn’t try them. How could cucumber-flavoured chips taste good? They sound almost as bad as "baked chips". What's the point? I wonder if anyone ever buys them.

After spending about an hour or so helping my mother choose some linen table accessories , we finally left for lunch.

Edited January 31, 2009 by prasantrin (log)

[prasantrin]

Singapore Day 3 continued!

My posts are getting unwieldy, so I’m breaking up my days.

Lunch was at Ci Yan on Smith Street. Ci Yan is a Buddhist organic vegetarian restaurant that we first found in 2005, our last visit to Singapore together. The owners are devout Buddhists, becoming even more devout after the wife’s bout with cancer. All the food is not only vegetarian, but the ingredients are mostly (all?) organic.

Our first visit, not realizing it was a vegetarian restaurant, we walked in to try the fish head soup that was advertised on a signboard outside their restaurant. The fishy taste in the soup comes from some kind of seaweed, not fish (obviously). My mother fell in love with the soup, and had been thinking about it often since then, so we had to go back. Problem—no fish head soup!! The owner said they have hundreds (or maybe ninety, I can’t remember exactly) items in their repertoire and the selections change daily so their customers don’t get bored. Good for regulars, bad for tourists who fall in love with their fish head soup! I placated my disappointment with a curry puff. It was dry, and not horrible, but not great. I think fried foods should never be healthful in any way, not even by using organic ingredients. It ruins the point of being fried.

My mother had the fish congee. Hot and filling, but not what she really wanted.

While my mother was eating her soup, I left to do some recon. I had wanted to try a Chinese restaurant specializing in seafood, so I went to see where it was located. On the way there, I found a long line waiting to get into this place on Neil Road. I did some research, and I’ve read some mixed reviews, but most of what I’ve read has been positive (their xiao long bao is especially good, I read). We didn’t have the chance to go back to try it, so if you happen to be in Singapore, please try it and report!

After picking up my mother, we went to another famous curry puff place—1A Crispy Curry Puff.

They had a lot of varieties, but I stuck with potato and I might have gotten a sardine one, too. The crust is more like what I like—see the rings? That’s a sign of a good homemade crust, spiralled then rolled. They were very fresh when I bought them, but we didn’t get around to eating them till the next morning. They were very flaky (super messy to eat), but I didn’t really like the filling. One of the predominant spices was one I don’t particularly care for—cumin? No, I like cumin. Maybe cloves?

We were tuckered out by this point, and felt we needed massages before our long bus ride to Kuala Lumpur the next day. We found a place in Chinatown Point Shopping Centre called Kimochi (which happens to be Japanese for “feeling”). I love Chinese-style massages. They’re a little painful, but so good! If you happen to be in the area, Emily is particularly good.

Now that I was feeling refreshed, I could walk a little more to Hong Lim Food Court, just behind Chinatown Point. I went in search for some, ahem, curry puffs. I had read that Richie’s Curry Puffs were supposed to be very good, so I walked all around the food court looking for them. Nada. But I did find Tanglin Crispy Curry Puffs.

Since it was a little late (maybe 3 or 4pm), the woman told me they only had sardine left, but they were just fried. I hate sardine puffs, but my mother loves them so I bought one. I tried it, just for comparisons sake.

It was soooooo good! The crust was perfectly flaky, and not too greasy. It didn’t have as many layers as the 1A puff, but I preferred this puff. And the filling was excellent, even though it was sardine. I wished I had bought more, but we needed to relax.

Dinner was. . . should I tell you? Café Iguana. Yes, we went again. This time we had queso fundido (part of which we packed up to take with us on the bus the next day), and something else but I don’t remember. I also had another lime juice, and when I checked my bill, I found out it was S$6!! That’s a lot for what tastes like Minute Maid Limeade!! (I happen to like Minute Maid Limeade, but not enough to pay US$4 for it!) By the way, there was no price for juices on the menu, I was just stupid enough to order it without asking how much it was. Twice. At least the queso fundido was as good as I remembered!

Edited January 31, 2009 by prasantrin (log)

[prasantrin]

Singapore Day 4

This day was comparatively short in terms of eating. We returned to Singapore from KL late afternoon on January 3rd. We went back to our hotel and took a bit of a nap before heading out to dinner. This time, we were going to Little India.

The Banana Apolo Leaf is a 34-year old Singaporean institution. Supposedly this was the first place in Singapore to offer banana leaves as “plates”, and the food is supposed to be quite good. True or not, I was determined to try it at least once.

We started with coconut juice/water. We wouldn’t have many more opportunities to drink this lovely stuff, so we needed to get it while we could. This coconut was a little older, so while it had more meat, it also had less coconut water. It was still good, and I’d have ordered another one if I had the room.

TBLA is mostly known for its South Indian specialties, but they now have a North Indian selection of dishes, as well. We placed our order, and we were told it would take at least 15-20 minutes for the Northern stuff, but the Southern stuff could be served immediately. Most of the things we ordered were Northern, so we had to wait a bit. This wasn’t easy, because we were very hungry, but we managed to assuage our hunger by eating the coconut meat from our coconuts, and the meagre stale papadums we were given. We noticed that other tables of two got more plentiful basketfuls of papadums, so we probably got the dregs of an old batch, while the new tables got a fresh batch. We have all the bad luck.

Finally, malai kofta and naan. This was one of the best versions of malai kofta I’ve had. The sauce was so creamy, and the kofta were quite substantial, though it was a bit too salty for me (my mother thought it was perfect, though). It was a very filling dish, but we still had room for others. I thought the naan were a bit small, though. We ordered two pieces, but it wasn’t enough for us to scoop up all the delicious sauce (and it would have taken another 10 minutes for another order of them, so we didn’t bother).

Samosas—also considered a Northern Indian dish. I didn’t know that, and had thought they were prevalent all across India. We had one order of chicken and one potato. I don’t know which these were, but they all looked alike, so just imagine it’s one of each.

I think the one on the left is potato, and on the right is chicken. They were served with a delightful yoghurt and cilantro(?) sauce. I prefer tamarind chutney, but my mother really liked it.

Here’s the kicker. The reason most of the Southern dishes can be served right away is because they’re cooked ahead and kept under heat lamps. The Northern dishes have to be made to order. Why, then, did it take us an additional 20 minutes after receiving our Southern dishes to get our Northern-style chicken? Probably because we had to remind them to give it us. I hate it when restaurants forget my order. We had ordered Apolo Chicken 65, which is “small pieces of chicken marinated in masala & deep fried.” Tasty, but dry and lukewarm. I wasn’t impressed. The other Southern dishes I saw under the heat lamps looked similarly dry and lukewarm.

If I were to return to The Apolo Banana leaf, I would probably stick to the Northern dishes, even though they aren’t the specialties. They were fresher and better prepared than the Northern dishes I saw. The exception, I think would be the fish head curry. The ones we spied around us looked very tempting. My mother would have liked to order one, but she said it wouldn’t have been satisfying to eat it at a restaurant (she wouldn’t have been able to suck out the eyeballs or really gnawed on the head). There are plenty of good Indian restaurants in Singapore, though, so I don’t know that I will return.

One funny thing about our meal here, when we received our food, I started to serve my mother some of the malai kofta and she said, “You don’t have to serve me! I can do it myself,” quite indignantly. It was a little odd, because she has never had problems with my serving her before (it’s an Asian thing, we serve our elders first). Then I noticed that she was putting her curry directly onto pieces of naan, rather than on her banana leaf.

This is my banana leaf after I was done:

This is my mother’s:

Now, mine isn’t the messiest you’ll ever see, but look at my mother’s! It’s so clean! She was actually a little embarrassed by it, and she folded it up to hide her cleanliness. It’s actually not about cleanliness, but something else which I’ll address when I get to the Malaysia posts.

After dinner, we went to Mustafa’s. I love Mustafa’s, and go whenever I’m in Singapore. I like to buy saree material there, and I also love their food floor. We bought a lot of stuff—more chicken rice things, some Malay marinades, TimTams (my mother wanted to try them), and a can of mango puree for me (so I could make more mango pudding). It’s about Y800 in Japan, but only Sing$5! In US$, that’s $8.80 vs $3.30! I only had to figure out how to shift the things in my already too heavy suitcase and carry-on to accommodate it. Oops.

Just 1 ½ more days to go!

[Jaymes]

Great job. Almost like we're there with you and mum!

[edsel]

Nice posts, Rona!

When you mentioned that the Ya Kun Kaya was at the MRT station and right across from your hotel, I wondered if you were staying at the Swissotel. Sure enough...

I stayed at that hotel in December and went to the Ya Kun Kaya twice. I wish I'd ordered the eggs - those do look like the hot spring eggs.

Being close to Chinatown is a real plus. The Maxwell Street Hawker Centre is within walking distance.

[prasantrin]

Thanks Jaymes and edsel!

Edsel--I can't believe you didn't have a set! Eggs always come with the set. Did you just have the toast? You didn't by chance try the french toast, did you? I was curious about it.

Yes, the location of that Swissotel was quite convenient. The only problem for me was that it was my fourth or fifth time in Sing., so I really wanted to explore other areas. Of course, by Day 4, I was pretty happy that it was so convenient to Chinatown (I'll get to that in a bit). We didn't go to Maxwell Road Food Court this time. Not even a single sliver of chicken rice entered my mouth! The one day I was in the mood to go was Monday, and they're usually closed on Mondays. Except when I walked by after having already eaten (at Ci Yan), they were open! I have all the bad luck!

[prasantrin]

Singapore Day 4

I had been feeling very tired for a few days, but I chalked it up to all the running around we were doing. In two weeks, due to changes and lack of planning, we had gone from Osaka to Singapore, Singapore to Siem Reap, Siem Reap to Phnom Penh and back, returned to Singapore, then went to Kuala Lumpur where we took a day trip to Melacca, then back to Singapore. That’s a lot of travelling for someone who likes to lie in bed all day. There’s a reason I’m mentioning this, but I’ll get to it later.

First, I can’t remember what we had for breakfast, but I’m sure we had some. We always eat breakfast; it’s the most important meal of the day, you know. I would guess we had curry puffs from KL, some fruit, and perhaps some yoghurt. Oh, and leftover samosas (what are samosas but a different kind of curry puff?) and chicken from The Banana Apolo Leaf. And gulab jamun and jilebi purchased from the ABC (?) across from Mustafa’s the night before.

Then we went for a walk back to Yue Hwa so my mother could buy more linen table accessories. We’re creatures of habit, and we like to do the same thing again and again. It’s like the movie Groundhog Day, but it’s real life. But at least lunch was different today!

OK, it was still in Chinatown, but it wasn’t anything we’d ever eaten in Singapore! Dim sum! It’s hard to get good dim sum in Japan, so I really wanted to have it at least once in Singapore. We ended up at Spring Court, the oldest Chinese restaurant in Singapore (open since 1929), as the guests of my sister’s childhood penpal and her mother. Does that seem strange? In junior high school, way back in the early ‘80s, my sister and I paid a company to find us penpals. Mine was from South Africa, and my sister’s was Jacqueline, from Singapore. They’ve kept in touch off-and-on throughout the years, mostly through the efforts of Jacquie, and when Jacquie heard my mother and would be in Singapore, she jumped at the chance to meet us! (She and my sister have never met.) One of the reasons she chose Spring Court for our meeting was because they have a number of Peranakan specialties, but now I can’t remember which ones were Peranakan.

Some kind of spring roll-type thing with shrimp. I think the wrapper was either tofu sheet, or popiah. If it was the latter, it was probably a Peranakan dish. The shrimp was plump, and the if the wrapper was tofu sheet, this was one of the best versions of this kind of spring roll I’ve had. It wasn’t greasy at all.

It also came in a shrimp and mango version which I liked even better.

Char siu cheung fan. It would have been very good had I not had the best version of char siu cheung fan I’ve ever had in my life a few days earlier in Melacca. But comparatively, it was just good.

Carrot cake/Lo bak go. I liked this much better than the usual slab version. Plus this one had a lot of other stuff mixed in with it. It wasn’t as good as the version at West Villa in Hong Kong, but I can’t compare it to any of the food court/hawker stand lo bak go in Sing., because I've never had it anywhere else there.

Siu mai. A very nice version. Sometimes siu mai has an odd flavour to it—something they put in the marinade of the pork perhaps? But this one didn’t have that, and the skins were relatively thin and not tough as siu mai skins can sometimes be.

Har gau. Again, very plump shrimp. I couldn’t help but think it could have been more flavourful, though. As things turned out, it was really that my taste buds weren’t working properly any more. A bit more on that later.

Popiah. The wrappers are made fresh to order. There were two types—one with hot sauce, and one without. I like the one with hot sauce better. These were a Peranakan specialty, and also one of the specialties of this particular restaurant.

They really pack a lot of filling in these, and it’s very filling for your stomach, too. I was starting to fade, when. . .

It's woo kok (taro puff) to the nth degree! I suppose in this incarnation, it can’t really be called “kok” because “kok” means “corner” (like the little corners of the taro puff—see picture here), but then what’s it called? Or am I wrong about the “kok”? (I’m assuming it’s 角)

Back to the food, this was good. I don’t really like woo kok because it’s so pasty, but this type, because the taro filling is quite thin, has a decent crunch to paste ratio, so it never feels like you’re eating glue. Plus all the filling adds more contrast to the pastiness. I especially liked the cashews.

Finally, what our hosts said was the piece de resistance, peaches! I can’t remember if they were filled with lotus bean paste or red bean. We were already quite full, so my mother and I just shared one. They were tasty, but expensive! I think they were S$3 each—not quite US$2. They were not too sweet, and were small enough not to make one feel really bloated after already having eaten so much. And they’re so cute!

I’m missing pictures of the char siu bao, but I think I got pictures of everything else. I liked the bread portion of the bao, IIRC. It was fluffy, but it didn’t have that after-taste bao sometimes has (from too much baking powder or something?).

It was a really great meal, not least for the company. We learned that Jacqueline and her family are Peranakan, and J’s mother used to make her own kaya!!! And she’d even do the stirring for 6 hours! Or maybe the maid would, but still, she used to make her own kaya! She pooh-poohed Ya Kun’s kaya, and said there were much better places to get some. Next time we’re in Singapore, she’ll tell us the good places (and hopefully we won’t have filled our suitcases by then). She also used to make her own popiah, including the wrapper! She and my mother also had a long talk about our dangerous foray into the Orchard Towers area. Sing. isn’t that dangerous, but we accidentally wandered into Orchard Towers and when we realized what the place was, we were afraid we would be mistaken for one of the “girls”. Well, perhaps my mother wasn’t worried for herself (she’s almost 73, after all), but I look much younger than I am, and I’m almost half-Filipino! Luckily I didn’t quite blend in (I think I was wearing too many clothes), so the patrons left me alone. Whew!

After lunch, we went back to our hotel to rest before dinner. I was very tired by now, and my throat was starting to feel quite dry. A sign of things to come. . .

[Pan]

You got sick. That sucks! I'm enjoying these reports, though. I've been to Singapore only once, in 1976, but did have wonderful food there.

By the way, lobak goh is usually called "turnip cake" here, but "daikon cake" would be more accurate. "Carrot cake" gives the wrong image (sweet cake, probably including raisins and with icing), and really, as you probably know, carrots are called "red daikon" in Chinese and Malay (the Malay version is "lobak merah").

[Julian Teoh]

You got sick. That sucks! I'm enjoying these reports, though. I've been to Singapore only once, in 1976, but did have wonderful food there.

By the way, lobak goh is usually called "turnip cake" here, but "daikon cake" would be more accurate. "Carrot cake" gives the wrong image (sweet cake, probably including raisins and with icing), and really, as you probably know, carrots are called "red daikon" in Chinese and Malay (the Malay version is "lobak merah").

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Pan, "carrot cake" is the misnomer that is adopted nationwide in Singapore (I think it is also officially endorsed by the Singapore Tourism Board). It's always fun explaining to visitors that it isn't really made of carrot, especially after they make faces about "I thought we were actually having dinner before dessert."

Great posts, Rona - keep them coming!

[prasantrin]

Great posts, Rona - keep them coming!

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I wrote the dinner post last night, but IE crashed when I was almost at the end! I was too annoyed to continue, but since this is my first official full week of slacking off at work, here I go!

Singapore Day 4 dinner:

On another board, some kind folks told me about their favourite "secret" Chinese (Cantonese?) restaurant specializing in seafood. They swore me to secrecy , so shhhh... don't tell anyone that I told you about it!

For our last big meal in Singapore, we decided to try SinLee on Neil Road (about a block from Maxwell Road Food Court), and fortunately, eG members Piglet (aka Emily) and Julian Teoh were going to join us! It seems we had been crossing paths a lot unknowingly--we were on the same flight to Singapore from Siem Reap, Julian was in Malaysia the same time we were, and Emily ate at The Banana Leaf Apolo the night before we did! We were destined to meet, I think.

We arrived at 6:30 for our 7pm reservation (my mother likes to call me the "Eager Beaver" because I'm always too early for things), so we walked around a bit and found The Tea Chapter a few doors down. It's a nice little tea shop that carries a variety of very aromatic Chinese teas and tea accessories, and they also hold tea seminars there. I'd have liked to attend one (they come with food), but no such luck. We browsed around for a bit, perhaps too long, because we walked out with 5 tins of tea we had no room for in our suitcases! Well, at least they were light!

Upon leaving the store, who should we run into but Emily! I had wisely given her our descriptions (short, pudgy, we look like locals), so she recognized us right away! Julian, whom we weren't sure would be able to make it, was waiting for us in the restaurant.

After we sat down, we were presented with menus and asked if we wanted tea. The only problem was that the waitstaff asked in one of the many Chinese languages which I do not know (which is all of them, unless you count a few Cantonese dim sum words). Julian to the rescue! He claims his Mandarin isn't very good, but the waitstaff seemed to understand him perfectly!

Then we had to go through the menu, which I think was in English. I don't actually remember much, because we let Julian do all the ordering. Poor guy--invited to dinner, but he has to do all the work! I did have a list of recommended dishes from my OBP, which was written (by me) in very poorly copied Chinese characters, and my only request was to have some kind of steamed fish--you know the kind with a whole fish with ginger, scallions, and some kind of very light soy-based sauce. We were able to get that, but none of the other dishes on my list were available! No razor clams! No vegetable dish made of some kind of vegetable which has Chinese characters like bean sprouts (maybe it's pea shoots? 豆苗) or 上湯九杞. I have all the bad luck!

So we went with ordering whatever Julian suggested. Do you like frog? Sure. How about prawns in oatmeal? Sure. Anything is OK. If Peter trusts you, I trust you.

I don't have any pictures of the food. We were the only people in the restaurant (maybe because it was Sunday?), and I felt like the waitstaff were hovering over us, so I felt rather self-conscious. It was probably the best service we had in Singapore, and only because there was no one else there! And it's not a very big restaurant! Plus I think I was talking too much to take pictures.

But I really enjoyed the food. I had never had prawns with oatmeal before. The oatmeal provides a slightly sweet flavour (it's dry oatmeal, not cooked) that was so delicious with rice. My mother still talks about the vegetables we had (was it kangkong?), and the fish! Tender, moist, and oh so good. I wish I had eaten the stomach, but I forgot about it. Did we finish the fish? I don't even remember. The frogs were quite delicious, as well, but I was too tired to work at getting the meat off those teeny bones. I also ended up with a lot of froggy cartilage, and I accidentally ate a piece of chile! I have all the bad luck! I was also getting sicker by the minute (I could feel the congestion building up in my chest), and I just couldn't eat as much as I would have liked.

The next time I'm in Singapore, I'm going to SinLee again. I'm sure there are other good Chinese seafood restaurants in Singapore, but I know I'll enjoy SinLee. Plus now I know what to order! I'd recommend it to others, too, and I'd recommend inviting Julian and Emily to join you. They're great company (and you'll get to order more food with more people around ), and really nice people. We were very happy they were able to join us!

And if you happen to be in Singapore on a late night stopover but don't want to get a hotel room, SinLee is open till 2 or 3 am, so you could go there for dinner, and still make it back to the airport for an early morning flight. Very convenient!

BTW, Julian, my mother is still sad about not being able to take you up on the pomelo offer. But by that point, we really had no room!

[prasantrin]

Singapore Day 5

Our last day, and was I ever ready to leave! It wasn't that I was finished eating, but overnight my chest had magically filled with, you know, stuff, and I managed to find myself with a headache and fever to boot! Most unfortunate, but I had felt it coming on since Malaysia, so I suppose I was lucky it waited until my last day to appear. But ever the trooper, I continued eating.

We wanted breakfast (most important meal of the day, remember), but I hate jook/congee. Hard to believe since I'm 5/16 Chinese, and jook is *the* food to eat for colds, but I hate it. Too vomit-like. So instead we went for comfort food, my style. No, we didn't have curry puffs. Instead we took a bus to Orchard Road, and walked for about 10 minutes (I told you I was a trooper) to Hediard.

Yes, that's right. We had French for one of our last meals in Singapore. And it wasn't really French French, it was just breakfast. I don't think most French people eat the kind of breakfast we ate, which would explain why most French people are much thinner than my mother and I.

My mother had the H "XL" breakfast set. This included:

Madeleine blend coffee, chocolate or Hediard blend tea

Orange juice freshly squeezed

Choice of one viennoiserie (croissant, brioche or pain au chocolat)

Half boiled egg

Hediard toasted bread and butter

One 30gr jar of home made jam and one 30gr jar of honey

Plus

Creamy scrambled eggs

Choice of one Norwegian smoked salmon or Parma Ham platter

The orange juice was very orange. What kind of oranges do they use, I wonder. Looks like mandarin orange, but I don’t remember it tasting like that. She let me have most of it (I was sick, doncha know, and needed my vitamin C), but I don't really remember it. And those little jars of jam and honey were something like S$4 each.

And she had the chocolate. OK, I had the chocolate, but at least I let her try it! This was so thick and rich I thought my already phlegmed up chest and head were going to explode, but I wouldn't have turned away a second cup. Luckily they provide you with a little pitcher of milk to dilute it.

The soft-boiled egg was overcooked on the bottom, perfect on top (like a microwaved egg might be). I ate that. And most of the toast. She chose the brioche (no, I didn't eat it), and she loved the texture of the crumb. She thought it was very fine, and even worthy of Tom (she still likes to talk about his bread).

She chose the salmon. This, too, was enjoyed tremendously by both of us (she let me have half). I didn't care for the sauce, though. I can't remember what it was, but it was just like mayonnaise with not much other flavour, but I may have thought that because of my cold.

And she had scrambled eggs, too. She liked them, I didn't. I prefer creamier eggs that are less coagulated, but she thought they were perfect.

I liked the little salt and pepper dishes they provided. Actually, I really only liked the little mother-of-pearl spoon. It was so cute! I wanted to pocket it, but that would have been stealing. Plus when we left, we were the only two people in the restaurant, so I'm sure they would have come after us.

That was an expensive breakfast, and would we do it again? No. With the exception of the salmon, the brioche, and the chocolate, nothing about the meal was really memorable. I'm not sure why it warrants a S$45 price tag, unless it's because the name "Hediard" is attached to it (and I'm sure they use scads of butter in those scrambled eggs), but S$4 for little pot of honey? That's a bit much. Come to think of it, they may have been more than $4. More like S$6. But I could be wrong.

We pocketed the honey (we asked if we could have it), and my mother switched out the jam for another honey from a table which left theirs untouched (she asked--I think she may have asked if she could have the other table's jams, too, but all she got was the switch-out). It's not like we didn't pay for it!

Oh, lest you think I just mooched off my mother, I ordered something, too. Eggs "Benedicte". I don’t remember much about it, except that the egg was a bit overcooked to my liking. And really, the parmesan is the only thing I remember tasting. The sauce wasn’t hollandaise, but I don’t know what it was. It was comparatively chunky.

Here’s a close up of the sauce. Maybe it was just broken?

I didn’t have anything else to drink, because orange juice was a whopping S$14! And I thought Café Iguana was a rip-off! But had I been up to snuff, I`d probably have had a cafe au lait. Hmmm, it seems for a sick person, I ate an awful lot of food, but I really was sick!

I should add, my mother`s breakfast was around S$45, and mine was around $16, I think. Our total bill was somewhere in the $70-range, if I remember correctly. A very pricey breakfast, indeed, but I`m still happy I tried it.

Edited February 6, 2009 by prasantrin (log)

[prasantrin]

Singapore Day 5 continued

From Hediard, we walked a little down Orchard to do a few last-minute errands. Then we went back to the hotel to nap before our late check out. We were smart enough to book massages for that afternoon since our flight didn`t leave until midnight or thereabouts. We didn`t do much in Chinatown except the massage. Not even a last-minute chicken rice fix! Instead, we went back to the hotel and sat around in the lounge until dinnertime. Which was. . .

I know y`all are going to be disappointed with me, but we went to Cafe Iguana again! We just wanted one last taste of the Queso Fundido, and it was good! You know, I think their queso fundido looked suspiciously like the stuff that comes in a jar (in Canada Old Dutch makes a cheese dip like that), so I think I`ll have to try it out when I`m home this summer.

OK, I think I finished with Singapore, and I did it before Peter finished Vancouver! Now it`s off to figure out the Malaysia pictures, and figure out what the heck is going on with my apostrophe.

[edsel]

Day 2--Singapore

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Jumbo Seafood.  I think I've heard of it before, but perhaps they have other branches, because I don't associate it with Clarke Quay.  It's a Chinese restaurant specializing in seafood, from what we could tell.  Unfortunately, it was 3pm by this time, and they were closing!  They kicked us out, and we walked next door to Cafe Iguana. 

Cafe Iguana, it turns out, is a Mexican restaurant.  I really didn't want to eat Mexican food in Singapore.  I mean, Mexican food in Japan usually sucks, how good could it be in Singapore, especially in a touristy area like Clarke Quay?  And it's sort of kitschy. 

We decided to stick with simple stuff, because it's pretty hard to screw up the simple stuff.  My mother ordered queso fundido.  When it arrived, it sort of looked like processed cheese food.  It may have, in fact, been processed cheese food.  But it was really good!  It was cheesy enough, but not too cheesy or greasy, and it had a bit of a kick to it.  And the tortilla chips were warm.  We thought maybe they fried them onsite, but it's hard to say.

We really liked this, so we asked what was in it.  They said cheese, tomatoes, capsicum, chile. . . and I think that was it.  But look at it!  There's no way that can be just cheese unless it's processed cheese food--can it?  Here's another look:

I'd be willing to use processed cheese food (if i can find it in Japan) if someone could give me a recipe.  I looked a bunch up, like those crock pot cheese dips made with cheez whiz, but none of them seemed like they'd turn out like our beloved queso fundido.  And I tried doing a cheese sauce (just bechamel with lots of cheese) mixed with jalapenos and tomatoes, but it wasn't the same at all. 

Back to food, As I was looking at the menu, I noticed that brunch dishes were available till 4pm on Sat. and Sun. and they had chilaquiles!  I love chilaquiles!  I had to ask the waiter what day it was (hey, I was on holidays.  I didn't need to know what day it was!) and confirmed that it was Sunday (he only laughed at me a little), I ordered my chilaquiles con pollo.

No, that is not a side of poop.  Refried beans with a crusty exterior, is what that is!  The whole dish wasn't too bad, but it was oddly sweet and it couldn't hold a candle to the queso fundido!

...

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Rona, Jumbo is indeed a chain. My colleagues in Singapore love it. We went to the one on the beach not far from the airport. Nice view of the ships queued up for their turn at the docks. (It looks like a city at night, with all the lights from the ships).

Here's a lobster dish we had. Yes it's covered in mayonnaise! (It was good. Really).

Duck. Garnished with shrimp chips. (I think of it as "krupuk" but I guess this is the Chinese version).

Veggies and seafood. I remember my colleague specifying "no sea cucumber". I guess it's an acquired taste.

Everyone's favorite, pepper crab. (My colleagues prefer this to the similar Chili Crab). What a mess to eat, but absolutely great.

Café Iguana is owned by the same folks who do the brew pub and wine bar nearby. I didn't go there, but my colleagues spoke well of it (and the other businesses as well).

[Peter Green]

Café Iguana is owned by the same folks who do the brew pub and wine bar nearby. I didn't go there, but my colleagues spoke well of it (and the other businesses as well).

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That's Brewerkz, isn't it? Do they still have the Mougwai on tap?

[edsel]

Café Iguana is owned by the same folks who do the brew pub and wine bar nearby. I didn't go there, but my colleagues spoke well of it (and the other businesses as well).

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That's Brewerkz, isn't it? Do they still have the Mougwai on tap?

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Yeah, the same folks own Brewerkz, the wine bar, and Café Iguana. (Company info here.) I walked past it numerous times but never got around to stopping in. All three businesses appear to be doing quite well.

My colleague said that Brewerkz was the first microbrewer in Singapore. The concept has caught on now - we had lunch on the veranda at Red Dot, which is in a charming old "black and white" colonial cottage. We also had dinner at Paulaner Bräuhaus, which has a rather unusual dining room. There's plenty of good beer to be had in Singapore, though prices are not cheap...

[prasantrin]

For those of you based in Singapore, the White Card is now available! Lucky you, you can get 50% off dining at all of these restaurants:

2am:dessertbar ; Brasserie Wolf; Brewerkz @ Bt Timah; Brewerkz @ Riverside Point; Brewerkz @ Indoor Stadium; Café Iguana @ Riverside Point; Café Iguana @ Greenwood Avenue; Club Chinois; Dim Joy; Domvs; Epicurious; Forlino; Garuda Padang Cuisine @ Orchard Central; Garuda Padang Cuisine @ Vivocity; il Lido; KO; Man Fu Yuan; Mietta’s; My Humble House; Novus; Patara Fine Thai; Pierside; Relish; Shahi Maharani; Spruce; Sweet Salty Spicy; The Marmalade Pantry @ ION; The Marmalade Pantry @ Hitachi Tower; The Marmalade Pantry + Cork Cellar Kitchen; Tiffin Club; True Blue Cuisine; Wild Rocket; and Wine Garage.

What's the catch? You only get 50% off if only 2 people are dining. The more people in your party, the smaller your discount is. Three people only get 33% off. Four people only 25%. Five or more? Only 15%! And if you're dining solo--then you only get 10% off. Still sound like a deal to you?

Well, it also costs SG$500 plus tax per year, and you can only use it in conjunction with a Mastercard. (Funny thing is, they accept both MC and Visa for purchase of the membership.)

I've only been to Cafe Iguana, but if that's the level of restaurant involved, can you really get your money's worth with this card?

I found out about the card through the blog of one of people involved with the card. He writes:

I don’t usually use my blog as a platform through which to talk about my work projects, but I thought many of you would be as excited as I am about one of the latest things that my colleagues and I have created.

The launch party was in July. Sounds to me like he's using his blog to advertise because the card's not doing so well. Cheesy.

[Piglit]

So, price of the White Card has dropped from $500 to $288, and even lower with credit card deal through UOB. Rhona, looks like you're right about the card not doing so well! However, who can complain!

[KennethT]

My wife and I will be in Singapore for about a week in mid-July. We are most interested in hawker stalls and restaurants that are uniquely Singaporean - meaning that we are not looking for Italian, French, Japanese, etc no matter how good since we are coming from NYC and already have excellent examples of those cuisines - or we have travelled in those regions.

I have read the Dining in Singapore 2011 thread (and printed!).... but now, rather than a random smattering of places people have popped into, I'd like to focus on your favorites! Favorite chicken rice, char kway teoh, chili crab, and all the other things that make Singapore, well Singapore!

Thanks!

[nikkib]

oh gosh where to start?

Blue Ginger - Peranaken food at its best

Chilli Padi - again great peranaken food in joo chiat, a bit off the beaten track but delicious local food

Newton Circus hawker centre - locals complain its touristy but its great, open 24 hours and open air - seafood specialities.

Lau pasat - at night for the satay stalls in the street behind the hawker centre

maxwell road hawker centre - hainanese chicken from tian tian - very good and you will queue for around 3045 minutes at lunch but its worth it for sure.

Din tai fung (ok this is tawainese dim sum but i love it)

Those would be my recommendations to be starting with :-)

[nikkib]

check out local blogger lady ironchef for his list of the best local places to eat too

[KennethT]

Thanks for the replies so far! Is Lau pasat the area where there's tons of satay stalls? I've heard about that place and definitely wanted to try it. Any stalls that are your favorite? It's funny you mention Din Tai Fung - even though it's dim sum, we were planning on going anyway because we went to one in Hong Kong and were blown away, and ahven't been able to find any even nearly comparable dim sum in NYC. So, I think if we go anywhere that has one, we would probably go.

[KennethT]

I've also downloaded the Makansutra app - it looks pretty good! But I'll definitely check out lady ironchef too.

[Julian Teoh]

Kenneth,

My favourite place for local seafood has always been Old Lai Huat on Rangoon Road. The must-order here is sambal belachan fish (pomfret or sole) - fish topped with a pungent fermented shrimp paste fried with chopped chillies and minced dried shrimp. The chilli crab here is also excellent, richer and spicier than you will find a the chain restaurants such as Jumbo. Ridiculously good value also - for a group of 4, we never manage to spend more than around US$12 a head for more food than you can finish (a large fish, meat dish, tofu, veg, rice and tea). It's also down the road from Little India (Serangoon Road and Race Course Road), so it could be a nice change from the myriad Indian restaurants in the area.

If you are not so much into chilli heat and spices, Ming Kee Live Seafood on Macpherson Road is also a very good option (think bamboo clams steamed with garlic, crab braised with vermicelli, etc.)

Just a word of warning on Singapore food bloggers in general. Singapore is one of the most connected countries in the world in terms of who has a fast internet connection and smartphones with internet connectivity. The PR machine here is very finely tuned to this, and they actively invite bloggers for comped meals to create online buzz for their clients, so be wary of any recommendations. There was a huge blow-up a couple of years ago with Lady Iron Chef over whether he should have to pay for his meal or not (I know...). Do also use the Makansutra app carefully - there are many dud recommendations within, which I think do not at all do justice to the vibrant local food scene. When I first arrived here, I followed a couple of their tips and was disappointed every time.