Food Oh Glorious Food!

Food Oh Glorious Food! Singapore is food paradise. Among the different races, there are already such a great variety. When you add on those other international flavours like French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Sudanese, Mediterranean, etc. it is quite endless. From hotels, famous restaurants to hawker fares plus the many eating houses sprouting all over the places so quickly, we really have to exercise self-control as there are something always to satisfy your palate and cravings. Do we just love food or because we have nothing else to do?

Do you live to eat or eat to live? It's a glutton's delight and gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins! Whatever the reason, what are your favourites?



Fried Rice

You can find chicken rice everywhere. The Hainanese steamed chicken version, roasted type or those braised in dark soy sauce all dip with power chili sauce with ginger and dark soy sauce are the most common. Beyond chicken rice and way before it became so popular, the very special one is the humble "fried rice".

I won't bother to find out the origin of fried rice but with the power of deduction, we can easily guess that it was concocted out of necessity because when we have left over food which are usually rice and some meat we just threw them together into a wok, break an egg or two, add some vegetables and bingo - we have fried rice. Over time, more variations would surface, some came with "lup cheong" (Chinese sausage), peas and chopped carrots were added, salted fish too and even Hainanese chef at restaurants picked them up too. Japanese style uses the sticky short-grained rice fried with lots of garlic. 


I first tasted fried rice outside of the home when an uncle and aunt brought us swimming somewhere at a beach at Punggol. At lunch, we went to a place that looked like a bungalow where we had fried rice. It was wonderful. When we usually went fishing, the cheapest or only food on the menu that was also the easiest to eat was fried rice. Those fried and comes with extra "wok hei" - a description that means "breadth of the wok" tasted best. It is a dish that no matter how you fry it, it should at least taste okay. In other words, if you can't even do fried rice, please get out of the kitchen. At some restaurants today, they will throw some crab meat and charge you $25-30 a plate.

Nasi Lemak

Nasi Lemak are rice cooked with coconut milk to give it the fragrance. Normally strewn with anchovies, eggs, "kuning" fish and fried chicken with a special chili sauce. The famous Adam Road Nasi Lemak who also operates in "Ang Mo Kio" uses long-grained rice found in nasi bryani. Other popular ones are found n "Changi" and "Tanjong Pagar". The picture below is my fave at Tanjong Pagar as it is hard to find chicken drumstick that tasted so good - crispy on the outside, juicy and succulent on the inside. Picture shown is from one at Tanjong Pagar.

Char Kway Teow

This is delicious but deadly. Flat rice noodles and yellow noodles fried with pork lard. These are fried in dark sweet sauce and chili with cockles and bean sprouts thrown in to form a potent concoction. Current hot favourites are the one found at "Bedok South" Block 16 (formerly from Hill Street) and at Hong Lim (ex Outram). I still vow by the late old man's stall at my old house.

Carrot Cake

Like beer and stout, carrot cakes comes in white or black completely different from the Western version. These are actually made from radish and rice flour. There's one at "Toa Payoh" Lorong One Block 127 that has a very solid white version. The lady will spread a layer of chili over the top of the carrot cake fried to a golden brown.

Wanton Noodle

For the uninitiated, this sounds heavy - one tonne of noodle. Wanton means unrestrained, loose, playful but that's not what it means. These are not unrestrained noodles. Wanton is merely a translation from Cantonese. Those who are good actually use both hot and cold water to cook this playful noodle. The actual version only has wan ton but local version comes with "char siew" BBQ pork. You can walk into any shops in Hong Kong and eat their version of wan ton noodle and they all taste great. Hong Kongers are demanding in the quality of food. Where's the best and most authentic here? At Lavender?

Ramen

Lovely.

Chicken Rice

They are everywhere. Chatterbox. Tian Tian at Maxwell ranks among the best. Boon Tong Kee? Magaret Drive? Chicken rice can be an overkill. Everytime I have attended a golf tournamet, it is chicken rice for lunch.

Hokkien Mee

Everyone seems to like the words "Tian Tian" or "Tian Tian Lai". Go try the "Come Daily Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee at Blk 127, Toa Payoh Lorong 1 and see if you will go there daily. Come daily is the same as Tian Tian Lai.

Rojak

Many everywhere too but the one at Whampoa seems a crowd's favourite.
Bak Kut Teh

肉 骨 茶 is very popular. Even expatriates from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan love it. The one at Tanjong Pagar, Race Course Road and a few others at Balestier and Tiong Bahru are popular. My first taste of BKT was as a young boy when my dad with his friends would end a whole day at the fishing pond and wound up having BKT by usually by time of 7-8 pm. With the hunger pang, the peppery soup did wonders to our souls.

Sambal Stingray

They are everywhere but the magic is in the chili.
Satay

People used to ask me which club I belong to and I will always tell them "Satay Club" where they used to be at the Esplanade. I love all the mutton, beef and pork satays with ketupat and excellent peanut gravy sauce. Chinese style used to have dash of pineapple in the gravy. 沙 爹!!

BBQ Chicken Wings

Very common and lip smacking good especially dipped in chili. Golfers should avoid looking like chicken wings during their swing as it would be disastrous.

Char Siew and Roast Pork (BBQ Pork)

Delicious and easy to eat. BBQ and roast pork. Those that comes with a great bean-based dark gravy/sauce would be lovely. There used to be one at Mosque street which was the best but don't know where they are now.

Curry Rice

This was the first favourite my grandmother introduced to me. Steaming hot rice poured over with cabbage and gravy, add on some pork chop, an egg, squid and top off with lots of curry gravy and this mish mesh potpourri is an instant favourite. This simple poor man's food and become so expensive this days.

Desserts

From the humble ice-ball we have ice-kachang, chendol, cheng tng and tao suan. These things you like from childhood, they don't go away do they? Anyway, desserts is stressed spelt backwards.

Tao Suan

Muffins

You see lots of these but truly many of them are just cup cakes and not muffins. Muffins have a different texture. A very good one is found at that same Block 127 Toa Payoh. The baker himself is an amazing personality. Once I paid him $6 he has no change and he told me to come back another day to pay him. Quality is good here.

Ice-Blended Mocha

The one at Coffee Bean tastes best. This is probably the price to pay per game for your next World Cup in 2014. Better start drinking to get use to the pain or drink one to forget the pain. Ouch!

Home Cooked

When we were young, the food outside seems tastier. The grass always seems greener on the other side whatever that means to you. Mid-way in life, you will get tired of all the foods you get outside no matter how good they are. You will yearn for home cooked food.

Steam Boat

A favourite among us is the steam boat. Simple communal gathering used to be like that. Increasing more and more styles are introduced. Koka Thai style, Japanese shabu-shabu or the may flavours of J-Pot or simple ones done at home. I can make a solid broth at the end of the Koka meal.

or do you prefer Tonkatsu?

Nasi Bryani

Many of us love Indian food too. Nasi Bryani wash down with teh tarik or with halia (ginger) if not then mango lassi (yoghurt). I found one with the absolutely best fish bryani ever but they do it in large quantity and sold out fast.

Hor Fun

Hor Fun must be done with style with lots of "wok hei" the wok's breadth. I'm finding it hard to find them but the Hor Fun at Jumbo is well Fun! Boon Tong Kee at Balestier used to be very good but perhaps they have changed the chef? How's the one at Fei Lao?

Lor Mee

Like fried rice, this must be a concoction of remnants of yesterday. Leftovers from the previous day, thrown in to sizzle to a delicious broth. I know the one at Amoy Street who closed twice a week. Don't think they are as good as before. If you are in the neighbourhood in Lorong Ah Soo, check this one out. It is served generously and the best part is they come piping hot! Many stalls who peddles Lor Mee are either too starchy or when eating half-way they get watery. This one has consistent texture until the last drop.

Chili Crab

Crabs are expensive because we love it. Cold crab, steam, pepper, creamy and chilli crabs. Sri Lankan, Alaskan or Indonesian mud crab. For those who are lazy Jumbo has a pincer in a cup with two "man tou" and they are one of the best place for chili crabs. Yummy!

The scallop is pretty good and the deep fried cod-fish in sauce is fabulous. Don't forget the lamb.

Make sure you wash down with the refreshing Green Island “绿岛”. Last but not least, I have been introducing lobster porridge to friends.

Lobster Porridge

The one at OCC driving range has relocated to Yio Chu Kang and Sembawang. Then I found one at Sungei Kadut - a place where we think birds won't even go there to lay eggs but they do. Located at IFC, they make quite an awesome broth from lobsters. So far, no one I have brought there has said otherwise and in fact they wanted to come back for it more. Prices are reasonable too for some dishes.

As for the street food and small restaurants and eating houses, we have some to learn from Hong Kong where quality triumphed over quantity. Any stall you patronise offers quality wan ton noodle or milk tea.

We already have Makan Sutra so maybe I'll start a Suda Makan.

I heard that Madonna is coming over to Singapore to open an Indian restaurant at Serangoon Road. She has already chosen a name for it - Papadom Preach!

Food, Oh Glorious Food!!!