From the subtly flavoured Hainanese chicken rice to the fragrant laksa to the ubiquitous chilli crab, Singapore has a host of edible treats to tantalize the most discerning of palates, making a one-day gourmet safari a must do on any visit to the tiny island nation!
By Raul Dias
It all started with a rather innocuous bet that was wagered between an old university buddy and me over repeated rounds of Singapore’s uncrowned king of the cocktail—the Singapore Sling (see box)—that we downed in a binging frenzy at a plush watering hole in Singapore’s formerly decrepit, but now tony Clark Quay district. The bet that would make me richer by SGD 300 (if I won it!) was that I couldn’t gourmandise my way through the rich culinary tapestry that Singapore has on ample display in one day on a frugal budget of SGD 30 (around INR 1000) for the day. Unbelievable but true, all I had was 24 glorious hours to win some extra dosh while defending my twin titles—of not just ‘Budget Baron’, but more importantly the one of ‘Foodie Extraordinaire’. Bet accepted, the spit-laced handshake sealing the deal, and I was off with my belly full of fire that was waiting to be replaced with some true-blue Singaporean nosh.
On D-Day, I resolutely told myself that I would not rest until my mission was accomplished, so out went any notions of an extra hour of sleep, only to be replaced with visions of luscious dim sum bearing my name all over their silken skin. Breakfast just had to be had at Singapore’s legendary China Town. Conspicuously nestled between Upper Pickering Street and Cantonment Road, this Epicurean heaven was just was the doctor ordered to cure my chronic condition of the ‘morning munchies’.
And although it might have been an early 9am, the dim sum eateries that line Erskine Road were bustling with patrons clamouring for the almost melt-in-the-mouth goodness of the pork char siew bao or the succulent translucence of the chicken siu mai. Sipping on a bottle of iced chrysanthemum tea and chowing on an assorted platter of savoury dim sum like har gow (shrimp and bamboo shoots), the vegetarian jiaozi (crescent shaped dumplings with pleated edges) and their dessert counterparts like chien chang go (thousand-layer cake made up of many layers of sweet egg dough) and the gooey egg tart, I was taken aback when I was presented with the bill at the end of my meal. What was probably the best breakfast of my life set me back by all of SGD 7! I wanted to sing with glee, I was that happy.
Ask any Singaporean and he will tell you that there can never be a better lunch meal than a bowl of humble laksa. A malay staple made up of rice noodles, shrimp, tofu and a whole lot of other condiments including fresh corriander and chilli paste, all swimming harmoniously in a fragrant coconut soup-like gravy, laksa is an original food of the Gods. The one that I had for SGD 3 at a tiny road-side stall in the multi-ethnic area of Katong was poetry in a porcelain bowl.
After a spot of poetry, it was time for a Japanese haiku that presented itself in the form of an omikase (chef’s selection) serving of sushi meant to silence the 4.30pm rumblings of my stomach. The location was a tiny hole-in-the wall sushi counter in the sublime Boat Quay district. For a ‘princely’ SGD 5, I feasted on a serving each of maguro (tuna) gunkan maki, ebi (shrimp) nigiri, ungagi (eel) sashimi and the velvety chawanmushi or savoury egg custard that I had been longing to try. Follwing it up with a single scoop of matcha (green tea) ice cream for SGD 2, I mentally calculated that I had precisely SGD 10 left for the grand finale—dinner!
No visit to Singapore can ever be complete without a visit to a hawker centre—a veritable cornucopia of good, wholesome food cooked in one of the most hygienic places you will ever have the fortune of eating at. And eat I did at the Geylang Serai Food Market and Hawker Centre where I first sat down to a plate of the simplistic looking, but ultra-flavourful Hainanese chicken rice (SGD 5) that simply put is boiled white chicken served with rice made from the chicken stock and garnished with sliced cucumbers, soy and ginger sauce. I couldn’t possibly conclude this gourmet adventure without a taste of the world-renowned chilli crab. Although I find the act of selecting your live crab to be then cooked, a tad barbaric, I let my humane side take its own vacation and chose a plump specimen that was then introduced to the bubbling, slightly sweetish chilli gravy in a jiffy. With the delicate sweetness of crab meat mingling with the piquant bite of the chilli, the dish was worth every single cent of the SGD 8 that I paid up at the counter. Waddling my way back to my bemused buddy, my hands were suddenly itching…
So, did I win? Do the math…You bet (pun intended) your last char siew bao I did. And with both titles dutifully defended might I add!
(First published in Outlook Lounge)
No comments:
Post a Comment