Tuesday 15 April 2008

Food, food, glorious food!

This will be the last but very important part of my Singapore trip - FOOD!!! As Spore is a multi-racial society, we get the benefit of having a wide variety of food from all over the world. A lot of our dishes are also influenenced by each other's cultures, so you can be sure that there are many unique Sporean dishes there. Only dishes from Malaysia are similar to ours.


Anyway, here are pictures to make you salivate (they're making me salivate already!):

Ants! I remember one of my colleagues who asked me a long time ago if we eat ants in Spore, so here's proof of our crunchy delicacy! Ok, seriously? I grew up almost 2/3s of my life in Spore doing only 1 thing to ants: stamping on them to kill them and leaving them for dead. Am SO glad that there are hardly any ants and cockroaches in Denmark :o).



A typical hawker center in Spore. This is where several food stalls can be found conveniently in 1 place. It's also the cheapest kind of place to eat out at, since you can get a full, warm meal for just S$3/S$4 (12DKK/16DKK). You should ALWAYS remember to bring a packet of tissue paper, though - they don't provide this at such places, and if you're slurpping your soup hungrily, you will find your packet of tissues very handy.


A noodle store at a food centre, which is basically a hawker centre with air-condition (therefore, sometimes slightly more expensive, but still under S$5 / 20DKK).


The noodles cooked right in front of you! Wanton noodles (on the left) is 1 of my favourite dishes.


Here's how it's done!

Japanese sushi moving in front of me! Does this mean the fish is really alive :-/? Why are there no sushi restaurants with a moving belt here in Copenhagen?!?


Chicken rice - one of the national dishes of Spore. This place at River Valley Road where we were at is quite famous for its chicken rice.


Indian food on banana palms. Here's where you may eat with your (right) hand. Ok, I have to say something about this thing regarding it being an insult if you eat with your left hand. "They" say the reason is simply that you use your left hand to clean your behind, so you shouldn't use this same hand to eat your food with. Ok, is it just me, or does anyone else see a flaw in this reasoning? I mean, how would you know if I use my left hand or right hand to clean my behind??? Maybe all Indians are trained since young to use their left hand whether they are left-handed or not, but not all non-Indians are brought up with this "training". You see, the logic for me is that since I am right-handed, I would use my right hand to clean, since my right hand is stronger, and hence, my right hand does all the dirty work (pun intended) anyway. My left hand is on vacation a lot, it being weak and lazy and all... . My clever brain would not assign the job of cleaning asses to someone who's weak, now would it? I mean, if you really want to get the job done right, that is. Another thing about it being an "insult" is this: why would anyone care if I choose to "defile" myself when I eat? After all, I would be the one suffering if I get "food poisoning" from using my "unclean" hand, right? Not the other party. Anyway, that's the whole irony of this thing: I use my right hand to eat, when all the while, my right hand is the real "unclean" hand, hence, defeating the purpose of this hoo-ha about "Oh, we must only use the right hand because...." And guess what? I'm still alive! (Btw, now that you all know which hand I use to clean my butt crack, please don't look at me strangely if you see me using my right hand to eat my food, ok? Whether it's tradition or not, I would still use my right hand since like I said earlier, it's the stronger one ;o)).


Satay (diced meat on sticks) - another MUST TRY in Spore. You can choose between eg. beef, chicken, mutton and pork, and it comes with peanut sauce and gluttenous rice (that's what's wrapped up in the leaves).


One of my all time favourites: BBQ sting ray! It's rather spicy, but DELICIOUS! Revenge for Steve Irwin!


Fruits of Spore. What? Don't I look like an exotic fruit???


Ok, if there's any special fruit in Spore worth mentioning, it has got to be the durian. Does it scream "STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!" or what? Here's the other thing that the picture cannot deliver: its SMELL! Well, to most, it smells like it grew in the toilet...but to those with a more evolved sense of smell (like me), it smells just HEAVENLY!!!


For those who don't want to get hurt opening it, you can buy them nicely packed up too. It's actually the 1 fruit that is not allowed in the trains, taxis and airplanes in Singapore because of its smell.


Tastes mmmmm... . Heard that eating durians was part of a Fear Factor episode. I should have participated in that one. "Gimme MOOOORE!!!"


Food at Bistro Indulgz:

Ok, I'll have to say that this is one of the best bistros I've ever eaten at in Spore! It's just a quaint little place in Bugis that is quite hidden, but once found, it's like finding a precious gem! Food was EXCELLENT, and price was quite reasonable. Definitely a place to go back to during future visits.

Hmm...if I remember correctly, one of them was a Banana & Cream Smoothie, and the other was a French Vanilla Crème Thickshake. Either way, I do remember that mine was better ;o). Both were good, though.


Beef Bolognaise Melted Cheese Fries - must try if you ever go there! Was SOOOO good!


Indulgz's Signature Butterfish Steak - my main course.


Lemon Soufflé - my dessert.


Speaking of desserts, check out the dessert that I had at Swensen's Restaurant! Can't remember what it was called, but damn! It was good!



Anyway, guess who I bumped into when I was out buying some Danish pasteries?!? How appropriate for a Danish to sell danish ;o).


At an Asian coffee-shop looking kind of place...which happened to be in the prestigious Raffles Hotel. Waiting for my Danish and my danish ;o).


In Spore, it is possible to eat ANY time of the day. There will always be somewhere opened, even past midnight. Here's something one can eat at tea time.


The results of what's made from the above - tutu kueh (tutu cake)! One of my favourites, with coconut filling. The other option is with peanut filling.


Ok, just wondering, what's up with this? (Click to read better)


I know this has nothing to do with food, but since it's my last post on my Spore trip, I thought it'd be appropriate to end at the airport on the way back to the North Pole. Just wanted to show how cool it was actually to be able to use my biometric passport that the self-service customs gate. Just place my passport at a slot to allow the machine to read it, then the 1st sliding gate opens, then I scan my thumbprint, and if it's really me, the 2nd sliding gate opens...and I'm through!


It sure beats standing in line like the way Martin had to do ;o).


Anyway, bye bye Singapore! See you again perhaps in 2010!!!