Discovering Far East Cuisine- Singapore The Food Paradise

Traveling and exploring new cities is fun and helps me to escape from the daily stress of routine mundane life. When visiting new countries for the first time I also try to learn about their culture and their tradition and if given an opportunity I love to savor their local cuisines. For a foodie like me, visiting a place where devouring delicacies is a national pastime and food is a national obsession is like attaining Nirvana. Yes, I’m talking about Singapore, the land of Fast East where food is used to promote diversity and global cultural interaction.

Singapore is an ethnic potpourri of the neighboring places that includes India, Malaysia, Chinese and it has reinvented itself as one of SouthEast Asia’s bustling and dynamic cities. While Singapore boasts of 5 star restaurants that dish out multi-cuisine delicacies, the local authentic food can be relished at open air hawker centers that are business areas for street stalls. Amidst these street stalls one can drool over spicy, aromatic food that is influenced from variety of cuisines ranging from Malay, Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese.

A hawker center in Lavender, Singapore

Although Singapore is widely known for its sea food delicacies, I, being a staunch vegetarian (Ok, I am known to saunter around stalls serving boiled eggs, so staunch is not an appropriate word for me), started searching for local Singaporean vegetarian dishes. And the first dish that I loved is Nasi lemak which is a rice dish cooked in coconut milk and typically eaten for breakfast. Nasi lemak in Malay means oily or fatty rice but it also means rich or creamy in texture because the rice is soaked in coconut cream and then steamed to perfection. The steamed rice is then served on a banana leaf along with various side dishes like boiled egg, hot spicy sauce, cucumber slices, anchovies and peanuts.

Nasi lemak served with anchovies, peanuts, boiled egg, lamb curry, cucumber, and 

traditional chili paste.

In another variation, the rice dish is also served along with fish cake and because of its versatility Nasi lemak can be eaten at any time of the day and not just for breakfast.

Nasi lemak is traditionally sold wrapped in banana leaves

Nasi lemak, served with fish cake, ikan bilis, egg, and buah keluak chicke

Another dish that caught my attention was Rojak which is a traditional fruit and vegetable salad and if you are thinking that a salad is boring, then think again! Because Rojak is an eclectic mix of fritters, boiled vegetables, cucumber, bean sprouts all stirred in a spicy, sweet peanut sauce. Now that’s a perfect combination of heath and taste, isn’t it?

Indian rojak in Singapore

In some SouthEast Asia cultures, Rojak forms an important part of traditional prenatal care and ceremony where a special fruit Rojak, consisting of cucumbers, pineapple, deep fried tofu and bean sprouts are mixed with a dressing of sugar, chili, lime juice and shrimp paste. Another variation of Rojak that interested me was the Rojak Juhi, which contains fried tofu, fried boiled potatoes, cucumber, noodles, lettuce and cabbages with a dressing of peanut sauce, vinegar, chili and fried garlic. Isn’t the description itself mouthwatering?

Fruit Rojak in Singapore.

Now even though I’m a vegetarian there was this dish that I came across which almost made me want to jump over the fence and join my meat eating friends. And that dish was Bak-kut-teh. The name itself is fascinating. Bak-kut-teh is a Chinese soup that literally means “meat bone tea”. The soup is made of pork ribs simmered for hours in a broth of herbs and spices like anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds and garlic. The soup is also made more delicious by adding other ingredients like mushrooms, fried tofu and finally it’s garnished with chopped coriander leaves and green onions. The interesting fact about the name of this dish is even though Bak-kut-teh has tea in its title, there is no ingredient of tea mixed during its preparation. The reference to tea is because men used to sip on a strong Chinese tea alongside this soup in order to dissolve the generous amount of fat in the pork consumed. Hmmm... Tea with soup? A strange combination!

Bak kut teh

For a non-vegetarian foodie, Singapore can be a Mecca of sorts because there are so many lip smacking dishes to relish and enjoy. A few of the dishes I’d have tried out had I been a meat-eater are

Hokkien mee which is a dish consisting of egg noodles or rice noodles stir fried with egg, slices of pork, prawns and squid.

Hokkien mee

Mee soto which is a spicy noodle/soup dish made of noodles along with slices of tomato, boiled egg, bean sprouts, peanuts, cabbages and beef or chicken meat. Broth is then poured over this combination to give it more soupy texture.

Mee soto

Nasi goreng which literally means fried rice and is made by mixing stir fried rice with shallot, garlic, tamarind and chili and it’s usually accompanied with egg, chicken or prawns.

Fried Rice in Singapore

I also liked this sweet dish called Cendol, which is a traditional dessert made with ingredients like Coconut milk, jelly noodles made from rice flour, shaved ice and palm sugar. Cendol is also served with Vanilla ice-cream topping which makes the dish more mouth-watering.

Cendol

The amalgamation of Singaporean culture and Western influences has brought out different twists to traditional dishes resulting in new and experimental cuisines with a lingering authentic taste.

Singaporean cuisine is a blend of spicy, saucy, sweet and aromatic flavors and it is guaranteed to titillate all taste buds. No wonder Singapore is heralded as the “food paradise” and Singaporean government even celebrates a day in July as “Singapore Food Festival”. Sigh! Well, we need all 365 days of a year to appreciate the delightful Singaporean cuisine.

Meme created by me

P.S- I've never been to Singapore but all the necessary information were referenced from Wikipedia

All images have been sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singaporean_cuisine

http://discover.stayfareast.com/

An Evening to Remember, With My Crush

So, it was a Friday night and I, along with my friends were outside weathering the cold December night, deciding to celebrate my friend’s recent announcement of her engagement. We decided that we would hit a popular pub. We were excited, our adrenaline on an all-time high, since this was the first time any of us would be visiting a discotheque. Yes, we were a boring bunch who had spent most of our days in college buried under books, revising for sessional exams, burning the midnight oil and studying hard each semester. And the result was, even though we missed out on all the fun during our college days, we had been selected by prestigious corporates and were well placed in good companies.

And now we wanted to compensate for all the fun that we missed out. We wanted to hit the pubs, drink all night, dance and enjoy the young night.

But being the level-headed and responsible girl that I am, I didn’t want to drink and be sloshed. I wanted to feel mildly buzzed but at the same time be in control of the situation. I wanted to dance, to feel a high and be able to remember all the wonderful moments later. It was the first time that I was going to taste alcohol. So I was clueless on what to drink. I didn’t want to have beer, as I always viewed beer as a man’s drink and I hated the raw smell of beer. 

That’s when one of my friends, Anu, advised me to try Breezers. 

“What’s a Breezer?”, I asked feeling slightly stupid.

“Breezer is a fruit based mild alcoholic drink with just 2% alcohol content.  You can try a Bacardi Breezer. They are pretty awesome”, my friend replied as if she was passing on some age old secret.

So we sat on the swiveling bar seats, our legs crossed, ordering our drinks and feeling all sexy and sophisticated. We imagined ourselves as characters in the ‘Sex and the City’ movie and checked out the dance floor.

I gasped. There dancing in the crowd was my crush from office. Ok, I didn’t know his name, but whenever he passed my cubicle on his way to the pantry, he always glanced at me. My friends teased me mercilessly about him and I thought he was cute.

“What Breezer will you have ma’am? There’s Jamaican Passion, Cranberry, Orange, Blackberry Crush”, the bartender listed out all the available flavors.

I was only half listening to him, my eyes still on my crush. I could hear the bartender mentioning something about a crush and I replied immediately, “Crush?”

“Aaah! Good choice ma’am. One Blackberry Crush coming up for the pretty lady”.

I blushed slightly as I took the chilled breezer in my hand and tasted it, albeit a little hesitatingly.

And I was pleasantly surprised. It tasted good, in fact it tasted awesome. It was not too syrupy-sweet, like fruit drinks, nor did it taste bitter. It had a tangy flavor. I fell in love with it instantly.

We took our drinks and appetizers and moved to a table. It was the perfect combination, the Breezers , the little crunchy-munchy appetizers, the music, the sheer energy in the air and the slight feeling of being intoxicated. I was already on my fifth bottle of Breezer, feeling a little buzzed, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was the guy from my office.

“Hey, I thought I recognized you from office. I’m Anil.”

“Hi, I’m Radha. It’s nice to see you here“. I replied, forcing my heart to remain calm. Our eyes locked and a few minutes passed, but we were lost in each other’s eyes. Anil had a geeky look, with fashionable glasses to complete his nerdy appearance. But I realized that he had light-brown eyes that twinkled mischievously as he looked at me.

I heard someone coughing at my side and I remembered my friends.

“This is Shwetha, Shilpa and Anu. Do you want to sit with us?” I asked him.

“Hi ladies! Ummm.. Actually I was hoping that you would dance with me. You wouldn’t mind if I borrowed your friend for few minutes, girls?”

My friends beamed as they pushed me forward. I felt slightly nervous as Anil led me to the dance floor. The breezers were making me feel bold and I was able to dance without falling. I reminded myself to thank Anu for suggesting me to try breezers. If I had had vodka, I knew that I wouldn’t have managed to even stand, leave alone dance.

Anil was a fantastic dancer. We glided across the dance floor and I could feel more than a few pair of eyes on us. We made a handsome couple. By the end of the dance Anil had asked me out on a date and he had my number as well. I was on cloud nine.  It was the perfect memorable evening. It was an evening when my relationship with my crush began. Yes, yes, I meant both, my crush from office and my lovely, wonderful, Blackberry Crush Breezer.

So, what’s your Breezer story? I would love to hear it  ;)

This post is written for #CatchTheFlavor Bacardi Breezer Contest at Indiblogger. My team is BLACKBERRY CRUSH.

Goli Vada Pav in Bangalore

If you want to have a quick bite, something spicy and hot to eat, something not too heavy on your stomach and purse then you must drop in at your nearest Goli Vada Pav shop.

Being a regular customer in Goli Vada Pav shop from the past 4 to 5 months(All credit goes to my husband for taking me to this place the first time), I am totally addicted to their Vada Pav. You can select from the below various options in Vada Pav:


Regular, Schezwan, Cheese, Masala, Tikki, Mix Veg (my favorite), Palak Makkai Vada Pavs.


Apart from Vada pav there is also Cheese ungli(similar to finger chips but stuffed with cheese) , Sabudana Vada and Gappad(never tasted). They have also introduced a new item called "Kathi Paneer" which is basically grated paneer deep fried in oil. The Vada Pavs are priced around 35 to 40 Rs. The place is hygienic and the service is quick too(except for weekend evenings). The Vada pavs are spicy(you should have it with the green chilies dipped in vinegar, provided at the counter). The other items on their menu are nothing much to write about and you may want to give it a miss(especially the Kathi Paneer).


If you stay in South Bangalore, you can visit the Goli Vada Pav shop in Gandhi Bazar(near Ramakrishna Ashrama)or the one in Jayanagar. They have a lot of franchises in Bangalore(I have also been to the one near BTM).


I recommend the Mix Veg, Tikki or the Schezwan Vada Pav and Cheese Ungli. Considering the quality, price, hygiene and the service provided, I'll go with 3.5/5 for the Vada Pav's served at Goli Vada Pav.