Eating and Drinking in Singapore
Marion (of Marion's Kitchen) takes you from Hawker to High End eating, And has a 1920s martini (16:46)!
But Singaporeans don't usually dine at the high end eateries, sipping $275 martinis. Marion also shows you where average Singaporeans eat:
She gets to try Kaya Toast with half-boiled (a.k.a. "soft-boiled") eggs, Lor Mee (with everything!), then she finishes with chilli crab and black pepper crab. She really likes eating in Singapore. Here are her "best Singapore Eats" (link).
But I don't want this all to be Marion's opinion. Here are the "Passport Couple" with the "Ultimate Singapore Food Tour:
They tried Wanton Noodles. Which I always felt was a scam because I NEVER got One Ton of noodles... nor did it ever make my date "wanton" and rip the clothes off me... or her clothes off herself.
The pork slices (red) in the noodles are char siu barbequed pork. At 1:14, Alicia noted that in the US, wantons are usually fried, crunchy and delicious.
However, the name "wanton" is from the Cantonese, and it means (literally) "Cloud swallow", meaning that eating it is like swallowing a cloud because it's so soft and delicate. So after you have had some wanton (in soup), you can tell your friends you swallowed a cloud... or three. Or that you know what it feels like to swallow a cloud.
Hokkien Prawn Noodles was what they tried next. This may be a little too much info, but aficionados of Hokkien Mee (what we call it) asserts that there are two variants of Hokkien Mee - the "Wet" variant and the "Dry" variant. And they also insists that a good plate of Hokkien Mee should be fried in pork fat, and should have some crunchy pork lard. At 4:00 Nate says that the Hokkien Mee smelts like peanut and Alicia suggests that it was fried in peanut oil. If so, that hawker used peanut oil instead of pork fat, probably for health reasons, and that would be why there are no crunchy pork lard. And Nate wanted a crunch that pork lard would have provided (4:13).
They also tried Carrot Cake, or Chye Tow Kuey (which translates, badly into "Carrot cake". See Shibboleths for the explanation.)
Then they tried the Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodles which was awarded One Michelin Star. This restaurant (or hawker stall) serves (I believe) what Singaporeans call "Bak Chor Mee" which translates to "Meat Vinegar Noodles".
At 6:38 I can see that they got the deluxe ("Pow-ka-liao", local term meaning "the works" with everything in it) version with lean pork slices, pork liver (personal "yuck"!), pork balls, a dumpling (wanton?), some minced pork(?), and some crispy bits (Nate identifies these as "crackling", but I do not know what he means). I don't see any shiitake mushrooms, but it may also be in there.
As Nate notes (7:20), the dish is flavoured or seasoned with vinegar. And it should be if it is (as I surmise) "Bak Chor Mee".
Then they went down to Kampong Glam, to the Bhai Sarbat Stall to drink Bandung Ice Blended (this is rose syrup and milk base), and Ice Teh Halia (Ice Ginger Tea).
They, too, love Singapore food. And this was their guided tour:
Breakfast (1:30) at Arab Street: Arabic Ice Coffee, Teh Halia Tarik ("Pulled" Ginger Tea), Teh Tarik ("Pulled" Tea, @2:11, you can see the vendor "pull" the tea, to cool it), Potato Curry Puff/Sardine Curry Puff (a.k.a. "epok-epok"), Banana Bread, Nasi Lemak, Kuih (also "Kueh") various types.
Lunch? (5:25) at Kampong Glam (also spelled "Gelam"): Otak-otak, Mee Siam, (also Mee Rebus? "Yellow Noodles"), Tahu Goreng (Firm Tofu in peanut sauce). Bandung (milk with Rose Syrup),
Lunch II? (10:30) at "Lian Xin" (Lotus Heart), under the Buddha's Tooth Relic Temple: Vegetarian food - Carbonara, Beancurd, Mock Pork.
Lunch III? (12:30) at Chinatown Complex (Hawker Centre): Sugarcane Juice, Popiah (Springroll) - three types, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Fried Banana/Banana Fritters ("Pisang Goreng"), Chwee Kueh ("Water cakes" with preserved radish "chye po"), Opium Coffee,
Tea? (16:35) at Komalas? Little India: Black Tea, Thosai. (Tekka Centre, Hawker Centre): Mango Lassi, Indian Rojak,
If you like their videos, here they try desserts, coffee, nasi lemak, and naan! (Link)
Here's another couple (Where Phoebe Travels) with their food adventure in Chinatown:
Xiao Long Bao (1:32): This is the dumpling with the soup built in.
Chee Cheong Fun (3:58): This is rice rolls with sweet sauce and sesame seeds. "Chee Cheong Fun" literally means "Pig's Intestine" because the rolls look like pig's intestines (but there aren't any meat or pig's innards in this dish.) Or maybe originally, the vendors of this dish were trying to scam their customers? Who knows?
Chicken noodles (6:00): It's Chicken. With noodles.
I included this video because they sorted things out themselves, choosing food they either knew or were willing to try. I would have like to see their process of deciding what to eat/what to choose.
Another way of deciding is to look for a long queue. (If lots of people are queuing for it, it must be good right?) Join the queue, then ask the person in front of you for his/her recommendation. And how it should be enjoyed.
If you need more ideas, here's a list of 15 from Australia's Hotel.com.
All the usuals are there: Hainanese Chicken Rice, Chilli Crab, Laksa, Satay, Barbequed Stingray, Bak Kut Teh, Nasi Lemak, and Prata.
But as you can see from the videos above, Singapore Food is more than just the Tourist favourites. But yes, if you like crabs, you should try Chilli Crabs, and if you're into barbequed meats/seafood, you must try Satay and Stingray.
[Note (For Americans): One American (or US Citizen) said he expected "Chilli Crab" to be Crab smothered with Texas (or Tex-Mex) Chilli. To help explain things to the US-centric, "Chilli" here usually refers to what Americans call "peppers". And "Chilli sauce" refers to what an American would call "hot sauce". So "Chilli Crab" translates to American as "Crab in Hot Sauce".]
And I think Indian Food in Singapore is really good, but most recommendations skip them because, "not Singaporean". But Singapore has a vibrant Indian community, and their food is authentically Indian. In fact, the Indian community in Singapore is diverse. Prata is South Indian, while Naan is North Indian. And Naans are to die for! (Personal Opinion.)
Why don't I show you instead.
So the above is a long video, But at about the 16 minute mark, the video is at Tekka Centre in Little India. And Doobydobap gives an informed explanation of the food she is eating.
But Indian food should be evaluated and judged by those who know Indian food - Indians!
But if you're more "atas" and you have the budget for it, let Sam the Cooking Guy show you his favourite Restaurants in Singapore.
Enjoy the tour but if you want to experience any of them firsthand, be prepared for the hole it might make in your wallet!
But he does go to hawker centre at 9:40 in the video. And he has another video of the best things he ate here.
About Hainanese Chicken Rice - The most famous one is Tian Tian. But Sam went to one called Hong Xiang. There is also Ah Tai who was the chef at Tian Tian before he spun off and started his own stall. And now there is a rivalry between the two. The point is, if you would rather not queue for Tian Tian, you can try Ah Tai, or (with Sam's recommendation) Hong Xiang. Or if you can't make it down to Maxwell Food Centre, There are other chains like Loy Kee, Boon Tong Kee, and Wee Nam Kee just to name the more famous chains.
Anyway, you may or may not like Hainanese Chicken Rice. "One man's meat" and all that. If you are curious and you like chicken, go ahead, and try it. But if you're not keen on chicken, and chicken and rice would be your idea of culinary hell, you don't have to try it. There are tonnes of interesting food to try in Singapore.
Here's Brent at Maxwell Food Centre (home of Tian Tian and Ah Tai Chicken Rice) and he didn't try it!
But he did try a whole lot of other food.
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