Singapore Eats Part 1

August 19, 2015 - Singapore

I recently returned from a work trip to Singapore. I’ll spare you descriptions of all the meetings I had with my APAC colleagues but I will freely share all the eats to be enjoyed in Singapore. I do this partly because I just like posting pictures of food (like that needs to be said – snort) but also as part of my travelogue to document what I enjoyed in case I ever go back or want to recommend it to someone going there in the future; I like having specifics to point to.

The bakery I found walking from the hotel to the office

 

First of all, if you’ve never been to Singapore, you should rectify that. It’s an interesting place and one of the few places in Asia where I see a very diverse group of people, not just Singaporeans but other Asians from the rest of the continent as well as Europeans, Australians and Americans amongst others. I’ve always thought of it as expat country since so many global companies have their Asia headquarters in Singapore and there’s a large expat population working out of Singapore for their respective companies.

Curry Pok

Second, if you like shopping and eating, Singapore is a must-see destination. It’s probably only rivaled by Hong Kong in the plethora of shops in its business district. What’s fascinating and tremendously convenient about Singapore’s shops is many are located underground in esplanades that connect high rise buildings and public transportation together. Think of it as an underground, air conditioned mall. This type of set up is more common in Asia and makes for convenient walking, especially when it’s hot and/or humid and outdoor walking is to be avoided.

And it’s not just shops in the underground esplanades but a number of eateries. Like a food court on steroids but with local, delicious food. My Singapore coworkers tell me the locals have high expectations for great food and from what I could tell in the brief time I spent there, those expectations are readily met and they’re right to have high standards.

On my first day, I walked through an underground esplanade on the way from my hotel to our office. Lo and behold, the path took me past a local bakery. I swear, I have an inner GPS that never steers me wrong on discovering local bakeries. It’s a typical Asian bakery that leans more towards breads and savory items than sweets and cakes, although they had some of the latter  too. What I love most about Asian bakeries? Bread! They’re soft and just unbearably good. My first breakfast was a simple bread roll with a sausage stuffed in it. The sausage was my concession to protein but it was the bread itself that was comforting goodness. I’ll never get tired of Asian-made bread.

Later that same morning, my coworkers introduced me to a typical Singapore coffee break: 3 types of coffees, mostly differentiated by whether you added evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk or no milk, curry pok which was like empanadas filled with potatoes and fried, and “Chinese roti” which is unlike the Indian roti of flaky flat bread. Instead it was soft white bread  - not Wonder white bread, mind you, this had flavor and texture – slathered with butter and a local jam, kaya, that was a cross between dulce de leche and coconut. It’s a typical Singapore breakfast and quite good.

Lunch with a couple of coworkers was in a different underground mall-type food court but food court is such a humble term for the plethora of little eateries and restaurant in this particular underground bevy of shops and food places. We went to a place called Teahouse, The Asian Kitchen and you order dishes family style to share.

Noodles

Crispy Fried Garlic Ribs (boneless)

Roast Duck in plum sauce

We got the house specialty of roasted duck in plum sauce, noodles, fried rice, long beans (not pictured) and crispy fried ribs. OMG, everything was delicious. The plates were typical Asian size, meaning rather tiny so you’re forced to not be a pig – cough – at least, not all at once. Fortunately I know how to eat with chopsticks passably well so I could partake of the food with decent facility. Service was quick as it’s the type of place that has a limited number of tables, almost all of which were full when we arrived and turned over fairly quickly. Such a convenient place for lunch and delicious as well. I may have a hard time adjusting when I go back home and don’t have these kinds of variety of places to choose from in a compact, convenient location.

After lunch, we did a quick walkaround the underground floor of the mall and, of course, I found a dessert stand to patronize. It was called Awfully Chocolate and while there wasn't a huge variety on offer, what they did have looked delicious and I was hard pressed to limit myself to just one. But I did because lunch had been sufficient and I was only looking for an afternoon snack for later.

I settled on the Hazelnut Crumble and it turned out to be a slightly cakey brownie with hazelnut crumbles on top. It looked deceptively fudgy and dense but it actually wasn't. More like a baked mousse with an airy texture rather than the rich fudginess of an American brownie that I was used to. It was still good but if I had my way, I would probably remake it as a more traditional fudgy brownie, top it with a thin layer of nutella then sprinkle coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts on top. Hmm, maybe next time I bake brownies.... In any case, lunch was so satisfying that I ended up just eating half the hazelnut crumble and a bread roll for dinner.