“Shiok” Singaporean Food Trail

“Shiok!” (pronounced “shook”) is a Singlish term meaning the ultimate satisfaction- especially as it relates to a food experience. I recently joined a group from the AWA on a Singaporean food trail to learn more about local foods.

I especially enjoyed these two delightful sisters from Spain, Almudena and Nuria, so we stuck together for much of the tour.  Almudena and her family just relocated here and her sister Nuria was here for a visit.

We all boarded a bus with our guide Diana, who took us to the Geylang Serai Market, which is one of the busiest and biggest wet markets in Singapore. This market has been a focal point for the local Malay community. They have a huge selection of Malay and Indian Muslim specialties.

When we first arrived we saw a man weaving these cool little bamboo leaf pods for making rice cakes.  He leaves a small opening at the top for pouring in dry rice until it is about 1/2 full.  Then it is put in boiling water for many hours.  The bamboo leaves allow just enough water in to cook the rice perfectly. A beautifully formed rice cake is the finished product.

Diana then took us inside the market to show us some of the popular food stalls.  This is the most popular stall which is owned by Indian Muslims.  There is always a long que, especially for bone marrow soup which is eaten with a straw. In this photo, the man is making muttun soup and holding up the stomach, tongue and ribs of the lamb; every part of the lamb is used.

 

Diana showed us many other popular Malay food items including rice cakes made in bamboo logs.  Curry soup is poured over the cubes of rice and then it is topped with fried coconut. The bamboo tied with colorful string is filled with rice and beans.

Most Malay food is either extremely sweet or deep fried….so, not healthy! Malaysians believe color and sweetness denote happiness, however they also have a very high rate of diabetes!  We all sat down at the hawker center to try several foods including Muttun Soup and Malay sweets and drinks. Agar Agar is a dessert with tapioca on the bottom, layered coconut, then pandang pudding.  The other dessert is rice and coconut palm sugar wrapped in a banana leaf.  The most popular Malay drink, called “bandung”, contains sweet red-tinted rose water mixed with evaporated milk.  We also had Singapore’s famous lime juice.

Next we were taken to the best Popiah stall in Singapore for a lesson on how it is made. Popiah means “thin skin” and is the local term for fresh spring rolls.  Quang and his sister Zita own the shop and although they only make the skins when customers are not present, Quang agreed to make them while we were there and then Zita showed us how to prepare them. Ingredients include a sweet sauce, mixture of vegetables like jicama and carrot and crab meat, lettuce, bean sprouts, hot spices, and homemade “crunchies” – not sure what is in them!

Everyone in the group had an opportunity to make some but only a few did; I thought it was fun!  Of course we got to eat them as well -YUM!  This brother/sister duo are also happy to put these ingredients together for DIY Popiah parties- we might just have to try that sometime!

Lastly, we went to 328 Katong Laksa, which supposedly has the best Laksa in Singapore.  There are different kinds of laksa, but the Katong variety is made with rice noodles, shrimp, and chili spices in a rich coconut broth.  You can also add cockles to the mix.  Story has it that the owner, Nancy,  used to rent a space above a coffee shop to sell her laksa at 328 (not sure the name of the street).  Everyone loved her laksa so much which of course also brought much business to the coffee shop.  The man who owned her rented space, as well as the coffee shop, stole her recipe and forced her to leave.  He started making and selling it himself, but the people were so loyal to Nancy that they wouldn’t go back.  She eventually opened up her own shop somewhere else and named it 328 Katong Laksa. Her loyal followers found her and her little shop continues to be the most famous and sought after in all of Singapore.  She also has the BEST lime juice around!

Nancy beat famous chef, Gordon Ramsey, in a laksa-making contest- Nancy earned 19% more votes  from Singaporeans over Gordon Ramsey’s version!  Gordon recently opened his own restaurant here at Marina Bay Sands called, “Bread Street Kitchen”.

Here’s a photo of our whole group with Nancy in the middle:

It was definitely a culturally enriching day – I loved exploring some of the foods for which Singapore is known. Next time I hear someone exclaim, “Shiok”  I’ll know they are thoroughly enjoying their food experience! 🙂

Sweet Memories With Caleb

Caleb is back home in MN and our apartment is strangely quiet once again.  Our dear son, Caleb, spent nearly two weeks with us recently which brought such joy to our hearts.  Dan and I love Singapore and are thankful we get to experience this beautiful part of the world, but we do miss our kids (and their spouses) immensley.  So, when Caleb told us he could work remotely from Singapore and take some vacation as well…we were thrilled! Both Dan and Caleb worked some 1/2 days and a couple full days, but we still managed to get a lot of fun in and introduce Caleb to some of our favorite spots.

He felt great his first day here so we packed a lot  in before jetlag got the best of him.  Singapore is 13 hours ahead of MN so we knew he’d be falling into his soup by about 6pm! He first toured our apartment complex- especially enjoying the view from our balcony:

We then walked along the Singapore River through Robertson Quay and Clark Quay – areas Dan and I both enjoy.  I love the colorful shophouses and bumboats that travel up and down the river. Caleb really loved this area too, and was amazed at all the colors and beauty- so much to take in at once- Singapore is really a sensory overload!

From Clark Quay we took the subway to Chinatown.  Caleb went to China twice as a teenager so he was interested to see how similar Chinatown is to China.  He concluded there are many similarities but Chinatown is much cleaner! 🙂  Our first stop was to buy selfie sticks:

Other picts from Chinatown:

Getting acquainted with some locals…

That evening we walked along the river all the way to the Esplanade where jazz was playing in the outdoor ampitheatre. Marina Bay Sands can be seen from behind the stage:

I took him to Holland Village one afternoon.  It’s small and quaint with little cafes and coffee shops and small restaraunts serving great local food. He was very brave and tried Otak Otak which is spicy fish paste cooked in banana leaves!

The next afternoon we took a cable car ride over to Sentosa Island.  We zip-lined, saw one of the giant merlions, and ate dinner on the beach.  Super fun day!

Zip-Lining:

Wednesday, after a delicious dinner of  chicken and duck satay and lime juice at Gardens by the Bay,  we watched the light show in the Super Tree Grove. There is a beautiful light show to music twice every night:

 

Thursday we went on a Night Safari:

 

Friday was super fun as well.  Both Caleb & Dan took the whole day off so we started with breakfast at Common Man Coffee Roasters which is right across the street from our condo.  The guys had delicious pancakes with carmelized bananas, berry compote, honey clusters, and real maple syrup.

Then we took a bumboat to the island of Pulau Ubin to go mountain biking:

We walked up a several story watch tower for some spectacular views!

We walked along the boardwalk which was beautiful…

Mangrove trees:

Sadly, we didn’t see any monkeys, but we did see some wild boar,  jungle fowl, (colorful chickens) and a monitor lizard. Here are some photos of some of the locals:

We stopped at a little “Uncle’s” shop to buy water.  He was nowhere to be found.  We called out and were just about to leave when he rose from his nap to serve us.  It’s a different pace on this island! Had to get a pict of this sign next to his shop because it is so Singaporean to add, “La”  to the end of a phrase or sentence! 🙂

Saturday we went back to Sentosa Island to go paddleboarding with Dan’s boss and friend, Phil Friedlos, followed by coffee with Phil and his wife, (and our friend) Bev. I wished I had gotten a photo of them!

That evening we went on the Singapore Flyer, which is the tallest observation wheel in the world! It takes about 45 minutes to go all the way around and the views are breathtaking.  We started around 6:50pm so we got to see the city in daylight and watch the sun go down, seeing the beauty of the night lights as well.

I took Caleb to Tiong Bahru to see the wet market, hawker center, and a quaint bakery. I didn’t think to take any photos that day but Caleb got some good ones!

I told Caleb that as we walk down the street in Tiong Bahru we would likely see some older folks sitting out front – old shirtless men with big bellies, eating noodle (as the Singaporeans call it) or porridge and kopi, and sure enough we did! 🙂

The next day we went to Little India and enjoyed some masala chai together!

Our last big adventure was renting bikes at East Coast Park:

…followed by dinner at one of our favorite restaurants near our condo, called, “Bar Bar Black Sheep” which has Indian, Thai, and Western food- it’s 3 different kitchens but one restaurant. We ended our last night with our favorite dessert at Pies & Coffee- “Sticky Date Cake”.  I opted for the gluten free Orange Cake which was good but can’t compare!

Those are many of the highlights of our time with Caleb, however not pictured, are all the great heart-to-heart talks, evening swims and cards by the pool, basketball and running with Dan, laughs, hugs, neck rubs, and just enjoying each other’s company.

Caleb…you are such a delight and have given us the precious gift of your presence – we have missed you so.  Thank you for coming to the other side of the world, and allowing us to share our lives with you.  We love you Forever.