Pasta Anyone?

I’m craving for pasta today. I’m always craving for pasta. I don’t know but every since I’ve been here to Singapore, my pasta obsession has been heightened. I eat it almost every day. I’m only afraid of the excessive carbs I’m putting in my body that I tend to hold back a little every time I eat it.

Italian restaurants here in Singapore make great pastas. And I just don’t mean the coat and tie type of restaurants only. Even the more casual ones make decent pastas. I may be biased to some, mainly because I keep on coming back to these restaurants. Why not, good service and good food, that’s all a customer wants, right?

It was rush hour and instead of waiting for the bus to arrive, I decided to have my dinner first at a nearby restaurant. It’s modern, chic and ultra hip. I don’t mind dining alfresco, good thing that I was by myself. It seems that the next time I decide to go there with friends, definitely a reservation is required, to avoid queues.

It was a little bit disappointing since I’ve heard from friends great things about it and yet I seemed to order the wrong dish coz what I got wasn’t that great. Ok, it was good. The chef has a reputation of giving new twist to old-Italian classics. I was expecting more.

I got the pasta in ragu sauce. It was a mixture of 3 types of meat. Honestly, it was great. The combination of those 3 meats simmered for a long period of time in tomato sauce was perfect. The meat is tender, no gamy after taste. I was just surprised that my pasta was a little bit over cooked. I hate eating saggy pasta. It’s like eating stale bread that’s been drenched with milk and forgot to French toast it.

Italian restaurants in Singapore tend to forget that they have stiff competitions already. Sometimes, small stuff like overcooking the pasta can turn customers away. I for one would be wary of coming back to the place, just because they might serve me a run of the mill pasta again. Though, really, the ragu was great.

Hawker’s the way to go

I’m always eating.  That’s why I’ve noticed these past few days.  I’m always hungry and I’m always craving for something.  I’m not pregnant.  I just think that I’ve been doing a lot lately that my body is really asking for nutrients.  I can actually count how many times I go to the near hawker center in a day.

There are many hawker centers in Singapore.  Hawker centers are food courts but outside the malls.  They are accessible to people and they sell good, affordable food.  From Chinese to Malaysian, to Indonesian, food here is abundant.  You can have your breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight snacks as well.  For busy people, hawkers are a blessing for them.

I love jumping from one hawker center to another.  What’s good about these places is that each has their own specialty.  Like the one in Chinatown.  The hawker center there is known for its Hainanese Chicken rice.  Some are being patronized because of their Singaporean Chili crabs.  Whatever you fancy there’s a hawker center that will cater to you.

I always go to the hawker center near City hall.  I can window shop and have a view of the Esplanade after eating.  I love their BBQ stingray and their fried oysters.  I’m not fond of bbq but the BBQ stingray in this place is really something.  First, they serve a generous amount of the sauce.  Since I like spicy food, I think their bbq sauce is not that spicy.  They serve generous amounts too.  Good for sharing it with friends.

Another must try is their fried oysters.  Fried oysters are a popular local delicacy in Singapore.  Some people would prefer them to be a little wet, but I like mine crispy.  Fried oysters are paired with chili sauce.  I find it very satisfying that their chili sauce is good too.  Because some stalls make terrible chili sauce.

If you are interested to know what the locals eat, then go visit one of the hawker centers in Singapore.  It’s really worth your trip.

Looks isn’t everything

I know a lot of people who don’t like Durian.  Just the smell alone would put them off.  The spiky look will scare people away.  But I always say that look isn’t always everything.  And that goes for the Durian. In Singapore, it looks like one of Singaporeans favorite food is the Durian.

You can see it being sold in the market, the hawker centers, even inside the mall.  Well, they wrap it of course. I came from a country where we also had Durian.  I was too afraid to even touch it back then.  But I had no choice when I got to Singapore.  Locals seemed to have no problem eating it.

“When in Singapore, eat what the Singaporeans eat”, so I had no choice but to taste it.  I couldn’t let go of the smell, even when you bite into it, the pungent smell is still there.  But once you start chewing on it, you forgot that you’re eating Durian.

I can’t say that I got addicted to it.  But it wasn’t that bad at all.  Actually, the Durian gets it bad reputation because of its smell, and not because of its taste.  Because, there’s nothing wrong with it.  It’s actually better tasting than other fruits.  Some fruits leave a bitter after taste, but the Durian is sweet and silky.

And you don’t have to bear with the whole spiky thing.  They usually sell it already peeled and placed in a covered container.  Funny how ever since I got to eat the Durian I understand now why it became one of Singapore’s favorite foods.  Just like its wide array of seafood, the Durian is more than just its smell.

Some of Singapore’s favorite food looks funky, just like the Durian, but they do taste better than what they look.  You just have to be open-minded about it.

Something for Everybody

Walking around Singapore you’ll notice that there are restaurants everywhere.  Whether you’re a tourist or a local, you can find something that will attract your fancy.  Local restaurants serve a variety of local and international cuisines, while fast foods are slowly making their way, serving fast and affordable meals to people on the go.

I love a good meal.  I want to be able to sit inside a restaurant, look at the menu and be served with appetizers. There are so many restaurants in Singapore to choose from.  I should at least try every time I’m out something different.  

The Chili crab is the most famous dish they have here in Singapore.  It’s something everybody should try, at least once, if they’re afraid of spicy food.  Local Singapore recipes suggest that the sauce in the chili crab shouldn’t be that spicy. It’s a combination of sweet and spicy.  

One of the best Singapore Chili Crab I’ve ever tasted was in a restaurant quiet popular because of its name, or the lack of it. The sauce is not too thick and yet it clings to the crab.  I like how they make it a balance of sweetness and spicy, and a hint of the shrimp paste really brings out the robust flavor of the sauce. 

 

Most Singapore restaurants have their unique way of preparing the Chili Crab dish.  Some use Sri lanka crabs but the typical crab use in this dish is the mud crab.  It’s easy to cook and can withstand the powerful taste of the sauce.  The crab is either stir-fried or boiled, depending on the style of the chef.

I like mine stir-fried with a hint of ginger and garlic.  It’s what I like to call, a marriage made in culinary heaven.  Don’t get me started with the buns.  Sometimes when I’m hungry, I order a side of rice, but they usually serve Singaporean Chili Crab with buns.  

The buns are used to scoop down the sauce.  They serve as your spoon in eating the sauce.   The Singaporean Chili Crab is not something I eat every day.  But it definitely makes my list whenever I think of celebrating something special.

Roti Prata

It’s been a long day, I need some comfort food.  I’m too tired to cook, besides, I’m already out anyway.  Where to eat? What to eat?  Typical questions I asked myself every time I feel my stomach rumbling.  Today, I don’t want any fuzz, or something fancy.  Ok, Roti Prata it is.  For Malaysians, it's Roti Canai.

Singapore food will not be complete without its Roti Prata.  If you happen to love food in Singapore, then you won’t want to miss their Rotis.

The food court’s busy, as usual.  Maybe these people are just like me, hungry and too lazy to cook.  I came here for my roti prata, but while waiting for my order, I saw some Takoyaki balls.  I couldn’t resist my Takoyaki balls. I ordered four.  

I sat and started eating my takoyaki balls.  The sauce is spicier than the usual but I love the dried bonito they put on top. The batter is so light it’s like eating pancakes just with octopus filling.  A word of caution, do not attempt to swallow them whole.  They are piping hot and it’ll burn all corners of your mouth.

Finally, my roti’s done.  I love that rotis here are made to order.  Singaporeans are very picky with their rotis.  I think it's because they have their own family recipe to compare it with. I remember eating it in some Malaysian restaurant in the US, the dip was so good, too bad the roti’s too flaky that I wasn’t able to eat half of it because it scattered on my plate.  

I love how the dough here stretches and actually absorbs the curry sauce.  I like mine drenched in the sauce.  I sometimes use it as a spoon to scoop out all the tiny bits of meat and potatoes in the sauce.

I prefer my roti prata simple.  I hate it when they put herbs inside it.  Why fix something that’s not broken?  I know there are a lot of ways to cook it, and some even put scallions and fillings on the inside.  I like mine plain.  If the bread is good and the dipping is good, why would you need to put anything in it?

Local restaurants in Singapore are very proud of their heritage, and though nowadays fusion is the IN thing, you can always rely on each restaurant to have their own version of the Roti Prata.