Food Journey to Singapore...

100 kcal snacks

2008-03-18T20:43:00.000-07:00

Some more MUJI item...

It can be helpful for those who are on a diet, as long as you're not obsessed with calories counting...

Weird... but useful

2008-03-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

If you ask Italians which food is the quickest and easiest to cook, most of them will probably say "PASTA".
They just know on "natural instinct" the perfect ratio of boiling water and salt to pasta...

For all those who love pasta, but don't have that natural feeling, MUJI invented its "tablet salt"!

Maybe it's useful, but they really look like dishwasher tablets... hope they taste better!

Steamboat: a Northern Chinese dinner

2008-03-15T23:40:00.000-07:00

In the last few months I noticed plenty of funny shaped tables, both round or square, having one pot-size hole in the middle... we couldn't understand why, until we experienced a steamboat dinner:

It's like a buffet: you are given a list of ingredients and soup flavours you can choose from.

All the ingredients - veggies, meat, fish, dumplings, noodles... - come raw, either sliced or bite-size, into small plates or baskets.

You are meant to pick it up with your chopsticks and put it into the boiling soup pot, just for one moment or two: they'll be quickly cooked and ready to eat!

Sauces are provided to add extra-taste: soy with ginger and spicy chilli sauce, but also fish sauce or a sesame specialty... you can match the flavours and try everything you like: it's up to you, because you are the chef!!

Dieticians can be tempted too.

2008-03-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

One more ad campaign I recently saw:

Let me have my say: ...I've been tempted veeeery often, by singaporean food...
but I never craved any KFC chicken salad!
(actually, I'm much more inclined to samosas, and Indian stuff, in general... yum!)

Ice-cream in Singapore

2008-03-08T21:31:00.000-08:00

On a hot day, you are likely to fancy some good ice-cream...
Well, I did, so I went on a search and that's the results I got:

if you are at Bugis or at Cathay Cineplex Orchard (and if you're brave enough), you can try a Japanese ice-cream at Uzumaki: this word means “whirlpool” or “swirl”, because the ice-cream of your choice is squeezed by a press from the bottom of its cup into your cone with a signature swirl! One serving costs 3.50 to 4.00 S$, depending on the flavour you like, but I suggest to have a try of wasabi!

Opposite to Clarke Quay, at Central, you'll find Hokkaido ice-cream... I'll just show you the shape of a green-tea cone! I had black sesame and lychee, instead, the former being a bit too dense, the latter.. just sweet and good!!

Just across the bridge, be mesmerized by the Turkish guy on traditional hat and costume!
From time to time, for tourists' delight, he ring the bells on his stall with the long spoon he serves ice-cream with. The stuff seems to be quite sticky, but you can judge by yourself after queuing for a few minutes!
To be sure your ice-cream is really creamy you can try Häagen-Dazs: it's not very local, but I'm sure you'll be pleased with it!! Gelatissimo is another island-wide well-known brand, inspired by Italian ice-cream.

For a "Uniquely Singapore" experience, you'd better try to spot the ice-cream trolley: I saw it during Hindu festivals, sport events or shopping afternoons, driven by a man who serves you a waffle with abundant colored cream inside... the trick is to eat it very quickly, before it melts!

Last - and least, according to me - there's the floating ice-cream ball served on cold beverages: I saw this ad in KL, but I'm quite "confident" that Burger King sells it in Singapore as well...
Otherwise, you can ask for iced Milo&ice-cream at the beverages stall: I saw kids studying in food courts with that big glass on their table... I think it's much better than the Coke version!

Fort Canning Spice Trail

2008-02-29T18:01:00.000-08:00

We've just visited the spice trail, on the original grounds of the first botanical garden in Singapore.
The botanical garden was started by Sir Stamford Raffles at Fort Canning, then it was moved to Napier Rd.
A couple of centuries later, the park is still there, in the city centre, and the National Parks Board set up this open-air exhibition everyone can enjoy for free.
The authors of the brochure invite you to "See, smell and touch the living collection of herbs and spices": cinnamon, vanilla, lime, cloves, basil, pepper, nutmeg... and counting!

What would you like to drink?

2008-02-16T17:48:00.000-08:00

CNY celebrations

2008-02-07T22:04:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year is one the most important traditional holidays in Singapore...

During the first days of the new year, families use to gather and celebrate: many traditions - and superstitions - are carried on to wish everyone good luck and prosperity!

Family members and friends use to pay their respects to the house owner offering a couple of oranges. When you leave the house, you are given these fruits back, as a blessing.
Oranges are so abundant during CNY just because their Chinese name sounds like "ji", which means "good luck"!

Other goodies you are likely to eat during CNY are uncut noodles, which represent longevity and long life, and fish (魚 "yú"), because its name sounds like "surpluses"(餘 "yú").

A special tossed raw fish salad, called "yusheng", is usually eaten during the seventh day of the new year, also called 人日, the "common man's birthday". This is the day when everyone is supposed to grow one year older... people get together once more to toss the colourful salad and make wishes for wealth and prosperity.

During CNY, you'll notice red and golden decorations everywhere...
if you are a child or an unmarried person, you'll probably receive a red packet called "Hong Bao".
It may contains chocolate coins (for children) or some money:
for example, $8 is commonly found in the red envelopes because the number 8 is considered lucky for its homophone for "wealth"... Moreover, it's an even number, so it reflects good luck and integrity!

By the way... if you are due to give a red packet to someone, pay attention! Odd and even numbers are determined by the first digit, rather than the last!

Last week-end, discovering Asian culinary art in KL!

2008-02-04T18:28:00.000-08:00

Look! A giant dumpling!!

Getting ready for the Year of the Rat!

2008-02-03T14:38:00.000-08:00

...Just a few shots of food stalls and festive stuff I met wandering randomly in Chinatown...

...I guess Chinese people usually gain weight during CNY celebrations!

Eggs

2008-01-31T23:41:00.000-08:00

I knew eggs can be cracked, boiled, scrambled, baked in the oven, fried or cooked in the shell, tempered, beaten, hard-cooked, microwaved (with some caution)...
I knew they can be eaten raw, they can be decorated...
I knew the white can be whipped while the yolk can add a shade golden to buns or pies...
I knew they can be an inexpensive healthy choice, because of the essential nutrients/low calories content...
In Singapore, I also saw salted duck eggs, coated with a past of salt and mud or clay, and "century eggs" - thousand-years-old egg - also preserved by fermenting in a mixture of clay, alt, wood ash, lime and rice straw during one month or even more!

I recently found out that eggs can be "unwrapped": I mean, instant eggs in a plastic "shell"...

Lunch @ Thaipusam festival

2008-01-22T19:38:00.000-08:00

I shot these pictures inside Sri Thendayuthapani Temple, today

Lots of Hindus met there to celebrate Thaipusam, the full-moon festival held on the first month of the new year.
In this occasion, hundreds of devotees offer their prayers and fulfill their vows.
Most of them come from Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, in Little India, and walk all way long to Tank Road, a journey of about 4 km.
Someone is barefooted, some people wear sandals with spikes on their soles, someone pierces his/her flesh with spikes and hooks: they can prevent them from closing their mouth or be placed on their tongue. I've seen a lot piercing their chest or their back with spikes, golden bells and lemons.
Strong devotees also carry a kavadi, semicircular metal structures decorated wih flowers, peacock feathers and lights. Its weight can be up to 60 kg! Hooks attached to the kavadi are pierced through the flesh to keep it in place.

Celebrated in every indian community, Thaipusam is special in Singapore and in Malaysia, because in these countries it still includes flesh mortification, that is now prohibited in India, since 1950s.

In spite of these apparently cruel rituals, everything it's colorful and joyous:
getting closer to the temple, you can hear music and songs from the inside, where the sanctum is showered with milk for hours, continuously.
All these people wear festive robes, very bright, and the kids are gorgeous!
Everyone's given food and drinks and everyone looks happy and faithful...

Here you have some images of this event!

Quick, nutritious and yummy!!

2008-01-19T12:36:00.000-08:00

Today's recipe was...

...diced chicken with wombok, carrots, peanuts, chillies & Gong Bao sauce served with plain rice - that's it!

...japanese savoury intruders...

2008-01-15T08:52:00.000-08:00

These tiny little people are actually japanese crunchy snacks...

Their "heads" are sweet while the "body" is salty... and, as you can see, they're wrapped up in colorful sheets of paper that look like japanese kimonos...!
A really nice present, thank you!

Kaya

2008-01-12T23:02:00.000-08:00

... I can't believe I hadn't written any post about it, yet!

This is probably the best creamy stuff I ever had...
It's made of eggs, sugar, coconut milk and pandan leaf, it is just a bit granular and tastes really sweet!
You can have it on toasted bread or french toasts, or spoon by spoon until the jar is empty!!

New Year's Eve in Indonesia

2008-01-05T13:45:00.000-08:00

A few sights of Bali, a brief summary of our holidays there...

First of all, join us on a short visit to the rice terraces and paddies!

Later on we can have a buffet lunch, and maybe try some Balinese satay, spring rolls and noodles.

If you want some coffee after your meal, we can go and taste it at the farm where it's produced!

In fact, the farm is actually a spice plantation: beside coffee-making, they grow vanilla, cinnamon, ginger... - even cocoa trees! - and sell fruits and spices.
We had snakeskin fruits and these pinkish one called rambutan.

Even bananas look different: shorter (5-8 cm!), thicker, sweeter.

This variety is called Pisang susu. Both skin and flesh of this banana are bright yellow.

If you still fancy something sweet & bright-coloured, check out this old lady's Jajan pasar: bite size sweets, made of sticky rice and coconut flavour jelly. She's wrapping them up in green and yellow banana leaves, wearing a yellow blouse...

You see, yellow is a colour you spot anywhere, when you're in Bali... Take a look at the statue!

let's have some dessert, today!

2007-12-29T14:07:00.000-08:00

This is the most common dessert you can see in Singapore food courts during week-ends: it's called Kacang, or sometimes ABC.

It's actually an "ice-mountain", topped with pink, green and yellow syrups.
Each serving also features some sweet beans & corn kernel.
First time we had it, it was a waiter's mistake.
Second time, it was a joke: we wanted some friends to experience it!
I think I'm not going to order it a third time...

Christmas in the tropics!

2007-12-26T16:44:00.000-08:00

24 december dinner (Dim Sum in Chinatown) ...

...and Christmas lunch (Black Pepper Crab @ Eastcost Seafood Centre)

my christmas present

2007-12-25T11:00:00.000-08:00

A really interesting book...

even if the images look a bit "old", it's a treasure, that explains you everything: from main ingredients to spices, condiments and sauces, from celebrations specialties to street food, from cooking utensils to chinese nutritional theories!!

One week on G&G's plates!

2007-12-23T19:34:00.000-08:00

Saturday

Tasting a colorful dragon fruit

Fried finger food

Dining @ Kolo Mee, Chinatown

One week on G&G's plates!

2007-12-23T19:23:00.000-08:00

Friday

Loooots of dumplings!

Sugarcane Juice in the afternoon

Pizza! (half Hawaian - half curry chicken and diced tomatoes... I can't believe it!!)

One week on G&G's plates!

2007-12-23T19:21:00.000-08:00

Thursday

Late breakfast... we are on holidays!

Wine chicken on a hotplate...

...& dumplings

Life & Living Workshop - Food & Culture Series @ National Museum of Singapore:
today's event was titled All Wrapped Up: Southeast Asian Techniques of wrapping food with leaves

One week on G&G's plates!

2007-12-23T19:20:00.000-08:00

Wednesday

Satay set...

... & popiah

Dim Sum Dinner

One week on G&G's plates!

2007-12-23T19:18:00.000-08:00

Tuesday

Spicy laksa: coconut milk, veggies, hard boiled egg, spices&herbs, served with white steamed rice

Deep-fried dinner: fried samosa & spring rolls

One week on G&G's plates!

2007-12-23T19:15:00.000-08:00

Monday

Fried carrot cake for lunch

Green Nonya kuehs, Peranakan sweets made of glutinous rice & coconut

Chicken Ba Pao at home, for dinner...
we have no proper steamer, that's the best we could think up to cook them!

One week on G&G's plates!

2007-12-23T18:46:00.000-08:00

Sunday

Rich breakfast @ Killiney Kopitiam

QQ rice on the go (five ingredients of your choice, inside a rice ball...!)

Sushi Buffet & mochi @ Sakae sushi

...food diary!

2007-12-16T22:52:00.000-08:00

...I haven't been writing here for a while... Don't think I was lazy!

I've been working on my "food diary project", taking pictures of everything I ate, during one week...

I'll show you some of the results, picking up the most interesting ones, day by day!

Chinese black tea...

2007-12-09T16:01:00.000-08:00

...in a not-very-usual package!

Thai food

2007-12-05T22:43:00.000-08:00

Hi! We are back from an amazing ten-days holidays in Thailand!

We learned a lot about Thai cuisine: most of the dishes mix five fundamental flavours (hot/spicy, salty, sour, sweet and bitter).
A perfect balance is guaranteed by the local ingredients, such as coconut milk and turmeric (especially in the southern part of the country), lime juice (in northeastern dishes).
Nam pla (น้ำปลา), a very aromatic and strong tasting fish sauce, is consumed even for breakfast!
Thai cuisine also features a rhizome called galangal, shallots, tamarind and plenty of crushed chili peppers.
Last but not least, fragrant herbs, such as lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves and basil are frequently used, and they're fresh instead than dried, so they beautifully garnish your plate!

But I can tell for sure that the main ingredient is rice... the most common thai term for "eat" is "kin khao", that's to say: "consume rice"...

We had these assorted noodles and rice dishes in some restaurants in BKK and Phuket Island...

...but cheaper eateries and food stalls can be found everywhere!

We saw a number of food vendors by the schools: lots of kids buy something to eat before going back home.
We found out later that it's a sort of national eating habit!
Grown-ups seem to consume on the streets their nutritious breakfasts, mid-morning snacks, quick lunches, afternoon meals, spicy dinner and after-eights... plus other savoury stuff or fruits in the meantime!

Take a look at the following pictures... you'll probably find something you don't consider edible... (I didn't have the insect, neither!)

Of course, all kinds beverages are available: they frequently use a trasparent carrier to take away their drinks (both hot and cold ones), but sometimes they just help themselves with young coconut milk just cutting the top of the fruit and drinking the juice into it!

Our next and last stop is in a market by the river: sorry, it's not the floating market, but I think it was incredible anyway!
Bangkok is somewhere well worth a visit!

What goes into your pork, goes into you

2007-11-22T20:01:00.000-08:00

Airpork label states: what goes into your pork, goes into you...

...You are what you eat, aren't you?

Sushi

2007-11-16T18:17:00.000-08:00

Friday night dinner @ Sakae Sushi

Fast food and fat food

2007-11-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

I saw this ad on a bus along Orchard Road...

and I wonder if it can be considered appealing...

The very same night I also read some statistics about fast food & fat food:
McDonald’s Double Quarter Pounder contains 740 calories,
Wendy’s Baconator contains 830 calories and 51 grams of fat,
Hardee’s Monster Thickburger contains 1.410 calories and 107 grams of fat,
Carl's Jr. Double Burger contains 1520 calories and 111 grams of fat.

Let's do some maths: how much fat should you eat?
Of course it depends on your weight and height, age, sex, physical activity level...
But let's consider an average intake of 2000 kcal per day.
Nutritionists recommend fat intake to be 25 to 30% of total dietary intake.
Thus, if you convert it on calories, it should be 500-600 kcal out of 2000.
Every single gram of fat corresponds to 9 calories, so 500-600 calories from fats correspond to more or less 55-65 grams per day!!

No need to say that even if you only have one of these sandwiches per day, you already exceed the maximum expected fat intake!!

You'll better buy your gym membership somewhere else!

"Don't play with your food!"

2007-10-27T14:49:00.000-07:00

...well...

even a serious professionist can be involved and start playing, after a few days eating together!!
Actually, someone (me) wasn't just eating, but also drawing with colorful ingredients and painting with creamy sauces, after every single meal!
With plenty of asian diced veggies and thick gravies, my creativity is increased beyond measure!!

chopsticks & co.

2007-10-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

...Let's start from the beginning:

in Singapore, most of the people use chinese chopsticks to have their meals.
They can manoeuvre them in order to pick up nearly everything, from meats and vegetables to rice or dry noodles.
You will be able to do the same sooner than you think!
Don't worry, anyway: a ceramic spoon is provided for soupy dishes and desserts, and...

...you can usually find cutlery in any food-court.
Maybe you'll wonder why forks and spoons are so common, while no knife is provided.
Just take a closer look and you'll get the answer: as most of the food is already diced or sliced, you don't need to cut anything, so no knife is needed!

If you order an indian rice set, you can simply eat with your hand, just pay attention to a couple of things:
* use your right hand! Left one is supposed to be used for toilet business!
* try to have your food using your fingers, and be sure that your palm is as clean as possible when you finish... this is important for Malays, more than Indians, but I'm sure you too will be glad not to have a completely turmeric-yellow hand!

Quick fact & advice:
Every "tool" belongs to a different culinary tradition - chinese or peranakan, british, malay or indian... - but tablewares vary according to the food, so... if you have any doubt, just look at your tablemates!!

Cabin crew prepare for landing...

2007-10-13T09:09:00.000-07:00

Here we are!
Welcome to Singapore!

First impression is: what a strange place!
You know, here
...modern Central Business District lays so close to Chinatown
...you can step into a mosque as well as a buddhist temple, in Little India
...you can cross most of the city centre walking through underground shopping malls, and end in an open-air market
...most places smell either of incense or of curry, and some smell of both
...european people melt gently with Asians
...you can choose to take a taxi or to ride a trishaw

Lots of cultures are represented, so local cuisine features a pleasant mix of ingredients and cooking techniques: this makes Singapore a perfect place to taste asian delicacies!