Singapore Eats (Part 2)

Last Updated on February 1, 2013 by Karen

In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve decided to take the plunge into an entirely unknown frontier of the Internet: I’m self-hosting my blog!  It’ll give me more freedom and flexibility over the look and functionality of the site, but with that comes many headaches.  Plenty of it.  I’m not going to lie.  But as overwhelmed and confused as I am, there are many valuable resources out there to guide me through (almost) every step of the way.  I’m still trying to figure out how to tweak css and html codes, so I can customize and perfect the design.  In the meantime, bear with me as I continue to make changes (or rather, learning to make changes) to the site.  It’s a work in progress, for sure!

I’m going to leave you with a few more pretty pictures from my trip to Singapore in October.  Next week, I’ll share with you some recipes for snacks and appetizers, which will be perfect for the following weekend if you’re hosting a Superbowl party.

As if we hadn’t already stuffed ourselves silly, here’s more:

Shaved ice topped with mango and durian puree.  They are the perfect treats to beat the heat!  Yes, that sentence rhymes, ’cause I’m linguistically rhythmic like that.

I found the local coffee to be a bit too sweet for my taste, especially when served during breakfast with toasts and kaya (we tried them at Ya Kun), which is a sweet coconut jam made with coconut milk, eggs, pandan leaves, and sugar.

If you’re a daring eater, you should also order a a soft-boiled egg with your breakfast and season it with a pinch of white pepper and a few dashes of soy sauce.  That’s how the local do it.

Char kway teow (wide rice noodles stir fried with shrimp, squid, bean sprouts, scallions, and egg)

Nasi lemak, which is essentially a platter of coconut rice served with an assortment of side dishes and condiments including chicken curry, fried anchovies, fried peanuts, pickled vegetables, hard boiled eggs, and cucumber slices.

Another rice platter, except that the rice in this one is made with turmeric, giving it a distinct neon yellow color.  It also comes with shrimp cracker and toasted grated coconut.  I’ve never had coconut prepared this way, but it is so delicious especially when sprinkled over rice and curry.

Rice noodles with spicy shrimp broth.  Way too spicy!

Bak kut teh, which translates into “meat bone tea.”  The Teochew bak kut teh is a pale, light, pork broth infused with white peppercorn.  When I was in Malaysia few years ago, I tried the bak kut teh and it was very different.  The Malaysian type is also made with pork ribs, but darker in color and with strong medicinal herb flavors.

The trimmings: rice, salted mustard greens, pig’s trotters, boiled peanuts, Chinese crullers

Finally, a few sips of scorpion- and snake-infused wine for good measure.  Okay, maybe not.