Something that we've come to enjoy a lot since moving here is the Food. Singapore is a foodie paradise and the options for dining and eating great food are plentiful to the point of feeling endless. In addition to multiple local dishes, there's a wide variety of international cuisine to sample: Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Mexican, Indian, Thai, Indonesian...the list goes on and on. I've heard it said that if Singapore had a national past time, it would be dining out.
To be sure, not every food option is delicious here. While we've had a lot of the best food we've ever tasted in our lives, we've also definitely had the worst. One example is featured in the picture above. Trent and I tried braised chicken feet and we could barely get it down. But--in fairness, that meal was part of a game we play with our kids called "Singapore Roulette." The game works like this: we drive to a random shopping center and everyone blindly picks a restaurant (for the round we played in this picture, we numbered the restaurants in the directory and then all picked a number). The rules are that you have to eat something at each of the restaurant which other family members choose of the menu for you. Hence--Trent got saddled with braised chicken feet. It was as awful as it looks and it was cute to see our kids' looks of genuine compassion and even regret as he tried to choke even one bite down.
Last night we went to one of our favorite restaurants, a Spanish one called Kulto. We ate sausage and mushroom paella, and had a couple different types of tapas, including iberico ham croquettes and a fantastic artichoke and leek dish. We laughed about how our palates continue to expand: Trent and I both aren't typically seafood lovers but lately we keep trying it and are never disappointed. We love barramundi fish and came this close last night to ordering calamari with a squid ink sauce. The garlic prawns featured on the menu were our topic of conversation as we drove away from Kulto. As we drove slowly through the packed narrow streets with shophouses lining both sides, we were pleased to see how the sidewalks and streets of Telok Ayer (my favorite neighborhood) were teeming with people, most of whom were also enjoying a good meal. As we drove past Korean BBQ joints and Chico Loco (oh, their chicken tacos are divine!) and what seemed like a hundred other eateries, I could see people by the dozens laughing and chatting and eating all that glorious food.
After dinner we had a couple of errands to run, and after we parked the car--which we've learned so much I feel, about where and how to park in this huge city-- we kinda forgot about our errands and began to wander. There were fruit stands out on the roads, one after the other, and as we began perusing them, we made our way unintentionally down the darkened streets. The small lights from the tarp covered fruit stands along the road lit our way. Those fruit stands pop up in these small street shops, and they seem to always be manned by small old men and there are cardboard and styrofoam boxes filled with fruit like Thai Mangos and Dragonfruit and mangosteens. Last night there were cartons of blueberries from--was it Pakistan? I can't remember--and large Australian mangos (so sweet) and passionfruit.
Lured by the fruit, we kept walking. Narrow walkways turned this way and that and we found ourselves in a narrow, packed shopping center filled floor to ceiling with tiny little shops selling Japanese candy and fried tapoica kueh and dim sum and fried sweet potatoes. The walkways are narrow and brimming with souvenirs shops hawking things like key chains of the merlion and knock-off name brand fake leather wallets and purses. The smells of warm fried food and sweet kueh treats filled our noses and the sounds of asian pop music filled our ears.
The air was thick and still last night. I've gotten used to the way a fine layer of moist air seems to just rest on the back of my neck. I held Trent's hand and looked up at the dark blue sky, a back drop to a hundred or more buildings around me. I felt a little dazzled by Singapore; lately I often am.
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