Ode2Fatty

Singapore (Part 2 - The Food)

December 13-19, 2005

Sebastien: My family took me out to this French bistro. It was pretty casual and noisy - lots of foreigners - I think the owner is Australian. It was pretty standard bistro fare. For starters, we had escargots stuffed in mushrooms and frog legs in butter with slivered almonds. I then had the tiger prawns for my main course. I had been eyeing the sirloin but was told that it was Australian beef as they do not import American beef any more becuase of Mad Cow. I was told the difference was slight but that Aussie beef was known to be gamier. This freaked me out but upon further reflection I realized that the Aussie beef was probably better as it wasn't shot up with all the steroids/hormones that American beef is shot up with. I did try a bite and couldn't tell the difference. The prawns were big and tasty and I enjoyed the meal. Surprisingly, I felt much more uncomfortable eating the frog legs than the meat as the meat looked just like a steak - very easy to disassociate it with a living breathing animal. But the frog legs really looked like the "animal" that you were eating and I could almost picture in my mind a cute little frog in mid-jump being skewered and buttered. I don't like to be reminded that I'm actually eating something that used to be breathing. Besides, there isn't much meat on those froggy legs - just like chicken wings!
High Tea at Raffles Hotel: So during my first trip to Singapore in 2001, my husband and I were not able to get into the the main tea room (the Tiffen Room) and had to settle for snacks at the more casual cafeteria style dining area. This time we got reservations, and I was not disappointed. First off, the Raffles is a welcome respite from the very modern hotels and spas that I had visited so far on this trip. It is a low-rise hotel amid the soaring skyscrapers and really gives one a feel for how it was in colonial times (well, if there was a Tiffany & Co. in those days . . . ) As a tea connoiseur (see list of High Tea rankings to be added to this blog later), I would rate it at an "8" (a "10" being the Four Seasons in London near Hyde Park). I immediately had to deduct 1 point because it was buffet style. As great as it was to have such a selection and unlimited supply, I believe the traditional High Tea should come in the fancy tea service. I also deducted a point because while the other food was great in quality and variety, the actual "tea" food - the scones and finger sandwiches - were simply average. There was only one variety of scone, and the wait staff manning the buffet weren't too knowledgeable about that part of the buffet. For instance, they had what looked to be a butter dish and a clotted cream dish side by side and it was difficult to differentiate b/c the consistency of both was such that they were almost identical. When I went to confirm that what I had put on my plate was indeed clotted cream, I was told by a flustered fellow that it was "cream cheese." Thankfully, it was not. The sandwiches were simply average, and I believe that for tea sandwiches, one must use a thinner sliced bread than average, which they did not. This however are very minor blemishes on an otherwise fanastic tea experience. The room was lovely and the wait staff was very attentive (at one point, my SIL rose to get more food and placed her napkin down, whereupon a server promptly picked it up, folded it lengthwise and placed it neatly over the arm of her chair.) The food had quite a variety and added a native flair on the old standard. When was the last time you had a shrimp and mango steamed dumpling at High Tea? There was also local soups, fish paste in banana leaves and other dim sum type offerings. The dessert area was a sugar fiend's (me!) dream come true - different Christmas logs, puddings, as well as local treats such as glutinous coconut balls that were filled with a maple sugar type liquid (my favorite). I wish I had more room so that I could have tried everything, but I managed to okay nonetheless. Raffles High Tea is a must!
Durian: Well, I talked with much braggadacio before my trip about this daunting fruit, but when push came to shove, I Just-Couldn't-Do-It. I quizzed people on it - do you like it? How do you eat it? is it really that bad? And was seemingly obsessed with trying it, but I wussed out in the end. We went briefly to Chinatown for some souvenir shopping and in a semi-enclosed market, the scent of durian wafted through the air. We came to the fresh durian vendor but I declined and only bought a few durian hard candies, which I have yet to try - (I also bought some dried lotus blossum balls, flowers and red carrots). We then went to Takashima Mall food court - which reminded me of the Harrods food court in it's variety - and there was a small "upscale" Durian vendor. I think the name was Four Seasons (the thought process must have been "Hey, Four Seasons wouldn't steer me wrong"). The stand had durian in all sorts of more palatable forms - durian bread, cream puffs, solid gelatinous type yule logs. I ended up buying some durian kimchee balls (again, which I have yet to actually taste). I also tried a couple of other local items at the food court: (i) Kaya toast which is a thin toast spread with a sticky sweet coconut spread and (ii) kueh tu-tu (which was made fresh in front of us) which was a rice flour steamed and filled with coconut (another option was chopped nuts). In the end, I did finally try some semi-dilluted form of durian. See below.
Crystal Jade Restaurant at Paragon Mall: My family dined on Cantonese Teochew cuisine to celebrate my nephew/godson's baptism. There were so many courses and it was, of course, family style. The meal started with warm towels and tea - first a very potent blend which was put in mini tea cups (think shot glass) and then the typical mild jasmine tea. Throughout the course of the night we dined on the following plates (in no particular order):
(1) Oyster omelette - this was a bit too slimy in texture for me so I only had a little and stuck to the less oystery/more eggy edges;
(2) shark bone soup which had a milky tasty broth along with some big fat mushrooms. I stayed away from the white spongy pieces in the soup, which I was told was bamboo. At this point, my adventurous "sure, I'll try a bite" attitude was waning and I was sticking to the more familiar (and less daunting) items.
(3) fried calamari - not breaded like in the states - very good. How can you go wrong with Fried anything?
(4) braised goose - not really a goose person so I passed on this.
(5) baked salted chicken which is something you need to order when you sit down so they have enough time to prepare it.
(6) steamed prawns which came with head and shells so you are also given a bowl of finger tea to wash away the fishy scent from your hands.
(7) tofu (comes with the meal).
(8) crispy noodles with seafood - mmm - my favorite dish.
(9) kaukei (green spinach-like vegetable) with 3 types of eggs - scrambled, salted and century.There was another dish - a thinly sliced type of beef or pork. We each ordered our own desserts and I had my favorite - glutinous balls filled with like a red bean goo. And then, I tried a smidge of Durian pudding. Wow - a little goes a long way! I went through so many different sensations and feelings with each mouthful. It starts out horrific - the smell even in this diluted form is quite strong - but then it the creamy consistency gets to you and you start to adjust - and by the time you swallow, I felt conflicted. On the one hand, it was foul, but it ended on a high note - I concluded that Durian is compelling. Love it or hate it, you gotta give it a try. I was told that since I didn't hate it, I had the potential to love it. I don't doubt it. I'm sure with a patience and perserverence I would probably become a Durian addict.
*Please note - service charge of 10% is already included in restaurant bills - no tip is necessary.

posted by Fatty @ 2:33 PM