Savoring Singapore, Newton Circus style
Within a week of announcing I had moved to Singapore, I received a couple emails that made me say hmmmmm.
The first was from Top Chef judge and Food & Wine editor Gail Simmons. "Wow - Singapore, what a great opp," she wrote. "And I hear the food there is outstanding!"
The second was from acclaimed Bay Area golf, travel and food writer Josh Sens. "Singapore. Nice. I hear the food there is amazing," he said, before adding: "And if you steal a dumpling, they cut your arm off."
Today, I truly discovered what Gail and Josh were talking about. (Not the bit about your arm -- I see no reason to test that running joke -- but the nosh.)
After a three-hour trek up, down, around and through Bukit Timah Reserve, an outdoor enthusiast's tropical paradise (Singa-bore? Pleeeease), I 'alighted', as the bus drivers like to say here, at Newton Circus, a collection of food stalls that enclose a courtyard of fixed dining tables and benches.
I'd been here before, with Claire, on one of our first nights in Singapore. But as it was late, and we were tired and starving, we didn't spend much time soaking it up. We ordered quickly. We ate. We got out of there.
This afternoon -- with weary legs and nowhere to be anytime soon -- I did what you do on Saturdays: linger. I carefully examined what each booth had to offer -- Tripe satay? Fishhead with noodles? Ummm, maybe next time, boss -- before settling on a plate of Hokkien Popiah, which, roughly translated, is the Chinese version of a thin, crepe-like wafer.
What I got was something that looked like a burrito, cut up like a sushi roll (see below). I watched as the little old man behind the food cart -- who's hands moved faster than a Teppanyaki chef's -- stuffed the thing with all sorts of ingredients: a dab of hoisin sauce, a dollop of shrimp (or chili?) paste, a handful of bean sprouts, a mound of steamed turnip, a pinch of dried shrimp, some chopped peanuts and a sprinkling of hard-boiled egg bits.
How good was it? Let's just say that after parting ways with $4 for it, I thought I was stealing. But my arm is still intact. How do ya like them apples, Josh?
The first was from Top Chef judge and Food & Wine editor Gail Simmons. "Wow - Singapore, what a great opp," she wrote. "And I hear the food there is outstanding!"
The second was from acclaimed Bay Area golf, travel and food writer Josh Sens. "Singapore. Nice. I hear the food there is amazing," he said, before adding: "And if you steal a dumpling, they cut your arm off."
Today, I truly discovered what Gail and Josh were talking about. (Not the bit about your arm -- I see no reason to test that running joke -- but the nosh.)
After a three-hour trek up, down, around and through Bukit Timah Reserve, an outdoor enthusiast's tropical paradise (Singa-bore? Pleeeease), I 'alighted', as the bus drivers like to say here, at Newton Circus, a collection of food stalls that enclose a courtyard of fixed dining tables and benches.
I'd been here before, with Claire, on one of our first nights in Singapore. But as it was late, and we were tired and starving, we didn't spend much time soaking it up. We ordered quickly. We ate. We got out of there.
This afternoon -- with weary legs and nowhere to be anytime soon -- I did what you do on Saturdays: linger. I carefully examined what each booth had to offer -- Tripe satay? Fishhead with noodles? Ummm, maybe next time, boss -- before settling on a plate of Hokkien Popiah, which, roughly translated, is the Chinese version of a thin, crepe-like wafer.
What I got was something that looked like a burrito, cut up like a sushi roll (see below). I watched as the little old man behind the food cart -- who's hands moved faster than a Teppanyaki chef's -- stuffed the thing with all sorts of ingredients: a dab of hoisin sauce, a dollop of shrimp (or chili?) paste, a handful of bean sprouts, a mound of steamed turnip, a pinch of dried shrimp, some chopped peanuts and a sprinkling of hard-boiled egg bits.
How good was it? Let's just say that after parting ways with $4 for it, I thought I was stealing. But my arm is still intact. How do ya like them apples, Josh?
Comments
1. I'm totally jealous you received an email from Gail Simmons.
2. I had a fabulous time catching up with your favorite girl in Park City.
3. I can't wait to hear more about your Singapore experience. (Although if you do eat a fish head I could probably do without an update on that.)
Hope all is well!