Food

Chow mein in the pouring rain

If you give bad food to your stomach,

it drums for you to dance. ~African Proverb

 

We just got back from Singapore. We were visiting cousins who recently relocated from Sydney.

The city reminds me of Dubai in many ways. Both are efficient, dynamic, ‘can do’ places. The diverse and daring range of food available, reflects that.

There is a very established food scene, from fancy 5 * hotel restaurants, to street cafes and hawker centres.

We can all recognize the experience on offer at elegant and elaborate, expensive restaurants who serve up swanky suppers. But we need balance.

Would you really appreciate such extravagance, if you ate like that all the time?

What if you ‘take away’ the whole restaurant experience? Then it becomes about the place, the flavours, the people. Food doesn’t have to be complicated. It just needs to taste good. And to be  shared in good company.

The last time that we saw these cousins was on a trip to Australia several years ago. Any image of the Harbour Bridge immediately evokes memories of our last night with them. We parked up under the Harbour Bridge, sharing muffins and dessert wine in their car, soaking in Sydney’s city lights. I don’t recall much else from that trip to Sydney but I do remember their girls’ giggles and those muffins!

On this trip, for lunch one afternoon one, we took them to a Hawker centre.

The Hawker scene is huge in Singapore. Each one one is typically semi-outdoors, canteen style, with plastic chairs and totally lacking pretention. It’s all about the food.

Traditionally these food stalls have served local favourites like chicken rice, noodles and wantons.

We dined at Hawker Chan which is found on the 2^nd floor of a complex on Smith Street. Like many visitors to Singapore, we wanted to understand the mystery of the Michelin-starred dish, at $2 a go.

The owner of this stall is a man called Chan Hon Meng. Apparently he initially thought that the Michelin’s interest in his food was a joke. Since he was added to the Michelin Guide in July 2016, he has had to open a second outlet, across the road, to accommodate all the extra dinner guests.

We lined up, armed with freshly pressed paw paw, pineapple and watermelon juices and we waited. Be prepared to wait!

My cousins made a beeline for Hawker Chan’s now famous Chicken Rice dish and some roasted pork, while I opted for steamed veggies and tofu beansprouts. The service was surly but the food was good.

Hawker centres are part of daily life in Singapore. But this food scene is under threat and its future is uncertain. While it is good that more and more young, educated Singaporeans can get jobs in business, it means that fewer and fewer young people are going into the hawker trade.

Maybe future generations will innovate, and the hawker centres will survive. I hope so. They offer a unique and authentic eating experience in Singapore.

Upmarket restaurants and trendy eateries might be off the menu for some. And sometimes you just want that ‘home grown’ flavour – genuine local food, dependable and delicious.

What would you recommend where you are? What’s your best, local, informal food stall?

There are all types of food which can be described as indulgent. But sometimes the quirky and the ordinary meals are the most memorable, the ‘not-so-posh-nosh’.

Eating street food or camping down for a picnic can be a special part of travelling and gaining a sense of the place, savouring local bites in local places.

We make a point of avoiding the hotel’s menu throughout most stays and make the effort to get out, sample and enjoy!

As I recall memorable meals with memorable people, a few stand out as particularly notable.

Glen Beach, Cape Peninsula – W Cape cheese (with a fair dose of sand) and local Shiraz, one NYE on a beach in False Bay, joined by two passers by and their dog

South Bank, London – Hot chips and cool champagne on a bench on the South Bank, celebrating with North London flat-mates. I still remember that night and it was 20 years ago!

Devils Pool, Victoria Falls, Zambia – ‘Stolen’ breakfast buffet items; croissants, cheeses and local fruits on a hotel blanket, watching the Zambezi River cascade over the edge of Mosi-oa-Tunya

Stratford Upon Avon, UK – A car picnic on a date, before going to watch a Royal Shakespeare Company play. We chowed down on chow mein, in the pouring rain. I don’t remember the play, but I do remember that spicy Chinese meal (and the date)

Central Park, NYC – A deli picnic of pretzels and cakes on ‘that rock’ in Central park, on my husband’s first ever trip to the Big Apple

Calangute Beach, Goa – Goan Kaju Curry, washed down with feni* shared with friends

(*a potent; local liquor, made from cashew apples or coconut sap)

Al Jamiaa, Beirut, Lebanon – Piping hot manakeesh,  مناقيش‎  with zaatar, after a big night in Beirut; feeding hangovers with fluffy, cheesy deliciousness, in the company of one special DIVA

Food has become so fashionable and oh so ‘instagrammable’! But sometimes it’s not about the ‘juniper jus’ or the fancy foam. It’s not so much about the coulis but the company. It’s who you were with and a sense of occasion, that makes a meal memorable.

When it comes to ‘not-so-posh-nosh’,  what are your most memorable meals?

(where, what and with who?)

 

© Maggie M / Mother City Time