Day 17: Dim Sum and one last Roti Prata for the road

I miscalculated the time we'd be leaving, and so the 18 day food immersion will only be 17 days. Perhaps time IS merciful. Brunch was dim sum with friends. A fun time of conversation and multiple small dishes. Your basic fair of soups, dumplings, fish, shrimp, pork and numerous desserts. No photos needed. It was time well spent eating and talking and laughing.

In the evening, we thought one last prata was in order, so we took the 66 bus and headed down to the Indian food court, choosing Al-Aleem and his yellow plastic seats.

We ordered roti prata, mutton curry, cockles, chicken tikka, and mee goreng with egg. It held more trip nostalgia than culinary goodness and that's OK. It was warm outside, and the tea tarek was delicious for our final night. Singapore put my tummy through a virtual triathlon of Chinese, Malay, and Indian foods. I have to go home now and let my exhausted stomach lining rest and recover from the Everest-like climb atop Singapore's pile of culinary delights. Will I ever recover? Only time will tell. Goodbye Singapore. I ate you up and you spit me out. Touche!

Day 16: House Party

I woke up, sat down, drank coffee and then, while still in my pj's, was handed a package of Indian takeout for breakfast. A light breakfast, no doubt. Briyani chicken, rice, eggplant, and a deep fried hard boiled egg. Aaaaaaaah. I feel so light and ready to conquer the day. *gurgle gurgle*

I washed it all down with my delish breakfast dessert of pandan chiffon cake from Bangawan Solo. Any sane person would just have the cake for breakfast. I don't think I've ever eaten so much, so consistently, for so long in my life. It's a bit mad. "Singaporean mad." Hey look! Yet another sole without a shoe. Melted off on the way back from the food court, for sure. Poor sucker was so full, he probably didn't even notice.

Night time was party time. A local's satay extravaganza! We started off with Indonesian Tahu Lontong, Steam Chicken/Prawn Wonton and Peking Duck wraps, all professionally presented. After snacking on the appetizers and getting full, the main meal was then served. Beef, mutton and chicken satay with cucumbers, onions and home made ketuput (rice steamed in banana leaf) that is to die for especially when dipped in the peanut sauce. And then we had mee siam, which is flavored vermicelli in a tamarind sauce with shrimp, eggs and tau pok (fried bean curd). To end the evening, we had the first healthy meal of the entire trip; a fruit salad stick.







At the end of the night, one of the locals commented that the eating in abundance is not a usual occurence. Obviously I have been in the company of food masochists. Colon terrorists!! On the flip side, why would anyone want to cook when one can get a good meal at any hawker center for less then $5. You might as well turn your kitchen into a recreation room. Put a ping pong table in there!

Day 15:Yong Tau Fu, Coffee w/Iggy, and Newton Circus

My personal local has a new gripe. She almost couldn't order brunch because ALL the restaurant staff only spoke Mandarin. She's acrimonious! *fist in the air* hee hee hee. We went to Lucky Plaza for Yong Tau Fu, a selection of fishcakes (including fresh chilli stuffed with fishcake) that is cooked on the spot and then drowned in a sweet and spicy sauce. For dessert, a bowl of cold bobo chacha and ice kachang.

A funny thing happened after our visit to Iggy's, yesterday. We had heard of the restaurant before coming to Singapore and made reservations when we had arrived. Before we dined there, through local networking, my personal local found out that Ignatius (or Iggy himself) is actually someone she knew as Yan years ago. A call was made. He knew we were coming. Bad timing of a meeting and he missed us by half an hour. Not to worry. Iggy himself calls my local to apologize and asks for us to come down today and have coffee. From there we got a tour of his kitchen, met all of his chefs, tried some more desserts and ended up having a very interesting conversation about the ins and outs of the fine dining business. Such a humble guy. It's amazing the difficulties they have to work around just by operating near the equator, which translates to NO LOCAL PRODUCE. He was jealous of us and our bevy of bay area farmer's markets, especially heirloom tomatoes. At any rate, his staff is one happy lot. He allows them free reign to experiment and you can feel the passion and joy when you walk in the kitchen. On a funny note, he apologized to me for the quality of the foie gras; you remember, the one I went gaga over. He also apologized for missing us and forcing us to eat "off the menu," as if that were a bad thing. He had wanted to have some crazy wonderful stuff whipped up special. Alas, he was in a meeting to move his establishment from the Four Seasons to the Hilton. Why? Not because there would be more seating for his guests, but the kitchen at the Hilton is double the size. Lucky lucky chefs.

After our fun aside at Iggy's, we took a stroll down to the new architectural wonder that is the new/still under construction Sands Hotel and Casino. The top part has a park with trees and a pool that makes it look like you're going to swim clean off the edge of the building. Gosh it's hot. And, might I add, that for a country that is lamenting not enough people are having families, there sure are a friggin' lot of babies around!

Off to Newton Circus, completely re-done since last I was there. The hawkers have gotten mighty aggressive and competitive since then. The touristy new nature of it was easily forgotten with an order of kick ass bbq chicken wings. Flavor explosion. The spring roll was just okay, and the mutton soup was disappointing. I'm so spoiled, I get cranky if I have to chew meat now. My favorite dish of the evening was murtabak; sort of a cross between a custardy omelette and a chicken quesadilla. Dip it in the curry and Vishnu appears to only you.

Day 14: Iggy's!!

The old timers were right. Charcoal pills is where it's at! I'M BACK BABY!

From outdoor hawker centers to 5 star fine dining, it was not a difficult leap. The way San Franciscans know French Laundry, Singaporeans know Iggy's. Named #28 out of the top 50 restaurants in the world, this culinary delight did not disappoint.

http://www.theworlds50best.com/awards/1-50-winners

The service was excellent and without pretension. Three of us shared 6 hors d'oeuvres, 3 main courses, and 3 desserts.

The amuse bouche seriously amused my bouche. Tuna tartar with a wasabi foam, but that's where I'd like to draw the line with the foam. Just a personal preference. It's sort of like offering someone flavored air. FEED ME.

Here we have the mushroom flan with fricasee of mushrooms (nice umami flavor, however, they whipped the entire bowl into a foam and you now know how I feel about that. Next was the burrata, or their version of a caprese. Very nice with full fat mozzarella and a balsamic that had all flavor and no bite. Smooth as a baby's bottom. Thirdly, the royalty of this trio, slow cooked egg, super duper crispy bacon, mushrooms and pinot jus. Don't know how those beautiful little croutons stayed ultimately crispy, but this one was savorific.

For our next three, hamachi with herb salad in a sesame-lime dressing. Lovely and not overdone.

Iggy's Salad, which I found to be a palate circus. Dressed in hollandaise and teeming with truffles, as each second passed, a new flavor emerged. Absolutely delightful, light, refreshing and fun.

OHHhhhhhh man. The foie gras. *gulp* I'm salivating again just thinking about it. Warm through and through but with the most delicate crisp on the outside while coating your mouth with goodness on the inside that can only be likened to the satisfaction of finding a tall glass of ice water in the desert. The warm pear sauce it sat in was so understated and complimentary, each bite was Christmas in July.

Then came the main courses. Confit of duck leg, slow cooked Wagyu cheek and Blackmore Wagyu. For those who are unaware, Wagyu is the type of beef from the cow that gives you the more popularly known Kobe beef of Japan.

Well, all I can say is this...I'm ruined for beef for the rest of my life. Stupid Americans and their chewy steak. My first experience with Wagyu was beyond nirvana. How how how can beef be so tender, so fatty, so impressively marbled that it actually melts on your tongue at the first sign of heat. It's beef for the toothless.

The cheek was served with daikon and bacon and the waiter poured warm pinot noir jus from a silver kettle over the top. Holy smokes. Insanity! The goodness of this meal was pure insanity. Get thee to a sanitorium!

I've had a few duck confit's in my day. I like duck confit, and now I'm in love with it and am going to marry it. The sarladaise potatoes were so thin yet crispy and meaty. The mesclun a light refresher for the rich, dark duck meat with oh so crisped skin. The fat underneath became liquid immediately upon entering the pearly gates of your palate. *le sigh*

Dessert consisted of Peanut butter ice cream with granny smith apples and crispy celery. This one stole the show. More like a fragile peanut brittle, the flavors aligned just the right amount of sweetness for you to want more but without the peanut thud.
The black sesame cake would've been better off served alone with tea or coffee. The milk foam, ice cream and unsweetened whipped cream did nothing but blanch out any and all flavor of the subtle sesame. Unfortunately overdone.

I was pleased with their take on German Chocolate cake though. The coconut and chocolate had it's inherent heaviness without being too sweet or portioned too heavily. Again, I'd have preferred more restraint. The simplicity of a well done cake needn't be covered, literally, by superfluous extras. That's my hoidy toidy remark for the day. That being said, if it was served to me again, I'D EAT IT.

Day 13: Changi Village & Mommy's home cooked meal

Confucius say, "When life hands you lemons, and it comes in the form of raging diarrhea, what the hell, have some chili." Nah, I'll have duck porridge instead, please. Not at all oily, just lusciously rich in flavor without brutalizing my ever so fragile whitey intestines. Evil local had first offered me Tar Kway Teow, a rice noodle soup with chili sauce, oyster sauce, fried onions, oil, minced pork and fish cake. I declined while evil local indulged.

Breakfast dessert was gotten from the Malay Muslim bakery. A light smattering of treats consisting of red bean bread roll (enough to feed 12,) banana sponge muffins, and Kueh Selat (kaya/coconut with glutinous rice.) Kind of bland. Bland? Perhaps it's just the Chinese Singaporeans who are trying to kill me. Thank you, Malay lady.

Back at local's house, mommy made din din of salmon, otak otak, rice, special pressure-cooked bbq pork, and THEE most delicious eggplant with fish sauce and chili bean paste.

What's this? A pharmacy?!
Pharmacist, "Yah! Can help you?!"
Me, "Do you have something for upset stomach and diarrhea (big smile)?"
Pharmacist, "How long have diarrhea?!"
Me, "Since Friday."
Pharmacist, "WHAAAAAA?!"
I've used more medicinal products on this trip than I have in the last decade. Singapore, you will not eat me alive! I will eat YOU! Bwaaahhaahahaha... and yet, tomorrow is another day. *cue Gone with the Wind music*

Day 12: Pulau Ubin

I once heard a story about the cast and crew on the set of the African Queen. Turned out everyone got sick except for Humphrey Bogart and John Huston, who drank the entire time. I spent months in third world countries, while heavily drinking mind you, and never poo'd as much as I have in this little first world speck of a food juggernaut, Singapore. Ah booze. I miss you so. Alas, I will keep shitting my brains out until this runs its course.



P.S. The equator is hot. Damn hot. It's actually 5-10F degrees hotter at the beach than it was in the city. P.P.S. Singapore is the capital of sole-less shoes. I think they're just melting off or committing sole-ee-cide or something. We've strolled past no less than 20 shoeless soles on the pavement. It's a regular cobbler's nightmare. But I digress...
For brunch, we walked round and round the hawker center to figure out the types of food they had. The local settled for Ipoh Hor Fun, a noodle dish with mushrooms, chicken, BBQ pork, some veggies in a gravy with chilli, of course, and a pancake with pandan green bean . I had papaya juice. Go ahead, laugh. I admit temporary defeat only. There's a few more days. Something will happen to even the scales on me and my evil taunting local.
REDEMPTION came swiftly! A 10 minute ferry ride to Pulau Ubin, and revenge was mine. My ang mohness was finally an asset. Our day hike around the sweltering island turned out to be mosquito's buffet delight on my local. *evil laugh* You can see the sympathy in my face.


I rewarded myself with a cold can of the local Kickapoo Joy Juice, which is sort of a less sweet Mello Yello. Soooooo hot.
Back on the island, I asked for something bland to eat. The only thing energetic on my body was my colon. Look what my evil local got for me. The ever bland plate of fried anchovies, spicy otak otak, a fried potato ball, egg, coconut rice, 2 slices of cooling cucumber, and a giant blub of red chili.
After dinner, I'm off to my only respite. The fantastic shower in the chalet that shoots water from everywhere. Wahoo!

Day 11: Coastal Ride (and Roller Coaster Tummy Ride)

The ang moh woke up and alas, the tummy is still talking. To add to the consumption issues (or lack of), a pounding headache and a strange rash has developed on my previous hematoma wound from the Muay Thai session. Hello Panadol and Zam Buk. Gerry, if you're reading this, your first aid kit is now empty.

So much for the eating tour. This is tragic but alas, maybe a cycling tour along the coast might just ease the rumblings of the intestines or what's left of it. I pray that I don't leave remnants of my innards along the 25 mile ride.




The local skipped breakfast reluctantly (walking along the multiple roti prata stores salivating) but insisted on stopping at East Coast Lagoon Hawker Center when it came to lunch. Walking around, she chose to join the one long line at the entire hawker center which sells Duck Rice. Duck rice was shimmering from the sauce and came with duck slices and duck gizzard over brown yam rice. Local is happy again. I just drank my coconut juice and watched the water skiiers get dragged around by cranes in the lagoon. That was supposed to be me! OH the injustice of it all. The locals are telling me to get adult diapers and do it anyway. Oh ha....ha....ha... don't think I won't! (Yeah, I won't. My bikini bottoms aren't wide enough.)







On the stroll to the hawker center to finally have my first meal of the day at dinner, I thought that I should have something clean and light. I ended up with Mee Soto, a spicy broth that is made from chicken stock and many different spices with noodles, bean sprouts and a potato ball. There was a small dish of extra chili next to my soup and, before I could say anything or even believe my eyes, the local had grabbed it, dumped it ALL in my soup and said, "To give the gravy a kick." My stomach too, no doubt, but I chose to think of it as medicinal, bug killing chili. This is yet another Malay dish, and I'll say it again, I do not know how those ladies can stand over a hot stove wearing veils, long sleeve shirts and floor length skirts/or pants when it's 90F degrees in the shade in front of a fan! I was sweating for them, so I washed it down with an icey "bird's nest" drink from a typical drink store that you can find in every hawker center ranging from coconut juice to pineapple. Would I live to regret this indulgence? Hell, who knows, but since I'm at it, I'll just have a fresh kaya waffle for dessert. Warm pandan waffle slathered thick with coconut jam. This ang moh is finally happy eating again. Wish me and my tummy luck.