Chomp Chomp all day long...Hogmore's Singaporean Food Trip

Chomp Chomp all day long...

Hogmore's Singaporean Food Trip

My brother is a food enthusiast who dreams, lives and breathes food. If there were a 'Hogmore' clan of foodies, he would surely head it. The images of Singaporean delicacies at  http://discover.stayfareast.com/ made Mr. Foodie drool.  He was already envisioning his trip to food heaven.  So I decided to plan out the itinerary of a short  five day food trip where he could immerse himself in the unique culinary delights Singapore has to offer.

Thanks to the all nighters at college, he prefers brunch as the first meal of the day. Especially on holiday, he loves to load up with a lip smacking brunch and eat something on the go while he does his touristy sight seeing. Hawker food i.e. street food is a favorite all    around the world. So it's no wonder that he believes that this is the best way to explore local delicacies first hand. Chicken Satay and Hainanese Chicken Rice (I'm sure you don't get the authentic flavors here in India) are his favorite when it comes to Singaporean food. This trip will decide whether his most loved Singaporean dish will be re-crowned!!!

I created a presentation- a five day itinerary (embedded as images in this post) where Mr. Foodie will visit all the greatest local food centres in Singapore and savor the delicious flavors Singapore has to offer. It's really beneficial in my opinion to plan out first hand where to head. Especially in a new land, knowing what you are looking for and where to head is a great time saver (it also helps to actually know what a dish looks like and what it's made of beforehand rather than roaming around confused). The most popular venues to enjoy local cuisine are Chomp Chomp Street, East Coast Sea Food Centre, Newton Circus, Lau Pa Sat and Adam Road Hawker Centre. This trip will cover all five. We'll take a look at popular breakfast/brunch options, local drinks, desserts and even the dreaded Durian all through the course of this fun trip!!! 

DAY 1

Brunch on day 1 will begin with all things Kaya - Kaya toast and Kaya buns along with half bolied eggs. Kaya  toast is the local breakfast staple and all time comfort food. Kaya is a coconut  jam, made with sugar, coconut milk, eggs and Pandan. Pandan leaves are used in South Asian cooking to add a sort of nutty flavor. The drink to go with this delicious snack is Kopi-o; the traditional  strong black coffee served with sugar. Since brother loves all things coconut and can't go a day without strong coffee I'm sure this will be his best Singaporean brunch experience.

Dinner time will have him head to Lau Pa Sat (A Victorian Style structure granted status as a national monument with alfresco vendors dotting the place at night time) to experience his long time favorite Singaporean food: Chicken Satay as a starter followed by Hainanese Chicken Rice. Finally dear brother will get to experience the real Chicken Satay- chicken barbecued on skewers called the satay stick and a sweet and spicy peanut sauce to go with it. Yum!!Yum!! 

Then his next all time love: Hainanese Chicken Rice -only this time it will be the authentic flavor. Succulent Chicken with fragrant rice with chili and ginger paste! My mouth is watering and I want to go back to my non vegetarian days just to try this.

I'm pretty sure the hot food will leave him panting and so it will be best to end the day with Cheng Tng,  a local healthy dessert packed with numerous ingredients savored by the health conscious. Cheng Tng is said to be a sweet cooling soup topped with ice, made of sweet potato, barley, white fungus (has anti inflammatory properties and numerous health benefits) and longans (used to treat insomnia). What more could you ask for in a dessert.? Every reason to indulge in this sweet delight over and over again!!!

   DAY 2

The second day will begin with all things Prata. Prata is a the Singaporean version of the local Indian Parantha. Imagine there are so many version available. Check out the interesting versions that should be a must try on you food list while in Singapore here. Spoilt for choice, I'm sure my brother's most loved one will be the Chicken floss Prata. A total foodie's delight!!!

After all the heavy Prata's a great way to cool off will be a glass of Bandung. This pink, sweet, icy and sticky delight is made of milk and rose cordial syrup. I hope it tastes as good as it looks!

Dinner will be at the famous Newton Circus Hawker Centre - A must go for foodies to sample the local fare. Starting with the delicious chilly crab (crabs  prepared in sweet and tangy sauce spiced with chilly) he will follow it with the famed Laska (rice noodles in spicy coconut broth with prawns, bean sprouts, eggs and fish cake. This dish is served with Sambal chilly sauce known for its spiciness and topped with Laska or Vietnamese coriander leaves)

Despite such heavy food I'm sure he will have some space to sample Rojak a delicious sweet, tangy and spicy local salad made of  vegetable, fruits and You Tiao (crisp dough fritters) topped with a unique black sauce and finely chopped peanuts . Tau Suan will be the final item of the day. A local hot starchy dessert made of split mung beans, pandan and thickened with potato flour. The crisp dough fritters or You Tiao in this dish are the perfect foil to balance the extra starch in the Tau Suan.

DAY 3

Day three will begin with a brunch of fried carrot cake and oyster omelet. Don't get duped by the name. The carrot cake, surprise, surprise has not a hint of carrots and is furthest from being a cake!!! It comes in two versions- black and white due to the sauces used. Made of steamed radish mixed with flour, fried with garlic, eggs and preserved radishes, spring onions form the garnishing for this scrumptious dish. The oyster omelet made of oysters and eggs I'm sure will be the most special omelet this foodie would have ever had.  

The evening will have Mr. Hogmore head to Chomp Chomp centre to eat his heart out. Grilled stringray flavored with sambal chilly (the super hot sauce made of chilli peppers, shrimp paste, fish sauce, garlic, vinegar and lime) will be the first dish to sample followed by the famous barbecued chicken wings. I'm sure this chicken fanatic will add BBQ chicken wings to his list of hot favorites. To cool off from the hot chilies his best bet would be to gulp down sugar cane juice :-). Dessert will be Chendol, a dessert with shaved ice, pandan jelly, coconut milk and red beans.

DAY 4

The penultimate day will start with some Beancurd with YouTiao and a drink of the super addictive bubble tea. Beancurd is a sort of curd made of soya beans topped with a sweet syrup served with crispy fried salty dough fritters the famous YouTiao to scoop the delicious curd. What an amazing combination of sweet and salty. 

Then it will be time to tip the calorie counter with some Bubble tea. Bubble tea is a popular local extra sweet drink and gets it name from the frothy bubbles created while shaking the tea.It  is said to contain a tea base shaken or stirred with milk or fruit topped with chewy tapioca balls called pearls or so says Wikipedia.

Come dinner time and it would be time to sample Adam Road Hawker centre's most popular delicacies. Nasi Lemak and Prawn noodles followed by the much talked about Ice Kachang for dessert. Nasi Lemak  is normally regarded as a great breakfast option but, due to its popularity and the innovation in options available, it is a great dish to have at almost anytime of the day. It consists of rice cooked in the much loved coconut milk, topped with fried anchovies,fish, nuts and finally served wrapped in Pandan leaves. The Sambal chili is a must have accompaniment with this dish too.

Prawn noodles  also referred to as Hokkien Mee  is a dish made up of egg noodles with prawns, pork and squid in a tasty broth. They are a hot seller and Adam Road  is know for the large sized prawns it offers.

Dessert time will be a time for indulgence in the  icy, psychedelic, rainbow like- sweet surprise called Ice Kachang. This colorful beauty boasts of jelly, read beans, sweet corn and palm seeds as a base topped with shaved ice, a myriad variety of colored syrups and condensed milk.  What a pretty way to end the day!!!

DAY 5

The last day of this much relished food trip will be packed with all things sweet and some adventure too!!! Brunch will start with Chwee Kueh, a steamed rice cake topped with preserved radish and served with the ever present chili sauce. Then onward to sample everything sweet beginning with the Pandan Cake, the light green color looks so wonderful in a cake. Moving on to another sweet green delight- green bean soup. Made of  green mung beans, rock sugar, tangerine and tapioca pearls or sago this nutritious soup packs a protein punch, helps to beat the heat and is known to expel toxins from the body. Wow! I think I'll have to add this on my list of things to try to beat the Delhi summer. 

Thereafter it will be time to head out in search of an ice cream uncle to sample the local Walls ice cream wrapped in a slice of rainbow bread. What an innovative way to eat ice cream! Then comes a stinky adventure. So hold your breath. Time to sample Durian, the local fruit which is banned from many places due to its long lasting odour. After this I'm sure brother would love the end to the last brunch in Singapore with a Milo Dinosaur.  Milo, a local drink, like our Indian Bournvita is a much loved chocolate drink. So chocolate milk  topped with more undissolved Milo. Yum! Yum! Yum!!!

Dinner on the last day would be at the East Coast Food Centre. The best way to end this trip by indulging in exotic seafood by the beach. Starting with Sambal Lala Clams, sweet calms paired with the hotness of the sambal chili  paste make for a great combination. After that its time for another adventure only for the brave hearted, eating Gong Gong (snails...yikes) and Crispy Fried Baby Squid. Brother, you sure are really very brave!!!

After five days of pure culinary delight I'm sure my brother would have not just one, but quite a few favorite dishes because with Singaporean dishes, no one can eat just one...Keep chomping.