Goodbye Singapore Food and "Fine" Signs

We are still going through photos from our four years in Singapore and a lot of them are pictures of food.

Food can be hard to photograph; if the photos do not convey how amazing the food is, be assured: Singapore is awash in delicious food.

Food in Singapore generally mirrors the Chinese, Malay, and Indian make-up of the country. Great Thai and Korean food is also common, and so are places for fine dining, trendy western food in popular tourist neighborhoods, and world famous gin bars.

 

While it is possible to spend heavily on an evening of food and drink, Hawker Centers are a notable exception.  When Singapore modernized, street vendors were concentrated into specific locales.

Some food centers are famous and well-established institutions while others are smaller, unassuming collections of food stalls connected to malls or apartment complexes. Collectively they represent a Mecca for varied, affordable, flavor-packed food options. 

Some food centers have unique dishes, but there are some stalls that will be found almost anywhere. Chicken rice is an iconic national dish and Kristi's favorite; this stall also offers other roasted meat options.

Indian food was a go to for us in Singapore and might be what we miss the most, especially when paratha (a bread) is one of the few things our picky child will reliably eat.

Dumplings are another Singapore food that it is hard to go wrong with. The popular chain Din Tai Fung (actually a chain from Taiwan!), puts their kitchens on display so that you can see the dumpling being constructed.

Above are the "spine meat" dumplings from one of our favorite spots at the Potong Pasir hawker center, down the street from our school. Right and below was our local dim sum spot in the Kovan neighborhood. 

Satay is another delicious hawker option.

Soups of various descriptions are also common hawker meals. Cata's favorite was fishball noodle. Many stalls allow you to get the dry version with the soup served on the side. 

Laksa!

Mala hot pot can be found in hawkers and dedicated restaurants. While it sounds like a soup, its not. These stalls have all sorts of ingredients on display, just select what you want, get it weighed and then they will fry it up with plenty of chili.

Economic or curry rice stalls are also an awesome food option. Just point at the meat and veggies you want and then ask them to pour over the curry sauce. 

Hokkien Mee (mee means noodle) is another common stall. It is a saucy, savory umami-flavored plate of noodles and seafood and pork belly.

Rojak is also a popular hawker food. It is a sort of salad made of fruit, veggies, and fritters coated in a spicy, sticky palm sugar dressing.

Sambal stingray!

Carrot cake (made from white radish) is a common dim sum offering, but also fried up with eggs and served with a spicy, tangy sauce.

Some popular foods are family style dining affairs where you cook your food at the table. Hot pot is popular, we also had a go to Korean barbecue spot. 

Right and below: some more Korean options.

Parents sampling some hawker options.

Another wonderful part of living abroad:  Sign weirdness. With four national languages, there is plenty of opportunity for things to get lost in translation. Some signs are intended to be helpful (like safe escalator use). Some signs and advertising are harder to make sense of.

Singapore is often though of as having many restrictive rules, laws, and fines. We did not really experience this, but the signs everywhere telling what not to do are a fun idiosyncrasy that we loved. 

However, there are many signs informing you what not to do. Some even tell you the fine for a specific offence. 

While not a finable offence, durian is definitely not allowed on public transportation. 

Feel like a coconut? How about a Swiftie coconut?