Die Die Must Try

SINGAPORE - IT’S A CITY, IT’S A CITY-STATE, IT’S A COUNTRY, add a “sling” and it’s a cocktail. Born in 1965, and already boasting the world’s 7th largest GDP per capita, it’s an economic powerhouse that’s hard on criminal activity, but easy on the eyes. 

Impressive front entrance of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum.

First-floor ceiling at Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum.

You won’t find any chewing gum, but you also won’t get any stuck to your shoe. Sexual miscreants are fined, jailed and likely caned for “outrages of modesty”, but women needn’t worry about being fondled on public transport. It’s clean, it’s orderly, and while I often prefer my cities with a rougher edge, a patina if you will, it did feel nice not to ever need to clutch my bag or stress out about the perfect rebuff to those unwanted advances - too cold and you hurt an ego, too kind and it’s an invitation.

A key stop on one of the world’s most vital shipping routes, Singapore is a veritable laksa of cultures, religions, languages and food. Malay, Javanese, Mandarin, English and Singlish (Singaporean English) are overheard at every coffee shop, mega mall, and subway stop, and holy sites representing all of the world’s major religions dot the city.

Gold leaf-gilded Buddha.

During our visit the Little India neighborhood was in the throes of Deepavali, the Hindu festival of light. Shoes were scattered about sidewalks in front of temples, and the sweet aroma of burning incense and fresh flowers rose from the offering tents. Our impromptu morning alarm, the bells from Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple rang every morning at 7:45 sharp.

Inside Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple.

In Singapore hawking is a way of life, and hunting down the best version of local specialties such as fish head curry, carrot cake (chunks of carrot or radish stir fried in heaven), murtabak (stuffed folded omelette pancake), nasi lemak (a rice dish cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf), Hainanese chicken rice, otak-otak (grilled or steamed fish cake), egg creams (soft pastry boat filled with egg and cream), kaya toast, mantous (fried buns) and chili crab, is a sport – but more like Pokémon GO mixed with Thanksgiving dinner than track and field.  

Carrot cake, but not the kind you’re used to.

Sautéed bok choy with crispy garlic and mantous - a winning combination.

Chili crab, Singapore’s national dish from a Michelin-Star hawker stall. Comparatively, this one was a little pricey at $40.

Venison-stuffed Murtabak at Zam Zam.

An efficient, intuitive, cheap subway system means no corner of the city is out of reach and bingeing at all of Singapore’s most popular hawker centers is a piece of cake. We were able to hit Maxwell Road Hawker Center, Newton Food Center, Lau Pa Sat Food Court, and Chinatown Complex.

The world’s first Michelin-star rated hawker stall, Hawker Chan in Chinatown Complex.

Hainanese chicken rice is everywhere you look, but not all is created equal.

This same fish face seemed to be on every fish advert.

At Maxwell the stalls circle an interior dining area like covered wagons protecting cattle. The action is all around. Full roasted ducks hang on hooks with their plucked heads tucked twistedly under wing like they’re just down for a nap. Tall stalks of sugar cane are bent in half and shoved into grinders again and again, until nothing is left but their sweet, gritty liquid and pulpy remains. Clueless fish heads stare, mouths agape, from golden bowls of steaming broth. Machetes hack down violently in precision swings atop green coconuts full of cool milk. Tiny cockle shells, like striated stones, are heaped in wet mounds. Sizzling hisses, clanging ancient metal, and the dull thuds of chopping through bone fill the centers. Every few stalls a pungent odor slaps me sideways, but the overall aroma is quite pleasant.

Fish ball soup at Maxwell Street Food Center.

Maxwell Street Food Center bustling on a weekend night.

Soup dumplings trump everything always.

Steamed cockles and popiah.

In 2016 the first edition of the Michelin Guide to Singapore was published, and today intrepid diners can sup on a premium example of a high-end, low-end mash up, a Michelin Star-rated hawker meal for under $10. I once tried a wavy potato chip with a dollop of French onion dip and a sprinkle of caviar in Nashville. While the verdict was it tasted good, not great, I still love the concept, the clash of two worlds. Singapore shows us that sometimes when two opposites meet, the product can be outstanding.

At our first Michelin-Star hawker stall on day one. Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle.

Cereal prawns. Sweet and savory crusted prawns you eat whole. Not from a hawker stall, but still deserve to be mentioned.

Verdict: Mostly Harmless.

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Laksa: a spicy noodle soup popular in the Peranakan cuisine of Southeast Asia.

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple: a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali, located in the middle of Little India in the southern part of Singapore.