Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
111
Block 1202 East Coast Pkwy. No phone. Seafood dishes are charged by weight, with dishes starting from
around S$14 (US$9.40/£6.30). AE, DC, MC, V. Daily 5pm-midnight.
INEXPENSIVE
Samy's Curry Restaurant
SOUTHERN INDIAN There ar e many places in
Singapore to get good southern I ndian banana leaf, but none quite so unique as S amy's
out on Dempsey Road. Samy's is situated in a huge, high-ceilinged, open-air hall, with
shutters thrown back and fans whirring abo ve. Wash your hands at the back and hav e a
seat, and soon someone will slap a banana-leaf place mat in front of you. A blob of white
rice will be placed in the center , and then buckets of v egetables, chicken, mutton, fish,
prawn, and you-name-it will be brought out, swimming in the richest and spiciest curries
to ever pass your lips. Take a peek in each bucket, nod y our head yes when you see one
you like, and a scoop will be dumped on y our banana leaf. Eat with your right hand or
with a for k and spoon. When y ou're done, wipe the sw eat fr om y our br ow, fold the
banana leaf away fr om you, and place y our tableware on top. Samy's serves no alcohol,
but the fresh lime juice is nice and cooling, and lassi, the flav ored yogurt drink, helps to
counteract the spiciness.
Block 25 Dempsey Rd ., Civil S ervice Club.
&
65/6472-2080.
Reser vations not ac cepted. Sold by the
scoop or piec e, S80¢-S$4 (US55¢-US$2.70/35p -£1.80). V. Daily 11am-3pm and 6-10pm. No alc ohol
served.
6
8
HAWKER CENTERS
Hawker centers
—large gr oupings of informal open-air food stalls—w ere S ingapore's
answer to fast and cheap food in the days befor e McDonald's and are still the best way
to sample every kind of Singaporean cuisine. The traditional hawker center is an outdoor
venue, usually under co ver with fans whirring abo ve, and individual stalls each special-
izing in different dishes. In between rows of cooking stalls, tables and stools offer open
seating for diners.
Each center has an array of food offerings, with most dishes costing betw een S$3.50
and S$7 (US$2.35-US$4.70/£1.55-£3.15). You'll find traditional dishes like
char kway
teow,
flat rice noodles fried with seafood;
fishball noodle
soup,
with balls made fr om
pounded fish and rice flour;
claypot chicken rice,
chicken and mushrooms baked with
rice and fragrant soy sauce;
bak kut teh,
pork ribs stewed with Chinese herbs;
Hainanese
chicken rice,
soft chicken o ver rice pr epared in rich chicken stock;
laksa,
seafood and
rice noodles in a spicy coconut chili soup;
popiah,
turnip, egg, pork, prawn, and sw eet
chili sauce wrapped in a thin skin;
rojak,
fried dough, tofu, cucumber , pineapple, and
whatever the chef has handy , mix ed with a sauce made fr om peanuts and fermented
shrimp paste; plus many, many more Chinese, Malay, and Indian specialties. You'll also
find hot and cold drink stalls and usually a stall selling fr esh fruits and fruit juices.
If you want to become a r eal Singapore Foodie, buy a copy of
Makansutra,
by K. F.
Seetoh (Makansutra Publishing) at any bookstor e. Seetoh is the local gur u of hawker
foods and has sniffed out the tastiest, most authentic local delicacies y ou can imagine.
Within the city limits, most traditional-style hawker centers hav e been closed do wn,
but y ou can still find a fe w. S ingapore's most famous, or notorious, hawker center is
Newton Circus Hawker Center,
a 24-hour center near the N ewton MRT stop and a
tour-bus darling; beware of gouging, especially when or dering seafood dishes, which are
sold by the kilo.