Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
29
dipped in chili peanut sauce. M ost Malay
food is served as
Nasi padang
—a big pile
of rice surrounded by meat, egg, vegetable,
tofu, and condiments smother ed in tasty ,
spicy gravy.
PERANAKAN CUISINE
Peranakan cuisine came out of the S traits-
born Chinese community and combines
such mainland Chinese ingr edients as
noodles and oyster sauces with local Malay
flavors of coconut milk and peanuts.
Don't drink in betw een bites, but eat
through the burn. Your brow may sw eat,
but your mouth will build a tolerance as
you eat, and the flavors will come through
more fully.
NORTHERN INDIAN CUISINE
N orth-
ern I ndian food combines y ogurts and
creams with a milder, more delicate blend
of herbs and chilies than is found in its
southern neighbor. It's ser ved most often
with breads like fluffy nans and flat chapa-
tis. Marinated meats like chicken or fish,
cooked in the tandoor clay o ven, ar e the
highlight of a northern Indian meal.
Northern I ndian r estaurants ar e mor e
upmarket and expensive than the southern
ones, but although they offer mor e of the
comforts associated with dining out, the
southern banana leaf experience is more of
an adventure.
Some Singaporean variations on Indian
cuisine are
mee goreng,
fried noodles with
chili and curry gravy, and
fish head curry,
a giant fish head simmer ed in a br oth of
coconut curry, chilies, and fragrant season-
ings.
Muslim influences on Indian food have
produced
roti prata,
a humble late-night
snack of fried br ead served with chickpea
gravy, and
murtabak,
a fried prata filled
with minced meat, onion, and egg.
Between the Muslims' dietary laws
(halal)
forbidding por k and the H indus' r egard
for the sacred cow, Indian food is the one
cuisine that can be eaten b y every kind of
Singaporean.
Laksa lemak
is a gr eat example of the
combination, mixing Chinese rice flour
noodles into a soup of M alay-style spicy
coconut cr eam with chunks of seafood.
Another favorite,
popiah,
is the Peranakan
version of a spring r oll, combining sw eet
turnip, chopped egg, chili sauce, and
prawns in a delicate wrap .
Otak-otak
is
very unique. It's toasted mashed fish with
coconut milk and chili, wrapped in a
banana leaf and grilled over flames.
INDIAN CUISINE
SOUTHERN INDIAN CUISINE
S outh-
ern I ndian food is a super-hot blend of
spices in a coconut milk base. Rice is the
staple, along with thin breads such as
prata
and
dosai,
which are good for curling into
shovels to scoop up drippy curries. Vege-
tarian dishes ar e abundant, a r esult of
Hindu-mandated v egetarianism, and use
lots of chickpeas and lentils in curr y and
chili gravies.
Vindaloo,
meat or poultry in
a tangy and spicy sauce, is also w
2
ell
known.
Banana leaf r estaurants,
sur ely the
most interesting way to experience south-
ern I ndian food in S ingapore, ser ve up
meals on banana leaves cut like place mats.
It's v ery informal. S poons and for ks ar e
provided, but if you want to act local, use
your hands. R emember to use y our right
hand only, as that is the pr oper etiquette,
and don 't forget to wash up befor
JAPANESE CUISINE
Japanese food is v ery popular in the city ,
and not only with the J apanese expat
population. S ingaporeans lo ve the focus
on quality fresh ingredients, as well as the
ease with which y ou can grab sushi on a
break from the office or shopping. Quality
and price ranges fr om supermarket refrig-
erator sushi, to conv eyer-belt r estaurant
chains, right up to the epicur ean shrines
that fly their ingr
e and
after at the tap.
One tip for eating very spicy foods is to
mix a larger pr oportion of rice to gravy .
edients fr eshly fr om
