Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served

When people talk about Singapore, they talk about it as being a "fine" city. They talk about the shopping, from the posh malls along Orchard Road to the bargain stalls at the night market in Chinatown.

However, people rarely talk about the food in Singapore. While some wax poetic over their favorite Singaporean treats, very few go to the Lion City for food … well, except for chili crabs in Boat Quay.

That’s why when opportunity knocked at our door for a food trip in Singapore, as part of the then ongoing World Gourmet Summit, we just couldn’t say no? Our group of Filipino journalists knew Singapore like the palm of our hands, and we had our favorites when it came to its food, but this time we were going to discover the island-country’s cuisine as a group. With the right company – and we were a happy, contented lot after our visit – any food trip is worth the journey.

Breakfast In Bed? Not!

What do Singaporeans have for breakfast? Our tour guide Magdalene Chia says there is so much to choose from that you can have almost everything for breakfast. Rice porridge is quite popular, and at the food centers all over the city, you will see people lined up for their daily congee.

One morning institution that has become synonymous to things Singaporean is the kaya toast, first introduced in 1936 by Ah Koon, a Chinese immigrant from Hainan Island in mainland China. When he first opened his coffee stall, little did he know that it would become an institution. There are now 13 Ya Kun outlets around Singapore.

Kaya is a Malay spread similar to our matamis na bao, except that it has eggs in it. That’s why good kaya spread tastes of custard. Commercially made kaya is available in many supermarkets, but it sometimes tastes of egg.

At Ya Kun, they have perfected the kaya toast, so much that it has become the benchmark. Brown bread is sliced thinly and toasted over a charcoal grill before two slices are generously spread with dollops of butter and kaya spread into a sandwich. It is served with a bowl of two coddled eggs and is best taken with either coffee or tea sweetened with condensed milk. This offering, known as the kaya set, has been on Ya Kun’s menu since 1944. Fact is, the menu hasn’t changed since then.

There is no rule to eating kaya toast, except to enjoy it. Traditionally, you season the eggs with light soy sauce and pepper. You can eat the eggs as is, or dunk your kaya toast in it. Either way, it is a delicious breakfast, except if you are counting calories.

Ya Kun sells its own kaya, so you can have the authentic experience at home.

To cook the eggs, place the eggs in a container and pour boiling water over them. Leave them to cool. When you’re ready to have breakfast, just pour another pitcher of boiling water over the eggs to heat them well. Crack open, and you’re rolling for an authentic Singaporean breakfast.

If kaya toast is too light for you, because nothing really compares to tapsilog for breakfast, a quick trip to a neighborhood food center will surely keep you happy.

All over Singapore, there are food centers where you can sneak in anytime of the day to have a snack or a meal. It may be inside a mall for air-conditioned comfort, or it may be set up beside a park, a nearby market or a community center.

These food courts offer anything you can possible think of. On our visit to the Maxwell Food Center, located at the end of South Bridge Rd., we were greeted with choices. Congee? Curry? Chicken rice? It’s all up to you.

Magdalene introduced us to more Singaporean favorites, like Chinese doughnuts, which are like dense deep-fried bicho sprinkled generously with peanuts, Singaporean noodles, a very spicy version of our pancit bihon, roti prata with curry dip, and a version of palitaw made with fine rice noodles and served with a siding of grated coconut and orange-colored palm sugar.

What Singapore has that Manila should have are more soybean milk stores. Maxwell Food Center has a Mr. Bean counter where you can order all the soymilk you want. You can have it hot or cold, flavored or not, and even made into a pearl cooler.

Soybean milk is an alternative to milk for the lactose intolerant, and it is a good source of protein for those on diets because it has less the fat and sweetness of cow’s milk.

No Packed Lunches For Me

With the all-day dining at food centers, there really is no reason to go elsewhere for lunch or dinner. But man is a creature of comfort… and good lunches.

The Marina Food Loft at Marina Square is one of the newly-opened food courts in the Lion City. Unlike Maxwell Food Center, it is air-conditioned, and rather than offering a hodge-podge of food stalls, each with its own specialty, everything here is themed for convenience.

What do you fancy today? A noodle soup? Roast duck rice? A hot pot? Something Japanese or Korean perhaps?

Since we were in Singapore, we did as the locals and gorged on the favorites. Aside from chicken rice, Magdalene ordered roast duck and char siew pork rice dishes. Atop the flavorful rice served with chicken rice were juicy bits of sliced duck and barbecued pork, or what we would know in Manila as pork asado. They come with a siding of bok choy and a bowl of flavorful broth. A complete meal it is.

Wait, there’s more. Magdalene came back with spring rolls, beef kway teow, pohpiah and fried tofu.

The pohpiah is another variety of spring roll except that it is wrapped in a fine egg crepe. A bite of it and you will feel the crunch of ground peanuts and dried shrimp (hibe) reminding you of lumpiang sariwa, except that the sweet sauce is wrapped into the spring roll.

And who could say no to laksa, that Malay noodle soup dish which I love to hate? I can. Magdalene says there really is no reason for many Singaporeans to cook at home, because you can have your fill at any food court. Just to make a bowl of laksa, housewives of old spent a day preparing everything needed for this noodle soup dish. The vegetables had to be sliced thinly, the spicy shrimp paste had to be cooked to the right consistency, and the soup had to be prepared. Nowadays, you can just go to the supermarket and buy a laksa kit, or just go to a food court and order one for just S$3.

And the best way to cool down your scorched tongue after a bowl of laksa is with a bowl of sweet ices. My favorite is ruby red ice, a bowl of shaved ice topped with water chestnuts cooked in a really, furious red jelly. It’s cold and sweet, and the water chestnuts are really crunchy.

Every so often when Singaporeans feel the need to splurge, they move on to fancier restaurants for lunch or dinner. That’s how we found ourselves at the Imperial Herbal Restaurant for a taste of delicious medicinal cooking.

Can the words "delicious" and "medicinal" really go together in one sentence? If you are at the Imperial Herbal Restaurant, they can. And proofs that "delicious" and "medicinal" can go together are the many awards the restaurant has received from numerous magazines, newspapers and award-giving bodies.

If you are at a loss as to what to order, the restaurant’s general manager can offer suggestions. Of course, he will take into account the health needs of the diners.

The appetizer was a platter of brown ginseng, served with chili paste and sliced green chilis. It tasted of paper, but improved greatly with the chili. It is recommended for losing weight and improving blood circulation. It is not recommended for pregnant women.

Then the goodies rolled in: Quick-fried egg white with scallop, polygonatum and lady bell root, winter melon soup, deep-fried chicken with eight precious herbs, sautéed chili prawns with walnuts, braised eggplants with pine nuts and candied sweet potato for dessert.

The restaurant’s general manager handed us a flyer about the benefits of our lunch. The polygonatum and lady bell root are good from the complexion, while walnuts strengthen the kidneys and nourish the brain. The eight precious herbs in the chicken promote energy; the eggplants cool the body and prevent the hardening of blood vessels; pine nuts delay aging, moisturize the lungs and clear the intestine; and sweet potatoes relieve constipation. And yes, we were full, too.

And Now, For A Short Break…

Every time I’m in Singapore, I stock up on snacks in my hotel room, or steal away a few minutes from an appointment for merienda.

This time, we were given a special afternoon treat: Chocolates at Max Brenner’s Chocolate Bar at the Esplanade Mall. Unlike Max Brenner in Manila, Singapore’s branch concentrates on the chocolates – be it a praline, mocktail, hot drink, or fondue. No meals here for sure, but none of us wanted a sandwich then.

We all agreed on a fondue, and there we were dipping strawberries, cake cubes, and marshmallows in our choice of dark, milk, and white chocolate dips.

Ever heard of wedding pastries? In many Chinese families in Singapore, it is a practice to give bridal cakes to the couple or for the family to give them away to guests for good luck. This is all part of the traditional wedding etiquette.

Tong Heng Pastries offers a number of wedding pastries that will surely delight both guests and couples. There’s the candied melon crisp, also known as the wife cake, to show the husband’s devotion to his beloved. A pair of dragon phoenix cake with lotus seed paste is a gift of blessing of matrimonial joy and harmony for the couple. The harmony crisps with mixed seeds promises many magical moments filled with love, tenderness and peace, while the happiness cookie is a wedding must-have. It comes filled with either lotus seed, red bean or green bean pastes.

Getting Crabby

What trip to Singapore is complete without trying two of its culinary institutions – chili and pepper crabs?

To satisfy our craving for crabs, we were off to the Jumbo Seafood Gallery branch at Riverwalk. We dined al fresco and a cool, summer breeze accompanied us during our meal.

We had nothing but Jumbo Seafood’s specials: Crispy baby squids, taro nest with scallops, lamb chops with pepper sauce, deep-fried red tilapia with nonya sauce, pepper crab, chili crab, fried tofu, mushroom with broccoli, and fried chicken. How could we complain when everything was just delicious?

The crispy baby squids were served on a bed of fried rice noodles. The sweet sauce whetted our appetite, while the noodles added a delectable crunch. We could have devoured more except that would mean giving up on the other treats. The scallops were soft and sweet, while the taro nest added a contrasting texture. The lamb chops were soft and tender, spicy sweet with the pepper sauce, and without the gamy taste. The deep-fried red tilapia was an eye-catcher, with the flesh of the fish filleted to open into a butterfly.

But all these were forgotten when the crabs were placed on the table. Which did we like best? The pepper crabs were spicy hot, but a little on the dry side. The chili crabs came with a spicy sweet sauce that you could ladle over your bowl of rice, or mop up with either steamed or deep-fried buns. I voted for the chili crabs.

The vegetable dishes followed, but they were a letdown after the crabs. But they did relax our tongues from all the spice we had from the crabs.

We all skipped dessert that night, even if it would have been the perfect end to this rich meal. There simply was no more space in our tummies.

On our last night in Singapore, we decided to take it easy. It was a slow night, and after the eating we did the past three days, we needed a rest.

We were off to Chijmes. This dining and shopping complex sits on what used to be the old Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus. When the convent closed, the premises were converted into the dining and shopping complex it now is, with 20 bars and restaurants offering a variety of cuisines. There are also a number of retail shops that offer an eclectic mix of merchandise from artifacts to handicrafts, from houseware to jewelry and clothing, as well as souvenirs from different Asian countries.

We had steak that night at Insomnia, a casual dining bar-restaurant. As we sipped our cocktails and had our fill of the city for the last night, we talked about all the food we had the past three days. If any city in the world offers a wealth of delicious cooking to satisfy even the most finicky diner, it must be Singapore.

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Ya Kun has branches all over Singapore. We visited the branch at Far East Square at the corner of China and Pekin Sts., one of the few stand-alone Ya Kun outlets throughout the city.

The Imperial Herbal Restaurant is at the third floor, Metropole Hotel, 41 Seah St., Singapore. It is open from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Call 6337-0491 and 6331-5112 or fax 6339-5273 for inquiries and reservations.

Max Brenner’s Chocolate Bar is at the ground floor of Esplanade Mall. Call 6235-9556 for inquiries.

Tong Heng Pastries has branches at Causeway Point, Changi Airport, Chinatown, Compass Point Shopping Center, Junction 8 Shopping Center, Jurong Point Shopping Center, Lot 1 Shopper’s Mall, Suntec City Mall Fountain Food Terrace, Tampines Mall and Tang’s Market. Its main office is at 285 South Bridge Rd., Singapore. For orders and inquiries, call 6223-2725, fax 6225-8484, or e-mail pastries@tongheng.com.sg. Visit its website at www.tongheng.com.sg.

Jumbo Seafood Gallery has four branches in Singapore. We visited the branch at 20 Upper Circular Rd., The Riverwalk. It is open from 12 to 2:15 p.m. and from 6 to 11:15 p.m. Call 6534-3435 or fax 6536-3836 for inquiries and reservations. Visit its website at www.jumboseafood.com.sg.

Chijmes is at 30 Victoria St. For inquiries, call 6336-1818 or visit its website at www.Chijmes.com.