Nancy’s Big Adventure

I left Bangkok this morning at the crack of dawn for my flight to Singapore.

Singapore has a reputation as a foodie mecca and I just happen to be here during the Singapore Food Festival (coincidence? I think not!) I started grazing at a “hawker center” – a street food court when you can see and smell and eat almost anything. I was initially fascinated by the barbecued stingray, but there was so much to choose from that I had to pass it up in favor of some other notable dishes, including:
Chilli Crab (yes, that’s how they spell it), which is stir-fried crab (still in its shell), garlic, tomato, egg, and chili. You eat this dish with your fingers and it comes with bread to soak up the sauce. Spicy.
Frog Porridge looks sort of like thick chicken and rice soup, but it’s frog meat and rice porridge with fried onions on top. It’s considered a delicacy, I guess, but I thought it was icky.
Laska – all the restaurants claim to have the best – a dish of rice, noodles, shrimp, chili, and coconut broth. It looks kinda weird, but it’s good.
And finally, no visit to Singapore would be complete without sampling the Singapore Sling in the Raffles Hotel Long Bar where it was first concocted in 1910.

With my belly full, it was time to hop on the train again and head for the ethnic enclaves of Little Italy, Chinatown, and Arab Street. Pretty amazing! After exploring the neighborhoods for a while, I went to browse the shops along Orchard Road, a mile-long stretch dedicated entirely to consumerism. Unfortunately for me, but probably fortunate for my budget, I am a MOOSE compared to the average (5 feet tall, size 0) shopper here, so the fashions won’t be coming home with me. I ended my day with a nice stroll by the water and then back to my hotel, conveniently located across the street from this internet cafe.

Tomorrow morning I travel to Malaysia, crossing at Johor Bahru and traveling north and west. I probably won’t make it as far a Kuala Lumpur, but I’m sure I will see great stuff wherever I go. I let you know after I return!

Thanks for checking in – N

PS – I forgot to mention during the food and beverage discussion that I had MILK today – not SOY milk, not hot (boiled) WATER BUFFALO milk, but a huge glass of COLD PASTEURIZED COW’S milk – well, I’m pretty sure it was cow’s milk … let’s just say it was ….

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 30th, 2007 at 9:27 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.