Back to my roots – Singapore

Finally we are on our way to my hometown Singapore after not being home for 2 years!  Lots planned in the pipeline and majority of it involves meeting family & friends over a meal. 

Singaporeans love to eat and many of us are proud to admit that we live to eat, food is such an important part of our culture.

The next morning, we got up early and made our way with mum to the wet market.  Traditionally Singaporeans bought their vegetables, meat and sesfood from a neighbourhood wet market and everything is fresh on the day.  It is also here that you find some live prawns and even live frogs!  Kids were having a ball exploring as we don’t find such wet markets in Taupo New Zealand.  Walking through the wet market made me so envious of the variety of fresh produce that is readily available in Singapore but just impossible to find them fresh in Taupo.  I walked past the most beautiful fresh galangal, big & plump lemongrass, sweet potato leaves, kao kee vegetables also known as gojiberry leaves or matrimony leaves, fresh lotus root, baby bok choy, baby kai lan, chinese spinach (Red and regular varieties), fresh gingko nuts, fresh lotus seeds, laksa leaves, curry leaves, thai basil,  fresh water chestnuts, calamansi limes, mangosteens, longans, lychees, thai mangoes, rambutans, sour sop etc.  The stall vendors looked puzzled as I, someone who looks totally local but behaving like an expat strolling past absolutely gobsmacked at the variety and quality of the produce.  If only i could just transport this entire market to Taupo, I would be the happiest chick on the globe.

At this point, i needed some immediate comfort to calm the green-eyed monster in me.  Food – Breakfast part 2 and i didnt have to look far.  Part of the wet market was also a food center which has a variety of stalls selling a myriad of dishes that are also freshly made and/or cooked on the morning.  We ordered fishball noodles, lor mee which is noodles served with a thick soy sauce based gravy topped with fried ngoh hiang/lor bak which is minced pork, minced crab and water chestnuts wrapped in beancurd skin, fried carrot cake which is incidentally my son’s absolutely favourite Singaporean food, this is made of grated daikon mixed with a combination of rice flour and water and steamed before it is portioned into smaller pieces and fried with picked radish, garlic, spring onions, eggs and sweet dark soy.  This was my staple breakfast growing up and it is so amazing that my son loves it as much as i did as a kid.  Coming back with both kids this time, Charlotte is actually fighting Ethan for the fried carrot cake too!  The joys!

Singapore skyline photo shot by Haiiro Ookami