Singapore again

Singapore grows on you. Once you look beyond the antiseptic and the template.

Once you find the gems of Chinatown and Little India. Once you meet the street hawkers and chat with random taxi drivers. Then, even the glitzy Orchard Road seems real and lively. Often times, if you ignore the humidity, you cannot tell which city you are in if you are walking down Orchard.

Thankfully, I have friends who guide me and take me to places that are a little off the beaten path.

So when D and A heard of my visit, they wanted to meet up for dinner. And they wanted to meet up on East Coast Road, away from the hustle and bustle of downtown. Checked in to my hotel, got a cab and started for East Coast Road, a side of the city that I am not very aware of.

I was told to get to Sin Hoi Saieating place on 187 East Coast Road. True to Singapore, the taxi driver knew the place and highly recommended it. It was easy enough to find, bang opposite a Bank of China branch. A typical outdoor place, with the plastic tables and chairs on the footpath.

D was waiting for me. A was stuck at work. D introduced me to Aunty, who seemed to be the archetypal aunty. Jolly, past middle age, energetic, humorous yet business like.

You'd have to like her immediately. My friends are regulars so they and Aunty knew what to order. An iced green coconut was the welcome drink. Extremely soothing on a humid Singapore evening.

Then the food started coming. Deep fried baby squids. Crunchy as crunchy can be. It was a pleasant change from the usual batter coated fried squid or calamari. Addictive stuff. I kept munching on them. Would have been a perfect bar snack as well.

There was a plate of steamed asparagus. Cut at an angle, it retained the bite yet was fully cooked. It came with a sprinkling of salt and pepper and very little else. Extremely refreshing. Almost a palate cleanser.

There was a black pepper crab. In my humble opinion, this dish is infinitely better than the iconic chilli crab. This was sumptuous, sticky, hot and spicy. Things that chilli crab is not. The crunchy shells hid sweet chunks of meat. We gorged.

Roast pork came roasted in banana leaves. Hints of sweetness from what I thought was plum sauce and cinnamon heightened the natural sweetness of the meat. The outside was lightly caramelised and the inside, soft and succulent.

D also ordered kalian also known as Chinese broccoli though it looks more like kale. It came lightly steamed. Slightly bitter and very leafy. I like it because of the unexpected crunch and the surprising bitter note.

Magic happened when D went and got dessert. A crème brûlée and a chocolate mousse with soft peaks. The top of the crème brûlée shattered in million pieces when tapped with the spoon and the custard had freckles of little black vanilla seeds. The mousse, though tightly set, had soft peaks to die for. It had the lovely grainy feeling of good chocolate and was not too sweet.

Another trip to Singapore, another great dinner. Seems like I am getting over the phobia that I had of the very regulated city.

And with friends like D and A, it is easy to overcome any phobia.

Photo courtesy: Kaniska Chakraborty