For the foodies

There is no doubt in my mind that Singapore exists for people who genuinely LOVE food.

I should probably just stop there and let your imaginations go wild before I start salivating. One thing is for sure, I haven't been this in love with food in quite some time.

Due to the extremely diverse population of this island, there is an equally diverse supply of ethnic cuisine. Chinese, Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, Malaysian, and the list goes on and on. Everything from beef and chicken to seafood to vegetables to noodles and rice is available in, what seems to be, an infinite combination of delectable dishes.

The source of all this goodness (besides the kitchen in my house), is the infamous hawker center. Singapore is known all around the world for these establishments, and in my opinion, for very good reason. Think street food stands, but congregated in the form of a food court. Like this:

First stall on the left sells my favorite dumplings.

And now picture one of these congregations on every other block. Each stall sells its own specialties at dirt cheap prices. There are hardly words to describe the experience.

My new favorite meals include: Hainanese chicken rice, steamed dumplings, char kway teow (fried noodles with a whole assortment of meats and veggies thrown in), char siu bao (barbecue pork buns), bi hoon (a Singaporean rice noodle dish), and chicken tikka.

One of my favorite pastimes is trying new things all the time. The other day I had my first taste of Duck Rice, which was pretty tasty. The nifty thing about the hawker centers is that if you don't speak Chinese (like me), they have pictures of everything you can order on signs above the stalls. My philosophy: when in doubt order something that looks good in the picture.

When we're eating at home, Papa Bear likes to make attempts at cooking local dishes (and so far he has a pretty darn good success rate). After the first try, char kway teow was such a smashing success, it is now a weekly tradition. Here are the before and after pictures:

Char Kway Teow (bottom) with Chinese Veggies (top)

So good, there was nothing left to do but lick the plates...