Eat your heart out!

Knowing what a foodie I am, Revellian tagged me on my favourite topic - Food! I am supposed to write about 5 really good places to eat around here. There are simply too many wonderful places, so I’ll write about the 5 local favourites you can find everywhere at reasonable prices.

By the way, these are popular with tourists too. Once I made my American friend try fried oyster omelette and he said it’s the nastiest thing he has ever tasted. Well, our fish head curry grossed him out too. Asians eat exotic stuff like intestines, stomach, organs….ok, ok. I’ll stop here.

Hainanese Chicken Rice
Our top favorite must be the Hainanese Chicken Rice. A hearty meal of chicken rice at any hawker centre or coffee shop costs only S$3. Tian Tian Hainan Chicken Rice located in Maxwell Hawker Centre is probably one of the most popular stalls around here.

If you prefer to dine in classy, air-conditioned comfort, be prepared to pay up to US$12 for the renowned Hainanese chicken rice at "Chatterbox" at the luxurious Meritus Mandarin Hotel. The dish, which has won many national cuisine awards for the hotel, is served on a large wooden tray comprising a plate of steamed or roast chicken garnished with cucumber, tomatoes and lettuce topped with light soy sauce, a bowl of rice and a bowl of chicken soup, and condiments comprising chilli, dark soy sauce and ginger sauce. The fragrant rice is prepared with chicken stock and special garlic-based ingredients. The recipe is said to be a closely guarded secret.

Chilli Crab
This dish has many incarnations: some are packed with fresh spices like galangal, ginger, and turmeric, some are sweet-sour and rosy with tomato, others are ribboned with beaten egg, and still others carry the sting of chilli oil. I like the ones at Jumbo Seafood!

Photo courtesy of Stomp.com.sg

Chilli crab is meant to be attacked with gusto. Don’t order this on your first date. It’s going to get messy! Best eaten with your fingers, you’ve to dig and suck out the succulent meat, and hit the extra-hard shell on the tabletop or use a nutcracker to break it! Let the gravy run down your arm, clean it up with slices of French bread and use mantou (Chinese buns) to soak up every last drop of delicious sauce.

Satay
In a nutshell, satay is a dish comprising chunks of well-marinated dice-sized meat (chicken, goat, lamb, beef, pork) on bamboo skewers, which are grilled over charcoal fire, then served with a spicy peanut gravy, slivers of onions and cucumbers, and ketupat (compressed rice parcels).

They are commonly found across the island in most hawker stalls, modern food courts, and upscale restaurants but the famous satay stalls located at Lau Pa Sat Satay street are particularly popular with tourists.

Laksa
Hailed as Singapore’s national dish by its loyalist camp, laksa, a humble dish of rice noodles, shrimps, cockles, fish cake and chilli paste in thick coconut-based broth has won over fans including expatriates, visiting dignitaries and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. It is spicy, sweet, savoury and just bursting with flavours, I don’t see how anyone will not like it!

Ice Kachang
After eating all that spicy food on a warm tropical night, you really must finish off with the refreshing ice kachang. Eating ice kachang is like a delightful treasure hunt on a hot day. Below the mountain of shaved ice that is drenched with colourful sticky syrup and drizzled with evaporated milk, is a large serving of attap chee (palm seed), sweetened soft red beans, sweetcorn, grass jelly, cubes of agar agar and chendol at the base. You eat your way through the icy mound to reach the goodies below.

To cater to the palates of the modern customer, some stalls have even introduced novelty toppings like strawberry and mango puree, roasted peanuts, chocolate syrup and ice cream. There are also versions that shun the multi-coloured syrup and are served with just a drizzling of gula melaka (palm sugar) syrup instead, which is what I always opt for. If you like gula melaka like I do, you'll know why!

Photo of ice kachang: Diana Lynn (c) Dorling Kindersley

Geez, I almost forgot to tag some people. I really would like to know what's good to eat in these places that my blogging buddies live in : Jyankee, Epimenides, Loz, and Random Magus. PS: Please do it only if you have the time.

For all-time favourite food places in Western Australia, you should visit The Food Pornographer. She writes the yummiest blog about good food with the most drool-worthy pictures!