The Island city-state of Singapore

Marina Bay Sands

Singapore is a prosperous city, efficiently run and beautifully landscaped. (Though, like any large city, there is that part of town, which we unfortunately managed to find!)  The opulent Marina Bay Sands integrated resort is indicative of Singapore's affluence.  This stand-alone casino property worth $8 billion boasts a 150 meter "infinity" swimming pool, set on the world's largest cantilevered platform overhanging the 3 towers.  This was about the only view of the Marina Bay Sands we were going to get, but it's worth checking out on the internet!  

Public transit is an intricate system of trains running all over the city lines with multiple transfer points. The underground passageways are lined with shops & services; public washrooms are pleasantly maintained.  Fares are very reasonable, anywhere from $1 to $3 Singapore dollars (current exchange rate somewhere around $1 CDN = $0.75 SD).  When you buy a ticket, you get a thick plastic pass in order to get in and out of the train stations.  A $1 deposit is charged on top of the fare that can be redeemed after your ride by inserting the pass back into the ticket machine, ensuring the passes are recycled.  A large majority of the train stations are also combined with vast city bus terminals, with 15 or 20 different routes leaving each one.  The whole system is well-marked and easy to figure out.  On the bus, there were the usual “no food or drinks” and “no smoking” signs.  Beside this is a caricature of a durian with a large X across it, and beside that, disturbingly, was a large fist with a X:  “do not hit the bus captain“!  

Our first morning, we headed downtown and found ourselves in the heart of the Singapore business elite.  Some were having breakfast meetings at Starbucks, but we saw a couple executives drinking their morning brew from a straw poking out of a plastic bag…  I didn’t see this up close, but I assume it’s like a mini Safeway plastic bag, as it appeared to have handles.  Later on, we would realize this is also how sauces & soups are packaged up for take-out at the various food stalls:  food-filled balloons!  Curry sauce or stir fried mixed vegetables are ladled into a bag (that is sometimes set in a bowl or cup for support, and sometimes not), spun around half a dozen times then tied closed with a knot or an elastic.  Food items like bread or a chicken drumstick are packaged into butcher paper.  

Lau Pa Sat Hawker Centre (food court)

We explored the old colonial part of town and our Picasa photos reflect a sampling of the architecture. Downtown, we came across the ornate Lau Pa Sat.  Built in 1894, it’s the largest Victorian filigree cast-iron structure in Asia and was formerly used as a wet market.  Now, it’s a hawker centre (food court).  The structure is circular, with hallways jutting off the main area like bicycle spokes.  Inside each of these hallways are about 10 food stalls, in the centre there have to be about 20.  Even aside from this place, Singapore is heaven for foodies.  Gastronomy must be a universal passion of Singaporeans; the sheer number of eateries is astounding.  From curry houses, to Chinese food stalls cooking up every part of the chicken (feet, beaks, whatever!), to Japanese, Korean and Malay cuisine.  Some things are incredibly appetizing, like satay skewers with peanut sauce, while others, like intestine soup, are not.  Our cab driver had alerted us to the fact that we were staying right next to a restaurant that did an excellent chili crab, so we decided to give it a try.  We’d heard about this Singaporean specialty and were excited to try it.  

Chili Crab

We were asked if we wanted to pick out our dinner, literally.  The tastiest crab is usually the most active, and ours was fiesty.  We shared a huge beer as I tried not to think about the poor crab’s demise.  Hopefully he was dispatched quickly.  In any event, the result was nothing short of delicious.  After the fiery curries we’ve been eating in Kota Kinabalu, the “chili” was milder than expected, but the dish was huge on flavor.  The sauce is thick and rich, speckled with onions and bits of crab.  You have to earn this dish, though, and get right in there.  You’ll get dirty, there’s no doubt.  Don’t wear a white shirt!  While the chef was preparing our chili crab, the server brought out a huge bowl with calamansi limes, cut in half and bobbing in the water.  “To clean up later“, she instructed us.

Murtabak

Singapore will also be etched in our memory for the first time we sampled “murtabak”.  We were on the look out for this delectable snack because of Aron’s mom, Mavis; almost every time she reminisced about her own travels to Asia, she would sigh in nostalgia.  Murtabak is an Indian-Muslim dish, and consists of a pastry-like layer of roti, a generous filling of minced curried chicken (or other meat),eggs and onions and another layer of roti.  This is pan-fried and often served with cucumber and curry sauce for dipping.