Saturday, July 11, 2009

Soul Food: Malaysia (Singapore Style)


As part of the ritual of getting acclimatized to a new country, I always try to get as much of the local food into me as soon as possible. Depending on what I learn from my local colleagues or on the web about food-hygiene concerns, I either eat well-cooked food, and drink coffee or hot tea (e.g. in Mexico)... or just tuck into whatever is going (e.g. in Japan). The only time I have been ill from eating food was in Suzhou, China - it was Western-style food with Third-World style preparation.

One place you are very safe and can eat pretty-much everything is Singapore. You may need to take out a second mortgage if you want to drink the beer, however. ["Tiger, tiger, burning bright / holes in your pockets on a drunken night..." Apologies to Blake.] The pictured meal was the Grand Plaza Park Hotel's slightly off-kilter, but very enjoyable, version of the Malaysian soul-food "Nasi Goreng". The Grand Plaza threw everything but the proverbial kitchen sink into this one:

- Chicken satay
- Dried fish (similar to Indian "Bombay Duck")
- Chicken wings
- Shrimp and veggie fried rice
- Prawn crackers
- Vegetables with hot sauce on top
- Lettuce and tomato salad
- Fish sauce on the side
- Fried egg on top

...no Spam though. Which is always a good thing. Bloody vikings!

Safe travels!