After a long layover in Guangzhou, China (refer to my post "9-Hour Layover in Guangzhou, China"), I finally arrived at the Changi Airport in Singapore close to 1:00 am. I couldn't wait to get my bags, get settled in at my nephews. I was so excited I was up by 6 am ready to get out, but I just laid in bed for a while waiting for someone else to get up. Around 8 am I stepped out onto the terrace. It was very humid and cloudy. My nephew, who was also up by this time explained that during this time of year it's always hazy outside. It was the end of September and this is the time of year they use fire as a cheap and fast method to clear the land in preparation for the next crop season causing a foggy haze. I was hoping for beautiful sunny skies, but at least it wasn’t raining.
From the terrace I could see the train station and this was a big plus considering his work schedule and I wasn't sure how confident I would feel driving as the steering wheel is located on the right side.
We made breakfast, got caught up on each other lives and while he did some work I explored the facilities. Around 11:00 AM we headed out for lunch and a little exploring. My nephew is a world traveler who is also passionate about wine and food. I was excited to see what he had lined up for my month long stay in Singapore. He and his girlfriend, who is now his wife decided Orchard Road would be a good place to start. In the 1830s the Orchard Road area was the scene of gambier (an extract derived from the leaves of Uncaria gambir, a climbing shrub native to tropical Southeast Asia) and pepper plantations. Later, nutmeg plantations and fruit orchards predominated, hence its name. Such plantations were common in the area in the 19th century. Orchard Road is now Singapore’s retail heart, with discount outlets, department stores and upscale boutiques, alongside luxury hotels. We walked along the strip for a bit then grabbed some lunch. Michael ordered an assortment of appetizers that consisted of fried shrimp, lobster, wings, sausage, fritters, salmon skin, and sauces. It was my first time having fried salmon skin and it was delicious. After lunch we decided to do a bit more walking and maybe grab some snacks.
We stopped by Bee Cheng Hiang. Bee Cheng Hiang best-known product is bakkwa - smoked and roasted pieces of pork with a consistency similar to jerky. There are 2 locations on Orchard Road, but we stopped at the one at the Paragon Shopping Center.
My nephew grabbed some of his favorite beef jerky and Jum decided she wanted some ice cream. I wasn't in the mood for sweets so I continued to check out the other stores in the area we could stop by. As I stood there I noticed a weird smell, but couldn't identify where it could possibly be coming from. While they paid for the ice cream I noticed they both had big smiles on their faces and just figured they were excited about their after lunch treat.
The gentleman at the cart handed her a light green block of ice cream between 2 slices of bread. I remember seeing this on an episode of either Andrew Zimmerman or Anthony Bourdain but couldn’t remember exactly which one or what kind of ice cream it was. Jum smiled as she took a bite and told me to try it as she giggled. Me still not knowing exactly what it was I agreed. I noticed as I brought it closer to my face that this is where the funky sock smell was coming from and immediately pushed it away. She said it tastes good, you must try. I of course had to try it being a foodie and I did "AND" it would be the first and last time! It was a Durian ice cream sandwich, and I literally mean a sandwich between two slices of white bread. Durian is a fruit with a combination of savory, sweet, and creamy all at once. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as rotten onions, turpentine, and raw sewage. It’s supposed to have subtle hints of chives mixed with powdered sugar and is supposed to taste like diced garlic and caramel poured into whipped cream. That description alone would make anyone want to try it right!?!? After they had a good laugh on me we headed home so I could rest up for the next day.
Early the next morning I headed to the train station for Chinatown. The metro system was easy to figure out. I had already gone online and studied the map so I already knew the main lines I would use the most. On my first day exploring alone I decided to take the Blue Line to Chinatown. Before leaving I walked out onto the terrace to check the weather. It was still hazy outside and very humid, so I knew there wasn’t much I could do with my hair so I put it in a top bun and headed out. As I peered out of the window during the train ride I almost jumped off a few times. It seemed that every shopping center we passed had multiple levels of just-food courts and I wanted to see them all, but I had a few weeks to check them out so I continued on. I arrived at my stop and as soon as I jumped off the train I knew I would have a lot to see.
My first stop was the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple located at 288 South Bridge Rd. The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum is a Buddhist temple and museum complex located in the Chinatown district.
Another temple I stopped at was the Sri Mariamman Temple. This temple is Singapore’s oldest Hindu temple, built in 1827, and is one of the most iconic Hindu temples in Singapore. It’s dedicated to the goddess Mariamman, whose power is to cure illness and disease.
After the tour of the temples I strolled through the street markets where you can scour through a rich variety of wonderful items like dragon candles, street opera masks, traditional clothing and Chinese calligraphy. Strolling through the many alley ways and shops I realized at least 2 hours had past and I was ready to eat so I headed over to the main reason for coming to China Town, the Food Street.
Two hours later it was time to eat. I headed over to the main reason I wanted to go to China Town, "The Food Street". As soon as I started walking through I was overwhelmed. I didn’t know where to start or what I wanted so I circled at least twice. There were 2 places that piqued my interest and one was the Food Street Fried Kway Teow Mee stall #8. There was a line and as I watched it reminded me of the fried rice noodles I had in Guangzhou.
I ordered some fried noodles then found a table near the stall and people watched as I ate. The noodles were delicious as I knew they would be but I wanted to try something else. I noticed a grilled seafood and BBQ stall (Boon Tat Street BBQ Seafood (stall No.1 and 3) so I walked back over to see what they had. The BBQ Stingray on a banana leaf looked interesting and I decided to go for it. I grabbed my order and sat down at the nearest table.
At first glance it looked more like a blackened fish. The meat appeared to be light and flaky, but a little oily. The smell on the other hand wasn’t all that pleasant, but I dove in and took a big bite. It was seasoned to perfection. You could taste the ginger, garlic, lemongrass, shallots, and a hint of heat. I took a few more bites and wrapped the rest up for later. I didn't want to eat too much because I knew my nephew would be taking me to dinner later and he likes to order half of the menu when he goes out for dinner.
Fast forward to the evening we actually ended up back at the Chinatown Food Street. Michael and Jum were craving this hot pot they order when they eat in Chinatown. We sat down in front of one of the man restaurants and ordered. We ordered a Szechuan style boiled fish hot pot, stir-fried rice noodles with beef, Chinese broccoli, Szechuan chicken, and sweet & sour chicken with sides of rice.
After a big bowl of the fish hot pot I moved on to the other dishes. I couldn’t believe it but we finished off everything and Jum was wanting dessert and I couldn’t believe it but she wanted some Durian ice cream. We drove back over to Orchard Road where there was an ice cream shop that served Durian ice cream and you could smell it from down the block. I’m not joking! The smell was so strong that I couldn’t even sit in the ice cream parlor while she ate her ice cream.
It was a stinky ending to my second day, but it was an amazing day full of delicious eats. I can’t want to get out tomorrow to check out some of the plazas I passed on my train ride to Chinatown.
Thanks for visiting Verdia’s Spot and stay tuned for "Singapore - Part 2"
Comments