Exploring Singaporean Food Culture

Being a food blogger, I love food for sure, even though I'm partially a weight-watcher. 

There are lots of food in Singapore which caters for one's craving around the clock (yes.. even after midnight) from breakfast to supper. And let me introduce to you some of my favourite eats. And they can be found conveniently at food centres, air-conditioned food courts or even standalone shops. Oh yes... remember to snap a food photo before you start tucking in. Haha... that is like a practice on every dining table.

FISHBALL NOODLES


This dish can be meant for anytime of the day if you are a light eater or watching your diet. Most of the time, I will have this in the morning esp in soup form because it is light though sodium content may be overwhelming. You can ask for dry form where you will be given a bowl of soup separately and on the noodles, you can add chilli or tomato sauce to mix with. Both forms are delicious.

The standard ingredients in it will be fishballs (of course!) and slices of fishcakes. It depends on different stalls everywhere which you may get vegetables too (not just spring onions).

FRIED CARROT CAKE


And yes... this is yet another dish that you can have anytime of the day. But... it depends sometimes because some stalls start from noon or night time for lunch or dinner crowd. So do find out more to avoid disappointment. 

This comes in two (2) forms: black or white. The black version tends to be a little watery and smooth type, which sometimes we call it the original version of fried carrot cake and my favourite breakfast eat when I was young. The white version tends to be more crispy (if you go to the right stall for it) and now is my current favourite. The level of spiciness depends on you. Inform the stall owner if you want less spicy or not. I do suggest you try with some spiciness in it. You will love it.

HOKKIEN MEE a.k.a FRIED PRAWN MEE


Usually this dish is sold in the same stall as Fried Carrot Cake (most of the time). So if you find a stall selling this from morning, you are in luck. Usually is more like an afternoon onwards dish that caters to lunch and dinner crowd. 

You can find prawns (of course again!), squids and eggs. The best Hokkien Mee (in my opinion) has to strike a balance with the moisture level. Not too watery nor dry. Best to go with chilli, which some stalls has their own secret recipe to that chilli which enhances the taste of this Hokkien Mee dish. Some may squeeze a lime over it. But that is not for me. Chilli is enough.

ECONOMICAL RICE a.k.a ZHUP CAI BNG


This is our typical lunch and dinner. You can see long queue during lunch peak hours especially. The price range varies from different stalls to attract customers. Not only that. Their varieties is also one of the food attraction. Bigger stalls have more than 10 items to choose from. A plate of rice with side dishes cover on top. Different combinations for customers to choose from, like Rice + 1 veggie + 1 meat, Rice + 2 veggie + 1 meat and so on. Interesting much. Try it but do avoid peak hours as mentioned. Working crowds are just so hungry for food when time's up! Because this is the most convenience meal where you get almost a balance nutrition one should have a meal. Depends how you choose your sides. And ask for less rice if you know you can't finish or if you are a weight-watcher.

ECONOMICAL BEEHOON/NOODLES


Oh hi... this is my favourite breakfast choice because is affordable and I'm a noodles lover, be it beehoon, yellow mee or any noodles of all types. Usually it is a breakfast choice across Singapore and sometimes if it is not sold finish by lunch, you may find it to be your lunch choice too. 

Usually I choose one side to go with my beehoon. You can choose up to any amount of sides you want so long as you can finish it (no food wastage please!) and you have the money to pay. One plate/pack of this shouldn't cost you more than SGD2 (if you take only 1 side). This include beehoon/fried noodles + a side. This is very fulfilling in the morning. Forgot to tell you that the variety of sides is comparable to those at Economical Rice stall. Chicken wings, Otah, Fish fillet and so on. Yummy!!!

I guess if you wanna me to choose out of the above, I will choose Economical Rice a.k.a Zhup Cai Bng to represent Singaporean Food Culture. Because in this plate of rice and side dishes, you will find not just an almost balance nutritions (from your choices), but also the typical menu on the dining table of a Chinese family. As we already know that Singapore is a multi-racial society, this Zhup Cai Bng not only can be found in Chinese stalls, you get them at Malay stalls (known as Nasi Padang) and also Indian stalls. Each serves up their own traditional dishes to reflect their eating culture. Isn't that amazing? 

Lastly I would like to thank you for this opportunity Seth Lui and also Food Panda Singapore.

Participate now before the contest ends on 16 17 April 2015! Good Luck!