Baby's First Burmese

We have a long list of things to do before we leave [IN TWO WEEKS OH HEAVENS]. Some of the list are must do's (like get Hamish's immigration status taken care of. Ahem.). Other things are a wish list. On the wish list: dinner at the Burmese mall. I'd heard about it a while ago but it came up again when my colleagues were in town. And we finally got it checked off!

Singapore supposedly hosts the largest Burmese population outside of Myanmar and one of Singapore's many malls, Peninsula Plaza, has several Burmese shops and restaurants in the basement. The signs outside of many of the shops were in the Burmese language/script.

Inle Myanmar Restaurant had been recommended (and is right at the base of the escalator), so we went there and ordered a spread:

• a selection of fritters (tofu, gourd, onion and pennywort); 
• shan khua hswe, sticky noodles with pickled vegetables, sesame seeds, and chicken 
• butter chicken curry with rice
• and the pièce de résistance: pickled tea leaf salad (the green salad piled in the bowl)

Everything was good, but my boss had RAVED about the pickled tea leaf salad he'd had before in the US, and this was worth the enthusiasm. Tea is common in Myanmar and pickled tea leaf salad, or lahpet, is a core Burmese dish. Pickled tea leaves--young tea leaves fermented in bamboo vats--serve as the base along with sesame oil, garlic, chili, tomatoes, shredded cabbage, peanuts. ginger, and maybe more. The fermented tea give it a great umami flavor--almost as if there's some really good Parmesan in there. But I'm pretty sure there's not. 

The traditional way to serve it is in a round, segmented dish with the tea leaves in the center and the other ingredients around the perimeter and mixed at the table--maybe similar to the Chinese New Year blessing salad? Inle has it that way, but our server suggested the pre-mixed salad for us. Better for you, he said. Though we were unsure if he meant the mixed salad is actually better? Or that he doubted our personal salad-mixing-skills.

I'm not sure how much of what I eat Hamish gets to enjoy, but we'll go ahead and give her credit for this. She has such an international palate.

Fish Head Curry!

This is fish head curry.  It is a Singapore special, and for some reason, it took us 3 years to give it a try.  Well, okay, we had some at Chinese new year, but not quite the same way as this one, served at the Banana Leaf Apolo.

Looks good, right?


I ate that fish's eyeball.

My wife still smiled at me.  She was trying not to look at the fish's eye socket.  So I'll show you instead:

Hah! gross, right? Look, it's some kind of delicacy.  Anthony Bourdain did it.  Or maybe it was Andrew Zimmern.  If you're gonna order the fish head curry, you have to eat the eyeball.  Unless you're 7.5 months pregnant.  You get an exemption from this rule then.  Is anybody still reading?  One person? okay, you want to know how it tasted.  Well, I found it disappointing.  I thought it was supposed to be juicy, but it was much meatier than I expected, and just kinda blandly fishy.

Next time I'll probably just get the chicken tikka...

Dinner with Baba

Way back when Charlotte came to visit, she and I toured Singapore's Peranakan Museum but it seems I left that part out of the blog. And when we were in Penang in November, we visited the Peranakan Mansion there.So we've gotten a good dose of Peranakan culture in museum format.

As a rough reminder:

"Peranakan Chinese" or "Straits Chinese" or "Baba-Nyonya" are all roughly terms for the Chinese communities of the Straits Settlements (i.e. Singapore, Penang, and Malacca). They were the descendants of Chinese traders that came to Malaya in the 15th and 16th centuries and then created their own unique rich cultural blend of Chinese, Malay, and Colonial British traditions. Nyonya is the respectful term for ladies and Baba, for men.

But a huge part of Peranakan culture is food and we hadn't actually gone to a Peranakan restaurant. Until one opened in the neighborhood.

A little stall tucked in with the others next to a porridge place we like and across from a closed popsicle stand, I've been eying it for months. But I'm usually there to pick up porridge and head home, so we haven't stopped. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, we were together looking for food and decided to give it a try.

Just like the Peranakan culture is a mix of other traditions, Peranakan food is a unique and spicy stew.

On our first visit, Kyle had char kway teow(a Southern Chinese dish of rice ribbon noodles fried with egg, bean sprouts, cockles and chives with a hint of chili) and I had beef rendang (Indonesian/Malaysian dish of beef slow cooked in coconut milk and spices; recently named one of the world's 50 most delicious foods). Both were yummy and we finished with dessert of gula malaka sago (shaved ice and sago over coconut milk with palm sugar on top). Extra yum.

The gula melaka sago, though, did prompt frantic intervention by the restaurant staff. I started by scooping a small spoon full of ice and palm sugar to taste, and someone quickly ran over to tell me to stir it all together and make sure my coconut and sago and ice and sugar were well mixed before I dug in again. Can't have the foreigner eating it wrong!

We enjoyed the food (and the attention) so much that we've been back twice. And we've made a friend. The 77-year-old Baba who was pointing us to seats was hilarious and certainly took us under his wing. He chose our dishes for us (or at least made pointed recommendations). He asked about or work and whether or not we liked Singapore. While Kyle was placing orders, he asked me if Kyle was an engineer. I said no, scientist. Once Kyle returned to the table, Baba "read" his palm and discovered he was in science--with a theatrical wink in my direction.

He recommended more chili for my soybean and pork stew. When I (once again!) was about to make a horrid food-related-gaffe by sprinkling the chili on my pork he ran over and actually grabbed my arm to stop me. He then instructed me in the correct procedure: Pork onto rice plate and then add a drop of chili to that bite.

He tried to order us durian chendol for our dessert, but another staff member stepped in to assure us, "Out already!" Which was good. Kyle likes durian, but we did not want durian chendol (another shaved-ice based dessert which has green worm-shaped jellies in it). We had gula melaka sago instead (stirred correctly this time). We left assuring him we'd be back often.

The very next night, we were walking through our town when I felt a whack on my shoulder. We turned around and there was Baba, walking home himself. We discussed our Chinese New Year plans, his reunion dinner, the stall's holiday hours, and New Zealand. Then we wished him well and told him we'd see him soon.

It's totally my favorite place to eat now.

Balls of Joy

We've been holding out on you, faithful reader(s?). We've only mentioned Balls of Joy once, in passing! I can't believe we've left you so unaware of one of the highlights of Singapore life.

Balls of Joy is a nickname a friend of ours gave the sweet potato balls they sell at a stall at Maxwell hawker center. This is Maxwell. Somewhere in there (there are 3 rows like this) is the sweet potato ball stand. 

Unfortunately we don't have a single picture of a sweet potato ball, which is shocking considering how often we like to photograph our food and how often we like to enjoy sweet potato balls. They are deep fried balls of sweet potato that are light and chewy and slightly sweet and really smooth and awesome and... joyful. We discovered them during the Eat-a-Thon. They have a die-die-must-try rating in the Makansutra.

The extremely sad news is that for the past few weeks, the sweet potato ball stand has been closed. We don't know why. In light of a real shortage of sweet potato balls--you know where this is going, don't you?--we decided to learn to make them ourselves.

Turns out, learning how to make something you can't even adequately describe is tough. Especially since it likely involves ingredients you've never used before and may not even know exist. Namely: Glutinous Rice Flour. Thankfully, I figured out early on that this was necessary after searching the internet. I couldn't find a sweet potato ball recipe, but I did come to the conclusion that Asian "ball" deserts were likely made with this stuff. And of course "glutinous" sounded promising for the chewy and smooth center we were hoping for.

Attempt #1: The very first attempt was on Thursday night. I (foolishly) thought I'd whip some up before DG and bring them to surprise our small group. I used yellow Japanese sweet potatoes which wasn't right. And there was a sugar casualty.

These ended up being Balls of General Pleasantness (as much as deep fried potato is pleasant), but they were nothing like the target.


Attempt #2-7: We decided that a joint effort was called for, so today Kyle and I went all out in pursuit of Sweet Potato Ball goodness--three and a half hours of recipe testing! (according to the time stamp on our pictures). We started with orange sweet potatoes.

We tested three different sweet potato to rice flour ratios, and tweaked these with sugar and salt.

We compared taste and texture.

Once we decided on the best ratio, we tested frying time based on size and texture. 

We took lots of notes (like any good scientists would when doing experiments).

We ended up with a lot of discarded samples.

And we probably consumed more oil than is legally allowed. We're not there yet. But we are closer than we were.

Tanjong Pagar

On Sunday, Germaine organized (i.e. provided the kick to our collective behinds) a trip to the Tanjong Pagar (soft J, hard G) rail station before it's closed at the end of June. It was an eating/photography trip, which is really what most of our trips are.

The train station is owned and operated by the Malaysian rail company and is technically Malaysian land. Thanks to a disagreement between Singapore and Malaysia, if you're taking the train to Malaysia from Tanjong Pagar you go through customs and enter Malaysia here, even though you don't technically leave Singapore for several more miles at the actual border.

Travelers lined up for immigration on one side of the tracks. Lots of people having lunch on the other side.

The Malaysian flags make it abundantly clear that you are technically entering another country at this point.

The two countries have finally agreed to have all immigration done at one point at the border, and Singapore traded some other land for this old train station in the heart of the city. It will close in June, and after that there's talk of preserving the old building while moving new businesses in.

Not pictured: me (duh) and Ruth and Kelvin (who weren't there yet)

It was a good time to eat lots of Malaysian-style mee goreng, donuts, and prata and snapped pictures before this all changes.  

Customs inside the station.

Mosaics inside the station.

Amanda sets up her shot. (Pic stolen from G's facebook.)

I set up my shot and Kyle makes sure I don't fall onto the rails.(Again, stolen from G's facebook.)

Mee goreng.

I have a hard time typing the G at the end of Dumpling

We're fast approaching Chinese New Year, which may not be a big deal for you, but is a very big deal here in Singapore--the biggest holiday bar none for Chinese families. People are buying new clothes, cleaning like mad, getting hair cuts, maybe buying new furniture, and definitely buying lots of red paper decorations all in preparation for the New Year.

In honor of the festivities, our friends Jiazi and Bingjun invited us and some others over for a dumpling party so we could learn to make Chinese dumplings. We made four flavors: pork with cabbage and radish; beef with sesame and okra; shrimp and fish; and veggie with fried egg. We made (and ate!) a lot, but I think Jiazi and Bingjun still had their own "dumpling party" after we left.

First we thawed, diced, and grated all of the fillings and mixed them together to let the flavors meld. Then it was time for the skin, which is the boys' job.

Bingjun made the dough by feel, which was impressive. Flour, water, a little more water, and that was it. Then the boys each took a ball and kneaded their hearts out for quite a while. The dumpling skin needs to be stretchy and strong (nice, long gluten chains) so it needs lots of loving. They also worked in food coloring. You color your dumpling skin so you know which flavors are which. Though, I have to say I've never seen dumplings quite as brilliantly colored as the ones we made.

Then it was time to make the little dough rounds and shape our dumplings.

Jiazi taught us a few different dumpling shapes... 

 

 Some were better than others.

We cooked the dumplings in rounds--pink/pork together, green/veggies together, white/seafood together, orange/beef together. Jiazi boiled them until they floated.

After the first batch came out, we ate pretty much constantly until we couldn't hold any more. I don't know if J&B were that impressed with our efforts--some definitely tasted more of skin than filling which means either your skin was too thick, or your dumpling didn't have enough filling in it--but I thought they were great. Jiazi did note that none burst open while cooking, which is good. I think she was a little surprised.

At the end of the day, Jiazi had a fun Chinese New Year quiz for us. Kyle did great and his quiz is up on our refrigerator now.

 I have determined not to let my husband grade my quizzes anymore. I think he was a little over zealous.

Eat-A-Thon/Ton

Wow, we feel behind. Combine a massive, never-ending freelancing project with a week in China and two big upcoming presentations for Kyle, and we've been a tad bit preoccupied. Plus, of course, I broke the stovetop again.

However...the Eat-a-Thon/Eat-a-Ton has been going steadily, and since I wrote this post before China, you can read it now while I try to get caught up. Here are some highlights of our recent life in food.

The night we got back from Bali we had chapati at the Azmi Restaurant that was rated Die Die Must Try. Chapati is a flat bread made with whole wheat flour and cooked on a griddle popular in Northern India. I had mine with keema, minced mutton curry, and it was very good!

We visited Sungei Road Laksa with a group of friends and it also gets a Die Die Must Try rating. Laksa is a spicy rice noodle dish made with chili, blue ginger, garlic, shallots, shrimp, seafood stock, cockles, and coconut milk. I'd say it's related to gumbo but with Southeast Asian spices. For $2 we got huge bowls and it was really good. I was expecting burn-the-tastebuds spicy, but it wasn't. I could still taste all the yummy flavors. The guy making it keeps that huge pot steaming (as you can see) over a charcoal fire all day.

This is a "snake fruit" which Wikipedia tells me is more accurately known as a salak. It's good, but it has a funny texture. It's a very dry fruit. Not at all juicy like I'd expect.

I had traditional Chinese hot pot with some girlfriends the other night. It's very much like fondu and is apparently a common meal at New Year's for Chinese families because it's easy food for a group. The red broth is spicy, the white broth is regular chicken broth. We've got pork, chicken, beef, fish and tons of veggies to cook in the soup.

Kyle makes some awesome blueberry pancakes most Saturdays.

There's an Austrian guy selling German sausages at a stall in Chinatown. He's been there for years and is a fixture. Very good German sausages. (But crappy instant mashed potatoes.)

There's also someone selling roasted chestnuts in Chinatown. The first time I saw him I said, "Oh, it reminds me of New York at Christmas!" where someone is selling chestnuts on every corner. Emily said it reminded her of Shanghai. So apparently roasted chestnuts are quite cross-cultural.

There's a food center near our church that has Die Die Must Try nasi lamak and soto ayam, a spicy chicken soup with rice cakes. Kyle's having the nasi lamak (very good) I'm having mee soto (soup with noodles instead of rice cakes) because they were already out of soto ayam. It was good, but I want to get there before they run out of soto ayam at some point!

This is the log cake that our real estate agent brought us for Christmas. Log cakes are quite a big deal in Singapore for the Christmas holidays! As you can see, they come highly decorated! Ours was chocolate with a cherry core. It was pretty yum too.

The Great Yogurt Taste-Off

I have a little obsession with yogurt. It all started when I went to New York with Jodi, Tara, and Charlotte and Tara introduced us to 40 Carrots, the cafe inside Bloomingdale's. The food is great (Sonoma chicken salad sandwich on cranberry bread. Yum!), but the real reason we go there is the yogurt.

Bloomingdale's soft serve frozen yogurt will change your life. I tell people this regularly, and I think I have converted a few people since my own eye-opening experience. First of all, it's sour, like real yogurt. This is not TCBY. And it's creamy and smooth and quite addictive.

After I had experienced this wonderful phenomenon, I was on a hunt for something similar in Boston. I found Berryline in Harvard Square, which is close. Apparently Pinkberry in California is also of the same vein. (Also, the song on the Pinkberry website is hilarious.) But then the Bloomingdale's in Chestnut Hill opened a 40 Carrots and I was able to stay true to my first love.

Tangent: I was walking through Bloomingdale's one day when I saw the construction in the corner and the sign: "Coming Soon: 40 Carrots". I practically accosted the girl at the Bobbi Brown counter.

Alli: Is 40 Carrots opening here? [hands splayed on the counter, far too dramatic for the question]
Girl at Bobbi Brown: Um.. yes [small step back, casually reaching for some sharp tweezers]
A: Will they have yogurt?!?! [a little breathless, pitifully hopeful]
G@BB: Um, I guess? [Whatever you say crazy lady, just leave me alone.]

So the 40 Carrots in Chestnut Hill opened in February and we left Boston in mid-May. For three blissful months, I had access to Bloomingdale's yogurt whenever I wanted [to drive to Chestnut Hill].

Fast forward to now, in Singapore. Kyle and I are walking through one of the (many, many) malls in Singapore and we see J. Co, a donut company. And there, at the J. Co, is a picture of yogurt looking like it could be the same kind of thing. So of course we buy some, and lo and behold: sour yogurt! Later Emily sends a text message saying that she's spotted Yami yogurt another contender. She didn't try it, but it might be the same.

Yesterday, Emily and I staged the Great Yogurt Taste-Off: Yami vs. J. Co.And the winner is:


Although J. Co is good, Yami is less icy, less sweet, tart, creamy, and dense. I'm not about to suggest that it could replace Bloomingdale's. That would call for another head to head comparison which would be a little tricky with the 24 hour plane ride and the melting. But it'll certainly keep me happy here.

The Makansutra and the Eat-A-Thon

Contrary to evidence here, we do more than eat and think about more than food. But we do think that food is a huge component of culture, so for Kyle's birthday I got him the Makansutra 2009, the definitive guide to Singapore's street food and restaurants.The book lists 140 types of local street food--by type and location--and rates "only the best" on a scale from single pair of chopsticks (good) to three pairs ("die, die must try," some Singlish for you!).

The book also includes reviews of mid-priced and fine dining restaurants, but since the heart of Singapore's food culture is in hawker centres, it probably won't surprise you to know that we're focusing mostly on street food. Like the book says: "Eat the food and digest the culture."

So we have instituted the Eat-A-Thon: an attempt to try all of the 140 types of food (maybe, that's a fish head curry on the cover and I'm not sure about that one) on the island, seeking out the "Die, die must try" rankings, and of course tell you all about it.

Eric and Emily have joined us on this quest, and together we set out on the first Eat-A-Thon adventure: Claypot Rice.

Photo courtesy of Eric & Emily because theirs was way better than mine.
Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice

Blk 335 Smith St. #02-198/199 Chinatown Cplx

Claypot rice is a Cantonese dinnertime favorite, says the Makansutra. The rice is cooked in a clay pot over a low, preferably charcoal fire. The resulting smokey rice is topped with meat and greens and flavored with a thick black soy-based sauce.

They delivered it to our table after about a 45 minute wait. Because we clearly didn't know what we were doing, our server mixed it at the table for us, first taking out the steamed meat and greens (chicken and sausage for us) and adding the black sauce to the rice. He drizzled the last dregs of sauce on the meat and greens and handed us each a bowl, spoon, and chopsticks.

We thought it was a good, filling, simple meal. The chicken was moist and tender and the black sauce flavored the whole dish without drowning out everything else. I would have preferred more vegetables, but that's a recurring refrain here so far.

After our leisurely dinner, Eric and Emily had a dessert gem to share with us:

Mei Heong Yuen Dessert

No. 65-67 Temple Street, Chinatown

We got passion fruit and berry snow ice from a shop in Chinatown that, judging from the line and the absolutely packed house, is other people's gem as well. The snow ice tastes like the snowcream mom used to make on the (rare) occasions that it snowed when I was a child. Like sweet frozen milk finely shaved and topped with a fruit sauce, this definitely will require further investigation.