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Whenever, Whatever in Singapore

A lot to drink and eat You get the best of Indian, Chinese and Malaysian food in Singapore

What do you drink with Chilly Crab? “Whatever.” Then, if you’re in Singapore, you’re supposed to shrug your shoulders and musically add, “Anything.”

I thought it was a charmingly self-effasive way of settling for whatever was on offer. Till, I was handed an icy silver can of Anything.

It’s the latest Singaporean trend. Two drinks called “Whatever” and “Anything”. The catch? Well, they’re whatever, and can be anything. I leaned over the counter to choose my flavour of Anything: ice lemon, white grape, apple, peach, chrysanthemum or jasmine green tea. But the girls handing out the cans just giggled. You can’t choose. That, apparently, is the whole point of the drink. Your only decision is whether you want Whatever, which is carbonated and includes flavours such as root beer and cloudy lemon, or Anything.

Actually, it worked out quite well. One decision less. For Singapore is replete with options when it comes to food.

The country, as you probably already know considering how popular it is with the Indian tourist, is composed of a population that has managed to integrate, all the while keeping their customs, history and traditions alive. And since a large part of custom, tradition and history is tied up with food, this is a fabulous place to taste three cultures: Spicy India, with its colourful curries; fragrant China with its fearless diversity and delectable Malaysia, with its aromatic spices.

The best places to head to try a little of everything are the hawkers centres, all clean, bright and organised in that uniquely Singapore way. They’re cheerful and extraordinarily cheap. They’re also set up in such a way that you can bounce from stall to stall trying a little of everything.

Kitchens in the government housing, which is what most Singaporeans use, tend to be rather cramped, so in Singapore eating out is an everyday phenomenon. (The locals, according to my guide, usually end up cooking on just one day in the week — Sunday — when they have an elaborate family meal.) Most hawkers’ centres are absolutely authentic because they primarily cater to hard nosed locals rather than bewildered tourists. And since the Singaporeans are such good customers these places don’t fall into the trap most tourist joints in other countries do, toning down spices and bringing up prices.

If you crave the familiar, try the Malay satay. Consisting of small portions of succulent meat grilled over a charcoal fire on bamboo skewers and served with a chunky, sweet peanut sauce, it’s great finger food, and perfect for eating on the run. In fact, since eating on the run has become a regular event in busy Singapore, there are a whole series of foods served on sticks, ranging from crab claws to fish balls.

India’s given Singapore what they call ‘roti-prata,’ which is served around the clock. Basically a paratha, it’s served with a curry or sugar. For the benefit of the wide-eyed Western tourist, by the way, it’s also referred to as a ‘flat fried croissant!’ India’s also responsible for the popular fish head curry, made famous by a restaurant called The Banana Leaf Apollo in Little India. Open since 1974, the restaurant specialises in Fish Head, which the Apollo manager says is actually a very Singaporean adaptation of an Indian curry, and not really Indian considering how squeamish Indians — even fish eaters — get when confronted by the curry, consisting an intimidating large fish head set in a bowl of gravy. For the recent Singapore Food festival, the restaurant went all out to commemorate the dish, creating a record by serving 1000 curry fish heads in a single day.

And China’s most popular contribution to the country’s cuisine is their never-fail Hianese Chicken rice, which the tourism board calls a “low-risk, kid-friendly meal that even your most finicky eater might like,” consists of moist poached chicken served with rice, fragrant with chicken broth, ginger and garlic. The dish was introduced to the country by Chinese migrants decades ago.

How much do the Singaporeans love their food?

Well, the National Museum of Singapore recently had a ‘banquet in stone’ exhibition, put together by a former engineer Mr. Hsu who spent the last 20 years searching for stones that looked like Chinese food. So far his collection has over 250 stone dishes, valued at about 2 million Singapore dollars (according to www.singaporesights.com.) The most expensive dish? Pigs’ trotters and eggs stewed in dark soya sauce – in stone – worth S$130,000.

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