Westworld Alberta
Issue link: http://westworldmagazine.ama.ab.ca/i/68789
SINGAPORE Chowing down on the city's eclectic street food BY STEVE BURGESS T AKING ON A CROCODILE IS NEVER going to be anyone's idea of fun. But if you must do so, your best option is prob- ably a braised one. Still pretty scary. But the bowl of tasty broth helps. My mano-a-mano showdown with a bowl of claws, bone and pebbled skin is taking place in Singapore, at a hawker's market on the edge of Little India. It's a confrontation that could easily have been avoided. Singapore offers high-end cuisine the equal of any city in the world – there's even an outpost of renowned French chef and res- taurateur Daniel Boulud's db Bistro here, at the swanky Marina Bay Sands Hotel. But to fi nd the true spirit of Singapore you have to look elsewhere. Down at ground level, the city is a meeting place of culinary cultures: Malay, Indian, Chinese, the Malay- Chinese hybrid known as Peranakan, Indonesian infl uences such as Padang and even Japanese. These are best sampled 32 WESTWORLD >> JUNE 2012 in the places where locals dine, such as the popular food courts known as hawker's markets. Singapore street food is inexpensive, tasty and often surprising. Even without the toothy reptiles. ONCE UPON A TIME, THE WORLD WAS FULL OF CITY states. Of the few that remain, Singapore surely ranks fi rst in power and prestige. Established as a British port in 1819 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffl es, it was briefl y part of Malaysia before separating in 1965. The new state, isolated on a 700-square-kilometre island and lacking resources, wasn't exactly considered Most Likely to Succeed. But it surprised the world by transforming itself into a manufacturing pow- erhouse and, by some measures, the world's busiest port. Today, thanks to the country's long history of Chinese and Indian settlement and its location in the very heart of Southeast Asia, Singapore has a vibrant culinary identity. One of the surprises is just where good food is found. The Geylang area, four or fi ve stops east of downtown on the (this page) Steve Burgess, Laurie Strachan, Thomas Cockrem/All Canada Photos, (opposite page) R. Ian Lloyd/Masterfile Zing