Westworld Alberta
Issue link: http://westworldmagazine.ama.ab.ca/i/68789
about their cuisine. kiosks offer the likes of tandoori chicken and Indian vegetarian dishes, is right beside it. Garbage receptacles overflow with empty coconut shells that once held cold, sweet coconut milk drinks. I prefer to order a hot beverage: teh halia, or ginger milk tea, something I've never been able to fi nd in Indian restaurants back home. Made from water boiled with ginger, the tea is sweetened with condensed milk. The result is creamy, with a solid kick of ginger that leaves a warm after-burn. Time for lunch. Not too far across town from Little India is the beautiful Sultan Mosque, heart of the area called Arab Street or Kampong Glam, just east of Raffl es Hospital. In a way, Kampong Glam, sometimes called the Muslim Quarter, sums up the city. It's pretty, displays its heritage proudly and yet seems so tidy and orderly that you might think you've wandered into some sort of Singapore Disneyland. The narrow streets are lined with restored old shop houses containing carpet and souvenir stores and offices. Restaurants, too. Kampong Glam is the place to go for nasi padang, an Indonesian Muslim culinary tra- dition that combines Asian and Middle East- ern influences and makes heavy use of coconut milk and spices. It's represented in the Arab Street area by restaurants such as the legendary Warong Nasi Pariaman. This afternoon it's my bad fortune to arrive as they are washing up, fi ve minutes after clos- ing early for a holiday. Disappointing, but there are other options. Encouraged by the crowd across the street at a deli-style restau- rant called Sabar Menanti II, I head in. At the back, a glass case displays rows of dishes, most swimming in savoury curry sauces. Soon I am engaged in one of those acts of faith and surrender that are an unavoidable part of overseas dining. I don't recognize any of the dishes on display and no one can really explain them to me. So I turn myself over to the man in charge. "Spicy OK?" he asks. I nod, trying to look confi dent, and he serves up my plate. I recognize one dish as rendang beef curry, often featured on Malaysian menus in North America. (This illustrates the poly- glot nature of North American Asian restau- rants, where different regions and traditions are often rolled together under one banner.) (Muslim Quarter) Robert Harding/All Canada Photos, (sugar cane juice) Steve Burgess (both pages, clockwise from far left) Venison with gravy and green onions; an open-air market in Singapore's Little India; alfresco dining in Kampong Glam, the Muslim Quarter, near the Sultan Mosque; a vendor uses a hand-cranked press to make sugar cane juice, a popular local beverage. My plate also holds chicken and vegetable curries, plus a side that includes banana peppers. Taking a seat beside a family (communal seating is one of the pleasures of solo dining in Singapore), I dig in. And in fact the spice hit is rather mild. In Malaysia and Singapore they don't go in for butt- kicking Thai chilies – the sambal chili paste favoured here tends to be a little milder and sweeter, making Malaysian cuisine seem a little kinder and gentler overall. My tablemates include Yusef, a young local man eating with his parents and wife. Is this his favourite spot, I ask? Yusef shakes his head. "My favourite restaurant is home," he says. "Nothing beats Mom's cooking." On my way out, I remember that Kam- pong Glam the neighbourhood also features Kampong Glam the restaurant, at the corner of Baghdad and Bussorah streets. Which means I must return to the area tomorrow – I know and love this spot from past visits. WESTWORLD >> JUNE 2012 35