originally written on January 20, 2013
After a taste of island life in Boracay, Mary and I said bye to the Philippines and hello to Singapore - the official start of Taking Asia 2013. Thanks to Mary's friend, Jin, we had a great tour guide who helped us maximize our 24 hours in Singapore (we got to SG around noon on Jan 19 and left for Melaka, Malaysia the next day after breakfast). Thanks to Jin we were really able to see all of Singapore. Although Jin took us around, brought us to the must-taste places, and ordered us local fare, I must say that the best thing I ate during my brief Singaporean visit came from a little hawker cart hidden in the food court across from the Golden Mile Tower Bus Terminal.
Because Mary and I had arrived at the bus terminal early, we decided to explore the area which led us to a pseudo food court of hawker stalls similar to the more infamous one on Maxwell street. Since we no longer had our friend to translate, explain, or order food for us, we did what any intelligent, hungry traveler would do: We found the hawker stall with the most people in line and ordered two plates of whatever the person in front of us ordered.
Mary and I have a theory that anything that has a long line for it must be worth waiting for. Also, this hawker stall had some posters above it which we believe indicated that the hawker stall was featured on some Singaporean television show, so naturally Mary and I trusted this hawker stall. To this day, we're not very sure what we ordered and ate, but it was our lucky day that we arrived at the bus terminal early and found this little gem.
Place: Hawker Cart #91 (unsure)
Location: Golden Mile Tower, 6001 Beach Road, Beach Road District, Singapore
Order: Fried Kway Teow Mee
Price: 3 Singapore dollars for small, 4 for large order
Food notes: Fried Kway Teow is a noodle dish stir fried in a dark soy sauce with spices, seafood, and vegetables. Traditionally, fried Kway Teow is stir fried in pork lard, however this particular hawker stall prepares a very tasty and healthy fried Kway Teow. No pork lard is used and minimal vegetable oil is used for cooking. The noodles used in this dish are very appropriate because the thick flat rice noodles soak up the richness and favors of the sauce. I really enjoyed the combination of cockles and silvery fish (dried anchovies?) and their contrast to the sweetness of the dark soy sauce. I don't think this is the best Fried Kway Teow in Singapore, but it's definitely a healthier and tasty version. A must try if you're in the area or early for your bus to Malaysia!
Stay hungry, Louella
Featured Image Photo Cred: Mandarin Oriental Hotel