Singapore food safari

Succulent. Juicy. Spicy. Messy.

Oh, how the chili crab has changed my life. As I plunged my moist fingers deeper into the carcass of the 1.2 and 1.3 kilo crabs, respectively, I smiled at the fact we were in Singapore once more. Tonight was the night of our food safari of Singapore. Unfortunately, due to a bit of a late departure (my fault) and the fact that the chili crab process took longer than expected, there were only two stops, but they were delicious ones.

We met our friends S and L tonight at the St. Regis. They flew in from LA the night before and will be accompanying us on the rest of our trip. We have looked forward to their arrival all along after many great experiences traveling with them in the past, though the only sad part is that their arrival indicates the last 25% of our trip. Sad.

We said a sad goodbye to Danum Valley this morning. We woke up bright and early to watch the animals awake along the river and were rewarded with yet more Red Leaf monkeys. After breakfast we said goodbye to the wonderful staff and headed out on the 2 hour journey to the airport through the jungle. Even leaving, we saw wildlife – the bearded pig (along with about half a dozen piglets), monitor lizards and some tropical birds all crossed our path.

We headed straight to get Ms. Cupcake’s sari refit after arrival. I was obviously bored while this was getting done, but the owner of the sari shop, sensing both my boredom and hunger (as I was preparing for the food safari), ran out to Ananda Bhavan Vegitarian, on Selegie Road, to get me some samosas. Ms. Cupcake, utterly shocked at this, decided that the store policy must be buy a sari, get a samosa (or two in my case). These were indeed unlike any other samosas I had ever had. They were large, about the size of a person’s hand, and chock full of potatoes and peas in a delicious curry. It was both moister and crispier than any prior samosa experience.

After thanking the gracious owner of Memsaab tailoring for both the samosas and the sari, we headed off to meet our friends and start the food safari. Andy, our absolute favorite St. Regis staff member, gave us some additional food tips before we set out.

First stop, Bok Chor Mee at Hill Street Pork Noodles. The four of us are all huge Anthony Bourdain fans, so this was a must stop. He went here on his last Singapore episode and Bok Chor Mee sounded like a great dish anyway. It was. Fishballs, pork, dumplings, noodles, cooked in a spicy sauce and broth – it was delicious, even in the 90 degree heat. From there, we moved on to East Coast Park Seafood Center’s famous Long Beach Seafood – the creators (so they say) of Black Pepper Crab. S and I went and chose the victims – two medium sized suckers from their tanks, and sent them away for preparation as chili crab and black pepper crab, respectively.

Delicious. Despite the relatively terrible service at the restaurant, the crab was so good that it overshadowed all else. Washed down with some Tiger Beer, the crab was heavenly. The chili sauce was then mopped up diligently with the accompanying fried buns.

We’re off again tomorrow to yet another new place, but it is funny that Singapore is really beginning to feel homey – a comfortable place with great food.