I’ve been to so many countries such as Australia, China, Taiwan, Japan, England, Italy, East Timor, Malaysia, and Indonesia – but none of them come close to Singapore when food accessibility is the topic. I admit that growing up in Singapore might seems to make my point not very objective and bias, but in all honesty, Singapore has more eatery per square miles than anywhere else in the world.
Hawker centers are very popular in Singapore as place to eat, with so many different culture in Singapore, the type of food you can find in those hawker centers are enormous – ranging from Malay food to Western food. Unlike the hawkers center I saw in Indonesia, Singapore’s hawker center are very clean and well maintain.
As for the price, the cost of a meal in most Singapore hawker center would not be more than what you pay for a combo meal at McDonalds or Burger King. However, there is one hawker center I would certainly avoid in Singapore, the Newtown Food Center. That particular hawker center is known for it’s over price food and mediocre food quality.
Singaporean are very proud of their food and culture, and the different culture does not only brings variety type of food, but new taste of fusion food. If you are in Singapore, you have to try Chicken rice – which is one of Singapore national dish candidate. Chicken rice consists of poached chicken served with fragrant rice cooked in chicken broth with ginger and garlic. The simple yet rich in flavor dish is like a staple food for Singaporean and most of hawker center serve this dish for less than SG$3.
Another favourite of mine is Char kway teow – or what is known as fried flat noodles. The noddles are cooked over extremely high heat with soy sauce, egg, bean sprouts and different type of meat or seafood. While many thinks the dish is unhealthy due to the fat content, it is amazingly good!
So, if you are visiting Singapore, don’t be afraid to try new food, explore and enjoy the unfamiliar taste and I guarantee you that you’ll go for more.
Image credit : Wikipedia
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