Morning! I had plans to send this out to you yesterday — the flight from Singapore to Bangalore is 3.5 hours and incredibly dull. But then I discovered Slow Horses on the in-flight entertainment ‘system’ and completely forgot.
This first thing I did when we landed was watch the last episode of White Lotus. I’ve been avoiding the internet because I didn’t want to see any spoilers. The second was eat rasam and rice, which is our favourite meal to eat when we get back from holiday. A post-holiday rasam just hits different.
My sister Sadia has lived in Singapore for over 2 decades now, and I’ve been visiting her almost every year since I was 14. The highlights of those early trips involved eating Ruffles potato chips, KFC cheese fries, and the nachos with cheese at the movies.
In my early twenties, I spent two months with her one year, and I can’t remember anything from that trip other than the fact that I would roll out of bed in the morning, walk over to the food court, eat salmon sushi, you know those prepacked ones, for breakfast, washed down with a kopi C, while the stalls set up for the day, and old (well, sounded old to me, like Chinese version of Mohd Rafi — fuzzy recording) Chinese music playing softly from the speakers.
Over the years, my Singapore holiday has changed a little. I haven’t been to a KFC in a few years, probably because there seem to be fewer of them around. I still get pre-packed sushi, but on this holiday, I put it away in the fridge for later, and completely forgot about it, oops. Still drank copious amounts of kopi C. Other old Singapore rituals:
A trip to Kinukonya. Spending hours here with mum, and Sadi is my happy place. I’m trying to bring Sajjad into this Kinukonya fold of ours, but his chaotic energy and general lack of patience means that our visits to the bookshop are cut short, and leave me feeling dissatisfied. A WIP.
Jumbo. The crab here makes me sick every time — I think it’s the pepper masala — but is still a tradition I partake in rather enthusiastically, given the circumstances. The fried buns are delicious.
Sajjad and I have started going to Maxwell for chicken and rice. It’s good, but I’m sure there’s better. If you have recommendations, tell me.
Toast Box for the vibes. It’s not the best kaya toast (Ya Kun Kaya is nicer), the kopi C is hit or miss, but it’s the quintessential Singapore experience for me.
Nachos and with warm, radio-active looking, gooey, melted cheese at the movies.
Sugarcane juice with sour plum at the food courts/hawker stalls.
Hokkaido milk pudding from the food hall in Takashimaya.
Beef pepper rice at Pepper Lunch. Thin slices of beef that cook on your individual teppan, served with rice that get charred and crisp from the heat of the pan.
Ice Kechang from the Takashimaya food court.
New traditions:
Acai bowls at acai affair. I get the one with lychee. On this trip, this was the first thing we stepped out to eat, few hours after we landed.
Saffron teh tarik from Tarik. We found this place last week, and I’m not exaggerating when I say I haven’t had better tea. Sadi and mum had the saffron teh o and weren’t impressed.
Chee Cheung Fun at Ann Chin Popiah. Rolls of chewy, bouncy rice noodles, doused in soy sauce and chilli sauce, and topped with fried shallots.
I love Singapore, and it always makes me feel like I could live differently. I could be more active, more proactive, be more outdoorsy, be better dressed. Cook more creatively. I can see how this could be depressing, but I come back excited. And invigorated. Less chips, I tell myself sternly. Anyway, that’s what I woke up thinking about. I had a protein smoothie for breakfast.
On the Malabar Tea Room:
Some Singapore-centric stories and recipes we’ve shared over the years:
Just wanna say, I love reading here 💕
I was in Singapore in November and your lovely writing brought back memories....Loved the place. Brought back Teabox coffee powder which my daughter finished before I could say "Jack Robinson"!!