04 April 2005

Food in Singapore

I chanced upon a conversation in the lift today. It was between a Singaporean and a foreigner who had come to Singapore just a few days back. The Singaporean was asking the new fellow if he had settled and the usual things about Singapore. All was normal, until this guy said, "Oh everything is fine except for food in Singapore. It sucks. There no variety here".

This was something new for me. Normally foreigners to Singapore appreciate the different types of food available in Singapore. Also there would be food courts almost everywhere, malls, cineplex, housing units, beaches, etc. In most of these food courts you would be able to find a variety of Chinese food, atleast one Indian food, a malay food and a fruits and drinks stall. Below our office we have one of the finest food courts and world famous food chains like McDonald, Burger King, Tony Roma, Starbucks, Dome, Pizza Hut and what not. There are also exclusive Thai, Indonesian, Japanese and Indian restaurantssss. I wonder what this guy was meaning when he said that the food in Singapore was lacking in variety.

When I first came to Singapore, I couldn't stand the smell of the food courts. I used to avoid going anywhere near a food court. Being a pure vegetarian, I was also frightened to try out the various cusines. I had to restrict myself to the few Indian shops around. But now after some experiments and advise from friends I have found quite a few places to enjoy food. We have Veg Burger, Veg Sandwitches, Vegetarian Chinese food, around 7 Indian food outlets and lots more. So eating is a joy now :))

14 comments:

Kaps said...

Where do you get Veg SandWITCHes? Is it Subway?

Chakra said...

Its perception... for the first few mths after I came to UK, I was hesitant to enter any of the restaurants serving other cuisines thinking that they won't have any veggie options.. After sometime, I learnt that while the choices may be few, most of the restaurants wd have something or other to offer to the vegans..

If you don't go out & explore, lot of hidden joys wd remain hidden.. perhaps thats the case with the newbie.

btw, Kamban Soru, food courts.. your posts are heading towards the same direction. :))

PVS said...

Hi Kaps, u can get it at Dome, O'Briens, Subway, Carrefour all have veg sandwitches. OBriens is my favorite.

Chakra, the reason why I was surprised to hear the guy say that Singapore food sucks was becos he looked like a Chinese guy and surely he neednt worry about veggie stuff to experiment.

yea, my blogs seem to proceed towards food :)

AF said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
AF said...

May be he doesnot like it the way they make it in S'pore. Not authentic Chinese may be!!!

Narayanan Venkitu said...

Any idea where this foreigner was from.?

I have heard good things about the variety of food in Singapore. But haven't gone out of the Airport ( I love even the food in the airport).

By the way.. I was a veggie too..until a few years back..but now I now I eat eggs and Chicken...only Chichen Tikka.

We change with times...atleaast I did.

By the way - how is Komala Vilas?

Twin-Gemini said...

Change is most often difficult to accept. I think almost everyone who goes to a foreign land would face this situation with food and only with a little bit of exploration can this opinion be changed. He most probably would be a brand new person over there and he might have gone to one of the chains - the chains dont have a lot of variety, usually because they follow a simple and marketable menu (that can sell) with all of their stores.

Twin-Gemini said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Twin-Gemini said...

Change is most often difficult to accept. I think almost everyone who goes to a foreign land would face this situation with food, and only with a little bit of exploration can this opinion be changed. He most probably would be a brand new person over there and he might have gone to one of the chains - the chains dont have a lot of variety, usually because they follow a simple and marketable menu (that can sell) with all of their stores.

PVS said...

AF, am not an expert in Chinese food, so not sure if its authentic in Singapore or not. But I do like the way its done here :)

Narayanan, no idea where this guy was from. But by his looks and accent, think is a Chinese guy settled in the USA. Komala Vilas is one of the best Indian Restaurants around here. But now they have got stiff competition from Saravana Bhavan, Gangotri and the likes.

PVS said...

mikka nandri Moorthy. adutha kootathai patriya vivarangalai ennakku avasiyam anupungal.

PVS said...

What you say is true Twin-gemini. If he was looking for variety in food, I think he should be more adventurous. There are so many cusines available in Singapore and mostly within a short distance from each other.

Anonymous said...

PVS, do you work in the central business district area? You're probably lucky. There are too few areas in Singapore where you can get all that "vegetarian" food. The vast majority of places has food courts with no Indian stalls, only so called Indian Muslim stalls where they serve vegetables boiled in plain water with no salt/spice, served with the same tongs used to serve "Murtabak" or chicken/fish/duck... Try eating at such food courts that abound all over the island, and you'll realize Singapore food SUCKS for someone who prefers basic spices in his food, or someone who looks for vegetarian food. Burger King and McD donot serve veggie burgers. And if you think French Fries are vegetarian, please, they're fried in the same beef oil along with chicken nuggets. Only savior is Subway. You get more vegetarian food at BK, McD and Mexican restaurants in the USA, than at "Indian" stalls in Singapore food courts.

PVS said...

hi Anon,
thanks for visiting my blog. Yea, I do work in the CBD area. The guy I was mentioning in my blog also works in my office and hence I was surprised when he commented that there were no variety in food. Also he being a non-vegetarian, I don't think he would be concerned about the oil and stuff. I have visited quite a few foodcourts around Singapore (non-cbd areas) and the food really sucks in some places especially when you look for vegetarian food.