Dec 13 2009
GOURMET FOOD, SINGAPORE STYLE
Few places in the world can match Singapore for food. The choice is staggering. Within a few hundred metres, there might be a hawker centre selling Singaporean, Peranakan, Chinese and Malay specialities, and a food court with Japanese, Korean and Thai stalls. Next to these might be a coffee shop serving up barbecued seafood and spicy, soupy laksa, and an Indian shophouse making wafer-thin roti pratha and chicken curry.
It’s hard to know whether this multitude inspired Singapore’s food obsession, or whether the obsession inspired the multitude. Either way, Singaporeans are obsessed with eating. They think nothing of driving right across the island to sample a renowned sambal stingray or chilli crab, and whenever a new food fad hits town, they will happily queue for
an hour to get their hands on it.