Part 5 (2/2)

Rather than retracing our hike back to the sube hail a taxi on the street to take us to Little India for lunch at Banana Leaf Apollo The restaurant enjoys a reputation for one of Singapore's best fish-head curries, another of the city's rants fro their curry to Chinese settlers, who they knew to be fond of fish-head preparations Understanding from our advance research that the staff serves meals on banana leaves instead of tableware, we expect a basic street-front joint, but discover instead an upscale establish, our first experience of that in a Singapore eatery Even so, both of us get cooling yogurt-and-fruit lassis to drink, ordering to the background tune of ”The Sound of Music” as interpreted in an Indian instrumental style

The waiter lays out our leaves, cut in large rectangular sections, in front of us, covering much of the tabletop He spoons rice in the center of each and to the side, dollops of two vegetable relishes, a chopped summer squash with turmeric, tomatoes, and curry leaves, and another headier e, curry leaves, and black s thein an herb-and-spice-filled south Indian curry with the sheen of coconut oil Hollowing out the huge, tasty cheeks and other portions ofthe rice, pappaduical sauce, which builds in heat like a symphony in the back of our throats Aficionados say to leave the fish eyes until the end, but by then, luckily, neither of us can eat anythingmuch of the afternoon confined to our hotel rooular restaurant, Blue Ginger It serves Nonya or Peranakan cooking, a local tradition developed when early southern Chinese traders in these waters ht soy sauce, garlic, and onions to the pot, and the ladies (Nonyas) contributed coconut s, including chiles, entered the blend over time, and centuries later the result is a cuisine distinctive of Singapore

Unfortunately, Blue Ginger doesn't earn ht Founded by the niece of fa Yee Soo, it succeeds so item is the constantly replenished pickles on every table-cucuar and citrus dressing, meant to accompany the savory courses They redeem our otak otak otak otak appetizer, al, candlenuts, turmeric, kaffir lime leaf, chile, and shririll Bland and spongy alone, it needs the pickles for balance Nothing can save ourwithout any of the character of its potent seasonings, and a muddy, clunky version of the Nonya classic, appetizer, al, candlenuts, turmeric, kaffir lime leaf, chile, and shririll Bland and spongy alone, it needs the pickles for balance Nothing can save ourwithout any of the character of its potent seasonings, and a muddy, clunky version of the Nonya classic, ayam buah keluak, ayam buah keluak, chicken chunks cooked with the nutlike fruit of the Indonesian kepayang tree Needing dessert to clear our palates, we decide on two shaved-ice options, each topped with a fruit puree The soursop cream is yummy, but its cousinammonia more and more loudly after the first few bites ”The Nonya dishes should be much better than this,” Cheryl says ”The kitchen is the proble our only Peranakan meal here chicken chunks cooked with the nutlike fruit of the Indonesian kepayang tree Needing dessert to clear our palates, we decide on two shaved-ice options, each topped with a fruit puree The soursop cream is yummy, but its cousinammonia more and more loudly after the first few bites ”The Nonya dishes should be much better than this,” Cheryl says ”The kitchen is the proble our only Peranakan , we return to the Tekka Centre in Little India The stalls closed on Monday are now open again, including two that Makansutra reco Ji Cooked Food serves us chwee kueh chwee kueh, savory stealutinous rice Okay, but not nearly as tasty as the treats at Yan Seng Cooked Food, where the booth's only words in English are ”black carrot cake” Each of us orders one of the advertised dish, a loosely forarlicky Chinese chives bound with egg and dyed with a sweet, dark soy that leaves an appealing oodies, a young Chinese businesswoman approaches us to ask, ”How do you like the cakes?”

”Wonderfully delicious,” Cheryl says enthusiastically, and the lady pulls up a chair at our table to join us

She points to the stooped, elderly woman, barely more than four and a half feet tall, who cooked our food and is now s at the table next to us ”She is one of the rareby hand Her fans cos,” she insists, going over to talk to the cook in Chinese and pay for a couple of both types

Each contains a vegetable filling, sealed in one instance with a rice-flour wrapper tinted a traditional pink and, in the other case, with sesa us containers of soy sauce and chile paste, the businesswos in these”

”Lovely,” Bill acknowledges after a dunk and a bite

When the older wo the paste, she smiles and says ”Chile,” apparently one of the feords she knows in English Still grinning, she passes us a sht red dessert du, plump with a sweet bean puree

”My, oh etwoman excuses herself at this point-”Got to rush to work”-leaving us feebly unable to coratitude we feel toward both ladies

With spontaneous experiences like this, Singapore startles us more than any other place on our trip The people, the food, and the cultures of the city overwhelatives By our departure, we regret our reluctance to co about this on our way out of the Tekka Centre, we stop for one e, with tomato or avocado perhaps,” Bill says, but both of us fall back in the end on syrupy nectars: o for Bill, and passion fruit for Cheryl

”It's a sweet finish,” Cheryl says, ”for an exceptionally sweet tie] ALBERT C COURT H HOTEL albertcourtco 180 Albert Street 65-6339-3939 fax 65-6339-3253 ”Courtyard” Executive and Faer and more stylish than the quarters in the tower that rises above the lobby Check the Web site for special proe] MAKANSUTRA e] SIN H HUAT E EATING H HOUSE (aka, Sin Huat Seafood Restaurant) 659-661 Geylang Road at the corner of Lorong 35 dinner only (no reservations)

[ie] TIAN T TIAN H HAINANESE C CHICKEN R RICE Maxwell Food Centre at the corner of Maxwell and South Bridge, Stall 10 (no reservations)

[ie] LIM K KEE B BANANA F FRITTERS Maxwell Food Centre at the corner of Maxwell and South Bridge, Stall 61 (no reservations)

[iar Plaza Market and Food Centre on Block 6, Tanjong Pagar Road, Stall 02-36 (no reservations)

[ie] MATTAR R ROAD S SEAFOOD B BARBECUE Old Airport Road Emporium and Cooked Food Centre on Block 51, Old Airport Road, Stall 01-131G (no reservations)

[i Lim Market and Food Centre on Block 531A, Upper Cross Street, Stall 02-18 (no reservations)

[i Lim Market and Food Centre on Block 531A, Upper Cross Street, Stall 02-43 (no reservations)

[i Road Food Centre on Block 14, Haig Road, Stall 01-19 (no reservations)

[ie] HILL S STREET F FRIED K KWAY T TEOW Bedok Nen and Food Centre on Block 16, Bedok South Road, Stall 01-187 (no reservations)

[ie] BANANA L LEAF A APOLLO 54-56 Race Course Road 65-6293-8682

lunch and dinner

[iar Road 65-6222-3928 lunch and dinner

[ie] YAN S SENG C COOKED F FOOD Tekka Market Food Centre on Block 665, Buffalo Road, Stall 01-389 (no reservations)

Fried Black ”Carrot” Cake Chai Tow Kueh SERVES 4, 4, IN FOUR IN FOUR 6-TO 8- 6-TO 8-INCH CAKES

cup kecap manis kecap manis (sweet, dark Indonesian soy sauce) (sweet, dark Indonesian soy sauce) cup soy sauce2 tablespoons toasted or dark sesae2 pounds, peeled2 pluetable oilSeveral pinches coarse-ground dried hot red chile or dribbles of chile oil6 large eggs, lightly beatenThin-sliced scallions Make the black sauce by stirring together the kecap manis, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a se holes of a box grater or using a food processor with a grating disk Place the radish on a clean dish towel or several layers of paper towels and pat ht film of oil in a flat-bottomed wok, a well-seasoned cast-iron or other heavy skillet of at least 10 inches, or on a nonstick griddle over h heat As soon as the oil ripples, make the cakes one at a time in quick succession like a short-order fry cook Scoop up one-quarter of the radish mixture and mound it in the center of the wok Cook for about 2it down into a loosely formed inch-thick cake, then turn theit back down again with a broad spatula Scoop and turn another tihtly color (but not brown) nearly all the radish

Sprinkle with chile to taste, then cover evenly with about one-quarter of the kecap manis mixture Cook about a minute so the sauce can cara the spatula to once e it back into a loose cake fors will begin to set ie all the ain Turn over and continue cooking until the egg mixture has set The cake will look a bit like a dark mini-frittata Slide out onto a plate Wipe out the hot wok carefully and repeat with oil and ingredients until all four cakes are complete Top each ”carrot” cake with a sprinkle of scallions and serve right away, offering more chile or soy sauce on the side if you wish

THAILAND