Singapore

May 2nd, 2011.

So what makes an epic food experience?
Let me explain my first food experience in Singapore. Perhaps this will help to shed some light on the subject.

Going to Singapore I was not too sure what to expect. I had ideas about a cosmopolitan and rather conservative, tropical Asian version of Hong Kong. But I was a little uncertain of the food there.
Singapore has propelled itself into the modern age with large government investments, a super urban developed landscape, and an educated service and professional economy base.
What does this say about the food…? Well, to me that can mean spendy restaurants, white collar lunch joints, and fast food chains.
So what did I find here?? It was a really cool mix of Asian flavors, Special Singapore dishes, and renditions of classic Chinese, Thai, Malay, Indian, Vietnamese, and Western food.

For starters I went through Chinatown, and was a little put off by the cleaned-up touristy vibes there. Nothing caught my food eye, so I walked a little further south-east, and out on the edge of the neighborhood I stumbled across Maxwell Market, a food-stall style hawker market that was recommended by a few people.
I wandered in to find about 100 food stalls varying from Chinese, Malay, Indian, Fruit juices, you name it.
Hmm. Problem is, what should I try? I had no leads on any of these places, and it seemed that most of the food looked decent. With many people sprawled around at the many tables inside, chowing down happily on there fare, it looked like a tricky choice.

Ok, beginning of what makes an Epic Food Moment….

Good sign number 1 -
A relative lack of tourists, foreigners, and especially Americans. This is important. If you want an epic food experience, you probably wont have one if there are a bunch of Americans sitting around at the tables… No offense, but it just points to culinary-enjoyment disaster.

Good sign number 2 – Many of these places do not have english menus, or english speaking people. If they speak english, you know that they may deal with tourists. This can mean they cater to tourist taste buds, which can ruin the likely hood of an epic food experience. Can you say No MSG?? This is a Chinese food no-no. (just an example..More on MSG later…)

Ok, so I have those factors going. And what this really means is that you are in an area for food that is not sanitized, sterilized, westernized, and pasteurized into the run-of-the-mill eateries that continue to pop up all around the world. Epic food cannot always be “safe” food.

That leads me to another rule…

Take chances. You will turn away from many great food experiences if you do not risk the chance of a bad meal, an awkward situation, and mis-order, “I don’t know what this is” kind of meal, and potential food born illnesses.

Another rule…
Sometimes the best food comes from the dirtiest restaurants! (remember, if someone cares only about getting great food to their customers, they may neglect that dirty floor for a while! Its ok! They are focusing on the food, this is good!)

So. I’m at the point where I know there are few foreigners, a definite local spot, some places are a little grimy around the edges, and I still have not perfected reading Chinese only menus….
So what catches my eye?

Hmmmm Porridge? Seems to be a big line for Porridge… I'll have to see whats up.

An obvious one. There is one stall out of all of the stalls that has a HUGE line. One look at this, and I know there must be something good at the other end. I didn’t even know what they serve or what was their specialty. What was everyone waiting in line for?? Porridge perhaps, but you never know..

Now we have another element to add to epic’ness. This is the perception that something will be great. This affects our mood, heightens our anticipation of the meal, and gets the palate ready for some good grub.
When you have to wait, you not only get hungry, but you have put in some “dues” for that meal. You have given a sacrifice of you time, and there is a reward at the end of the journey. This all adds to an Epic Food Moment.

I finally asked another person in line, what exactly was good here?
“Congee”, was the reply. “Get the Fish or the Pork, but I’d recommend the raw fish, really good.”
What else?

When I got closer to the counter of this stall I could observe the three people cooking and serving away. I quickly noticed that these were not your normal food operators. The relatively chunky middle-aged lady obviously did not care how long people had to wait, or how many people had lined up. One of my glances over to the stall I caught her chugging a large metal tea container full of water, right out in front of all the waiting customers. She was thirsty, back off.
Once revived and refreshed, she non-chalantly walked back over to her station and started sprinkling condiments onto the freshly served bowls of Congee.
Being close enough I could watch the cook as well. He was in a totally other-worldly zone of Congee pots, taking one super-caked-with-congee pan and another, filing them up, bringing them to a boil, and throwing in all the necessary ingredients per order. I noticed his hands were remarkably white, as if he had a fading white latex glove on from so much rice having been on his hands over the years.

What does this have to do with epic food?
Well now I know that these people are absolute characters. Zoned out Congee cook in the back, irritated-pushy-I-really-don’t-care lady in the front. They worry about making a really great recipe, then they just go throughout the day. They have nothing to prove, and they have not turned their back on the true personalities that they have.
I also like to see (sometimes, when the stars are aligned, and not necessarily always) kitchens that have character like this. There was congee caked and burnt onto the pots, the utensils, and the stove. It was quite a site. And it wasn’t that they didn’t clean, as there was a lady in there scraping away on a pot, it was just that the process they have for making killer congee leaves a residue. And as a lot of great chefs will tell you, it is important to have seasoning on your pans, it really adds to the flavor. These pots were SEASONED!

Now thats some seasoning.

So I finally go to the front, made my order for Raw Fish Congee, and realized that I had waited for an hour already.

At this point I’m standing right in front of these guys, can see all the action, feel the energy of the place (she immediately told me to stop when I went to grab a tray, as my order was not up yet…)and start to drool over the prospect of trying some great congee.

The guys hands are white from the rice!

So when I’m up, I’m feeling like I’m at the “soup Nazi” place from the Sienfeld episode. I have my tray, I carefully spoon some sliced chilies into a little dish then carefully pour some soy sauce over them, watching her to see if she is eyeing me. I catch her watching me prepare my chopsticks and spoon, and wonder if I put them on the wrong side of the tray or something, and perhaps she will kick me back to the end of the line…

Don't mess this up. Chinese-Singaporian Soup Nazi.

I get everything correct, so when my piping hot bowl of congee comes over I’m good to go. The lady spoons on some dried shredded pork, some sesame oil, fried onions, and a good healthy sprinkle of MSG.
The bowl goes on to the tray and she shouts “Fish porridge, you are ready!”
I look down and to my dismay there are no spring onions, so I daringly ask her (after she has already turned her attention to the next bowl) for some spring onions. She glances at me as if I don’t exist already, but begrudgingly grabs a handful of chopped spring onions and dumps them on my bowl. I think she wanted me out of the way.

So I sit down and take a deep breath in from of this lovely bowl of rice porridge. So many things happened from the time I got in line to being at this point to enjoy my meal. Perhaps the epic food experience is something that is greater than the food. Its something of a journey in order to eat. It is a unique experience and interaction with others that add to the pleasure of the food.

Raw Fish Congee with Raw Egg

At this point I can tuck into the bowl, reveling in the smell, the taste, and the texture. This was not your usual check the menu – take your order meal. I was not just a number in line, and I’m not getting a bowl of your regular run-of-the-mill food.
This was an adventure, and it was well worth it.
The Fish is impeccably fresh, tender, juicy, and sweet. The rice is delicious and slightly nutty, the base- nice and peppery. The roasted sesame oil perfumes my nose, and the msg excites my palate. A raw egg at the bottom, making the soup even richer as I stir it around, mixing the yolk into the broth. Its so hot that the egg white basically cooks, but the yolk stays nice an creamy! Crunchy pork and onions, salty spicy chilies, crispy fragrant fresh ginger. This is a great mix of sensations.
I cant help but think of when I will come back for another bowl.
That is an Epic Food Moment.

Sold Out

And it sold out just after I sat down. Another good sign!
I’ll have to have a few more of them, and jot down some notes so I can get the idea across!
Anybody hungry?

Zhen Zhen Porridge, Maxwell Market, Singapore