VisEATing Singapore

**DISCLAIMER: Grab a bib. This is a food heavy post.**

It's been about a month and a half in to my travels and I've been really blessed to have seen the countries I have. Lots of beautiful architecture, serene beaches, and amazing food. It's a tough life. But with that said, there's something about Singapore that gets my heart racing and excited as if I'm in second grade again waiting to open Super Mario 3 on Christmas morning (Mario with a raccoon tail!). And I have a feeling I know why.

For those who heard me talk about my trip to Singapore last summer, you know how amazing the food is there. Chinese? Check. Indian? Check. Malaysian, Turkish, Japanese? Check, check, and check (you're welcome for not writing the "Czech? Check." joke). Knowing ahead of time the multitude of options Singapore had to offer, I came a little better prepared this time around and used a little more strategery when planning my food conquests. With a little help, of course.

My lovely friend Gitanjali (truly one of my favorite people) let me stay in her swank 42nd floor apartment complex (thanks, Accenture!), which I used as a recovery center between face-stuffing sessions. I love Gitanjali for many reasons, but one of them can be summarized with one of the first sentences she spoke to me when I arrived: "OK, so you have like ten meals in Singapore. Let's start planning!" Is there anything better than the love of food combined with Accenture's Delivery Method? Wait, don't answer that.

What can I say, she's lovely.

A welcomed stint of luxury.

The beautiful view from G's apartment.

My first meal in Singapore? Chicken and rice! One of the simplest and deliciousest meals you'll have. Gitanjali met me for lunch every day of my stay, where we mostly did our damage in Singapore's amazing food courts. I know everyone loves them some Sbarro's and Orange Julius, but Singapore food courts are a different animal altogether. You can get delicious roti prata, oyster omelettes, roast pork/duck/chicken, dim sum, soup noodles, dry noodles, satay. Pretty much anything you want, you can get. What happens when you have too many choices to choose from? You say yes. Most of our meals ended with groans of pain, but because our Sauron-sized eyes were larger than our frodo-sized stomachs, we were able to sample a lot of the food we couldn't decide between. We followed a similar routine when we went to the equally diverse and sprawling hawker markets at night.

Roast and steamed chicken and rice.

Tandoori chicken with naan and veggies from Lau Pa Sat hawker market.

Fried chicken and rice with Carmen. "Put an egg on it!"

It probably wasn't good for me that this hawker market was a five minute walk from the apartment.

Assorted roast meats...from a food court!

One of my favorites: chicken murtabak. Roti filled with chicken and eggs and dipped in curry.

Indian style fried chicken and rice.

It lingers so good.

Almond pudding and longan shaved ice.

My next partners in crime? Jamie and Carmen! I'm not only lucky that Jamie and Carmen have a great love of food and have the best recommendations whenever I visit, but they're also some of the most generous people I know. Carmen is some sort of magician at paying for the check without anyone knowing. I will learn these black arts some day, and will find a way to pay them back (but really, thank you guys). This trip, they took us out to some truly delicious meals. The first was Ippudo. I had always heard Ippudo had amazing ramen, but had never gotten to try it. I was not disappointed. The next meal they took us to was a first for me: Turkish. I didn't even really know what Turkish food was, but it turned out to be a really delicious meal at Ala Turka on Arab Street.

Drinks with Carmen at Clark Quay. Beautiful spot to enjoy the sunset.

Ippudo!

Turkish bread to be dipped in...

...this assortment of dipping sauces.

Falafel? No, faldelicious.

Turkish pizza.

Lamb-filled pastries. 

Turkish dessert called kunefe - shredded filo with a sweet cream sauce. Really tasty.

No trip to Singapore is complete without getting some chili crab. Near the end of my trip, Gitanjali, Gregor, Carolyn, Kent, Carmen, Jamie and I went to No Signboard to feed our cravings. Chili crab is the staple that everyone loves, but the real specialty of No Signboard is their salted egg crab. Between all the crab, lobster-sized prawns, and rolls, we definitely ate way too much, but if there is ever a right way to get a stomach ache, it's with great company on a warm night with some cold beers.

Giant deep fried prawns.

Salted egg crab. A specialty unique to No Signboard.

Chili crab!

Great meal with great company.

I haven't even gotten to my family yet! I found out last year when I traveled to Singapore that I have aunts, uncles and cousins in Singapore. Last trip, they spoiled me by taking me an a day excursion to Sentosa Island and feeding me authentic Singaporian food. This trip, I didn't want them to spoil me as much (just a little), but they still went over the top by inviting me to their house and feeding me a home cooked meal. For someone who had been traveling non stop for six weeks, a home cooked meal with family was exactly what I was craving. And you know what we had for dessert? Durian egg tarts!

The lovely fam bam.

A very welcomed home cooked meal.

Regular egg tarts, Portuguese egg tarts, and wait for it...DURIAN EGG TARTS!

My cousin Joleen told me that I had to, had to stop by the gelato shop she worked at to try some of the local flavors (I think she had one in mind for me). I stopped by her shop one day and her being the generous cousin that she is, wouldn't let me pay for a couple scoops of the good stuff. What is the good stuff you ask? Keeping with our theme, obviously the good stuff is durian gelato. It was remarkable how much like real durian the gelato tasted like. Singapore knows how to do durian right. And by right, I mean put durian in everything possible.

Durian gelato. My favorite durian concoction of the trip.

My wonderful cousin Joleen who has always been a great host to me in Singapore.

So far, you can see how lucky I am to be able to meet up with these great people in Singapore. But wait, there's more! By chance, my friend Mark was in Singapore for a short stay in order to fly out to Indonesia and it worked out that we were able to meet up for a night for drinks, dinner, and a romantic walk around Clark and Raffle's Quay. Mark has been doing his own traveling for the past few months doing some skiing, volunteering, and generally changing the world for the better. No big deal. It was so nice meeting up with him, sharing stories about our travels, and watching people get engaged on bridges while cheering them on and getting free chocolate (yup, that happened). Really a great night.

My date around the multiple quays.

So, what is it about Singapore that gets me all giggly? You'd think it was the food. And you'd be partially right. The food in Singapore is second to none (maybe Vietnam), but my excitement really comes from the people I get to spend time with in Singapore. Take away all the food and give me hot pockets for the week, and my excitement would be unwaveringly high. If ever the old adage "people make the place" was appropriate, it's for Singapore. Coming here is a constant reminder of how blessed I am to have so many lovely people in my life. That and that fact that I can eat better than hot pockets for the week.