Dinners: This Sunday’s Menu – a little story

 

What better way to celebrate Singapore’s National Day (9 August) then to share it with you guys with our favourite national past time – MAKANING (or FEASTING).

I thought long and hard about what to put on the menu before coming up with this. This menu took a few weeks to come up with and a lot of brainstorming with friends and family. We also wanted something very personal and also showcase stuff that you probably cannot find in this country. At least not easily

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I wanted something that drew from my own adult/childhood memories of Singapore, something that made me think what made Singapore for me and one word kept recurring: Family.

a little story

As kids, whenever we went for swimming lessons at the old Telecoms centre along bukit timah road, dad’ll treat us to Belingjau keropok with sambal and sometimes if we got lucky, the little store there will be serving Katong-style laksa and we’ll be gleefully slurping it from the spoons and be mildly amused that no chopsticks were given. Most times on weekends, we will go to eat at the bukit timah food court from this old Hainanese man who cooked up a storm but his queues were so long we always ended up waiting for ages and ordering Chinese Rojak and Chinese Pork Satay to tide over our hungers. When I grew up and learnt how to drive, I always got a kick out of driving down the winding Buona Vista Road (it was nicknamed 99 turns in Chinese) and at the end of it was a store selling delicious Teochew Lor Arkh (braised duck). With growing up, inevitably meant clubbing at Zouk and after that, sometimes, we’ll head down to Newton Circus for Sambal Stingray because it was usually the only thing that was open then. We’re not vegetarians but nothing really beats some good ole home cooked Nonya chap chye – the clean hearty taste of fried/stewed vegetables really does hit the spot for us. Back at bukit timah hawker centre, after dinner, we’ll just about always order Honey Lime Ice with honey sea coconut and always asked dad whether it was the same as coconuts and why they lived in the sea. Mum always liked to order TehTarik and she’ll always order a glass to share with dad but inevitably end up ordering another one for herself in the end. But we were never big on desserts our family, we always had these little crazy biscuits with icing on the top and we used to fight over which colour to eat first. That being said the first ever dessert Mum ever taught me was something based on Gula Melaka cos it was so easy to make and always brought smiles to mum and dad whenever they wanted a quick snack.

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Some of these may be foreign sounding to you but I hope this Sunday will explain all gastronomically and let you in to a little bit of our Singapore lives.

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See you soon kids.

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xxxoo

goz

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p.s. we understand that there might be Northern Line Tube Closures this weekend so please find alternative transport.  There’s tonnes of buses coming from Kings Cross station and also central london (I usually take 38 or 19 or 73 or 205)