Day 2 - Hawker Centers and Singaporean Malls

Day 1 Continued - (I can't skip this part)

So last night we went real local.  So local, our cab driver asked us why we were going to the East Lagoon Hawker Center.  But quickly, he recovered and readily dove in to making recommendations -- "Eat Chili Crab.  Europeans love Chili Crab.  Not so spicy as Pepper Crab. Little sweet." 

With this glowing recommendation, T and I pulled up to what would have been an outdoor food court in any other country.  Here, it is known as a "hawker center"-- essentially a collection of independent vendors -- around a shared groupings of tables.  

After a lap 'round the center, we decided to take a bit of a gamble - order something from the one with the longest line, and some Chili Crab from the BBQ Seafood stall next to it.  Meng Kee Satay Bee Hoon made the best Satay Bee Hoon I'd ever tasted.  Not that I'd ever had the particular combination of Vermicelli noodle, bean sprout, what was described as "crunchy" cuttlefish, cockles, pork and double ladle full of peanut satay sauce.  But I am sure if I had, this still would have beat it hands down.  yummmmmm.  Chili Crab slightly less yum.  The European delight came all steamy, quartered with crab bits floating in a stew of -- chilies? tomato sauce? --and a bit of chopped up cilantro.  T and I both agreed that there was too much sauce.  Good for soaking up with (what I think were) pork buns.  But these were toasty and crunchy on the outside.  Crunchy, but slightly tacky too, a tactile overture to its slightly sweet taste.  Overall, not sure the Chili Crab was worth the $30 - ten times my humble, delicious Bee Hoon!

Day 2 - T and L Conquer the Singaporean Mall

I was a bit nervous.  The typical mall experience with T involves a tight-lipped grimace, which he wears until the last 3 minutes in the place, at which point my husband knows the worst is over.  But this morning began with a pep talk: "Don't think of these like American Malls. Singapore has a million malls, but I think they have to be different."

So we met the malls on their own terms today, popping in and out of stores over the course of 4 hours, debating all the while the similarities and differences between these and the familiar kind:

Same: 

• Indoor, out of the elements: makes as much sense in cold Grand Rapids as in muggy Singapore
  
• Dizzying and in large ones, disorienting: today, I managed to try and exit on the "ground floor" no less than 4 different times, of four different floors. 
  
• Overstimulating: T and I have diagnosed a new syndrome that comes from over-window-shopping, called simply "Mall Eye."  Advanced symptoms include the inability to carry a conversation
  
• Diamonds in the Rough: I snatched up a very fun purchase from a place called "Mumbai, Se."  Bollywood, here I come!
  

Different: 

• Co-location: Imagine 10-15 malls, all within walking distance.  Nary a parking lot in sight.
  
• Store Assortment: A) There seemed to be a coterie of stores that were required in every mall, namely Hermes and Louis Vuitton, B) Only about half of the stores seemed to be chains, and C) Very clearly, the higher the floor, the less worth your effort it was to get up there.  The 2 and 3rd ones were where you found most of the local stuff, but by the time you got to 5 and 6, you found some sort of "specialty" space like an entire floor of baby clothes, or my personal favorite, stationary.  Did you know they have a "Franks" in Singapore?
• Taiwanese Noodles: Today I overcame my general distrust for all things dumpling at the delicious Din Tai Fung. We got a round of dumplings, and noodle soups - Pork Shrimp for me and Pickled Mustard and Pork for T.  I think the key to this change of heart included the fact that the broth seemed to actually be inside the dumpling, which was hot and flavorful!  Yum!  Now if only I wasn't such a miserable chop-sticker...

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I think I will close this post with a small observation.  In New York, there is much ado about putting your morning coffee in paper bags.  Apparently, here they do not.  Instead, there seems to be this plastic bag sling, from which the coffee hangs, swinging slightly as its carrier makes his/her way down the sidewalk.  Huh!