( I've never written a blog from a first person perspective before, so apologies in advance if the writing is choppy/unrefined)
Encounters During My Travels In Singapore: Food
As I move into my 4th week in Singapore (of my 8 week overall), I believe that it is time for me to reflect on my experiences thus far. Time has passed incredibly quickly here, faster than I could've imagined in all honesty. However, it has certainly not been a negative thing to have time pass so quickly. I have been hard at work at my internship and enjoying the local happenings.
One of the most important priorities I have is eating. No, seriously. Whenever I travel to somewhere that is not that US or that I have not visited before, I make it a point to eat at least one thing per day that I have not had before. This was not difficult in Singapore in the slightest. Singapore is a melting pot of different ethnicities and cultures, and with these different peoples comes diverse foods.
I have become quite an Dim Sum enthusiast , ranging from the classic Char Siu Pau (Barbecue Pork Bun) to more unique foods with nuanced ways of eating them such as Xiaolongbao (Soup Dumpling).
Aside from Chinese cuisines as well, I have had plenty of more regional cuisines such as Indonesian and Malay foods. The most common dish I have had by far is Prata, which is a Malaysian food that is effectively a pancake, but approximately ten times better. Prata is a fried pancake that is more crepe than pancake, and is cooked with either eggs, cheese,banana, chocolate, or meats such as deer or mutton inside. It is also served with curry or dhaal. Delicious. Especially at 2 AM.
There are also lots of interesting beverages to be had. Fresh sugarcane juice is a real treat, especially since Singapore is boiling hot all the time from sunup to sundown. They literally press the sugarcane through a machine in front of you, and then serve the strained juice to you in a cup. Another drink that has been pretty fantastic is Bandung, which is rose syrup and condensed milk. And the list goes on and on.
Another interesting thing that I have noticed is the vast price differences in foods that are away from the more intensive and financially busy parts of the city. near my hostel, a plate of Prata and some iced coffee will go for about four and a half Singaporean dollars (about 3.4 USD). In a mall in the center of the city, a tiny wrap and a small canned drink goes for about 10 Singaporean dollars (7.5 USD). In essence, the differences in the price of food are really noticeable. Of course, compared to the price of food overall in the US, these prices are incredibly cheap. However, it is simply interesting to note that the more commercial as opposed to residential zones have really high markups in their food.
Anyways, I hope this blog was interesting. I am not a very big photographer so I haven't really taken a lot of food pictures, but I'm attaching a picture of me at a burger place so you kind of have a vague idea of my style/what I look like.
Look for my other posts in the future.
Best,
Cem
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