Hungry Ghost

I  am ashamed to call myself a Singaporean. In all the 20 years of living in Singapore, I have never heard of the Geylang Serai Hari Raya Bazaar, until a friend tagged me in a Facebook post.    Geylang Serai lies of the heart of the extensive eastern suburb of Singapore where many Malays and Javanese lived. Geylang Serai HDB Scheme which was completed in 1964, included a market and concourse complex called Pasar Baru (New Market). In 1980, Ramadan hawkers came together in Dewan Kampong Ubi in what was advertised as "Once-a-year Bargain Market" (Pasar Murah Setahun Sekali), Tanjong Katong and Joo Chiat Complexes opened in 1983 and 1984 respectively. Together with the marketplace, creating a continuous Ramadan bazaar network. (Credits to Singapura Stories for the origins of the Geylang Serai Hari Raya Bazaar).         I have decided to visit the Geylang Serai Hari Raya Bazaar with my girlfriend, Mariem, to try out some of the exciting food offerings...

Situated just opposite of the Food Republic food court at the basement of Suntec City Mall, All Things Nice is a dessert shop that sells Asian desserts that grew up with generations of Singaporeans. They may use   the Food   Republic's tableware and cutleries but they are not part of   the Food   Republic.    I have been meaning to try out the desserts because the beautiful pictures   tantalise   me every time I walk   past   but something always   managed   to make me stay away, until now.      Ice Mango   is not as grand-looking as their Taiwan counterparts, but it is equally delicious. They are very generous with the condensed milk and mango syrup which covers the entire tower of shaved ice. Served with mango cubes and   pomelo , it is the best thing to have on a sweltering hot afternoon.    Gula Melaka Ice Kachang   is the ultimate combination of two of Singapore's popular desserts, I...

Dian Xiao Er (JEM) has been around for as long as I can remember, but I have not had the chance to try the food until today.     The interior of Dian Xiao Er restaurants   is   designed to   mimic   the traditional Chinese tea houses and inns, complete with round red lanterns and wooden tables and chairs.    Soup of The Day   happened to be Pickle and Tofu Soup. The soup is loaded with pickled vegetable and cubes silky-smooth tofu, but it is a little salty.    Herbal Roast Duck   (Angelica/Ten Wonder/Wild Ginger) is Dian Xiao Er's signature dish. Sadly, I am not too fond of it. I think the Chinese herbs made the gamey taste of duck even more prominent and the meat at rather tough.       Hong Kong Style Steamed Fish Slices   looks really quite pathetic with a few miserable pieces of sliced fish in soy sauce. At least put them in a smaller plate and do some garnishing!    Poached Nai Bai in Supe...

  I chanced upon this tiny eatery at the back of one of the basement alley in Suntec City Mall on a recent food hunt. This hole-in-the-wall eatery is actually a franchise of the famous Punggol Nasi Padang. It's so nice to be able to sample the foods without having to go all the way to Punggol.        Punggol Nasi Padang serves a wide variety of meat meals from roti prata and roti bomb, new dishes such as mee siam and mee soto and rice dishes such as chicken rice, nasi lemak and of course their signature nasi padang.      This is a typical plate of nasi padang (nasi means "rice" Malay and Indonesian). I have here potato leaves, sambal sotong and rendang mutton. The mutton is slightly overcooked so it is a little hard, but the rendang sauce is so good I scooped up every single drop.      If you don't feel like having nasi padang, you should try   Ayam Panggang   which consists of a plate of rice drizzled with curry and a hug...

  I have always thought that Bao Today sells only steamed baos, much like Just Dough. My doctor and colleague  laughed their heads off when I told them about my assumption.T hey brought me to Bao Today for lunch, and I realized how wrong I was.    Bao Today turned out to be a Cantonese restaurant that serves everything from steamed and fried dim sums to porridge and noodles.        Owned by Jimi Tan of Fortunate Restaurant, the restaurant is inspired and modeled after the legendary "Justice Bao". The baos come with Bao-inspired names such as Bao Hei Zi, Wang Chao, Lu Ding Ji and Ma Han. Even the menu is designed and named "Gongsun book".          Golden Sand Bao , which is really salted egg bao, is one of the signatures at Bao Today. The salted egg filling is flowy and more salty than sweet with the distinctive grainy texture of salted egg, but I do wish the bao skin could be a little fluffier.       Savoury...

The founder, Yang Zhan Xi's fascination with coffee led him to create a blend of coffee that has the distinct aroma of Hawaii coffee. This, coupled with popularity of Western cuisine in Hong Kong then, was how Honolulu Coffee Shop was established in 1940. Honolulu Coffee Shop has moved to its current location at Wan Cai in 1990 with 5 franchises all around Hong Kong.     I was just lamenting that that I did not have the chance to visit Honolulu Coffee Shop during the recent annual company trip to Hong Kong when I learnt that Honolulu Coffee Shop has recently opened an outlet in Singapore, called Honolulu Cafe.            No trip to Honolulu Cafe is complete without trying their signature   Honolulu Egg Tart , which is made with dough that is frozen overnight and folded into 192 layers which gives its flaky exterior, complete with soft eggy custard.   Although I can't tell if there are really 192 layers in the pastry, the buttery fla...

  Suntec City's exorbitant rental makes it very hard for small establishments to stay alive and Pack'd is one such case. Pack'd has closed down after just a few months of operation. The space has been idle for a few months now and it has been recently taken over by Just Dough, a cafe-style restaurant that specializes in Chinese-style steamed buns and mantou.            There are 10 different types of savory and sweet baos to choose from, some of them have very pretty designs.          The restaurant serves four types of soups to go with the delicious steamed buns. Each bowl of soup comes with a steamed mantou, so don't over-order like I did.          The soups seem a little expensive at first, but it is fully justified with chockful of ingredients. Take this   Potato Clam Chowder Soup   for example. There are at least 10 clams in here, all thoroughly cooked and chewy-tender, accompanied by pot...