Die, Die, Must Try in Singapore

If you have read the excellent"Nasty Bits" by Anthony Bourdain you must be familiar with the title of this post since it is also that of a chapter in his book. Bourdain describes his encounter with K.F Seetoh, the founder of the Makansutra food guide and TV show, and also his experience eating chicken rice at Tian Tian (more on that below).

And there are indeed lots of good eats to die for in Singapore where locals are even more food-obsessed than in Hong Kong (can you imagine that?). Among the various delicacies available for sale, you definitely have to taste the national dish: chicken rice. The one at Tian Tian hawker stall at Maxwell Rd. Food Center is simply out of this world. You could argue that it is only boiled chicken served with rice, a chili condiment, a sticky and dark soy sauce and a chicken broth. That's right. But everything in that dish is executed so perfectly that it turned out to be one of the best thing I've ever eaten. No wonder that it is listed as the best chicken rice in Singapore by Makansutra in its Top 10 ranking and was granted its highest award (the above-mentioned "die, die must try").

We were fortunate enough to stay at an hotel right next to Maxwell Rd. Food Center and needless to say that we went there as often as possible. The funny part was reading Bourdain's lines about Tian Tian when coming back to New York. We had really felt the same way not only about what we had eaten there but also about Singapore itself (an average first impression, compounded by a suffocating humidity, rapidly replaced by the urge to stay for a long time). Note by the way that Travel Channel will broadcast his No Reservation show shot in Singapore on Monday, January 8. Don't miss it.

The other great experience of this trip was eating char kway teow at Outram Park Fried Teow stall at Hong Lim Food Center. The ingredients (noodles, chilli paste and cockles among other things) and the perfect wok stir-frying technique of the chef combine to make for an unforgettable (and spicy hot!) dish. In keeping with our several lunches at Tian Tian, another great thing was also the kindness of local diners who explained us how to eat the dishes ("add this, dip into that sauce, ..."), wondered how we had learned about those places and shared with us their culinary views in general.

My only regrets? Not being able to taste dishes like laksa or chilli crab. I guess it will have to wait for my next visit. Because there will definitely be a next time.

Hong Kong: My Favorite (Food) Things

You think your are passionate about food, obsessed about it, that your life is centered around it? Maybe you should think twice. A visit to Hong Kong (or Singapore but this is another story) may shake these deep-rooted beliefs of yours. People over there eat all the time and seem to consistently derive huge pleasure and fun from it.

In that context, as you can expect, we had fabulous food. We were also lucky enough to have our friends Grace and Jason, both born and raised in Hong Kong but living in New York, to take us to places we would have never been to otherwise. In any event, if you go there, venture out of the beaten paths (I mean, avoid your hotel room service as well as the western restaurant around the corner) and:

-Indulge in dim sum (every day and lots of them) in a tea house or places such as City Hall Maxim's Palace and Ming's Court in Mong Kok (where the pig trotters, among other things, were amazing, so much so that I did not take any picture). Conversely, I was slightly disappointed by the dim sum at Victoria City despite the buzz around that place.

-Drink tea (and not beer) with your dim sum (because "yum cha" or "drink tea" in Cantonese is the name of this meal). And be careful to always mix it with hot water (hence the two pots on your table) unless you don't want to be able to sleep at night (and recover from the exhausting jet lag...).

-Try roasted goose and barbecue pork (had a good one the first night...and once again had forgotten my camera). But avoid the tourist-laden Yung Kee where the goose came tepid at first (too bad because it tasted great and the skin was perfectly crispy) and overcooked after being reheated (in a microwave?). You may be better off following in Anthony Bourdain's footsteps and go to Tai Po (New Territories) where he had some kind of epiphany eating the coveted bird.

-Eat fish (and crab, abalone, prawn as well as any other kind of sea food you may like) in Sai Kung (New Territories). It doesn't get any better and fresher than this. Simply cooked but delicious. While there are many restaurants serving seafood on the waterfront, I suggest you try Tung Kee where we had a wonderful and rather cheap lunch.

-Walk the streets and their markets (Ladies Market in Mong Kong, Night Market at Temple Street in Yau Ma Tei, Fish Markets in Tai O and Sai Kung, ...). You will definitely come across other tourists (who said it was perfect?) but also get a better sense of local life (and smells).

-Go to eateries where they serve breakfasts of champions such as the Chinese version of French Toast (with a looooot of butter) and various soups. And although you may feel the urge to enter, never set foot into a Starbucks. Have local iced coffee instead.

-Eat in dai pai dong (outdoor food stalls) or, if your are less adventurous, step into a small restaurant where comfort food, such as the sublime stewed beef brisket noodle soup we had in North Point, will delight you.

-Snack on jerky sold at Bee Cheng Hiang.

-Trust your instincts (if it looks good, it is certainly even better than you might imagine and you should taste it).

Finally, do some (even a lot of) shopping (apparently a close second to food as far as people's interests are concerned), enjoy the sights of the skyline from Kowloon, drown into the sounds and bustling activity of the city, take the subway and also the ferry (just to make sure, my New Yorker friend, you never again tell me that your city's infrastructures are the best in the world) and just enjoy that wonderful city which is also one of my favorites.

Eating Hong Kong and Singapore

I'm currently in Asia on a well-deserved vacation. More on this trip and, of course, the food when I'm back home.