<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Happy birthday, Singapore, and thanks for teaching me how to eat leaves and trees
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THERE is famous joke about me. Nine years ago, when I first came to Singapore, I was a 24-year-old wide-eyed boy from New Delhi, on my first overseas trip. My then boss and his family took me to dinner at a fine-dining Chinese restaurant in town. I was excited as I love Chinese food. Imagine my surprise then when I looked at the menu and couldn't find any of the 'Chinese' dishes I gorged on in Delhi, notably - hot and sour soup, chicken chowmein, chilli chicken, crispy chilli lamb and chicken Manchurian.
All I could see was strange and alien names such as shark's fin, abalone, sea cucumber, dimsum, kailan and stir-fried broccoli.
My head was reeling so I asked my boss to order for me. Food came, but no chowmein or chilli chicken. Mostly rice, fish, dimsum and some greens, in many courses. And did I mention, I was the only one in the restaurant eating with cutlery and not chopsticks?
The waiter served me baby kailan in oyster sauce. One look and I was ready to throw up. My boss noticed the distressed look on my face and asked me why. I asked him: 'Sir, you want me to eat leaves?' For two excruciatingly long seconds, everything stood still, then they all put their chopsticks down to hold thei side amid uncontrollable laughter. I didn't get the joke.
Another course, this time stir-fried broccoli. Some on the table were still clutching their sides and laughing. Some broke into sudden fits of laughter. What I said later almost killed a few, they almost choked with laughter. Looking at my plate full of broccoli, I said: 'First you want me to eat leaves, now you want me to eat the whole tree.'
That was it. Uncontrollable spasms of laughter followed. I decided to keep quiet for the rest of the evening. It is another matter altogether that I am still teased about this.
Cut to today. Nine years after I stepped on an aeroplane for the first time in my life and about 40 overseas trips later, with a blue IC in my name, I can proudly say that garlic baby kailan at Yet Con chicken rice shop is one of my favourite dishes. I even force many of my local Chinese friends to try the chicken rice and kailan there. And Katong laksa... yummy. How can one not talk about Marina Square duck and roast pork mixed rice? Or Tiong Bahru porridge for that matter. Abdullah beriani at Tekka is even better than that in India and Koka wanton noodles at North Bridge food market tastes heavenly, even after waiting for 45 minutes. And satay... oh man... I just love the satay at Lau Pa Sat and Esplanade. Team them up with a chilled Tiger beer and you're in seventh heaven.
Ah and don't forget Hokkien mee, hor fun, economic bee hoon with crispy chicken wing and chilli sauce on the side... I could go on and on...but I'm drooling already!
Happy birthday, Singapore... and thank you for the amazing food. Amit Nagpal
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THERE is famous joke about me. Nine years ago, when I first came to Singapore, I was a 24-year-old wide-eyed boy from New Delhi, on my first overseas trip. My then boss and his family took me to dinner at a fine-dining Chinese restaurant in town. I was excited as I love Chinese food. Imagine my surprise then when I looked at the menu and couldn't find any of the 'Chinese' dishes I gorged on in Delhi, notably - hot and sour soup, chicken chowmein, chilli chicken, crispy chilli lamb and chicken Manchurian.
All I could see was strange and alien names such as shark's fin, abalone, sea cucumber, dimsum, kailan and stir-fried broccoli.
My head was reeling so I asked my boss to order for me. Food came, but no chowmein or chilli chicken. Mostly rice, fish, dimsum and some greens, in many courses. And did I mention, I was the only one in the restaurant eating with cutlery and not chopsticks?
The waiter served me baby kailan in oyster sauce. One look and I was ready to throw up. My boss noticed the distressed look on my face and asked me why. I asked him: 'Sir, you want me to eat leaves?' For two excruciatingly long seconds, everything stood still, then they all put their chopsticks down to hold thei side amid uncontrollable laughter. I didn't get the joke.
Another course, this time stir-fried broccoli. Some on the table were still clutching their sides and laughing. Some broke into sudden fits of laughter. What I said later almost killed a few, they almost choked with laughter. Looking at my plate full of broccoli, I said: 'First you want me to eat leaves, now you want me to eat the whole tree.'
That was it. Uncontrollable spasms of laughter followed. I decided to keep quiet for the rest of the evening. It is another matter altogether that I am still teased about this.
Cut to today. Nine years after I stepped on an aeroplane for the first time in my life and about 40 overseas trips later, with a blue IC in my name, I can proudly say that garlic baby kailan at Yet Con chicken rice shop is one of my favourite dishes. I even force many of my local Chinese friends to try the chicken rice and kailan there. And Katong laksa... yummy. How can one not talk about Marina Square duck and roast pork mixed rice? Or Tiong Bahru porridge for that matter. Abdullah beriani at Tekka is even better than that in India and Koka wanton noodles at North Bridge food market tastes heavenly, even after waiting for 45 minutes. And satay... oh man... I just love the satay at Lau Pa Sat and Esplanade. Team them up with a chilled Tiger beer and you're in seventh heaven.
Ah and don't forget Hokkien mee, hor fun, economic bee hoon with crispy chicken wing and chilli sauce on the side... I could go on and on...but I'm drooling already!
Happy birthday, Singapore... and thank you for the amazing food. Amit Nagpal
