Today was indeed a hectic day. And hectic days deserve hearty, flavourful meals - meals that not only fill the tummy, but also those that fulfill cravings, satiate the senses and make you feel good, really on top of the world!
The omens weren't really great in the morning - we missed breakfast at Balestier, we had to make do with curry puffs from a hawker at City Hall and to top it all, we faced a lousy, contemptuous walking tour guide, during our walking tour of the colonial district...
After we were done with the walking tour, and before we headed out to Ang Mo Kio, we treated ourselves to some local delights!
We stepped into the Toast Box outlet at CHIJMES, and I ordered Nasi Lemak... To my surprise Neeti ordered kaya toast and soft boiled eggs... She was head over heels in love with this local delight. I was pleasantly surprised because she never liked runny eggs, which I can devour in the dozen...
Nasi Lemak is a Malay dish, often considered as the national dish of Malaysia... Nasi Lemak first came in into prominence in 1909 when the colonial administrator, Sir Richard Olof Winstedt wrote about it in his book "The Circumstances of Malay Life". Nasi Lemak literally means "oily or fatty rice", the name is derived from the cooking process whereby rice is soaked in coconut cream and then steamed.
Regarded as food, breakfast for the commoner, it quite ubiquitous in Singapore and I understand, Malaysia, as well. I am told, hawkers wrap up Nasi Lemak in banana leaves and sell it, a meal on the go. Undoubtedly, this is a million times better than American fast food takeaways...
Nasi Lemak is quite a democratic dish, every community has given it a twist to. The Muslims add rendang (a dish I had here in Singapore couple of days back), Chinese have pork and fish cake, Indians add a curry and these days, vegetarian Nasi Lemaks are also in vogue.... O dear, how the hell can you have a Nasi Lemak without anchovies and shrimp paste in the sambal?
My Nasi Lemak was a real treat... It made me instantly feel great about the day in particular and life in general! That's the magic of food...
The fragrant rice dish cooked in coconut milk and "pandan" leaf came along with half boiled egg, toasted peanuts, ikan bilis (dried, fried anchovies), ayam goreng (fried chicken), sambal paste, crackers and decent amount of salad...
The rice by itself was quite delectable - could have had it alone...
The peanuts and anchovies gave a nice crunch to the dish...
The sambal was real yum and tangy - it's made of chili peppers, belacan (shrimp paste), fish sauce, garlic, ginger, onions, sugar, lime juice and vinegar - all ground together to a magical consistency in mortar and pestle... They say the sambal can make or ruin your Nasi Lemak... that's the magic of the sambal!
We followed up our meal with a heady, intoxicating cup of Kopi-C which gave us the energy to head out to the River Safari...
After enjoying the date with Kai Kai (凯凯) & Jia Jia (嘉嘉) at the River Safari and doing the traditional, but rather touristy, Night Safari - something that you have tick-off if you visit Singapore, it was time to grab a bite before we headed back to Novena.
It was past 9 PM and the food court was quite full...
Seeing the Indian Tandoor, Neeti freaked out...
The Indian Tandoor had put on display their ingredients that they import from India - RRO kacchi ghani mustard oil, pickles and spices from the famous MDH - Mahashian Di Hatti
My head went into a spin - I started dreaming of MDH's TV advertisement - Mahashayji standing on top of a container ship full of spices headed for Singapore... What a nightmare... I love Indian food, but when I am here would try out something local, something different...
The sight of barbequed ducks hanging gave a lot of relief...
I will enjoy stuff made with MDH masaley back home, here, it was time for some "duck tales"!
I ordered a plate of duck noodles...
As the chef prepared my order, I stood there watching, salivating... good food does buildup an appetite most of the time...
Plates of chicken rice getting ready...
Finally my order comes...
A nice large plate of noodles with spinach and oyster sauce, juicy fat BBQ duck breast, salad, toasted peanuts, chicken soup, Sichuan peppers, soya and sambal...
Lip smacking delicious...
Neeti's thali from the Indian Tandoor - naan, tofu tikka, daal makhani, mint chutney and salad...
I saw Neeti really enjoy each bite, each morsel... Bon apetit...
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