I Like This City

Hi all,

So it's been an interesting past couple of days.
On Saturday I went to Chinatown. It was fun to see, but honestly, didn't live up to my expectations. First of all, it's kinda strange that Singapore, with about 75% of its population being ethnic Chinese, needs a Chinatown. However, Chinatown is mostly Cantonese, whilst the rest of Singapore is Hokkien. Chinatown has some restored shops, restaurants, decorations and street markets (catering to tourists). It was cool to see the shops selling traditional Chinese medicine such as deer antlers and dried seahorses and much more. I did get to visit a huge hawker centre which I happened upon.
The highlight of my day was happened during my visit to the Maxwell Food Centre which was nearby (not the same as the huge one I just mentioned). There I got to try the quintessential Singaporean dish, Chicken Rice. I got it from Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice stall. This place is famous, believed by many to be the best in Singapore, and there was about a 15 minute wait in line. Basically, it's boiled chicken and white rice. The chicken is very flavorful and tender, having been cooked in a fragrant broth and then shocked in ice water. It's served at room temperature. The rice is very flavorful as well, having been cooked with the broth and garlic and ginger and so on. The rice is placed on the plate, and sliced of the chicken are put over the top, and it has some cucumber on the side. Its served with chili sauce and dark sweet soy both on the side. It tasted awesome. Really one of those dishes in which simplicity is the key. One of the best dishes I've eaten, ever.
The rest of my Saturday was spent hanging out near the hostel. I really need to be mindful not to overdo any of the activities, it's easy to get exhausted and overheated in this weather.
I did do some shopping for toiletries nearby at Mustafa Centre at night. Let me say, Little India is NUTS on weekend nights. It is soooooo crowded. Its hard to get used to how one walks around here. It's a bit of a culture shock, it really feels like everyone is trying to get around you and cut you off and get in your way. And everyone is doing it to everyone. It's definitely hard not to take offense, but really one just has to realize that it isn't being rude, it's what everyone does to everyone. There's just too many people for Western interpretation of etiquette to be practical.

On Sunday, I went downtown and walked along the river. It was nice, just taking a leisurely stroll. It is a little touristy at parts, but its cool to see the downtown and the water. It wasn't too busy, being a Sunday, which was a good thing. I saw Merlion, Singapore's mascot. He's basically a huge half-fish half-cat statute on the water's edge and he spews a giant stream of water out of his mouth. In fact, Singaporean slang for to vomit is "to Merlion."

Today, Monday, was an experience. In short, I'm now going to be on Indian TV. There had been an ad in the hostel looking for Caucasian and African extras for an India TV commercial. I answered it on Sunday night, and had to be there this morning at the theatre downtown. It paid a 100 dollars!!! Though, I had to pay $30 for the appropriate clothes to wear (I needed to get a long sleeve shirt and pants).

Here's the gist of the commercial...

It's for a breath mint they're introducing in India (I have no idea what it's called). Basically, the audience was a mix of races, but they wanted a strong Caucasian presence as well. The commercial was this Indian musician (whether he was a real musician or not, I have no clue) getting an award for artist of the century at an awards show. We, all the extras (about 200 of us) were supposed to be all the people that sit in the front at the awards ceremonies, like we were other people in the industry (this is what they told us). We basically had to applaud as he walked up to the stage, during which he popped a breath mint (which he kept spitting out, he said he hated it). Then we gave a standing ovation while he raised the award over his head. We had to be "enthusiastic."

It was kinda cheesy, but it was fun. And, I made some money too.

And of course I have to mention the food I've been eating the past few days.
Here it is in no particular order

Kopitiam breakfast with soft boiled eggs


Sup Tulang (Bone soup, mutton bones with bits of meat and fat attached, stewed in a hot and sweet bright red chili sauce. The best part is sucking the marrow out of the bones. You also get bread to sop up to sauce, absolutely awesome).Pig Organ Soup (Pork meatballs, slices of pork, pig intestines, pig stomach, pig liver, cilantro and vegetables in a flavorful broth. Served with a bowl of rice and a side of chili sauce. Really delicious, especially the liver.)


Duck Rice (dark, moist boiled duck served with rice. Much like chicken rice, but with the addition of soy making the duck and rice brown. Really tasty. Served with chili sauce and cucumber. Also one can get an egg.)


Fish Head Curry (What it sounds like. A whole fish head, stewed in a heavily spiced, thick broth, with vegetables like okra. Really, really tasty. The head has the most flavor of the fish. You eat all the meat around it and various other bits. Yes, the eyes are eaten, and really are the best part. The flavor is very concentrated in the eyes.)

Ice Kachang (A Singaporean version of sno-cone, but better. The bottom of the bowl has various ingredients like black gelatin pieces, sweet red beans, and other stuff I can't remember, maybe coconut. It's covered in a big pile of shaved ice. Then different syrups are poured on. Some fruit syrup, coconut syrup and palm sugar syrup. It's topped off with a spoon of creamed corn, yes, creamed corn.)