April 17th, 2008 | |
Posted in randumbness by Roshan V.
On the way to the 3 month stint in Hyderabad, India, I had a 15 hour layover in Singapore which I planned to use to feast on that country’s culinary delights and get some good use out of the new camera.
I landed in Singapore around 5:30am on April 2nd after having left LAX on the evening of March 31st. That’s right, I missed April Fools Day and didn’t get a chance to use the “hey, I’m quitting to go to Facebook” prank on my coworkers that I thought would be so witty. Maybe next year, but replace Facebook with Twitter/Yelp/FriendFeed. So I landed in Singapore, went through customs (no problems there), and checked my carry on bag into storage so I wouldn’t have to carry it around with me (it only costs a couple of bucks and seemed pretty safe).
My plan was to hit the ground running, er subway-ing, to try to check out Little India, Chinatown, Orchard Street, the waterfront area, etc. I knew I wanted chili crab, fish head curry soup (apparently there are Indian and Chinese versions), a Singapore Sling cocktail at the Raffles Hotel where it was invented, etc. But what I really really wanted was something I saw on Anthony Bourdain’s show: sup tulang
Seetoh’s guide pointed me to Haji Kadir-M. Baharudeen’s stand in the Golden Mile Food Centre as being the apex of sup tulang (bone soup), an Indian Muslim dish popular at the end of Ramadan fasting. For lunch, I found myself clumsily manhandling a sticky, slippery yet utterly wonderful heap of sauce-dripping bones, all the while wishing I’d wrapped myself in a dropcloth. The red mutton bones, stewed in a spicy sweet chili, tomato and mutton stock, arrived with a useless fork, a spoon, a little cabbage and some fried bread slices to mop up the sauce. The idea, apparently, was to pick up the bones with your fingers and tap them repeatedly until the buttery marrow slid out. [nytimes.com]
I mean, right? For anyone who has seen that episode, you know how messy and delicious that looks. I had to have it.
There are a few options for getting around Singapore that I had looked up before I left: Singapore Airlines offers a guided bus tour around the city, and there is the subway, which is supposed to be one of the best in the world. My coworker told me that in the bus tour, they take your passport and you can’t leave the group the whole time. Also, you don’t get a customs stamp - so that was totally a no go. When I got down to the subway, the ticket machine didn’t take bills larger than S$10, and I only had a 20 from the ATM. I went back up to the visitors booth where I was told there was another free city bus sponsored by Singapore where they just drop you off in Little India and pick you up later in the day at Suntec Towers. It’s free and you get to explore on your own, so I opted for that.
Unfortunately, the bus didn’t leave until 8am so I had a couple of hours to kill. I decided to plan my day by creating a Singapore Map in Google Maps that outlined all of the great food I wanted to eat. Pretty nerdy I know.
I got to Little India around 8:30am and wanted to start my day with a fish head curry soup. Then I saw what fish head curry soup looks like and decided to pass. It was like a big ass head in a bowl! Since I was gonna be going to India anyways, I decided to pass on the whole area and try to get to the bone soup place.
I cabbed it over to the Golden Mile Food Centre where the stand is located. Unfortunately, the cab driver dropped my off across the street at the Golden Mile mall or some junk. I spent a half hour walking around inside this mall lost, and it was hella sketchy in there. I finally found the right place over a pedestrian bridge in this multi-story open air food stand structure. By this time, it was about 9am. And at 9am, the bone soup is closed. Crap.
It’s not like there are sign with hours posted up either, so I walked around the area for a bit looking for a snack since I hadn’t eaten since breakfast on the plane. I found a small outdoor Chinese stand that served laksa, another dish I wanted to try in Singapore. I ordered a small since I wanted to save room for the bone marrow later. A small was S$2 and a large was S$3, and in retrospect I should have gone with a large because it was so damn tasty.
Once you’ve had laksa — a spicy Peranakan (Chinese/Malaysian) noodle soup — for breakfast, bacon and eggs become completely inadequate. It usually consists of seafood, rice noodles, fried bean curd, coconut milk and lots of chilies. The word “laksa” is said to have come from the Sanskrit word for “many,” referring to its many ingredients, but it might as well have referred to its many versions. The one at Sungei Road, though less fiery than the Borneo variety, is still a spicy hellbroth of fresh cockles, slices of fish cake and beehoon noodles in coconut milk, seasoned with garlic, red chilies, belacan (dried shrimp paste), lemongrass, galangal root and turmeric. It’s a classic “hurt so good” experience, requiring only a spoon — and a towel to mop the sweat from your face. [nytimes.com]
That’s a pretty great and accurate description! It was delicious, and I have a feel I’ll never find it in the U.S. because I’ve never seen it anywhere there before. But for my next layover in Singapore, it is a must.
I walked around the area a bit more waiting for the bone marrow stand to open and came across this mosque. Decided to take some pics to try out my camera skills.
I should mention that it was now around 10am, and the weather was surprisingly pleasant. I expected humidity and, being 100 miles from the equator, tons of sun, but it wasn’t so bad. Yet.
After going back one more time to the bone marrow place, it looked like it wasn’t gonna open for a while. I decided to call it quits on that dream and head somewhere else.
From looking at the map, the Esplanade area didn’t look too far. While most people recommended taking the subway everywhere, walking wasn’t too bad. Sure it got hotter throughout the day, and if I lived there I would probably take the subway, but walking is totally doable. Plus, I was able to get a refreshing soy milk on the way.
The next few hours were pretty uneventful. Walked around some malls, walked around outside. By noon, the sun was killing me. I was getting bored and my MacBook Pro battery was running low. So I looked up the Google Singapore address and cabbed it over.
The Google office is in a newer building in a business/financial area. I asked the receptionist where to go, and she was very quick to call someone to show me around despite my objections. I should mention that I had just gotten off a 17 hour flight and spent 8 hours walking around the Singapore heat, so I just wanted to be discreet, grab a drink, and power up. Not gonna happen. Another (attractive) Googler came out to greet me and took me to the room where more (attractive) Direct Sales Googlers sat. Yes, it was just one room, and I walked in and was announced “This is Roshan from the Mountain View office!” so of course I was the center of attention. Did I mention I felt gross at the time? How embarrassing!
When everyone realized I was in Online Sales and Operations, they took me to the OSO room across the hall where the same thing was repeated. I caught up on emails, charged my MBP up, and chatted with some people about Singapore and Hyderabad. After a couple of hours, I left to continue exploring the city. Thanks Google Singapore for hosting me for those 2 hours and being incredibly nice and welcoming 
The rest of the day I crossed some more things off the list. I had a Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel, where the drink originated.
I should mention that at S$26, it is completely not worth it. What a ripoff! and it was gross!
There is a giant art theater in Singapore inspired by the might durian. It actually looks really amazing in person.
The durian influence didn’t stop there, as apparently, people must be reminded to not eat it in taxi cabs.
I headed back to the airport around 5pm. I was exhausted, sweaty, and ready to get to Hyderabad to get to my new home for 3 months.
If you have a long layover in Singapore, I recommend the laksa. I wanted the chili crab, but the one place I found was really expensive, so try to do some research before you go. I was disappointed I didn’t get to eat as many good things as I planned, but I had fun overall and felt like I saw a lot. I wouldn’t really plan a vacation around going to Singapore, but it’s a fine place for a layover or to make a hub if you’re visiting different areas in Asia. Also, I’m glad I brought my trusty Google CamelPak water bottle - you can easily find drinking fountains to fill up, and you absolutely need to stay hydrated in that heat. I think I had at least 4 bottles of water that day.
For the rest of my pics:
