The best sort of food in any country is the local street fare. This is especially true in Singapore where large community food courts called "Hawker Centers" dominate neighborhoods. Chefs toil in open kitchens with roaring flames, pots of bubbling soups, and a continuous flow of people from breakfast through dinner. Patrons huddle with friends and coworkers under parasols and whirling fans while filling up on "hawker fare". The food in influenced heavily from Chinese, Malaysian, and Indian cuisines with a dash of British imperialism thrown into the mix.
From left to right (or top to bottom on mobile):
Kaya Toast at Coffee Break — Kaya, a thick marmalade made with coconut milk, eggs, and palm sugar, is a household breakfast staple in Singapore. The palm sugar gives the spread a warm caramel flavor while the coconut milk and eggs add a layer of velvety fat and flavor. Combined with crispy toast and thick slabs of cold butter, kaya is magnificent as a part of a larger meal or as a standalone snack!
This particular piece of toast innovated on tradition in two ways. In addition to the kaya and butter, the folks at Coffee Break added a dollop of sesame paste as part of the filling. The nutty and mildly savory flavor of the sesame paste really balanced out the fatty sweetness of the toast. However, what really made this piece of toast amazing was the fact that each piece of "toast" was actually only made up of a single slice of bread. They toasted each individual piece, then cut a pocket through the middle of the crumb, then filled this pocket with butter, kaya, and sesame paste. The result was a thin, golden slice of heaven that oozed with rich flavor.
Hainanese Curry Rice at Loo's Hainanese Curry Rice — If kaya toast is luxurious and light, curry rice is the absolute opposite. Eaten for breakfast (and lunch, and dinner....and snack), curry rice is a simple dish consisting of pork served with rice slathered with curry and gravy. Its origins can be traced back to the Hainanese cooks who served in the British colonial households. They took the sauce flavors of Hainan and Malaysia and combined it with a British favorite — fried pork chops. Served with rice, it became a substantial meal that was fit for governors and servants alike.
Loo's Hainanese Curry Rice is something of a special restaurant. For more than 70 years, this shop has been in the same location, churning out plate after plate of curry rice. Mr. Loo, son of the founder...Mr. Loo, took over almost 40 years ago and is still there on most days. The curry itself takes several days to slowly simmer to perfection and when it's eventually done, the fragrant smell alone is something to be treasured. The flavor of the curry is lightly spiced, mildly hot, and full of savory and umami goodness. The pork is prepared in two ways: the traditional fried cutlet and slow-braised belly. The deep fried cutlet was pounded thinly, very lightly breaded, and fried to a juicy crisp. The fatty pork was sweet and tender with just the faintest hint of smokiness. An egg, sunny-side-up, was beautifully runny in the middle and bound everything together.
Bak Kut Teh at Song Fa Bak Kut Teh — If there's a single Singaporean dish that I had to pick as my favorite, it would be bak kut teh (肉骨茶). 肉 (meat) 骨 (bone) 茶 (tea) is a mildly opaque broth made with pork ribs, garlic, pepper, herbs, and water as its core components. It's a dish that supposedly gives its consumer strength and vitality. I like it because its both a soup and a main meal packed full with flavor and salt. Cooked right, the meat falls off the bone yet still retains a mild crispness and texture. The peppery and herbal flavors of the soup infuse into the pork and softens the pungent gamey-ness that comes with freshly farmed pork. The bones of the ribs soften the soup and adds a layer of smooth richness as the marrow and gelatin slowly leach out.
If I'm being very picky, the bak kut teh at Song Fa was a little sub-par. The pork meat was just a bit dry and the texture was too rough. The soup and the flavors were bang on and amazing.