I finally found a descent sausage in Singapore. At the Bratwurst Shop in the Singapura Plaza basement. It wasn’t the best ever, or even close to that… but it sure beat anything I’ve eaten so far. I ordered the spicy beef & pork with sauerkraut on a toasted bun. It was supposed to be garnished with spicy mustard, yet it was just plain yellow. Anyway, I’ll take what I can get, especially when most of the sausage on this island is bland, spongy and made with chicken. Compared to that, average seems great.
Still, I’m sure missing my favorite Portland sausage places: Good Dog-Bad Dog, Edelweiss Deli and Gustav’s.
Spicy beef & pork sausage
Stall in Plaza Singapura basement
My guilty pleasure in Singapore… McDonalds. It’s a little, familiar taste of home. A cheeseburger, fries and a Coke.
And chili sauce?
I did a double-take when I first noticed it. Chili sauce at McDonalds? Of course I tried it straight-off and was surprised how well it complimented the regular McDonalds menu. Fries? Check. Chicken nuggets? Check. Fish-O-Fillet? Check. Big Mac? Not so well.
Tonight, I opted not to try the chili sauce with their new menu item. The Mega Mac. Who eats that thing? Total heart-attack on a plastic tray.
So, I settled for a cheeseburger, a few fries… and a special menu item found in Singapore. A cup of corn. Love the cup of corn.
McDonalds Chili Sauce
McDonalds Mega Mac
Found a little bit of Memphis today… in Chinatown. More on that later. First off, I think it’s funny there’s a Chinatown in Singapore when about 75% of the city is comprised of various Chinese ethnic groups. Go figure. But, this area of the city does offer a unique sense of character compared to other parts of Singapore, which I’m finding to be somewhat sterile with a general lack of personality. So, I’m really liking it here for that reason.
Anyway, there are lots of great restaurants in Chinatown. And, many don’t seem to serve Chinese cuisine. After walking around that area for a while, one place in particular jumped out. Jerry’s BBQ & Grill. Yum! I think it’s been almost four months since I’ve had barbeque. Of course, I set my expectations low… because, really, I’m time fourteen time zones away from good barbeque, right? Wrong.
I ordered the pulled pork sandwich with fries and slaw. The meat was tender and juicy while the sauce had just the right tang complimented with sweetness. Fries were crispy. Slaw was average. The sliced cucumber on the side, in place of a pickle I suppose, reminded me I wasn’t eating barbeque in the South. I kept thinking, “what’s that doing there?”.
Looking forward to going back and trying the brisket.
92 Club Street, Chinatown, Singapore
Couldn't wait to take a bite.
Jerry
What a great find! There’s a Dairy Queen in Singapore (actually, there’s two of them). This one looked more like an open stand on the Orchard Road sidewalk, but I’ll take it!
Anyway, sometimes it’s nice to enjoy familiar food from home, and what’s better than a banana split from Dairy Queen? I have three favorites there:
- Banana split, with hot fudget substituted for pineapple topping
- Peanutbuster Parfait, without the peanuts
- Oreo Blizzard
Tonight, I opted for the banana split, but guarded my optimism because I’ve tried several “American” foods in Singapore and they weren’t right (New York hotdogs, nachos, etc.). Luckily I wasn’t let down.
Hot Eats, Cool Treats
Spent most of Saturday running errands… along the way stopped by the Sembawang Hill Food Centre. The pork satay sticks at the Soon Lee Heng Satay stall were well marinated, juicy and tasted so good. They were just the right crispy too. Plus, the accompanying peanut sauce made a great match.
Pork Satay Stick @ Sembawang
It’s Wednesday and I didn’t have to go to work, thanks to the Hari Raya holiday. Much needed mid-week break, but now I’m in vacation mode and I have work tomorrow. Oh well, only two more days until the weekend.
Today, I made my first visit to Little India. It started off with a stop at Mustafa, which is one of the largest shopping centers in Singapore. It was crazy busy with what felt like wall-to-wall people jostling around and picking thru the 15,000+ varieties of merchandise. You can buy anything from a TV to shoes to fresh fish. And it all feels like it’s strewn around the various levels, floors and corners so randomly. Did I mention it was insanely busy in there? After buying a dust-buster, tennis balls, electrical adapters, Australian crackers, rice and two grapefruits it felt great to get the heck out of there. While the prices are hard to beat, I’m not convinced it’s worth the insanity.
Little India, Singapore (enroute to Mustafa)
Next stop… food. Unfortunately, most of the restaurants were closed due to the holiday, but a few were open. One place, named Banana Leaf Apolo, smelled good from outside so that was it. True to the name, the meal was served on a banana leaf.
Tasty But A Bit Messy
I worked late tonight and decided to grab a quick bite at the food center nearby. I wasn’t dissapointed. For about $4 (US) I was given a serving of rice with chicken curry. Also got some great beans along with two bonus cups of different curry. And it was all served on a big banana leaf. Way good.
I went to Din Tai Fung for dinner tonight with the Taiwan marketing team. This place is famous for their “steamed dumplings”… I was told the New York Times had once selected the restaurant as one of the top 10 in the world.
The overall dining experience was great. We (well, not really me… but my hosts) ordered what seemed to be one of everything. It started out with lots of steamed dumplings that were to die for. My favorites were the pork dumplings, but the green vegetable and shrimp were great too. I ate till I started to feel somewhat full. Rookie mistake. I didn’t realize it was the first course of many. So next came various noodles and soup. And then pork fried rice and fried pork chops. And some more.
Let’s just say I was stuffed. In a good way.
It happened again… I caved when I found a new donut place near my new apartment. This place is appropriately called Donut Factory and somehow ended up with three donuts when I only intended to get one. Of the many choices, I settled on strawberry white chocolate, apple cinnamon and dark chocolate raspberry.
I had my first repeat lunch meal today… the chicken katsu with curry from Nagano, a small stand in the food court in the Le Meridian Hotel basement.
