Singapore's TidbiTs

Once known as the Malay Emporium of Singapore and although it was developed later than the more glamorous and historical Kampong Glam , Geylang Serai has long been associated with the Malay community of Singapore with history of the area dated back to early 19th century. It is one of the oldest Malay settlements in Singapore. Located between Changi Road and Sims Avenue, the main attraction of the larger Geylang Serai is the busy Geylang Serai Market, affectionately known amongst the Malays as Pasar Lama (old market). Pasar Baru (new market) is the opposite building called Joo Chiat Complex, which was completed in 1985 on the site of the former Changi Market. Designed like a traditional Malay house, Geylang Serai Market comprises two storeys consisting of a wet market on the ground floor and a cooked food or hawker centre on the upper floor. It was first opened in 1964 by the first prime minister of Singapore Lee Kwan Yew. It was redeveloped in 2009 and reopened in 2010. It is the go-t...

Bedok Food Centre is a hawker centre affectionately known as Bedok Corner . Simply because it is located at the corner of Bedok Road and Upper East Coast Road. A compact place with 31 stalls where you can find and taste traditional local delicacies such as satay , ayam penyet , laksa , rojak , bubur kampong (kampong style porridge ), sup kambing (mutton soup), mee soto , chicken rice, char kway teow, gado-gado, Hokkien mee, roti john and snacks such as banana or chempedak fritters, epok-epok or curry puffs. There is a popular local dessert cheng teng stall, a few seafood stalls that sell the local perennial favourites spicy sambal stingray or cumi sotong (squid) and many more. Bubur is congee or porridge and kampong means village. Chempedak is artocarpus integer , in the same family as jackfruit. Bedok Food Centre a.k.a. Bedok Corner The words  food centre and hawker centres are used interchangeably, and they basically mean the same. In many countries the term hawker cent...

Popiah or spring roll. It can be the whitish wet version or the brownish fried ones. These spring rolls are popular local delicacies. The ingredients can include but not limited to eggs, prawns, turnip, carrots, peanuts, lettuce, parsley, garlic, bean sprout, sweet sauce, chilli paste (the quantity of chilli paste depends on the spiciness that you want it to be) that are wrapped in popiah skin which is paper thin wheat flour to hold all or some of these ingredients! Many people think it is the skin that makes or break a popiah. And the filling need to be well-drained before being tightly rolled or wrapped. The popiah still need to be moist but not soggy. Some vendors will add a dash of crushed peanut bits to make it crispy. Kway Guan Huat Popiah at Joo Chiat You can get popiah at most hawker or food centres . The popiah can be the deep fried version or the wet types. You can get a wet type spring roll as shown below for about $2 at Qi Ji. The ones containing prawns will be slightly mo...

Bugis Village also known as Bugis Street Market is a good place for tourists and locals alike to pick up a souvenir or two such as fridge magnets and keychains. It is not a flea market, but more of the street's night market concept stores with fixed price,though you can also bargain for higher value items like a luggage bag. You can find 'I love Singapore' or 'Singapore is a Fine City' T-shirts that go for three pieces for $10. But of course, it must look lame for locals to wear these T-shirts here or elsewhere. Not that we are not patriotic. I think one would look pretty hilarious too, wearing a 'no chewing gum' t-shirt. You cannot find chewing gum at Bugis Market or elsewhere in Singapore. So, do I miss chewing the sugary gum? Sometimes, but it is what it is. Snowman at the roof of busy Bugis Market If you are looking for inexpensive watches, you can get a $5 watch at Bugis Market. These are not fake branded watches like those found in some alleys in Bang...

At Pasar Malam, you can find many stalls selling the familiar and perennial crowd favourites of deep-fried street snacks or food such as 'Ramly' burger, roti john , Indian vadai or wadai, banana and tapioca fritters, fried fish crackers, otak-otak (ground fish meat with spices wrapped in palm or attap leaves) steamed buns and peanuts, kebabs, coconut juices and ice-creams, fried noodles, nasi lemak, chendols and roasted chestnuts. And of course, knick-knacks like smartphone accessories and clothes. The flea-market style pasar malam or night market opens during broad daylight too. 'Pasar' is a Malay word which means market. Maybe during the olden days, they used to only operate in the evenings when it is a bit cooler given the tropical weather here, that is why they called it Pasar Malam. The vibe in the evenings tend to be better too. During the festive season such as during the fasting month of Ramadan, pasar malam is turned into bazaar such as at Geylang Serai. Pasa...