{"id":21093,"date":"2022-10-06T10:25:50","date_gmt":"2022-10-06T08:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/olivemagazine\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=21093"},"modified":"2022-10-06T10:25:50","modified_gmt":"2022-10-06T08:25:50","slug":"10-things-i-love-about-singapore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/olivemagazine\/2022\/10\/06\/10-things-i-love-about-singapore\/","title":{"rendered":"10 things I love about Singapore"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

10 things I love about<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

Singapore<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Abby Lee, head chef and founder of Mambow in London, shares her favourite things about growing up in Singapore and shows us a go-to recipe from the Malay rice stalls that you can recreate at home.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Recipe photograph CAITLIN ISOLA<\/p>\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Chef Abby Lee honed her skills growing up in her family\u2019s bakeries in Singapore and Malaysia, before moving to Italy to cook at Michelin-starred Pash\u00e0 Ristorante. She now runs her own restaurant, Mambow, previously in London\u2019s Spitalfields and now in Peckham. Her menu places emphasis on locally sourced, seasonal and sustainable produce in recipes taken from her roots in Malaysia that reflect the diverse cultural influence of the country\u2019s cuisine. mambow.c<\/a>o<\/a>.uk<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n\n

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Singapore\u2019s Chinatown<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

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Gardens by the Bay nature park<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

1<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

You must finish your food or everything must go<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

One thing is for certain, we do not waste food. Whether you\u2019re at a family gathering or eating out, your elders will be making sure you have eaten all your food. When there are leftovers we tend to turn them in to another dish. For example, roast duck at Chinese New Year will become kiam chai ark (salted vegetable duck soup). <\/p>\n\n

2 <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Hawker centres<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

These unique spaces showcase Singapore\u2019s multicultural food options. Our way of life revolves around the hawker centre \u2013 there\u2019s loads of them dotted around the city (my favourite probably being Old Airport Road Food Centre). Besides being a place to eat, they often have wet markets on site where we get our fresh produce early in the morning. A must-visit is Tekka Centre. Thousands of people visit it each day and meet friends and family, and it is also great after a night out to get bak chor mee (minced pork noodles). <\/p>\n\n

3<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

Breakfast<\/h3>\n\n
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Congee with pork and preserved eggs <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

This is entirely different to how Western culture perceives breakfast. When I touch down in Singapore, I get carrot cake (radish cake, wok-fried with eggs, garlic and preserved radish), congee (Chinese rice porridge), roti prata paired with my favourite fish curry and, of course, nasi lemak. I would be ordering all of the above at once, paired with some kopi (local coffee). <\/p>\n\n

4<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

Snacks<\/h3>\n\n

Singaporeans love a range of snacks that are sweet, salty, sour, crispy and chewy. These are normally based around<\/span> seafood flavours. When visiting friends and family you\u2019ll be greeted with plastic tubs or biscuit tins filled with favourites such as salted egg fish skin, shellfish-flavoured crisps and spicy prawn rolls.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

5<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

Desserts<\/h3>\n\n
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Glutinous rice dumplings<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

This To say we have a sweet tooth is an understatement \u2013 depending on your taste, there is a dessert shop for you.<\/span> is a place to hang out with friends or family, just like we would at a bar in the UK. Desserts range from kueh (cake) from the Malay and Peranakan community (ondeh ondeh, pandan glutinous rice balls filled with coconut palm sugar, covered in fresh coconut, are a favourite) to mango pomelo sago from Hong Kong-inspired caf\u00e9s.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

6<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Late-night eating<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
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Roti prata with curry and dhal<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

One thing that we do not have in UK food culture is a great late-night eating scene. From 24-hour dim sum spots and Korean BBQ that runs until 6am, to dessert stalls and roti prata stalls, you can find whatever you fancy eating.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

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A street stall grilling satay sticks<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

7<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Soft drinks<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n
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Fresh calamansi juice and pulled milk tea<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

These could be considered sweet for a Western palate but I adore going for these thirst-quenching drinks: barley water, iced Milo, teh tarik (pulled milk tea), and iced calamansi juice (with a hybrid taste of lime and a tangerine) are all favourites.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

8<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Monsoon season<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

The rain is relentless! December to March are especially humid and wet but to experience Chinese New Year in either January or February is worth it. Rain of course doesn\u2019t stop the eating or drinking.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

9<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

Festivals<\/h3>\n\n

Beyond the obvious Chinese New Year, you should get involved in other ethnicities\u2019 festivals. Deepavali (also known as Diwali, in October or November) is an especially beautiful one. Walking around Little India at night is an impressive sight, with a huge variety of snacks and sweets. <\/p>\n\n

10<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

It\u2019s a melting pot<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

Singapore is a real combination of cuisines from Malaysia, Thailand, India, Indonesia and China. To eat all these different cuisines from different parts of the city is a great treat. The following recipe, originally from Padang in Indonesia, is one of my favourites when eating at the Malay rice stalls.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

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Gulai nangka (jackfruit curry) <\/h4>\n\n

SERVES 4 | PREP 15 MINS | COOK 50 MINS | EASY <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

100ml rapeseed <\/strong>or vegetable oil<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

480g tin young green jackfruit <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

4g gula melaka <\/strong>or another type of palm sugar <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

1 asam gelugur <\/strong>or 1 tsp tamarind concentrate, <\/strong>to taste, preferably a Vietnamese or Thai brand<\/p>\n\n

6 makrut lime leaves <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

145g white cabbage, <\/strong>cut into big chunks <\/p>\n\n

40g green beans, <\/strong>trimmed and halved<\/p>\n\n

280g coconut milk <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

nasi kuning <\/strong>(turmeric rice) to serve<\/p>\n\n

GULAI PASTE<\/p>\n\n

20g soybean paste <\/strong>or white miso paste<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

65g round shallots <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

10g garlic <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

15g ginger<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

5g red bird\u2019s-eye chilli <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

CURRY POWDER<\/p>\n\n

\u00bd tsp ground turmeric <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u00bd tbsp ground cumin <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u00bd tsp ground fennel <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u00bd tbsp ground coriander <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

1 <\/strong>Roughly chop the ingredients for the gulai paste and put them into a food processor, blending until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix the ingredients for the curry powder. <\/p>\n\n

2 <\/strong>Heat the oil in a medium pan over a medium-high heat. Add the gulai paste and curry powder, stir well and fry for 5 mins until fragrant. <\/p>\n\n

3 <\/strong>Drain the jackfruit and add to the pan. Coat each piece well with the paste. Add 280ml of water so the jackfruit is nearly covered. Add the gula melaka, asam gelugur and a pinch of salt. Let everything simmer for 45 mins. <\/p>\n\n

4 <\/strong>Towards the final 10 mins of cooking, add the lime leaves, cabbage, beans and coconut milk \u2013 do not overboil the coconut milk or it can split. Taste at the end and add more sugar, salt or tamarind, if needed. Serve with nasi kuning (turmeric rice). <\/p>\n\n

PER SERVING 455 kcals | fat 37.9G | saturates 11.9G | carbs 23.4G | sugars 19.9G | fibre 2.8G | protein 3.5G | salt 0.5G <\/p>\n\n

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\u2022 Discover more global cuisines from our favourite chefs at olivemagazine.com<\/a>, including Taiwanese, Austrian and Mexican. <\/p>\n\n

PHOTOGRAPHS: ISTOCK, ISTOCK EDITORIAL\/GETTY IMAGES PLUS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Abby Lee, head chef and founder of Mambow in London, shares her favourite things about growing up in Singapore and shows us a go-to recipe from the Malay rice stalls that you can recreate at home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":21526,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"74","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"74","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_74-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_74-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"November-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"November-2022","purple_external_id":"November-2022-74-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"November-2022-74-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000092796||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000092796||","purple_android_product":"com.immediatemedia.olive.372","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.immediatemedia.olive.372","purple_ios_product":"com.immediatemedia.olive.372","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.immediatemedia.olive.372","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"05161da9-63b1-4a8f-920a-155322496aec","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[20],"tags":[13],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2022\/10\/GettyImages_590050726_preview.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/olivemagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"6","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2022\/10\/GettyImages_590050726_preview.jpg",2000,1333,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2022\/10\/GettyImages_590050726_preview-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2022\/10\/GettyImages_590050726_preview-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2022\/10\/GettyImages_590050726_preview-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2022\/10\/GettyImages_590050726_preview-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2022\/10\/GettyImages_590050726_preview-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2022\/10\/GettyImages_590050726_preview.jpg",2000,1333,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/olivemagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Abby Lee, head chef and founder of Mambow in London, shares her favourite things about growing up in Singapore and shows us a go-to recipe from the Malay rice stalls that you can recreate at home.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/olivemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21093"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/olivemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/olivemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/olivemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/olivemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21093"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/olivemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22543,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/olivemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21093\/revisions\/22543"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/olivemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/olivemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/olivemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/olivemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}