Spoilt For Choice

This phrase is used here to describe the wide range of food options available throughout Singapore.  (It's also used to describe shopping venues.)  There are so many options, it can get confusing.

Take a typical "Hawker Centre" (as shown in the photo  below).  The US equivalent would be a "food court" and in some cases you'll also find this phrase used here.  It's a bunch of different vendors, each with a different type of cuisine with a seating area in the middle and around the sides.  Want some Malay?  How about Indian?  Indonesian?  Japanese?  Korean?  Of course that's just the first decision; you still have to decide what you want from their many choices.

You'll find these everywhere.  Some are free standing locations with outdoor covered seating.  A few are located in the basement or on a several levels of a shopping mall.  Some are specifically halal and observe Muslim dietary laws (so no outside food may be brought in and you won't find pork on the menu).

Meals range from $3 to $9 depending on what you order and the location of the HC.  You can order up ice water (tap is safe to drink here) or enjoy fresh or canned fruit juices.  Our favorites are sweet coconut water or the lime juice.

Finding a place to sit at lunch or dinner is as challenging as deciding what to eat.  The trick is to find an open spot and mark it as taken with something that isn't particularly valuable like a newspaper or a book.  Then (and only then) should you go wait in line ("queue") to get your food.  If you're eating with a group, one person stakes out the places for everyone.  If you don't do this first, you'll get your food only to wander around with your tray aimlessly looking for a place to sit.  You'll see lot of apparently open places -- only to learn (with a bit of frustration) that that one person is holding places for 8 others.  (If this sounds like first-hand experience, that's because it is...)

One of the fun local breakfasts here is kaya toast.  Kaya is a jam that's made from coconut, egg, and sugar or honey.  The toast starts thick like "Texas Toast", then grilled.  It is sliced sideways, making two halves with toasted and un-toasted sides.  Butter is put in the middle along with the kaya, and the toast is re-assembled.  There are several chains that specialized in this.  At these restaurants, coffee ("kopi") is brewed using something that looks like a sock to hold the grounds.  It is typically served with sweetened condensed milk.  You can order it other ways if you know the code.  Kopi-o is black; kopi-c is made with evaporated milk (not sweetened).

Lots of great food and food options here!