By the Water
Okay so the main picture here isn’t of any type of beach, lake, or pool. In fact, only one of the pictures in this post will be that of water. Everything else will be, well, of food and stuff. That’s what you’re here for right?
Well, here it goes.
Met up with my friends out in Bedok for lunch. They took me to a hawker area next to the beach, the East Coast Lagoon Food Village, which wasn’t the pricier East Coast Seafood Center. This area felt more low key though my friends said it’s usually impossible to find seating. Last night’s rain must have kept everyone away from the area, because we found good seating, a table underneath a pleasant fan. Score! The seafood here was pretty affordable and nothing like the prices you get at the tourist spots. But do shop around. Once they ping you as a foreigner, the market prices suddenly become inflated. Luckily, my friends were locals and regulars. We basically had a feast with my two favorites being, the black pepper crab (yes, it lived up to the hype) and the stingray. Oh this was exactly how I imagined spending every day here in Singapore.
Later that night I met up with a co-worker and headed over to Santosa. I wasn’t too keen on the resort area feel. Basically flying over 3000 miles to end up in Disney-like area. But the place we ate at made up for everything. Sabio was a Spanish tapas restaurant situated next to the water. I didn’t mind a change of cuisines and once I saw the leg of jambon, things got exciting. Yes. I haven’t had Iberico since London. Oh what a treat. The place though was a little short on service. We constantly had to aggressively flag down the staff. The food quality though was definitely good. The other dish, besides the mesmerizing Iberico de Bellota, was the pork shoulder. Do order it, put your dietary concerns aside, and just enjoy.
I haven’t had chili crab but after having this, there’s no need. This stuff is giving HK’s garlic crab a challenge. This was exactly what I wanted, spicy, hot, oily, reach for a beer sorta food. And the crabs are fresh. They pick it out right in front of you. $35SGD (market price)
Decided to go for a Western like breakfast. I know, not quite the taste of Singapore, but it was free and buffet style.
The area was actually really nice. Filled with tall condos, tennis courts, pools, and jungle gyms. But scattered between these complexes were buildings I couldn’t tell were homes or house keeping buildings. Nonetheless they stuck out in the scenery.
Next time there’s a game, I need to send out for some of these wings. Cooked in their large oven, these wings have a light crispy texture with a savory taste that you can’t eat just one. $1.20SGD (ea)
Prawns in garlic and pepper sauce. Pretty good. Cooked right, but other dishes made this kid the last kid to be picked on the team. $15SGD
Herb marinated pork shoulder that’s so close to being pork belly, but the chewy gristle reminds you that it’s not. Though it’s all about the tasteful marinade married with its texture that knocks this one out of the park. $21SGD
Our filler. Seafood paella that we actually didn’t completely finish. Mainly because we were stuffed and I was too busy with the Iberico. What? You’d do the same. $22SGD
Heaven. That simple and all you need to know. Roll your eyes to the back of your head, curl those those and let your taste buds bathe in ecstasy. TMI? Nah. $22SGD (5oz)
I love this stuff. A great way to end a meal and send you off to the food coma you knew was well on its way when you killed every dish on the table. Make sure they squeeze in that little lime. Makes a world of difference. $1.60SGD
I love snails and these were great. I think they are more in the conch family, but who cares, they taste great. The only improvement I can imagine would be that they ditch the sauce and go with salt, lime, and pepper. Makes my mouth water as I type.
I can’t quite describe this, except that it’s not for me. From what my friends tell me this was a local cuisine type which you can say is a mix of Chinese and Malay. Neat, but not for me. $0.60SGD
This was pretty impressive. My friends didn’t agree, but I thought the texture was more like eel, which was a good thing. It’s wasn’t as soft and flaky as most fish I’ve eaten. But that texture made it very enjoyable. (I didn’t get the price to this either)