Food of Singapore. David Wong

Northern dishes. Indian cooking calls for spices such coriander, cardamom, cumin, fennel and cloves, but north and south use them differently. North Indian food is enriched with yogurt or cream, with a blend of chopped herbs, fresh chillies, and tomatoes added late in the cooking for a subtle flavour. These thicker curries are eaten with a variety of breads from unleavened flat chapati to puffy tandoor-baked naan Singapore's North Indians, like North Indians elsewhere, have a largely wheat-based diet, although they eat at least one meal of rice daily.

      Festivals, such as the Muslim Hari Raya, at the end of the lasting month of Ramadan, provide an opportunity for (easting as well as for family reunions Visitors of all races are welcome during the traditional "open house".

      South Indians, on the other hand, eat a rice-based diet that suits their more liquid curries, which are often enriched with coconut milk. However, the Southerners have their breads too: fluffy and ghee-rich roti prata. and dosai. tangy pancakes made from a fermented rice and dhal batter. Dosai do nicely for breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner, especially when they come in a variety of forms: crisp and paper-thin, fat and fluffy, plain or with curry filling.

      The extensive use of dried beans and lentils in a variety of ways from staples to snacks gives Indian food a clout with vegetarians. Dosai shops are also often vegetarian restaurants since vegetarianism is mandated by Hinduism.

      Named after the "plate" on which the food is served, "banana leaf restaurants" reduce the dishwashing load by having customers eat off banana leaves. Rice is surrounded by your choice of vegetables and dhal curries, crisp pappadam, cooling yogurt and tangy rasam (pepper water). Some banana leaf restaurants cater to carnivores, offering meat and seafood curries, the most popular being the local Fish Head Curry, which originated in Singapore.

      While Singapore Indian food has most of the characteristics of Indian food elsewhere, it has not escaped the influences of the other ethnic communities. Apart from Fish Head Curry, another local Indian favourite is Indian Mee Goreng, fried yellow noodles prepared with chillies, potato, bean sprouts, tomato ketchup and some curry spices. There is also Indian Rojak, which has rather non-Indian ingredients, such as Javanese tempeh, Chinese fried tauhu and fishcake along with boiled potatoes, hard-boiled eggs in batter and a choice of fritters, all eaten dipped in a sweet potato sauce, served with green chilies and slices of onion and cucumber.

      Sup Kambing (mutton soup) is another Indian dish with a Chinese accent: lots of fresh coriander leaves (cilantro) to perk up the robust soup seasoned with spices The soup comes invariably with crusty roti perancis (French bread). South Indian food is often prepared by Indian Muslims, some of whose restaurants along North Bridge Road are well-known for their Murtabak and biryani. a fragrant saffron-coloured rice flavoured with fried onions, spices, raisins and nuts, cooked with mutton or chicken.

      Indian Rojak, a distinctive Singapore Indian version of a Malay Indonesian snack, is a dish you'd never find in India.

      So-called "banana leaf restaurants' offer a selection of food served on the original disposable plate Typical dishes include the famous Singapore Indian dish. Fish Head Curry, as well as succulent crabs and spicy prawns.

      The Best Show in Town

       Singapore Street Food, Hawker Style

      They once roamed the streets of Singapore, itinerant food hawkers who fed a mostly male populace 100 busy earning a living to cook for themselves. Today, hawkers no longer ply their trade in the streets, but have been relocated inside permanent food centres which most Singaporeans persist in calling hawker centres.

      Today, most women in Singapore work outside the home, and home-cooked meals are therefore something of a weekend event rather than a dally necessity. Most people eat out at least once a day, and the top Choice for a quick, tasty meals the food centre or the Increasingly more upmarket food court Food stalls are now permanent fixtures in a variety of places ranging from an open-air setting to covered markets and food centres, 10 air-conditioned food courts with more comfort and better decor.

      The ubiquitous Chinese noodles were and still are the staples of any good food centre Take your pick from rice, wheat, mung or soya bean noodles. They come thin, thick, flat, round or square, fresh, dried or friend in oil. You can have your noodles braised, stir-fried, tossed in spicy sauce mixture or dunked in plain of spicy soup. They also come in Chinese, Indian Of Malay styles. The choice at a regular food centre now stretches even further, beyond noodles to rice with a variety of Chinese dishes. Malay or Indian curries, barbecued seafood, to hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks and chops, and even pizza!

      Kreta Ayer Wet Market is famous for its array of fresh market produce and more exotic delights such as turtle meat, frogs and eels.

      The Singaporean government lakes the national pastime very seriously Some roads, like this junction in Chinatown, are blocked off to traffic in the evenings till early morning, and are dedicated to street-side dining.

      Eating at a food centre involves all your senses Your ears are assailed by the shouts of the cooks, the clatter and bang of ladles on giant woks or kualis; your nose twitches with every waft of fragrant steam from bubbling pots and kualis sitting over roaring fires. It is amazing how experienced hawkers have developed their own unique method to the madness. Using a system of spoons, coins, and even clothes pegs, hawkers have created a reliable way to remember the many different orders and the special requests customers have. A good rapport is necessary to establish a loyal clientele in the face of such fierce competition—and if the hawker remembers his customer's regular order, even before they ask for it, that is one sure way of showing who is boss.

      A reputation for good food or a convenient location make some food centres more popular than others, and if you come at peak hours, you may even have to stand over someone having his meal in order to get a table. Some die-hard foodies would not bat an eyelid at the hour-long queues for their favourite hawker dish.