No matter where we go, Paul and I make it a point that we get to have a wonderful gastronomic adventure in our trips here and abroad. Luck must have been on our side as we just recently found out that the Singapore Food Festival will happen just around the same time that we're there. Of course, this was immediately included in our itinerary.
First stop: Hainanese Chicken Balls ($7.20)
We've had quite a number of Hainanese Chicken Rice for the past 4 days and this added a twist to our favorite Singaporean dish. Serving the same steamed white chicken and the three signature sauces that we love so much, the rice was most sticky and molded into a ball which we felt made it easier to eat.
Second stop: Mix Satay ($5)
If there's one Southeast Asian dish that we both love, then this must be the Satay. One order had 6 sticks which comprised of a mix of beef and lamb. While the one that we had in the Makansutra Gluttons Bay was juicier, this particular version was good enough. The peanut sauce was less chunkier yet we love the well-mixed sweet-salty combination.
Third stop: Carrot Cake ($3)
One way to find out what are the must-tries in a festival, just look for the stall with the longest line and more often than not you won't get disappointed. After noticing that the stall selling Carrot Cake continues to have a long line the entire evening, we knew that we also have to patiently wait in line to taste this ourselves. The stall owner was very friendly and we noticed that after asking us if we are from the Philippines, they added in more slices to our delight. We normally add some tomato ketchup to our carrot cake but since there was none available, we just had it plain.
No wonder people were lining up for it as the carrot cake was perfect! It was soft and fluffy and you can still bite into the crunchy chunks of the carrot cake. Not fond of carrots? Don't worry as this does not have a slightest hint of carrot, the taste was perfectly masked it actually tastes like our local radish cake. It was also delightful to watch them prepare the Carrot cake as they quickly cook one batch after the other using a huge black skillet pan that looks like a paella pan. How I wish we bought more to bring back to our hotel with us.
We were almost full and we still have $4.80 credits left. We then agreed to just buy a couple of snacks to enjoy later in the evening.
Fourth stop: Popiah ($1.80)
My first taste of Popiah was pretty disastrous. After which I never found the enthusiasm to try it again. Thanks to Paul for his continuous prodding and encouragement we got an plate of Popiah that seems to also be a best-seller in the festival.
Popiah is like our local Fresh Lumpia that's filled with veggies and wrapped in fresh lumpia wrapper. In contrast to the fresh lumpia, it is served minus the sweet sticky sauce. Nonetheless the veggie filling was very delicious that there's really no need for the sauce.
Fifth stop: Chinatown Tan's Tutu ($2)
Sixth and final stop: Ha Kao ($1)
Leaving the Food Festival happy and satisfied, we walked along the Singapore River hand-in-hand while checking out the different products for sale. This was definitely a wonderful experience and we plan to go back again next year for the Food Festival 2011.
The Singapore Food Festival ran from July 9 to July 28 in various locations around Singapore.
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