Foodaholic

Watching this "patriotic" version of being a Singaporean, I can't help but miss the hawker centres and kopitiams, crispy roti prata at any time of the day, hainanese chicken rice literally everywhere, ice kachang on a hot day, freshly peng kang spicy otah with fragrant nasi lemak, rojak on a not-so-hungry-day, foamy teh tarik during supper and Qiji's perfect popiah with no chili. If anyone were to ask how do we define being a Singaporean, I would definitely say by his/her knowledge of where the best char kway teow is or where to find the perfect fish head noodle. Anyone who doesn't know, he is probably from Malaysia.

I miss this oh-so-casual way of eating out instead of bistros or restaurants, no tipping, no service charge. In NYC, we HAVE to tip the waitstaff 15-20% of the bill and it can really add up to a lot. That means we can't afford to eat out every other meal like back in Singapore. The limited options of food courts here also offer food by weight and they are not necessary cheaper than eating lunch specials(U.P: US$6.99) in the restaurants(I once had Indian chicken marsala and nasi briyani and it came up to US$10 on the weighing scale! GULP!!!) I swear it was the gravy that tipped the scale.

So, in my desperate search for street food that is authentic, cheap and good, I dragged my poor husband out to Red Hook in Brooklyn where there are Latin American street food stalls serving up heaps of freshly made tortillas, empanadas, pupusas, quesadillas, huaraches, tamales, ceviche, rellanos, etole(corn on cob smothered with mayonnaise and cheese), and of course the agua fresca stands selling fresh fruits and hibiscus drinks. New York Times and many other newspapers have reviewed these weekend, summer only food stalls next to the football fields and everyone have given it thumbs UP. Suddenly missing the taste of salsa verde, I made it a resolution to eat there before the authorities close them down for good by end of the summer.


[Left: Huarache. Right: Pupusas]






VERDICT: The street food concept is great but by the end of the lunch, we had spent US$23 on food, fruits and drinks for 2 persons and it is definitely not my definition of street food price. Maybe we were greedy but we had 1 huarache with beef and chorizo(US$5), 1 ceviche mixto(US$7), 2 Pupusas(with cheese and beef US$5), 1 packet of fresh mango and 1 large lemonade(US$4) and 1 large hibiscus drink(US$2). Of the lot, my favourite is the ceviche. I definitely had better latino food while I was traveling in South and Central America.

Street food is still best savoured in Asia. The streets of Bangkok, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Bali and of course, Singapore, often offers delectable morsels of food that makes you go "Mmmmm....". The staggering abundance and variety of it only makes you lose self-control as you order too much(it happens to the best of people) and still find your wallet almost as full as before. No tipping is necessary, so you can go right ahead and order a second helping.

Bored of eating western food, I made a full scale chinese dinner last night. Of the lot, I must say the 2hours simmered sweet and sour baby pork ribs cooked in Shanghainese style is my favourite. The cabbage tastes like home-cooked food and I am just so happy to be eating jasmine rice instead of pasta. =)

And oh yes, I almost forgot to mention - the aubergine au gratin with bechamel sauce(made from scratch!) was a SUCCESS! Definitely a dish that I will make again and again. *big grin*