Some say that Singapore doesn’t have great food, only okay food. One thing I like about it, though, is the variety. The quality is good and with such a mélange of cultures, the number of different styles and flavors is enough to pique my interest for days at a time.
Here are a few of the treats I enjoyed:
Roti Prata with curry. Coming from the Malaysian side of things (and tracing back to Pakistan and India), roti prata is an unleavened bread fried in oil. Many layers and nice and crispy. Served with a bowl of vegetarian curry and, for in this case, a side of stir-fried greens. Roti is available here in Thailand, too, mostly from Muslim vendors and mostly served sweet.
Hainanese Chicken Rice. This is the ubiquitous Singaporean dish. Chicken (either boiled or roasted – in this case boiled) served with “oily” rice, some broth and a plate of braised tofu and duck eggs.
Claypot chicken rice. This is one of my favorite Chinese dishes, originating from southern China. Cooked over a charcoal stove, the rice at the bottom bakes on, forming a nice crispy texture. The sausage is sweet, the chicken succulent, and the bitter greens provide a nice counterpoint to the satisfying savoriness of the overall dish.
Funny story about the claypot chicken rice, though. I ordered this at a food court and the guy looked at me for a long time, like he couldn’t decide whether or not to serve the dish to me. It wasn’t a case of him not understanding me, though. Instead, after a few moments he walked out from behind the counter, crossed the sea of tables to a person collecting dirty dishes, and poked through the tub of used dishes to find a clay pot and lid.
Then he returned the dish to the kitchen and I proceeded to wait ten minutes for them to prepare the meal, hoping the whole time that they were really going to scrub the pot first!
The high heat of the fire would kill any germs, right?
Additional vegetarian selections at the restaurant downstairs from Otto and Han’s place. Big line outside in the morning makes me think this is the neighborhood hot spot.
christao408 
yum!!!growing up I love eating hainan chicken rice :)and the roti looks kind of like chinese green onion pancake!
I am telling you Chris, you both should come to Delhi while I am still here!
Prawn Mee they have in Singapore is awesome. I also recommend the Chili Crab and the Curry Crab. Yum.
my grandma used to make roti, i called it “lo-tee”, and i would dip it into sweet condensed milk.and we called the hainanese rice “kow-manh-kai”, ate it with sweet soy sauce, i always liked it.
Everything looks so good. Yum!
love the food in Singapore…so much….excotic with an oriental touch…..
and the spicy stuff is different from the Thai ones…..
@Dezinerdreams – Interesting comment – we had dinner with a friend who is in Hong Kong last night and there is a chance her husband may transfer to Delhi. That would give us all the more reason to visit…
@yang1815 – Hey, do you know a version of that green onion pancake that has ground pork in it? Another person posted pictures of making it but didn’t have a recipe. All my online searches have returned naught.
@LostSock21 – The crab dishes are excellent. Unfortunately, part of me doesn’t think that crab is worth the effort. Too much mess for too little meat!
@MAXIMO – You’ll me glad to know we have both of those here and still call them the same thing, especially since many Thais let their “r’s” sound like “l’s”… When you come to visit, you’ll feel right at home!
@TheCheshireGrins – Yes, very tasty stuff.
@agmhkg – It is interesting that even though there are some common dishes there is also some really unique things there.
@christao408 – sure do. I ate that growing up as well haha… actually the version that I’m familiar with, you make the green onion pancake the usual way. and then you make this meat paste separately. when you cook the onion pancake, you spread the meat paste on top and cook it while cooking the pancake. then you flip it, and roll everything up. not sure if that’s the kind you wanted but that’s what I’ve always had in Taiwan.
@yang1815 – What’s that called? The version I saw – ostensibly from northern China – is made like this: roll the dough out flat then spread the filling on it. Then roll it up and slice (like making cinanmon rolls, in fact). Then you take each slice and roll it thin and fry it. Actually, here’s Tony’s entry: http://www.xanga.com/YNOTswim/695085315/hiking-after-making-/
The Hainanese Chicken Rice and ClayPot Chicken are my favourite dishes. The Chinese sausage topping the clay-pot is a sure “icing on the cake”! The Thai version of Chicken over rice is ‘khao mun gai’, without the duck eggs, I suppose?
@curry69curry – Correct. The tofu and duck eggs were a side dish. For the claypot chicken, the sausage really is the best part. Extra for me, please!
@christao408 – I’m not really sure the exact game but I’ve always thought it originated from India?! They actually look similar except the one I’m talking about would be much thinner. You would have to stretch the skin on the pan and then put on a very thin layer of meat. The stuffing would also be more watery so it’s easier to spread.
Food looks terrific Chris. Did you learn how to make the paratha? If you came here, I would teach you the authentic way to make it, and you will never want to eat it in a restaurant.
Mmmm…. yummy. I’m positive the high heat would kill almost anything. Any “remnants” from the previous meal just adds to the layers of flavor! hee hee…