Scenes from the Kopitiam

Ok, So I've been in Singapore for over a week now and I have been running around trying to find the flavour of Singapore. What I mean is the uniqueness of the city and the life of the people. Instead of finding the culture of Singapore, I have been running into malls, western bars, and even a Hooters!

But, what I realized is that the culture of Singapore resides in its hawker centres. These being the outdoor food vendors who sell their wares late into the night. In these places you will find families, young couples, kids, and even scoundrels huddled together eating dishes of exotic food. Most of these dishes are old favourites which nourished the people before, during, and after the war, the occupation, the union with Malaysia, and subsequent independance afterwards.

This is where they sell the infamous "Roti Prata". I believe it came from India's Roti Paratha, but I love the Singapore version more; chewy and savoury, served with a rich curry of chicken, dahl, or whatever you please. Watching the lady make this treat is kinda fun. She pounds out this stretchy dough until it is so thin it looks like she is folding wet laundry. Once fried in oil, the crunchy dough has a nice grilled flavour that matches the curry perfectly. Mmmmm....I wish I was eating one right now! Yummy.

I went to a hawker centre in Little India one day and decided to try some of the puffs there. That being the curry and the sardine puffs. Also took down a Tiger beer to even out the lunch. After I ate the baked treats, and finished my stabilizer, I looked around and noticed how much beer was being poured at 1 pm in the afternoon. These dudes were all about relaxing, making big forts out of the empty giant beers on their tables, and then having a nice afternoon nap in the shade. Awesome! If the MBA career doesn't work out, I know where to go spend my days.

This is a shot I stole of a boss at the hawker centre. It was around 9 at night and it was raining cats and dogs, but that didn't stop this dude from styling around the customers with his shades. He ran this fried noodle stall, chatted with some regulars, and traded friendly insults with another shop owner who came around to sell drinks. He was cool. But I later found out that this guy might actually have an eye problem so the shades may not have all been about Stylin' and Profilin'. Even so, he was still the king.

Well, I have a couple more weeks left in Singapore. During that time I am going to keep looking for the "Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" side here. Till then I will keep sampling the culture the best way I know how; through food and drink. Yum!