| ONE DELICIOUSLY UNIQUE PACKAGE!
Yes, we've all heard stories about
the Singaporean's 24-hour passion for food. We've
also seen the bemused visitor's look as he watches
a slender young thing tuck into a hearty multiple-dish
meal at 2am. And of course, there is that famous Singapore
greeting. Instead of echoing the almost universal
'Hi, how are you?', we say 'Have you eaten?', and
we say it in our different languages and dialects.
But one word which we
all understand and love is makan which is the
Malay word for 'eat'.
Look at it our way.
Imagine if you lived on an island that lay at the
crossroads of the great East-West trade routes. Then
remember that the products traded in those early days
were as tantalizing and valuable as ivory, gold, silk,
batik, silver thread, ebony, sandalwood, tea, sago,
sugar, pepper, nutmeg, cloves and coriander. And that
your fellow citizens, right from those days, made
up a colourful and diverse melting pot of races and
cultures.
Now just imagine, if
you put it all together, what a fascinating, exciting
cuisine Singapore must surely boast. It is the stuff
of romance,and tales of recipes handed down through
generations of craftsmen and migrant workers, often
from villages in China and India.
Singapore food is a
tasty tale about a country's unique cultural tapestry,
and the way individual strands have woven into others,and
changed hue in the process. Food preparations that
came to Singapore from India, China and other countries
in the region may still bear the original names -
but they are indelibly transformed by being 'Singaporeanised'.
To Singapore's cultural
tapestry, add the country's compactness, and a great
transport system which makes getting around it so
convenient. Finally,add Singapore's uncommonly strict
public hygiene and food preparation rules,which make
eating out - anywhere on the island - a risk-free
proposition.
What do you get? An
island which has evolved - naturally - its own unique
cuisine,which its people passionately and safely indulge
in. And you can too! Come join us!
"Singapore
food reflects the very best of our multicultural island,
where cuisines and flavours have influenced one another
for decades, with wonderful results! For me, local
food is very much a part of the word 'home'."
Singapore
Makan - Must Try!
"From chilli crab to chicken rice, Singapore
food celebrates our rich diversity -- a melting pot
of colours, textures, tastes and aromas that bind
us, regardless of class, race, language or religion."
Local Desserts
Singapore's desserts are even more colourful
- literally - than its main courses. They're hot or
cold, sticky or clear, wobbly or firm, healthy or
sinful.
Tea
& Coffee
Singapore's
coffee and tea (known as kopi and teh respectively)
stalls have come a long way. In the early days, they'd
serve the basic combinations of tea with milk and
sugar, tea with sugar only (teh-O), tea with milk
and no sugar (teh kosong), tea with evaporated milk
(teh si) and so on.
Peranakan
Cuisine
Toward
the end of the 19th century / early 20th, there were
Chinese traders who settled in Malacca, Penang and
later, in Singapore. Because there was a shortage
of Chinese women, many of these men married Malay
women, and this led to the creation of a community
cal led the Straits Chinese (Peranakan) where the
men are known as 'Babas' and the womenfolk, 'Nonyas'.
Festive
Foods & Flavours
Singapore's
unique cultural tapestry means that this is the place
for cultural festivals, all year round. And because
all these festivals are native to Singapore, there
is increasingly a tendency for everyone to celebrate
(in some manner or form) every festival!
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