It has been just over two weeks since I've arrived here in Singapore. I wake up almost every other day (when my insomnia allows me to sleep) staring at my surroundings and remembering that I moved to Singapore. I live HERE. While this bed is still temporary and moderately foreign I am constantly taking in this huge realization. Three days ago while making a purchase, I kept failing when entering my PIN number for my new bank account. Then it hit me that I needed to enter six digits, not the four I have been so accustomed to in the States. Part of this life as an expat will be about breaking through the things that make me uncomfortable and embracing that vulnerability. This adventure has begun and I am so grateful for it. I am also so thankful for all of you reading, commenting and liking my posts so far. It's nice to have a virtual community that keeps me company along with my new work family during this adventure of mine. Hands down, aside from learning the cultural nuances, the most common thing that people have inquired about is the food!
During my preview trip here in October, you may recall from my initial dining diary that I was not a huge fan of much that I tried, Honestly, I was feeling under the weather and didn't try a lot those five days. My first prawn noodle experience wasn't the best and it paved the way for everything else. Thus far, I have moderately stepped out from behind my mild food fortress also known as my comfort zone. I might use the word moderately too liberally as my coworkers are still encouraging me to push the envelope a bit. Don't get me wrong, Singapore is known for some of it's world class dining experiences. There are some AMAZING things to eat here and I have no doubt I will uncover a lot of them during my stay. However, my U.S. dining habits were not that adventurous which has paved the way for these past two weeks. I'm not a huge fan of spicy so a lot of the things some of my coworkers are willing to try leave me out. World famous Chili crab?? No, thanks. While I LOVE crab, the chili just makes me say no. Now before you throw your device down in protest of me not embracing delicious things, I can attest that the peppered crab is also amazing!! I love seafood and that hasn't been an issue here on the island. Seafood is pretty reasonably priced and almost everywhere. We are staying in the heart of the shopping area for our temporary residence so a lot of food court eating with a few excursions out these past couple of weeks. Some of those excursions have been to hawker centers. To better describe them, think of your favorite street vendor, being in a place right next to a bunch of other street vendors but not in a mall. Think of a mall food court but much more diverse with Korean, Thai, Indian, Malaysian, Singaporen cuisines next to each other. Apparently, the street markets used to be a free-for-all but when people started getting sick with little to no government regulation that changed. So now, in true Singapore fashion, everything is regulated. Anyone selling anything especially food, has to go through a strict permitting process and they also have grade letters up in their stall areas. I love seeing "A" and feeling better about making that decision for that meal. I won't eat at a stall that's less than a B, after all not everyone is perfect.
This past week, some of our new local team was teaching us about some local Singaporean cultures and of course food was a highlight. Culturally, if you see a line for something then that obviously means that it must be worth it so I should wait in that line too! Queueing is totally a thing that people do here for a variety of things and I wonder what that will look like once I actually start working. In one of the Hawker centres in Chinatown the queue for the world renowned 5- star Michelin hawker was too long for his chicken rice but a coworker queued and let me try it and it was pretty good! One observation is that it would be hard to be a vegetarian here in my opinion. So much of the food is meat and rice with maybe a leaf of something that is green but not bok choy. None of us have quite identified what it is, but are pretty certain it has little to no nutritional value. Needless to say, I've found some tasty things to eat and haven't starved and don't think I will. I've had the Singapore version of McDonalds, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and as of today I can add KFC to that unfortunate list of things I should probably be ashamed to digest. When in doubt, I revert to some not so great eating habits and once I'm in my own space I plan on cooking more. I've lucked up and found my favorite spaghetti sauce and cereal and a few things so honestly, although they may be more expensive, it's nice to know they are here and worth the occasional indulgence.
Well, it's after midnight and tomorrow is a big day at work so I will wrap it up and just attach a few pictures of some of my meals. Mainly fried chicken and rice with some noodles splashed in. I have had salad once since I've been here. I figured it was long overdue! Enjoy the pictures!
Until Next Time... Queue!
Love & Light,
Charmayne
Photo credit: Leonie Francis
Those cucumbers barely count as vegetables but rest assured I ate them. Lol.
