SINGAPORE: MUST TRY (a proper mix!)

Friends from Malaysia visiting Singapore should try these foods that are not easily available in KL despite our similarities in cultures and palates... these are also food that SG foodie and her K1 and K2 who grew up in Singapore miss and will certainly gorge indulge themselves with whenever they are on home leave back to Singapore (which though nearby doesn't happen often).

$1 ice-creams

1) $1 ICE CREAM -You can choose to have different flavours cut up in blocks or scooped ice-cream and also choose from having these in a cup, as a thin-wafer ice-cream sandwich or on sweet bread and yes only $1! Available along Orchard Road where you'll find the ice-cream man/woman especially outside the Takashimaya traffic light area. More ice-cream carts around on weekends. You betcha SG foodie had more than just one ice-cream whenever she's back in Singapore! ;)

2) Chwee Kueh with Chay Po - this is one of SG foodie's favourite foods and unfortunately being a Teochew cuisine, not readily available in KL (more Cantonese-Hakka cuisines). Soft, steamed rice-flour cakes served with sweet-salted vegetables and some sambal chilli on the side. What's not to love?? Available at most major hawker centres (Tiong Bahru, Clementi, Bedok, etc) and some food courts for about S$2 for 5 pieces.

3) MUTHU'S CURRY (top 2 pictures on left) - Race Course Road (3 mins walk from Little India MRT) or Dempsey Road - for the best fish head curry and other Indian food choices in air-conditioned comfort and hygienic, spacious and wonderful atmosphere to dine with friends. Expect to spend about S$20-30 per person. (Or try Samy's Curry at Dempsey and Gayathri/Apollo at Race Course Road for non-airconditioned banana leaf delights for between S$10-20 per person).

4) MAGNUM BAR SINGAPORE (top and centre row left) - Clarke Quay - Magnum Bars tend to move from country to country and then disappear after a short spell, not sure if this Singapore one will do the same or move to a permanent shop but this current container-like space in Clarke Quay offers make-your-own-Magnums but it's a splurge at about S$15-20 each.

5) Kueh Tutu and Muah Chee (centre picture) - KL offers the Malay version of Kueh Piring which is different from the Hokkien-Teochew Kueh TuTu which is smaller and filled with peanuts/coconuts usually and sells for about S$2 for 3 pieces. Most places that sells Kueh TuTu will also sell Muah Chee. SG foodie has tried a Muah Chee in Petaling Street/Chinatown, KL but it was nothing compared to the Singapore ones where the Muah Chee is soft, moist and chewy and eaten with loads of sugary peanuts for about S$2 a box.

6) Mee Pok with Chilli (centre row right) - SG foodie only found Mee Pok in this cafe-like place, Tien Pin (in SS2 PJ and Kajang/Sg Long area) while Mee Pok is readily available in almost all shops selling noodles in hawker centres and food courts all over Singapore. In Singapore, we eat these usually dry with vinegar and sambal chilli mixed in.

7) Chay Tau Kway (bottom left corner) - In Penang this is called Char Kway Kak and in KL you can find this Fried Carrot Cake too but theses are the white versions mainly BUT only in Singapore, you can choose to to have your Chay Tau Kway black or white (with or without the black sweet sauce). This dish is available in most, if not all, hawker centres and/or food courts. It just taste different without the black sweet sauce. Try it for yourself if you are in Singapore.

8) Non-Halal Tony Roma's BBQ Baby Back Ribs (top left corner) - Ok yes there's Tony Romas in KL/Penang and there's also the non-Halal version in Chicago's. Having tried both, SG foodie still prefers the non-Halal Tony Roma's in Singapore - there's one in Suntec and one in Orchard Hotel. The baguette with herb butter, onion loaf are consistently good in both KL and Singapore.

9) Cronuts (top row centre) - Having heard so much rave about Cronuts (the combination of croissants and donuts) from other foodies, SG foodie bought some to try from Da Paolo Pattiserie at the basement of Paragon. Some people absolutely love this compared to plain croissants/donuts. SG foodie's verdict?  It's ok la - not fantastic but it's something new to try.

10) Char Kway Teow (black) (top right corner) - it's a different version from the Penang Char Kway Teow but SG foodie loves the black version (the order is always more black sauce, more chilli, no hum).

11) Sarawak Kolo Mee (centre row right) - yes this is available in some hawker centres in KL but none like the chain that has opened in Singapore that offers fish soups and different versions in that old style setting. You can find this shop at the basement of Vivo City, Jurong Point and other malls across Singapore.

12) McDonald's Curry Sauce (centre) - ok so this sauce used to be available many many years ago in Malaysia but it was somehow taken off the menu. Anyway K1 & K2 loves this sweet curry sauce with their McNuggets that unfortunately can't be found in Malaysia (only BBQ and Sweet&Sour sauces available with McNuggets). There was a big brohaha about McDonald's charging for extra sauce but this charge only happens if you request for more than the usual amount which actually is a pretty fair deal. In many other countries, you actually have to pay even just for chilli sauce/ketchup. Anyway SG foodie understands new sauces have been introduced in Singapore and these have taken off pretty well too.

13) Herbal Mutton Soup (centre row left) - this is Hong Wen Mutton Soup in Beauty World, Bukit Timah which is one of SG foodie's favourite. She can finish 2 bowls of the soup on her own and slurp up the accompanying garlicky/vingery chilli sauce along with the meat too. While you're there, you may want to try the Singapore style rojak (again different from the Penang more fruity version)... Singapore rojak comes with toasted You Tiao and Taupok, in fact you can have a plate of toasted You Tiao and Tau Pok mixed with the sweet rojak sauce without the rest of the vegetables if you prefer and that's how SG foodie likes it too! The xiao long bao and dumplings (guo-tie) just a few stalls down is pretty decent too.

14) Soon Kueh (bottom right corner) - SG foodie has seen Soon Kueh being sold in KL but only on rare occasions. Soon Kueh is a Teochew kueh where cooked turnips are wrapped in rice-flour dough and in Singapore, it is accompanied by black sweet sauce and some chilli paste. SG foodie also like the pink Peng Kueh or Bee Kueh (glutinous rice cake) that are usually sold with Soon Kueh in Singapore.

15) Lao Ban Dou Hua (Cold Soya Beancurd Pudding) (bottom centre) - After trying one of the best soya beancurd in Ipoh (Tau Huay in Singapore/Tau Foo Fah in KL & Ipoh), SG foodie wondered what the fuss was about with Lao Ban Dou Hua and when one of the nephews insisted she try it for herself, SG foodie realised what the appeal was. Instead of warm/hot, soft/smooth, sweet beancurd, you have cold, soft/smooth, sweet Tau Huay. SG foodie understands there are Lao Ban Dou Hua sold all over Singapore and other famous ones such as Rochor Road and Old Airport Road, all with different flavours and textures to different tastes.

16) Twelve Cupcakes (bottom left corner) - SG foodie had never really favoured cupcakes as she doesn't like cloyingly sweet frostings but her friends have been asking her to give Twelve Cupcakes a try and so passing a branch one day, she bought a Red Velvet cupcake to try and you know what, she is now hooked! The cupcake was soft and moist while the cream cheese frostings wasn't overwhelmingly sweet. Actually that's one of the issues SG foodie has with sweet stuff in Malaysia, they tend to be over-poweringly sweet that the sweetness/sugar takes away all other enjoyment of even just the simple teh tarik... even Kurang Manis style (less sweet in Malay) is still too sweet for the Singaporean taste bud. Well there are some pretty nice cupcakes in KL too like Bisou (Bangsar Village/1Utama, etc) and Rui (MontKiara) but SG foodie is still very much in love with the bittersweet chocolatey Red Velvet cupcake with full-flavoured cream cheese frostings from Twelve Cupcakes.

17) SWENSENS - Surprisingly Swensen didn't survive in KL but seems to be sprouting up in every single mall in Singapore. Although Swensens isn't gourmet ice-cream, it still hits the spot when you are craving a Sticky Chewy Chocolate/Coit Tower or a Birthday Earthquake (all sundaes) that SG foodie grew up with. Kids of all ages will also love the baked rice, fries with dips, mozzarella sticks.

So as much as we may think that Singaporean and Malaysian foods are similar, there are actually a lot of differences and Malaysians should try some of these hard-to-find-in-Malaysia foods when they are in Singapore.