The second part of my culinary discovery of Singapore has begun and what better to start it off than the Telok Ayer market or Lau Pa Sat, in the Downtown Core...
Thankfully, for me, the bugs in my tummy were already washed out in the morning at Changi and I followed it up with a dose of the nauseating Norflox-TZ as prescribed by Papa at about 9AM. Four hours of roaming around the Downtown Core and a brief meeting with Neeti at the One-North MRT had worked up quite an appetite in me...
The Telok Ayer Market, or Lau Pa Sat, bears an uncanny resemblance to Mumbai's Crawford Market...
On my last trip to Singapore in August last year, I had passed by Lau Pa Sat, but I could not visit this legendary marketplace...
In the early 19th century, the market was a simple wooden building, located on piles just over the waters of Telok Ayer Bay and hence the market's name. (Telok Ayer means "water bay" in Malay)
When Telok Ayer Market first opened in 1825, it extended over the sea and jetties leading from the market allowed stuff to be loaded and unloaded directly onto boats. The structure wasn't sturdy enough and was repaired many times until 1836 when it was decided that a bigger market was needed
Architect Coleman, who designed quite a bit of the downtown area in the 1800s conceptualised an octagonal building with ornamental columns at the entrance. The redesigned market opened in 1838 and stood until 1879, when it was demolished to make way for land reclamation
After completion of reclamation the Telok Ayer Market was reconstructed in 1894, on reclaimed land and was designed by an engineer, James MacRitchie. MacRitchie adopted Coleman's octagonal shape, but added cast-iron supports to strengthen the structure
Lau Pa Sat was gazetted as a national monument on 6 July 1973. The market was again reconstructed in the 1980s after the development of the area as the business district and construction of the MRT. The latest building remains true to MacRitchie's and Coleman's designs and the cast-iron supports that were incorporated in 1894
The elegantly designed cast iron supports give a Victorian feel to the market...
Being the new year, there were hardly any crowds around...
With my tummy bugs convincingly getting defeated, it was time to try out something real, something new and that had to be something really meaty!!!
Qiu Lian Ban Mian met my "requirements"...
The chain is was set up in 1988 and is named after Ong Qiu Lian, a housewife who came up with a delicious soup recipe and chili sauce formula. That sauce found its way into ban mee (flat wheat noodles) at Qiu Lian Ban Mee...
Undoubtedly, the ban mee here is quite popular...
I appreciated the architecture as I waited in the queue to order...
"Please don't take so much time!"
The braised pork belly looked yum...
After an agonising wait, my order was ready... lip-smackingly meaty and delightful...
I relaxed a bit after my meal appreciating the design of the market...
And I found my nirvana at the Kopitiam!
There isn't anything as close to a heavenly nectar than the bitter-sweet Kopi-O
The cast iron supports are truly a work of art...
These supports were fabricated in Glasgow in the 1800s and bear the inscription of the manufacturer, W. MacFarlane & Co.
After the late lunch at Lau Pa Sat, and long 7 kilometer walk around downtown and into Chinatown, by 7PM I was famished again...
An early supper was calling out to me and it had to be at the iconic Maxwell Food Centre in Chinatown...
Again, this was a place I had missed during my last trip here but I had to experience the food here this time around...
Set up in 1935, this marketplace, then known as the Kim Hua Market was home to butchers and fishmoners. It was redevoped in 1986 and food-hawkers moved in...
Today, the Maxwell Food Centre is a landmark destination for food freaks, locals and foreigners, alike...
The entrance to the market suggested what one could try in here...
I chose Sisaket Thai Food...
The elderly gentleman took my order of Balachan Fried Rice...
This is a classic Malay-Thai dish...
Started off as a solution to deal with rice-leftovers, the fried rice is essentially rice tossed around in a hot wok with belacan (shrimp paste), shallots, ginger and a touch of soya sauce...
My dish came alongwith some stir-fried chicken, julienned cucumbers and fiery red chillies...
The fried rice was quite yummy - it smelt pungent and spicy. It tasted of the sea, a unique flavour imparted by the belacan, made from fermented ground shrimp mixed with salt. This is such a cool ingredient that I must take home!!!!
I strolled through the alleyways of Chinatown, which bore a deserted look...
Most Chinese were indoors celebrating the new year...
But the durian shop that I had visited in Chinatown last time around was open...
I ordered a durian milkshake to beat the unbearable heat and humidity...
The milkshake was the right antidote to the heat...
Durians on sale...
These ladies walked out not being able to figure out what all this fuss about durians was... as they say in Hindi - बंदर क्या जाने अदरक का स्वाद or "What would a monkey know of the taste of ginger?"
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