Hawker Center

Prior to moving here, I researched everything because I wanted to know just what to expect from my new home. Topping my list of important things to know was what kind of food I would be eating here...someone as picky as me needs to be prepared! :-) While I found comfort in the fact that Singapore has many western style restaurants (including familiar places like Chilis, Outback Steakhouse, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, etc.), I was also enticed by the local Hawker Centers. What is a Hawker Center? Good question! I think its best described as an outdoor food court that sells CHEAP Singaporean cuisine and the food is surprisingly (to me anyway) good! The trick is to walk around to each individual stall to see what they have to offer - and you don't even need a menu because there are pictures for every dish - doesn't get much easier than that! I have to admit...most of the local food is a bit too adventurous for my taste (to name a few...Fish Head Curry or Old Cucumber Soup), but thankfully there is a very American-friendly dish here that is popular all over the place - Hainanese Chicken Rice. It's steamed chicken served over rice cooked in chicken stock with cucumbers and a bowl of clear soup. Sounds pretty good, right?! We decided that my first taste of Chicken Rice should come from a place that comes highly recommended in nearly every book we've read - Tian Tian - located inside the Maxwell Road Hawker Center. Thankfully, the Chicken Rice was just as delicious as I'd hoped it would be! The good food totally took my mind off of the fact that we walked nearly 3 miles on the hottest day that we've experienced since arriving here. So trip #1 to a Hawker Center was a great success and I'm happy to report that we've made several more trips to other Hawker Centers since then! I've even tried other foods. Who knows, maybe I'll eat the fish head curry next. Just kidding!

Walking 3 miles at noon in the blistering sun does not make me too happy. I sure hope we find the Maxwell Food Centre soon!

We made it!

The first thing we have to do is read up on our Hawker Center etiquette.

It looks like there are plenty of open tables to sit at! Thank goodness, otherwise we would have had to "claim" our table by placing a napkin on it. That's not the easiest task when you have to pay for your napkins!

Although we're on a quest for Chicken Rice, the Fish Head Bee Hoon sure sounds tempting ;-)

Look at all that food!

Here it is, the highly recommended Tian Tian stall.

The long line could only mean the Chicken Rice will be worth the wait.

My sweet husband ordered my food for me. I only got about 10 strange looks from the locals for taking this picture ;-)

Here it is...the famous Chicken Rice. Will it taste good?

It's delicious! It gets my stamp of approval :-)

The Chicken Rice is far too plain for an adventurous eater like Matt!