No Accounting for Taste

Hope you enjoyed the photos of the black and white houses in Singapore in my previous post. The above are more typical of the bungalows found in Singapore. I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder...but if there's beauty or grace to these houses, it is lost to this beholder!! There's no accounting for taste, obviously. These houses could probably sell in today's Singapore market for US$2-3 million! Evidently wealth and good taste do not always go hand in hand.

Black and White

Pictures by Munshi Ahmed

I am in general not a big fan of Singapore architecture. But the black-and-white houses of the colonial era are my all time favorites. This afternoon, on the way to purchase some Lunar New Year plants in the Upper Thompson area, my cousin and I drove through the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood. I was captured by the view of one elegant black-and-white home after another. These black-and-whites thrived during the late 19th C to right before WWII in Singapore, built to house the British officials and their families. They are quite large and airy to accommodate the tropical climate, built on relatively large parcels of land, surrounded by lush greenery. They are such a pleasant contrast to the modern, cramp style of the majority of Singapore's contemporary homes.

Steamboat

Picture from bestmalaysianfood.com

I am now in Singapore to celebrate Chinese New Year with my mom. After a busy season of getting ready for Thanksgiving, Christmas and NewYear, I’m just not fired up for yet another celebration. Besides, it's been over thirty years since I’ve been back in Singapore for the Lunar New Year. Maybe if I focus on one aspect of the celebration at a time, I may be well prepared when the New Year rolls around on Feb. 3, and may even come to enjoy the process.

I thought I would start planning the reunion dinner which is celebrated on the eve. My mother traditionally serves “steamboat” which consists of a large pot of stock, into which everyone at the table adds in the various meats and vegetables. I looked at several recipes and came up with a version of my own that is not too elaborate and over the top.

RECIPE

Broth (store-bought such as Swanson’s Chicken is fine)

Meat
chicken, de-boned, sliced thinly, marinated with soy sauce and corn flour
fish fillet, sliced thinly
shrimps, shelled, marinated with salt n pepper
squid, scored in sliced, marinated with salt and pepper
scallops
fishballs
stuffed tofuballs
wontons (parboiled)

Vegetables
Chinese cabbage
lettuce
spinach
choysum (mustard greens)
tofu, in cubes
fresh shiitake i mushrooms

Noodles
mifun, ho fun etc, soaked and blanched

Dips
Chilli sauce
Oyster sauce
Soy sauce

Direction
1. Cook each item separately, starting with the meats.
2. Add the noodles towards the end.
3. Scoop into individual bowls. Enjoy

A Little Daydreaming

A little overwhelmed by the congestion and slick sterile high-rises in Singapore, these pictures provide some reprieve. Multi-million dollar condos in Singapore could never compete with any of these quaint cottages, ever, in my mind.