What's a trip to Singapore without a taste of the king of fruit,
durian? Admittedly, I really don't like the stuff. It comes in the form of a large spiky oblong fruit, which then has to be hacked open to reveal the flesh inside. Note: this flesh smells like garbage left out in the sun. And it has a peppery after-taste. I am definitely not a fan, but I can now say I have sampled the most infamous fruit of southeast Asia.
Verdict: must try, despite it being terrible. People either love or hate it, there is no middle ground.
An
ice cream sandwich at home is simple a brick of ice cream between two cookie-like wafers, usually chocolate flavoured. Here? Find your nearest ice cream uncle and grab a
real sandwich with an Asian persuasion, such as my personal favourite of purple yam ice cream between rainbow sweet bread. Yes, bread. As in yesterday we bought a loaf of bread and a bucket of ice cream and made ice cream sandwiches. Life changing!
Verdict: I would have one a day if there was an ice cream uncle on campus.
Right now, Buddhists (and the Chinese community in general) are celebrating the autumn festival. As with all good festivals, this one includes a symbolic food:
mooncakes. I'm not sure what significance they carry, and people seem to tell different origin stories, but these little confections are actually not bad. Typically filled with lotus paste and egg yolk, they don't have much flavour and are quite heavy.
Verdict: another "must try" food item, simply for a feeling of full participation in the culture.
Lastly, here is something called
ice kachung. No need to say "Gesundheit." It's a little hard to come to conceptualize, so bear with me. First you fill the bottom of a bowl with starch jellies. Don't ask what kind, I have no clue. Next, pile on fresh shaved ice into a monumental heap. Drizzle with flavoured syrups, such as rose. Finally, garnish with corn and red beans. Yes, corn and beans. I speak the truth.
Verdict: worth trying, and quite good as long as you try to ignore the fact that you're eating corn and beans as a dessert.
first photo by ppborla, second photo by me, third photo by ♥ he@rt ♥, fourth photo by CDN Harv
Durian's kinda gasoline'y, too, to my tastes.
ReplyDeleteHave tried it once. Probably won't again.
Ice cream. Bread. 2 of my fave food groups. And together? Hmm, sounds Yummm.
Yum, again, to mooncakes. Haven't seen them in the shops here yet.
Ice kachung sounds refreshing, when humidity's 100%. Thanks for the desserts, Jack.
Have you tried red bean soup?
i've seen the red bean soup (is has a different name here that i can't remember, of course) but i've been hesitant to try. dunno, there's just a part of my brain that says "You're eating beans. That's not dessert." same with the corn. ice kachung is good, but the corn and beans are just a few tomatoes away from salsa, y'know?
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