We landed in Singapore at night. After checking in to a beautiful hotel, we went out for dinner at 10 pm. Despite the hour, there were so many food vendors open at Lau Pa Sat near us. Tam and I were excited by the variety of foods and smells, but ultimately decided on barbeque and satay.

Once we finished, we took an evening walk, wandering between dormant office buildings restaurants. We watched cyclists weave in and out of lanes and small dogs bark in perfectly manicured parks. The skyline was perfect, with Marina Bay Sands towering over a small, possibly artificial bay, and the giant electric trees asleep nearby.

Singapore is quiet. Outside of the hawker center and the late-night restaurants, there's almost no sound. We were near Chinatown and a few minutes away from Marina Bay, and no noise penetrated the night air. It's so different from Saigon, where the nights hummed with energy. The only sound we noted was the construction close to midnight, on the way back to our hotel.

Walking food tour through Singapore’s notable neighborhoods

I signed Tam and me up for a walking food tour that took us to different neighborhoods, hawker centers, and restaurants that featured lesser known Singaporean foods (so no chili crab). Here's some highlights from our tour:

Curry puff pastries are so good! I marked that down as one the best things I ate that day.
Peranakan was defined to us by our tour guide as the descendants of the Chinese sailors and the local (likely Malay ancestors) women. In modern day, I suspect it's pretty similar to kama'aina in Hawaii for local-born people (both Native Hawaiian and not). Our guide said that people like to claim they're Peranakan, like 1/4 Peranakan. I thought that was fascinating, because it felt similar to people claiming "Hawaiian" as an identity.
I asked about what happened to the indigenous people of Singapore, she didn't really know how to answer that.
Some of the road names are very literal. One road was called Old Airport Road because it literally was where it used to be before Changyi Airport was built. Beach Road was once next to the beach, but less of it is now. I appreciated that the place names were literal, like Kampong Gelam meant compound of trees.
She said that Singapore reclaims land. Reclaiming land is a colloquialism for "reclaiming" land from the wetlands or ocean, and creating a foundation to build upon. For indigenous people in the US, and likely across the world, it means having their stolen lands returned to them. This phrasing was jarring to me, as if ocean water stole land that was once ours.
Singapore has a history of strict land use and zoning laws. I understand that this civil engineering and planning is an essential part of making the city work, but the language used is interesting. We were told that Indian people herded cattle near the current Chinatown; they “nicely” gave it up so the Chinese could settle there. Their new location is further from the city center. I wondered if it was an embellished truth, and they were effected by zoning laws. Haji Lane and Little India were where certain ethnic groups and neighborhoods grew and congregated. I wondered if those were effects of the zoning laws too.
We walked by a bus stop and our guide pointed out that it took people to and from Malaysia for work. She said that white-collar workers are usually expats and Chinese people. She also said blue collar workers are typically Sri Lankan, Indian, Burmese, and Filipino people. These blue collar workers were likely the same people working on the construction we had walked by the previous night. Filipino people are often imported as domestic workers, with Sunday as their only day off. I doubt there are labor protections or unions here like in the US.
At hawker centers, you can leave a small item on a table in Singapore to claim it. You can get your food from where ever and come back. Also, it’s pretty normal to just share tables with strangers if you need to.
Prior to hawker centers, people used to sell their foods on the street. As Singapore started rezoning the city, they deemed hawking food in that way illegal. The guide shared that when the cops were coming, the hawkers would straight up leave everything behind and take off so they wouldn’t get arrested or fined. Eventually, people got tired of running and started joining the hawker centers to sell their foods. Hawker centers would eventually be considered a UNESCO treasure. Like many family-run businesses, it’s up to the kids on if they want to continue the work of their parents and cook. The average age of hawkers is above 50. It’ll be a matter of time to see how hawker centers adapt, who runs them, and how the food changes as a result.

Overall the food tour was really cool! It was a group tour and we met some cool people from across the world during it. I definitely would recommend doing a food tour if you don’t have a lot of time in a city and want to try different foods.

Tam and I made our way back to our hotel and rested for a little. Naps are essential and it’s hard to say no to a beautiful hotel room and bath. Later this night we went to the mall beneath Marina Bay Sands, which had a lot of luxury brands, adjacent to the hotel’s conference rooms.

We ended up eating at Lau Pa Sat again that night, and I scratched my sweet and sour pork itch. I love sweet and sour flavored dishes, pork, fish, you name it. That sauce is delicious.

What do Michelin stars mean for the quality of food?

The next day, Tam and I had some kaya toast then walked to Maxwell hawker center, one of the more famous centers in Singapore. I believe one of the stands there is Michelin starred, and there was already a long line there. I got roast pork and duck and Tam got some white carrot (turnip) noodles. We enjoyed them both and wondered if the line for the Michelin-starred Hainanese chicken rice was really that much more delicious than what we already had.

Tam and I often talk about Michelin starred restaurants and how the inclusion of Asian foods is a relatively recent thing. Since living in Seattle, we’ve learned that what some people consider good Asian food is so different that what we think is good. While that could go for any food, we’ve never lived in a place that has a white majority population. They don’t have the same frame of reference for Asian foods that we grew up eating in our own homes or out on the weeknds.

We often wonder who rates these Michelin foods and the “Asianness” of their palates. Were these inclusions made because they were safest for a western palate? Is a person who’s been perfecting a single recipe for 40 years of their life less deserving of a Michelin star than a restaurant whose techniques are more complex and inaccessible? By what standards are these foods measured?

I’m aware there’s an experiences aspect to it, but you can’t tell me that the bleached white table clothes we’re accustomed to seeing were prevalent in luxury Asian dining experiences prior to colonization. I find that so hard to believe when I consider the color and opulence and intricacies of the different Asian countries. I do think about the white supremacy of it all, when a western tire company has suddenly declared itself the authority on the best food internationally.

It’s hard to take fine dining seriously when I’ve grown up eating “sustainably” and using the “whole animal.” Growing up, my mom told me that they would get oxtail for free at the butchers because no one wanted it. My parents could make bulalo (bone marrow soup) and ensure we got all our nutrients. Now bone marrow is served as a delicacy in restaurants. When I used to watch The Food Network, I often wondered what squid ink pasta tasted like. When I finally had it, I realized I’ve eaten it all my life in adobong pucit (squid cooked in vinegar and soy sauce). These realizations removed the veil from my eyes about fancy food. All these “foreign” foods are normal dishes to us, commodified as luxurious and exotic delicacies for western others.

All this to say, Tam and I have chosen not to prioritize Michelin restaurants in any way. It isn’t the dining experience we’re looking for, and we’ve had so much wonderful food in other places. We thought this snippet from Will Poulter captured it well.

We walked through Chinatown on our way back to the hotel. On our walk, we found a delightful little tile store that rescued tiles from Peranakan homes and buildings that were torn down as Singapore built for the future. The whole shop was curated by Victor Lim, possibly the only subject matter expert on Peranakan tiles. He is also Peranakan and is trying to save Peranakan pieces as a part of history. More about Victor Lim

I learned that some rarer ones often had geometric patterns and energetic color patterns, similar to other art in Southeast Asia. Some of the tiles included European motifs, like daffodils and windmills, likely a nod to the Dutch and British colonizers. As I left, I overheard some Australian visitors purchasing tiles to decorate their home with. It’s sad that it can’t stay in it’s home country, as a tribute to a dying culture… But on the other, at least the work and artistry found a second life. I hope it finds many more.

After resting at our hotel for a bit, we explored the Jewel at Changyi which was another cool monument to consumerism. Lots more shopping, similar to the Marina Bay Sands, and a ton of food to eat. I had some spicy spaghetti and Tam ate some stingray, we browsed around a little more, watched the indoor watershow, then waited for our flight to Japan.

Singapore in fiction: A Fistful of Colors by Suchen Christine Lim

Years ago, I read a book called A Fistful of Colors by Suchen Christine Lim. It’s about a woman reflecting on her family’s history as Singapore launches itself into modern times. While fictional, the book covered stories of Singapore’s colonization by Britain, how Chinese people were able to gain status by aligning with British colonists, how it survived the World Wars, and the racial tensions between different racial groups that immigrated to the city. More about A Fistful of Colors

Through the book, I can see how the social and racial stratification is similar to what we experience in America. We saw it reflected in the history shared about the city, what we observed as we walked through the neighborhoods, and what we heard about blue-collar and migrant workers. In the US, we have the privilege and responsibility of free speech and expression. We see it reflected in our struggle to have our authentic stories and histories represented. I’m sure it’s different in manicured, modern day Singapore, though I can’t begin to name how.

Singapore is always building upon itself, reclaiming land and reshaping its history to propel itself forward. I’m glad to have experienced a place so different from the ones I’m familiar with.