Face to face with Kings in Singapore

by Lito Cinco

Literally we were face to face with kings when we went to Singapore recently for a media group tour as part of the city-state?s ?Christmas in the Tropics? promotion to entice visitors all over the world to spend their time, and money too while there.

Anyway back to the kings we faced while we were there, no, they did not have a drop of royal blood in them. In fact what happened was after seeing them, we ended up eating them, with one king crab enough to feed our group of 10 people. Of course, with all those other delectable viands that found their way to the dining table, and later on, finding their way too, to our stomachs.

The dining place we were brought to by our guide for lunch that day was the Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, one of the oldest and most popular specializing in seafood of all kinds, and with five branches located all over Singapore.

It has been awarded so many culinary awards and a highly recommended even by the New York Times, with king crabs a must order. And choosing from more than 30 ways of cooking them, including the famous ?Black Pepper Crab,? you even have a choice of the kind of kings you want to encounter, the Alaskan King Crab, or the Australian one. Anyway, you will not go wrong with either one of them. However, we did not get a chance to try the Live King Shell Sashimi anymore as what was laid down for that feast was more than enough.

To add to the culinary experience, we were even personally introduced to one of the kings there, and this writer ended up holding hands with a king, and with photos to record it for posterity.

Now if you are not into crabs, then the lobsters will definitely do, or the groupers, scallops, and other treasures from the deep sea. And you can start off with the seafood platter that included mushroom omelet, sea weed wrapped in cucumber slices, calamari, and jelly fish wrapped in fish skin before going to the main course.

And as a fitting end, try the dessert of durian and mango slices served with dry ice under in colored water that results in a very interesting smoking dessert, or an alternative is durian pudding.

Singapore is also famous for al fresco dining areas located all over the commercial district. In our case, we tried the one beside the Esplanade and the stalls, this time very reasonably priced, featured Chinese, Thai, Indian, and Indonesian food. If you are pressed for time as one time we were, we ate at the Food Republic, a fast-food type eating place somewhere at the Wisma Atria along Orchard. And the group was allowed to choose whatever it is that takes their fancy among the maybe a hundred small food stalls. I went with a bowl of flat noodles, a large bowl at that, and it was pretty good.

Now if you are truly adventurous, then go to Geylang Serai which is more for the Malay ethnic people of Singapore. And even if it was a step lower than the food court we saw at the malls, the common food area was still alive with native people dining on local, Thai, and Chinese food offerings. Look for the small stall that sells longon juice as I did. It is delicious and beats cola drinks anytime.

At the other extreme, you may want to dine or stay at any of the many first-class or boutique hotels in the city. Our group was billeted at the Gallery Hotel, Singapore?s first hip hotel located beside the Singapore River at the trendy Robertson Quay entertainment district.

The hotel features room that were designed by designers coming from different Asia-Pacific countries, sans the Philippines. Why, we do not know, and the result was a plethora of thematic rooms each one reflecting the personal taste and mindset of the creators. (But since I used to work with the Victoria Court Group in the late ?80s to the ?90s, at that time, we were already into thematic rooms and suites. So if you want a local taste of the Gallery, do an ocular of VC's rooms).

What I liked about the location of The Gallery was it offered another area for food tripping as Robertson Quay has a long line of dining places, some of them on the river banks, even on river boats. Again, take your pick of the kind of cuisine that you crave for.

Another hotel we went to for guided tour was the Meritus Mandarin Singapore, a landmark hotel situated at the heart of Orchard Road. This is a five-star hotel, with five-star rates of course but its location for shoppers will be hard to beat. For dining, the specialty is Cantonese cuisine while at its Chatterbox Restaurant, it boasts of supposedly the best Malaysian Mandarin Chicken Rice.

Fancy Indian food ? If so, take a taxi ride to Little India and take your pick, from vegetarian to meat and fish, or colorful desserts. All of India is practically represented by the restaurants in the area. You want to shop for bargains and dine afterwards? Go to the Mustafa Shopping Centre, open 24 hours. And just across the centre are small to medium-sized restaurants all offering different Indian food.

Singapore is truly a blending of culture, particularly when it comes to food.