The New York Times ran a feature on the restaurant scene in Singapore a “few days ago”:http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/10/01/travel/01next.html?ex=1317355200&en=4292283185bfccc1&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss (free login required; those without one can use “BugMeNot”:http://www.bugmenot.com/).
In the feature, they gave a run through of the who’s who of the restaurant business at the moment. It was a fairly good mix of the big boys and the smaller players. Iggy’s, New Majestic, Graze, Il Lido, Jade, Le Papillon, Nogawa, My Humble House, and Jimmy Chok’s Academy Bistro.
Mr R.W Apple Jr paints a more optimistic picture of the dining scene than those familiar with it would imagine. Unmatched street food? Not true, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Bangkok beat us any time with equal or greater diversity. (Granted, ‘street food’ is simply a heuristic for ‘local food’, because you sure won’t find any food on the streets except in the specified places, which hardly count for authentic street food). I’ve long bemoaned how overrated our ‘street food’ is. Sure, I love cheap local food as much as anyone here, but isn’t it true that the amount of mediocre food now far surpasses the insanely good versions our parents grew up with… and that to find them in the first place, you need to know exactly where to go, and what you’re looking for? When in Bangkok, or KL, or Jakarta, out of 10 sorts of street food you try, more than 8 will perhaps be ‘insanely good’. What have we to show for it? Food courts parading mediocre versions of the best of our food, with air-conditioning? Artificial tourist traps with bad and expensive versions of oyster omelette and fishball noodles? To get close to that ‘street food haven’, it seems one needs to make deliberate journeys out to Chinatown for claypot porridge, and yong tau foo; to Joo Chiat for Fei Fei Wanton Mee, or to wherever satay kajang can still be found. Street food, unmatched? I think not. Seen Jalan Alor, or Yaowarat lately?
As for his choice of restaurants, they are fairly on the mark but skimp the surface, as all travel food writing is wont to be. It is great that he features our boys like Jimmy Chok, Sam Leong, and Ignatius Chan. Yet I can’t help but feel parts of his restaurant selection could be more inspired, rather than those rolled out by the restaurant hype machine. The title “Singapore: A Repressed City-State? Not in its kitchens”, seemed to be quite a cheap shot. I would have liked to see some screen real estate devoted to the smaller enterprises which serve up amazing food nevertheless, more industry insights (insider snipes on what they whether or not Tetsuya’s is really coming, how mature are diners in Singapore, etc) — but that’s fine because I already struggle to get table bookings in some of these places even on Monday nights, so the crowd can stay out…
(These days, some of the only food that’s able to make me smile is the duck confit 5 minutes from my school, where the young upstart of a chef who’s become my friend through cooking for me, is the one of the rare ones whose food you can _taste passion_ in. The rare upstart that hates the attention from our magazines and blogs and thus refuses to let me name his restaurant but if you’d like to know you can always email me.)
*Update:* I _am_ aware Sam Leong and Jimmy Chok are Malaysian, but when I say “our boys” I mean it in a us/Singapore-and-Malaysia, not-angmoh kind of way! Don’t ask me why!
possibly related
An Ice Cream Map of Singapore /
Secret Nepali Hideout in Singapore /
In Search of Nepalese Food /
The Miele Guide /
Inle Myanmar /
NYT Profiles Singapore Restaurants
The New York Times ran a feature on the restaurant scene in Singapore a “few days ago”:http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/10/01/travel/01next.html?ex=1317355200&en=4292283185bfccc1&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss (free login required; those without one can use “BugMeNot”:http://www.bugmenot.com/).
In the feature, they gave a run through of the who’s who of the restaurant business at the moment. It was a fairly good mix of the big boys and the smaller players. Iggy’s, New Majestic, Graze, Il Lido, Jade, Le Papillon, Nogawa, My Humble House, and Jimmy Chok’s Academy Bistro.
Mr R.W Apple Jr paints a more optimistic picture of the dining scene than those familiar with it would imagine. Unmatched street food? Not true, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Bangkok beat us any time with equal or greater diversity. (Granted, ‘street food’ is simply a heuristic for ‘local food’, because you sure won’t find any food on the streets except in the specified places, which hardly count for authentic street food). I’ve long bemoaned how overrated our ‘street food’ is. Sure, I love cheap local food as much as anyone here, but isn’t it true that the amount of mediocre food now far surpasses the insanely good versions our parents grew up with… and that to find them in the first place, you need to know exactly where to go, and what you’re looking for? When in Bangkok, or KL, or Jakarta, out of 10 sorts of street food you try, more than 8 will perhaps be ‘insanely good’. What have we to show for it? Food courts parading mediocre versions of the best of our food, with air-conditioning? Artificial tourist traps with bad and expensive versions of oyster omelette and fishball noodles? To get close to that ‘street food haven’, it seems one needs to make deliberate journeys out to Chinatown for claypot porridge, and yong tau foo; to Joo Chiat for Fei Fei Wanton Mee, or to wherever satay kajang can still be found. Street food, unmatched? I think not. Seen Jalan Alor, or Yaowarat lately?
As for his choice of restaurants, they are fairly on the mark but skimp the surface, as all travel food writing is wont to be. It is great that he features our boys like Jimmy Chok, Sam Leong, and Ignatius Chan. Yet I can’t help but feel parts of his restaurant selection could be more inspired, rather than those rolled out by the restaurant hype machine. The title “Singapore: A Repressed City-State? Not in its kitchens”, seemed to be quite a cheap shot. I would have liked to see some screen real estate devoted to the smaller enterprises which serve up amazing food nevertheless, more industry insights (insider snipes on what they whether or not Tetsuya’s is really coming, how mature are diners in Singapore, etc) — but that’s fine because I already struggle to get table bookings in some of these places even on Monday nights, so the crowd can stay out…
(These days, some of the only food that’s able to make me smile is the duck confit 5 minutes from my school, where the young upstart of a chef who’s become my friend through cooking for me, is the one of the rare ones whose food you can _taste passion_ in. The rare upstart that hates the attention from our magazines and blogs and thus refuses to let me name his restaurant but if you’d like to know you can always email me.)
*Update:* I _am_ aware Sam Leong and Jimmy Chok are Malaysian, but when I say “our boys” I mean it in a us/Singapore-and-Malaysia, not-angmoh kind of way! Don’t ask me why!
possibly related
An Ice Cream Map of Singapore / Secret Nepali Hideout in Singapore / In Search of Nepalese Food / The Miele Guide / Inle Myanmar /