Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.

—Christopher Morley

If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape 100 days of sorrow.

-Chinese Proverb

Portuguese Egg Tart in Singapore

Do I really need to say more?

Singapore's Airport Food (and a little family history)

I spent a lot of time in airports backpacking through Southeast Asia last year. But the first time I visited Singapore Changi International Airport was when my Uncle Edward and I picked up my cousin Sue Ann and her husband from a short trip to Bali, Indonesia. (I arrived in Singapore from Malaysia by train.)

I never met Sue Ann before and knew little about her. You see, my Uncle Edward is my father's first cousin but we didn't know any of them until just under 10 years ago when they found us in Toronto through the Internet—before Facebook or Twitter was ever an idea in any university techgeek's mind.

My grandmother's youngest sister was given away as a child (they grew up in Calcutta, India, which is another story to tell another day because I'm of Chinese descent) and apparently wound up being raised and getting married in Singapore. Her family and ours always knew of each other's existence but just had no idea where in the world we were. When we did discover our families, we had a big reunion in Toronto, considering most of my father's cousins live here. Ever since then, we've been family. Most of my aunts and dad have visited and stayed with my Uncle Edward in Singapore, and vice versa; and Sue Ann travelled to Toronto for the first time in her life this past Christmas.

It may seem unusual to be estranged for so many years then suddenly welcome each other in our homes but that's the power of family sometimes.

I was nervous to meet Sue Ann, as I would be with any new person in any setting. But it's a particularly curious feeling when you're thousands of kilometres away from home and asking near-strangers to give up their time to show you around. Luckily, my aunt from Toronto informed me that Sue Ann and I had two brilliant things in common—an insatiable love for food and a high metabolism to keep us tiny.

My first meal with Sue Ann didn't turn out to be at the airport—that will come later—but the brilliant thing about most, if not all Singaporeans is they love food.

That is why their version of airport food would of course be this:

This is referred to as "dry noodles," though to me the distinction between wet and dry noodles was not obvious at first. In my mind, dry noodles doesn't come with anything "wet," such as a sauce. But in Singapore, wet noodles means soupy noodles and dry noodles are indeed saucy. It's inspiring how simple and elegant noodles can be presented at an airport.

 

I was also introduced to tea with sweetened condensed milk that day. I've yet to recreate the concoction since returning home (it's almost been a year now!) but as I read on a younger cousin's Facebook profile, "Condensed milk makes everything better. I think it's the secret to world peace."

Undoubtedly it very well may be—and the hospitality of loved ones doesn't hurt either.

Chicken Rice: Singapore's National Dish

Chili crab, sting ray, oyster omlettes, beef noodles, spice, spice, spice! But Singapore's national dish comes down to simple chicken rice.

The chicken is steamed whole, then chopped and doused in a thin garlic, ginger gravy. Hot sauce optional.

The original Sprinkles in Beverly Hills

...Sprinkles is apparently the first ever cupcakes-only store. I sampled its chai tea latte cupcake and it was fabulous. Fluffy, moist cake; smooth tea-flavored frosting.

Whoever thought of the combination is a genius.

Mexicali L.A. taco truck!

...right across the street from my girlfriend's condo. They come out after 9 p.m. in a virtually empty parking lot and if you know, you know.

We had two corn tacos, one steak, one chicken; Cachetada, melted cheese and ground chorizo on a tostada; and the Zuperman, triple meat cheese quesadilla. Plus four kinds of homemade salsa and guacamole, and grilled onions and hot peppers.

This was the real Mexican deal... All costing US$10.50.

L.A. you have my heart.

La-La-Land: Arda's Cafe

... Woke up early and found a random family-run downtown breakfast eatery called Arda's Cafe, and had this delicious monstrosity -- candied bacon eggs Benedict (US$7.99). Perfectly soft poached egg, crispy sweet and salty bacon that wasn't too much of either, toasty chewy cheese bagel, and fried potatoes.

Great stumble-upon on Day 2 of random L.A. vacation.

Beef ball noodle soup, and sting ray!

My cousin Agus took me to another hawker food centre that is well-known/famous for its simple noodle soup of beef balls and minced pork.

My photos may not be the most appealing but it was dark and this is all I have. I liked this dish a lot but the minced pork in the bottom was a bit too soft for my tastes.

Agus also had me try stingray for the first time. The stingray tasted like a white fish, which I didn't mind, but the sauce on top of it wasn't very appealing.

Travelling in Singapore and trying different species that rarely show up on North American menus was challenging for my eco-mindedness. I normally use Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood WATCH to choose sustainable options but stingray doesn't even come up on the list.

Singaporean Mickey Dee's

I am strongly against supporting fast food companies, especially McDonald's (forget watching Food Inc. or Fast Food Nation documentary; read the Fast Food Nation book by Eric Schlosser).

BUT I have a weak spot for McDonald's ice cream cones -- especially when it's only S$1 and has cool add-on flavours such as green apple (above), raspberry and beloved chocolate.

I tried all three eventually, but plain vanilla is probably still my favourite. :)