Dim Sum and Then Some

In the last couple of days, I have had the privilege of going out with friends and eating more traditional Singaporean foods.  In all honesty, I have had trouble adjusting to the difference in foods.  As fish is not my favorite dish, I have steered away from it as much as one can possibly do on a small island in the middle of the sea.  You see where I am going with this, right?  I can't.  No matter how much I don't like fish and shellfish, it is a part of our lives here and though it has taken me forever, I have finally gotten accustomed to the smells, the way of cooking and ...the fish.

So while we were out and about the last few days, I got brave and tried all the dishes brought out to us as a group.  I think I tried it all - if not, there was very little I didn't try.  I had chili crab (yum!), pepper crab, (sorta yum), scallops (ok I didn't like these), razor clams (not so much either) and this red grouper:

I still can't get used to the fact my food looks at me when I eat... begging me not to take a bite... heck, even threatening to bite me back:

But I did try it and it was great!  Not a fishy taste at all - which I was leery of.  It actually tasted very good, and I actually went back for more  :-)

The shrimp and shellfish... well, I cannot figure out why they leave the heads and shell on when they cook them, but they do.  This shrimp was cooked in a sweet thick floury sauce.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  Was it good!  The only thing I didn't like about it was how messy it was.  A lot of people here eat them with the shells on.  I don't.  Not gonna happen.  So I dug in, got messy, de-headed them and then removed the shell.  Oh boy was it messy... but it was so worth it!  Glad I tried it - now does anyone have any idea what I tried?  Sweet, thick and oh so good...   Would love to make it (sans head and shells), but I have to know what recipe to shoot for:

I also went to a meeting at a friend's house and she served fruit.  At home, we often wish we had different fruits and veggies to choose from.  Well, here in Singapore we DO have different fruits and veggies.  LOTS of different ones.  I had no idea there were so many different kinds, but believe me, we are missing out in the states.  

The red fruit below is called dragon fruit.  It is different than the dragon fruit I have seen in the stores - this one has pink meat.  VERY bright pink (think neon) - nearly purple fruit.  This is sweeter and has a bit more flavor than the white dragon fruit:

Mixed with other fruits it makes a beautiful dish:

But it stains.  Oh does it stain!  Like beet juice, you don't want to get it on your clothes.

Here is a close-up:

Here is a great post about dragon fruit.  Now you can see the difference between the white and this beautiful magenta one.

Now go back up and look at the picture.  In the bottom left, you will see little brown grape like fruits.  They are called longons.  They have a leathery, fuzzy skin on the outside and you gently squeeze them -  and out pops a fruit much like a peeled grape.  Inside the grape is a seed - more like a stone.  These fruits are a bit bitter for me, but maybe I got some that were... not right.  That is the problem I have with buying the new fruits and veggies.  No matter how much you read up on them, you still don't know if you are getting the right ripeness and when you taste it, you have no bearing to judge the taste on.  Is this a normal taste?  Bitter?  

*sigh*  I am learning... but learning to cook with an entire new selection of food is sometimes frustrating - but often rewarding too... I am getting there  :-)

Do you want to learn more about fruits we can get in Singapore?  Look HERE

I went to eat Dim Sum with friends yesterday.  Dim sum has to be my favorite traditional food here in Singapore that I have found so far.  It is a delicate noodle wrapped around a goody inside; pork, shrimp mixture, both or veggies... they fill them with a huge selection of goodies and then steam them in bamboo baskets like below.  This is what some of them look like:

These are filled with pork and 'soup' - actually a broth that is very hot (temperature) and yummy.  I wonder how they get the soup in there - but I don't care how, just that they do because it is good.  They also have different shaped ones like the ones you see below on the left.  We each order a couple of things (they come in 6 or 10) and then share - everyone gets to try them all so we know what is our favorite.  In the center, you see some fried with green inside - those are wontons - also yummy.  You will see stacks of bamboo baskets - that is how they are served.  Fun, isn't it?

This was the biggest surprise for me yet:

Vickers, are you paying attention?  This, my dear, is tofu and rice noodles with a few veggies mixed in.  I liked it.  There, I said it.  I did like it and was very surprised.  Are you proud of me Vicky?

The most difficult thing for me to get used to is the greens.  If it is green and grows the Asian's will eat it.  I can't get used to the greens... ok, I will try to work towards it, but I am having a big problem eating them.  I don't like spinach at home, why would I like this here?  Liz you would be in heaven.  You like spinach.  You can eat grass and such but it is not.  my.  thing...  k?

And the soups... boy do they take some getting used to:

It is good, but I can never quite make out what is in it... but again.  If it is good... do I want to know?  lol...

The best part of the food here?

We get to enjoy, experiment, try and share with friends.  We always meet someone new as expats have a theory - we are in this together.  We go, we invite, we try and we make it an adventure.  Because.  It.  Is.

So I am making progress and eating more like the locals.  I did not say eating LIKE the locals.. but I am making progress.  One step at a time, k?