Day 10: Singapore
The thing is, I would live in a steam room if I could. I thrive in heat and humidity, even when others find it brutal and oppressive. In Singapore, I’m living out that dream! Immediately after stepping off the plane at Changi Airport, I was forced to remove a layer—in the best way. And when riding the MRT into the city, each time the doors slid open at a stop, a wave of thick warmth would flood in.
I arrived on a rainy afternoon, so walking the streets to my hotel felt like moving through a hot cloud. Sweat started beading above my lip. Heaven. After working out and showering, I stepped out again and aimed straight for Janggut, the laksa spot in Chinatown that a coworker from Singapore recommended. Like most of the good eats here, the noodle soup shop was tucked away in a shopping mall food court, but fairly easy to find thanks to its bright orange signage.
I ordered the signature laksa set with sour plum drink but when I went to pay, the small woman behind the counter indicated that I couldn’t use my card, but that I should scan the QR code attached to the register. This only brought up Google search results for something called PayNow, a direct transfer service only in Singapore. I asked if I could pay cash, but she shook her head no. I tried to explain that I couldn’t use it, I’m (clearly?!) foreign! But I pointed to my phone and said I would try to figure it out.
Meanwhile, I was blocking the way for other customers and holding up the line and starting to panic. The woman, clearly frustrated, indicated that I should take the tray and sit, so I did and continued to frantically research PayNow for non-residents. Just as I was determining that it is, in fact, impossible for people without a Singapore bank account to use, another woman approached me. I already paid for your food, she said kindly. Please, just enjoy your meal. I thanked her and tried to give her cash but she refused to accept. Just enjoy, she repeated and I thanked her again, profusely.
Completely mortified, I ate the laksa quickly. It’s the food I’ve been craving the most, and I plan to have multiple bowls before flying back to NYC. The laksa was good—not life-changing, but satisfying and not so spicy that I’d live to regret it. But I think I can find better. The set also came with some kind of refried-bean-like mush flattened and steamed in a banana lead secured with two toothpicks. Also good. And the sour plum drink was super sweet but also delightfully tangy. After eating, I escaped the site of my utter shame and took the MRT back up toward my hotel to the Fortune Center, another mall-like food court, this one older and darker, lit by flickering fluorescents.
Yat Ka Yan is a hole-in-the-wall dessert shop famous for its Chendol, a small pile of shaved ice soaked with coconut milk and palm sugar and covered with green, worm-like glutinous rice jellies and red beans. It’s appearance is not exactly appetizing, but it’s dairy free! And one of Singapore’s signature dishes. I waited in line for over 30 minutes—it wrapped around the hallway—and was the only white person in sight. A good sign. To pass the time, I tuned into Kim Taehyung’s first Stationhead live listening party. So nice to be in a nearby time zone!
When at last it was my turn to order, I paid $3.70 in Singapore dollars for a classic chendol which arrived at my highly coveted table for two soon after. It looked…weird. But it tasted so good! The palm sugar and coconut milk mixed with the salty jellies and red beans to make a sort of caramel taste, not unlike the fake baking soda honeycomb Van Leeuwen uses. I ate far too much, but forced myself to stop before feeling sick, then walked the ten or so minutes back to bed.
