On a long trip to Singapore at the very beginning of my favorite, eagerly anticipated, all- planned-out BBQ season, I wonder – what is an American girl to do? It's hot and humid beyond belief (take it from someone who calls Chicago home). At times, you catch a whiff of moth balls in the air; the city is heavy-handed on all kinds of bugs. There are tons of heat-exhausted people everywhere. On top of it all, the traffic is running on the wrong side (they call it right).
No freshly mowed fragrant front lawns, no neighborhood backyards, not even city parks with picnic tables and massive grills in the cooling shade. In government-subsidized densely populated Singaporean high-rises there is no place for open fire. BBQ culture here moves from amateur grills to industrial kitchens. Small take-out shops are mostly concentrated near subway exits so the worker bees can pick up some goodies on their way home.
Food vendors, or hawkers, in orderly Singapore are not allowed to randomly roam the streets. Instead, they are neatly organized by the National Environment Agency in several well-known food centers, each forming a circle around a large area set with communal tables. Hawkers compete with each other trying to attract attention by stopping customers in their tracks, and loudly recounting the virtues of their particular stall. They point to color photographs of their wares on a laminated sheet menu, offer the freshest seafood and the tastiest meat, or just hold you by the elbow whispering in your ear that you must sit down right here right now, and everything will be taken care of.
The most popular of these centers is the Newton Food Centre, frequented by the locals and visitors alike. After some challenged browsing and weak attempts to resist the pressure, my husband and I were ambushed by the most persistent stall owner and his team of helpers and pursuaded to try "the best ever stingray" in chili BBQ sauce.
For a long time, stingrays and skates from the shark family were considered a cheap substitute for white fish, but lately seafood lovers everywhere have discovered the tender juicy flesh of skate wings; side fins of these carnivorous bottom dwellers. With the help of their wide side fins, skates can dig into the sand of the ocean floor, and wait for their prey there, unseen. In addition to the delicate taste, there is a health benefit in their calcium-rich cartilage.
Gourmet chefs in San Francisco usually sprinkle a skate wing with lemon, pan-brown it on both sides in butter, and serve with mashed potatoes. Hawkers in Singapore smother it with hot chili sauce, wrap it in a banana leaf, and grill it over charcoal on a griddle. Then as the leaf is being unfolded, more sauce is added on top of the fish. While chili peppers understandably prevail, other usual suspects of any Asian sauce, such as garlic, ginger, lime and tamarind, make their presence known in a mini-symphony of tastes and textures. Add to it a bottle of local Tiger beer, and voila! You have a mini-feast to celebrate the Year of the Tiger in its very birthplace.
Should you find yourself in Singapore any time of year (there is really no difference in seasons, and the sun rises and sets at the same time each day in this equatorial country), be sure to go to Newton Hawker Food Centre located at 500 Clemenceau Avenue North Singapore 229495.
Photos by Yuri Krasov
