It sounds sinful.
In one of my trips, I read about the popular Hawkers district in Singapore and made a mental note that it will definitely enter my to-do list in my next trip. My sister Cindy lives there so I make it a point to meet with her for dinner, together with my work friends every opportunity I have.
And that was how we ended up at Makansuntra at the Gluttons Bay near the Esplanade. Quite a fitting name dont you think? Makan sounds like our Ilocanos' mangan which means eat (or to eat).
Hawkers is definitely for the adventurous lot, gastronomically speaking. Surprise yourself and your taste buds with the variety of authentic Asian fare it has to offer! If you are the snobby-choosy-sosi or pa-sosi type who wouldn't be caught alive eating al fresco and au naturelle' then you can stop reading this now. Hawkers isn't for you. It also reminds me of our local carinderia, the Al Fresco booths at Market-Market or the Tiendesitas Food market. The latter are of course the middle class version.
We went to Makasuntra on a mid-week for dinner and it was alive and bustling by 8 pm.
The going practice at Hawkers is you 'save' a table (you can buy wet tissues for SGD 0.30 and use it to reserve your tables), then make a quick tour among the food booths to find what you like. You can mix and match foodies from different booths.
After checking the food stalls dotting the place, we decided to line up at a stall named Boon Tat Street. We ordered their specialties: the grilled spicy Sting Ray and the Deep Fried Baby Squid. Add a bit of Yang Cheow fried rice for good measure.
We also decided to check out another booth and ordered Chicken Satay (another version of our own BBQ) and at the far end was another best seller Hokkien Prawn Mee (fried spciy noodles with monggo sprouts and generous dash of shrimps). There was a separate booth for local drinks and the canned variety and I went for sugarcane juice with lemonade. All these for unbelievably low price! I was looking for an Indian Curried Samosas but was disappointed when Cindy told me it cant be found at Makansuntra. There were also the famous cereal prawns and black pepper crab, chili crab and all sorts of crabby delights but we decided to pass.
Having used to Dada's spicy sisig and kilawin, the spiciness didn't bother me at all. The fried baby squid was the night's favorite and despite complaining that we seemed to have ordered a lot, all the dishes were swiped clean anyhow!
For me, the fun about Hawkers is that despite Singapore being a cosmopolitan world city, Hawkers bring a glimpse of the true local vibe beneath the glamour. It is all about Asian food in its most genuine self, night out with friends, fresh air and chit chats less the glossied ambience.
It is truly Asia!
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