Food & Shopping

Today I am here to talk about Food and Shopping. This literally seems to be the two main Singaporean past times, at least this is what I have gathered.

SHOPPING
According to my research there are approximately 250 Shopping centers in Singapore. They are linked to every MRT station, and you will find one everywhere. They have shopping centers literally dedicated to specific needs, electronics, sports equipment etc. These shopping centers are pretty much what you would normally expect with your typical high street shops.

But seriously, even the Trafford centre is a tiny little spec compared to here. There are so many levels and different departments you can get completely, utterly lost. You can imagine my excitement when I turn a corner and find a Zara, or a Mango. But one strange thing I realized in my short experience are the security levels. I was walking IN to Zara and the security barriers beeped. Not having ever stepped into this shop before, it was unlikely that I have had the opportunity to take anything. But despite any common sense the lady pulled everything out of my bag right there in the doorway all over the floor. Once she discovered I had nothing (shocking!)…I was sent on my way. The changing rooms are also a little strange, they actually take all the items off the hanger before you go in, which seems to mean a lot of extra work for no reason.
But for the REAL shopping, the Olympics of shopping…..you want to venture down to a place called Orchard Road. This is very much like Oxford Street but with a really big budget. Its one

long strip with a few more shopping centers thrown in for good measure (I think there are about 9/10 along this road). The shopping centers are for the lighter wallet, Topshop, New Look, M&S. But the Orchard Road high street is dedicated to Dior, Chanel, YSL, Gucci, Fendi, and more. I avoided entering any of these places as it is quite obvious just by looking at me that I don’t belong there. But a girl can dream!

FOOD
Well, I really did want to talk about food, but it really is unavoidable. It’s fascinating really. I already mentioned the hawker stands (food courts) but you can actually have different types of hawker stands depending where you go. You have the popular quick lunch time/dinner turnover court and then you have the local courts. Chris and I took a wander down to our local hawker stand which on first glance, you would most likely cross the street to avoid. But we actually discovered these are quite delightful. The chefs are so willing to help, and they bring over your food and will let you pay from the comfort of your chair. We also discovered the joys of cheap beer (a large bottle was $5, compared to $20 bottle of wine).

But, as much as I do love all the Japanese, Chinese, Malaysian foods…it seems to be a little tough on the stomach. When I was out shopping all I really craved for lunch was a plain M&S sandwich, no thrills, just bread. Sadly, they don’t provide this service in Singapore M&S so I settled for spending $6 on a Starbucks sandwich. That was my best meal that day. It’s also nearly impossible (or at least I haven’t worked it out yet) to get your 5 a day. I’ve only been here one week and I’m craving a bit of broccoli, Spinach, Anything! I don’t think Pak Choi counts when it’s smothered in oil and fried.

The weirdest food I am yet to experience here are the “Porridges”. Chicken, frog, pork, you name it. During the week I also took a trip to Ikea (!!??) which was much like home, however instead of meatballs, you get a nice bowl of chicken porridge!!!