Travel: Eating our way in Singapore

My friend Len & I spent four glorious days in Singapore.  It was a business & pleasure trip.  It was my second time to visit Singapore. The first time was seven years ago when my youngest brother worked and lived there.  During those 10 days in 2005, all we ever did was eat.  Too bad I wasn’t into blogging & photography yet.  We feasted on Hainanese chicken, rojak, roti prata with curry, murtabak, tandoori, horfan noodles, oyster cakes, laksa in Chinatown, iced kachang, beef rendang, and the most memorable was the chili crabs we had at No Sign Board restaurant in Geylang. 

This is what we ate during our 4 day Singapore trip…in pictures.

This was what we had for our late lunch/early dinner on the day we arrived. A noodle soup with wanton & char siu pork. It was in one of the hawker center along Balestier road near our hotel.  Dinner for me was a whole durian fruit.

Hainanese Chiken & chili crabs at Wee Nam Kee in Marina Square.

Durian crispy pancake paired with grape juice at Bugis Market.

A wide variety of fruit juices to chose from for S$1.00 at Bugis Market.

Durian ice cream inbetween 2 thin wafers

In Chinatwon, we found this German stall selling sausages, pretzels & other bread.

Len & I shared this grilled bratwurst.

Laksa dinner at Marina Bay Sands food court

And the peri peri chicken wiht spicy rice & grilled vegetables at Nando’s

Travel: Nando's of Singapore

Eversince I saw a restaurant named Peri Peri in Greenhills, my curiosity was stoked. I haven’t had the chance to try it though. On our last day, a Sunday, of our 4 day Singapore trip, I was able to get to know what peri peri is all about. It was on a bus going to Marina Bay area on our second day that we saw Nando’s along Victoria Street in Bugis. Len said we should try it.

Pili pili is the Swahili word for 'pepper pepper'. African Birds Eye Chili is also called peri peri, pili pili, or piri piri. Piri piri is the spelling of the name as used in the Portuguese language.

Piri-piri sauce (used as a seasoning or marinade) is Portuguese in origin and "especially prevalent in Angola, Namibia, Mozambique and South Africa". It is made from crushed chillies, citrus peel, onion, garlic, pepper, salt, lemon juice, bay leaves, paprika, pimiento, basil, oregano, and tarragon.

~ source, en.wikipedia.org

We woke up very late that Sunday. And was out of the house around 3PM to tour the city on our own. We haven’t had our lunch yet. Breakfast that morning was at the nearby hawker center with Len having a roti prata with curry, while I feasted on nasi goreng.  By the time we rode the bus going to Bugis, Len & I were both very hungry.

I was excited to find out what Nando’s has to offer. Michelle, my niece described it as “sort of Mang Inasal chicken”.   Imagine my  surprise when I found it out it was peri peri chicken!

Written in their menu’s side of flame grilled chicken… “in life there are moments when it’s hard to make a choice. This is one of them” It was funny yet so true. I didn’t know what to order.

Len & I ordered & shared classic meal of half chicken with 2 sidelines (S$22.90). And since we’re both not quite adventurous when it comes to the amount of heat in our food, we got the mildest lemon & herb sauce.  For the side dishes, we opted for the spicy rice and grilled veggies.

We ordered another side dish of sweet potato mash (no photo as we were busy eating already), a coarsely mashed boiled sweet potatoes flavored with cinnamon, which I immensely enjoyed.  Len said, “parang dessert na rin!”

The chicken meat was indeed flavorful, complemented by the mild spicy sauce. The skin was perfectly charred with no bitter taste.

Though not part of Singaporean cuisine (it’s Portuguese), Nando’s was the perfect meal to cap our Singapore trip. I wish someone would bring Nando’s franchise here in the Philippines.

Nando’s

Bugis Junction

200 Victoria Street

Singapore 188021

Tel No. 63386555

http://www.nandos.com.sg