I don’t know about others out there, but I have a list of foods which I term as my ‘comfort food’. To me, that’s food which gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling in the heart when I see AND eat it. (There’s no fun without the eating part. In fact, it’s just a great tragedy if you see but don’t eat it.) Most of the foods listed below are cheap stuff, but there’s just something so familiar and heartwarming about them. Non-Singaporeans probably won’t know what some of these foods are and I wished I had pictures to show. Well, eventually I’ll take pictures of all and post them here. Anyway, here’s Part I of my list in no particular order:
1) Green bean soup — probably the easiest Chinese dessert to cook. Just dump green beans into water and boil until the beans are thoroughly cooked. Boil together with rock sugar and add pandan leaf in as well for that extra aroma. You can also have this as a savoury soup. I had it savoury at Govindas, the vegetarian restaurant in Kings Cross, Sydney. It’s not too bad, but I still prefer it as a dessert. Guess I’m just used to it being so.
Incidentally, I’m going to have some tonight ‘cos my mum made it this morning! Yipee! Can’t wait to go home and chomp it down after dinner. heehee.
2) Yau Char Gwai — That’s the Cantonese name for it. In Mandarin it’s called You Tiao, and in English it’s Fried Doughsticks. I think the best ones in Singapore are found in that stall in Geylang. Freshly deep-fried, it’s like heaven when you sink your teeth into the crisp dough, and hear the slight crunch as you bite into it and tear a piece of it off.
3) Warm, freshly made Soya Bean milk — this goes perfectly well with Yau Char Gwai. The combination’s my favourite. I only like warm soya bean milk because it’s only then that it feels fresh.
4) Chin Chow drink — I just love the stringy grass jelly (it’s not really grass. It’s just a form of gelatin containing some herbs which makes it black in colour) and sucking them up with a straw. Oh, Chin Chow is also nice when mixed with Soya Bean milk. At first I thought it was a weird combination, but after trying it, I liked the taste of it and am now a fan!
5) Pandan waffle — these waffles which are probably a spinoff from the Belgian waffle are the money-spinners for the HDB bakeries. Serious! I went to buy one from the bakery I normally buy from and was shocked to learn that they’ve increased the price by 20cents. (I haven’t bought one in quite a long while.) I usually like mine with red bean paste and like it more on the toasted side. That is, slightly more crispy. Anyway, I was disappointed with the taste of the red bean. I don’t know what they did to it, but it tastes different from the last time I had it. And now I don’t like it. 🙁
*Waaahhhhhh* I need to go in search of a new waffle.
6) An Pan bread — these are buns with red bean stuffing. Nice snack to munch on. I’ve been eating these since I was a kid.
Ok, that’s it for now. More to come tomorrow.
Now I would like to hear what others would term as their ‘comfort food’. Please share!