Maybe it’s a coincidence that I never noticed until now, but lately it seems many of the random blog links I click on lead to a post or a blog about food in Singapore. Since Singapore is so small (about the size of the city of Atlanta!), I thought I’d figure out a little on why Singapore is apparently so well known for their cuisine.

First off, did you know that Singapore is one of the world’s busiest ports? According to this Business Week article from 2008, Singapore’s throughput is higher than any other city in the world. And for those who don’t know industrial engineering terms like “throughput”, it means Singapore handles more cargo on a daily basis compared to anywhere else in the world, though Shanghai may have recently surpassed this. What a perfect place to study supply chain!

Port of Singapore - Courtesy of Robboguy on Flickr

Singapore’s huge port is one of the primary reasons there’s so much the variety in their food and that it is widely available. Most produce and ingredients are imported because the country is not large enough for farmland. While the country’s geographical position allows them import ingredients from all over the world, the cuisine is mostly influenced by Chinese, Indonesian, Indian, Malaysian, even British culture. It’s this melting pot of cultures that leads some to claim eating is a national pastime and food is a national obsession in Singapore. I can’t wait! Eating and food are my pastimes and obsessions! Shopping is apparently the second national pastime!

Borrowed from www.singaporefoodhistory.com, below is a sample of a typical Singaporean pantry:

I don’t know what sago, galangal, mung bean vermicelli, or agar-agar are but the rest sounds yummy to me, especially curry and ginger!

Hawker Centers are also popular in Singapore as well as other Asian countries. They are similar to food courts, large complexes with many stalls serving inexpensive food as low as $2-$3 Singapore dollars per plate (about $1.50 US). The main difference is that hawker centers are in open air and typically found near train/bus stations or housing areas rather than in shopping malls.

Hawker Center in Singapore - Coutesy of beggs from Flickr

This link at Angry Angmo outlines some must try dishes. I look forward to checking some of these off, not sure about the watery eggs, though.  I will dig a little deeper into some of these dishes and post more later. 

Perhaps before launching this blog I should say that the majority of my food knowledge comes from spending hours on TasteSpotting, reading other blogs, browsing recipe sites, and watching Food Network. I’ve never been professionally trained in food preparation, I cannot afford fancy cookware, and my skill level when it comes to cooking is still very amateur, but maybe I’m just being modest. When it comes to writing, I just jot whatever comes to mind. I’m a math and number person, so forming eloquent sentences and telling great stories are not exactly my strongest points. And as for photography, at this very moment I don’t even own a camera. In fact, I haven’t owned a camera in at least three or four years.

So why do I even want to do this? What it really comes down to is that I just love food. I love reading about it, looking at it, eating it, cooking it, shopping for it, anything and everything about it. While some people enjoy playing sports or video games, something I never ever get tired of is trying different foods, cooking a meal for my friends, catching up on the latest food trends, and fantasizing about being a culinary star. Perhaps blogging about food is a good outlet for all of this and at the same time I’ll learn something new. Maybe you’ll learn something new, too! I’m really just eager to get involved in the food world and sharing my experiences and passion for it.

A few of my basic blog goals:
Get a camera and learn some photography skills
Post at least 3 times a week
Become active in the blogging community
Get posted on TasteSpotting or FoodGawker
Acquire a decent following and receive comments regularly
Keep things organized, interesting, and unique
Learn about food and have fun!

I have more ambitions but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. For now, stay tuned for more updates and get excited about this new blog!