Glutton’s Square

The annual Singapore Food Festival is now on. And this year, it has been extended to one whole month of gastronomic feasting, food fairs, eating tours, themed events, culinary lectures and workshops, cooking lessons and then some. The list of events in this year’s festival is impressively comprehensive, and pretty exciting.

After our dinner at Aiwo the other night, we decided to stop by one of the festival's headlining events – the recreation of the famous Glutton’s Square in the “carpark opposite Cold Storage”.

Now, the name “Glutton’s Square” suggests something grander than what the original food market really was. What it was in actual fact was a make-shift “night market” that existed in the 1960s and 1970s. During the day, the spot was an open-air carpark (or parkade/parking lot to those outside of South East Asia). However, each evening, within a couple of minutes of the carpark’s closing at 5pm, there would be a mad frenzy as eighty itinerant hawkers rushed to set up stalls in the empty compound. In the blink of an eye, the place was completely transformed; hawker stalls were packed almost cheek to jowl, with two tiny carts stationed on each parking space. They jostled for breathing room with the surging crowds that descended on the area. And throughout the night, delicious bowls of wondrous hawker street food were dished out from these small, ramshackle carts. Laborers, courting couples, families, and even the young, chic and beautiful flocked to the carpark for incredibly good food at basement prices. Soon, the place acquired informal monikers like “Glutton’s Square”, “Jaws Centre”, or just plain “Car Park”.

While it may have been a foodie’s paradise, it was a hygiene and environmental nightmare. There were no running water or electricity; leftovers were simply dumped into the public drain system. And so, inevitably, the Government eventually shut the place down, and moved the hawkers into proper hawker centers with the requisite facilities. With that, a legendary Singapore food destination became history. Now, in 2004, it (or at least its memory) has been resurrected and reincarnated – but for one month only.

In the exact same spot, opposite Centrepoint’s Cold Storage, 10 hawkers have been invited to set up shop and to serve up quintessential local food – food that defines the epicurean landscape of Singapore, food that is identified the world over as being “Singaporean”.

Of course, certain things have changed irreversibly. The mobile stalls now come with electricity, proper water supply, grease extractors and waste disposal; they are modern and cost a bomb to rent. Some things though have not really changed, or at least have been created to recapture the spirit and ambience of the old Glutton’s Square, such as the wobbly, rickety tables…

There is also still that same special, indefinable magic of sitting under the stars, feeling the cool night breeze, squeezing with the masses and tucking into plates of delicious hawker food.

The ten stalls provide a wonderful snapshot of Singapore local food. Sure, there are some dishes which many would consider to be quintessential local hawker food that are not represented. However, for a visitor to Singapore, this is a great way to sample a full range of famous hawker food in one place, and to enjoy an incredibly unique atmosphere. For the Singaporeans, especially the younger generation, this is a much longed for opportunity to enjoy the eclectic and electrifying ambience of night food markets which no longer exist and which they have never known. For the older generation, it is a time to relive those memories of shy dates in “the Car Park”.

Of the ten hawkers, there are two that operated in the original market. The rest are well-known in their own right as purveyors of tasty hawker food in Singapore.

Here’s a quick run-down (please excuse the poor shots; my small point-and-shoot doesn’t like being made to work under night conditions, much less with glaring fluorescent lighting thrown in to confuse it even more)…

One cannot talk about Singapore food without mentioning Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice. A must-try dish for any visitor to Singapore.

This stall is also serving up Teochew Fish Porridge (congee).

Another “must” on Singapore’s hawker food scene: Chai Tow Kueh (Fried Carrot Cake). This is a dish of steamed radish cakes that have been diced and fried with egg and preserved radish. You can have the “black” version fried with dark sweet sauce, or the “white” version that is sautéed with only light soy sauce.

Char Kuay Teow or fried flat rice noodles. This dish plays many a leading role in the food dreams of many overseas Singaporeans; it is probably the one dish that can make any Singaporean outside Singapore long for home.

There is also Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodles – a uniquely Singaporean rendition; very different from the versions found in neighboring countries.

Minced pork noodles, or better known to Singaporeans as Bak Chor Mee (literally, meat vinegar noodles). It is a dish of noodles “dry-tossed” with a vinegary sauce and topped with minced pork and crispy deep fried pork fat. Each hawker will have their own unique version… some are more vinegary than others, some have noodles that are springier than others; and which hawker you rave about really depends on your personal taste preferences.

Crab Beehoon (rice vermicelli). Perhaps the perfect combination of something humble and unassuming (the noodles) with something rather indulgent (the crustacean)?

Fried oyster omelette, or Or Luak to the locals. A yummilicious, though sinfully artery clogging, dish of plump, juicy oysters fried with eggs and a light batter.

It was nigh impossible to snap pictures of the food; there were people everywhere! But notice the stacks and stacks of eggs? That’s how many they go through in one night! And notice the sign on the upper left hand corner? “Die die must try”. This is one of the most succinct colloquial phrases you are going to come across in Singapore when it comes to food. You will hear Singaporeans utter it when they meet something that is close to gastronomic heaven. What does it mean? Well, when translated into more eloquent English, it is simply “too good to miss”. I don’t know about you, but I think “die die must try” has a punchier ring to it, wouldn’t you agree?

Here’s a close-up of the omelette. This was the take-away version (which was very kindly bought for me a few days after our visit). This is one dish that must be eaten freshly dished up and piping hot. It never tastes (or looks) the same once brought home. But you can get a vague idea of how tasty it is, with all the crispy golden brown bits, when it comes straight from the sizzling wok onto your plate. It is greasy, sinful stuff. But good stuff nevertheless.

The hawker food landscape is not complete without Roti Prata (Indian fluffy pan-fried pancakes). And here served up alongside Mutton Soup.

The prata man in action: twirling the pieces of dough non-stop to meet the appetites of the snaking lines of humanity.

Ah! Satay, satay, satay! Skewers of meaty delight.

Here’s more about the food and the famous stall owner. (Click on image to read.)

Click on photo for larger view.

Nasi Lemak (literally translated as "rich rice") – another firmly entrenched Singapore food love.

Bak Kut Teh (or literally, “pork ribs tea”). Read more here…

Click for enlarged view.

And yes, if you have been counting, I missed one of the stalls… the BBQ seafood stall, where you can make your own selection from a range of seafood (like stingray, crayfish and many more), get it all BBQed to your specifications, then served up on banana leaves. One of the best foods to savor while sitting under the stars, in my opinion.

The crowds were amazing. We were glad we had already had our dinner. Lines snaked in front of every stall. At some stalls, it looked as if it would have been at least an hour wait (and most probably a lot more) before you got your food. According to some press reports, the stalls have been serving up to 12,000 people each and every night!

That evening, looking at what everyone was eating, the or luak (oyster omelette) looked especially tempting (and which I subsequently got to taste a few days later). The roti prata looked very nice too. The char kuay teow seemed to be of the rather “wet” variety – not the type I like. The satay looked very good though.

Sure, the prices are perhaps slightly higher than normal, but I think the atmosphere more than makes up for it. It is nice to just visit and enjoy the food under the stars instead of in the regular hawker centers. I’m thinking that it is the perfect spot for my usual 3am supper! Yes, this place operates nightly from 6pm to 6am. So, for all the night owls, I think this is a prayer answered!

There are many other interesting food events going on throughout the month. They range from high-brow events where dinner costs thousands of dollars, to simple, free events that allow the family to enjoy a great outing together. “Supper Madness @ Chinatown” sounds interesting; as does “Katong – The Spice of Life”. There are also many, many different food bazaars going on in various shopping malls. Lots of makan-ing (eating) to do this month!

Happy festival feasting!

Copyright © 2004 Renee Kho. All Rights Reserved.
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