A FOODIE IN SINGAPORE ...

IT WAS FUNNY because the first 3 meals I had in Singapore were all PENANG dishes! That's because the first lunch was at the hotel, as was the evening meal ... The third meal was for lunch the next day when I was invited to try the food at another place which does Penang food in Singapore - more about that in my next column. I never thought I would say this but by the end of the day I was a bit fed up of Penang hawker food!

SO IT WAS QUITE INTERESTING to try some other food for a change. First of all I met up with some family whom I hadn't seen for a while: children of long-lost cousins who went to work in Singapore decades ago, married and settled down there. It was good to see them, and they took me to an Italian called PETE'S PLACE at the basement of Grand Hyatt in Orchard Road.

It is a large place, with red and white checked table cloths over each table, and a friendly, family-oriented ambiance. I rather liked the fact that the menu wasn't very large and what was there seemed to be cooked to order. I had the Set Dinner which comprised salad buffet for starters, a choice of any main meal (except for a paster with lobster, fair enough) and dessert for SD35 I think it was. Fairly reasonable, and something I hope Italian restaurants in Penang will emulate. Dollar for dollar of course ... !

The salad buffet was quite reasonable, although I was glad to see they are no more imaginative there than here: it was lettuce, tomatoes and cues as per usual, but with added beetroot and sun-dried tomatoes for a change. A good choice of dressings, although I would have liked some balsamic vinegar personally.

My choice of crab meat with angel hair pasta was quite tasty if a bit dry, and the others had some mouth-watering stuff too. Dessert was, predictably, tiramisu, but quite an acceptable if small portion: not too sweet, a good hint of coffee, and using creamy but not too cheesy mascarpone. I'd definitely go back there again.

The next night I joined an old friend for his birthday dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Geylang 3, which was also enjoyable. It was mainly seafood Singaporean style, starting with a couple of very meaty crabs steamed and eaten cold with a plum sauce, char siew, steamed fish and noodles.

Finally, on the last day, I managed to squeeze in a quick visit to the Singapore Peranakan Museum in Armenian Street - it was interesting to see the differences between Penang and southern nyonya culture although there ARE many similarities - in customs, traditions and costume - and the FOOD as well, because after that I popped into the Peranakan Restaurant a few doors down, where I finally got a chance to try out that dish which we don't now have - CHICKEN BUAH KELUAK. I also got to see the fruit itself, albeit a frozen one. As their nyonya cuisine has incorporated Melakan hence Indonesian ingredients, as opposed to ours which has Thai, it was really interesting to see the differences.

Chicken Buah Keluak is a darkish dish which looks like our Chicken in Soya Sauce except they use this fruit (which comes from Indonesia) to flavour it, amongst other things. Although like everything else the recipe varies, and in this one it just seemed to have a slightly bitter, sour aftertaste, possibly through the addition of tamarind juice. To be frank I cannot see what else the fruit does to the dish although I'd be glad if anyone out there can enlighten me please. I would really like to learn.

They also have a version of chap chye and sambal belacan. The soup, mains and a tiny bowl of pulut hitam set me back SD35 which I thought was rather expensive. However, that's Singapore for you.

It was a quick taxi ride back to the hotel to check out and on to the next flight back to Penang after that. I love the place, and this will definitely not be my last trip there!