Makan Galore! Little One's first food trail!

Ask any Singaporean, what is the best way to experience Singapore? Likely the answer would be eat the local food. Most of the food mentioned here are found in Malaysia. Maybe in Indonesia as well.

Even though that is the case, these food are usually taste differently in different places. That is because most recipes are adapted in such a way to suit the local taste. So where is the best place to find local food? Hawker centres and food centres, I say. You can look at this blog post compiled by Sugar, Spice, Everything Nice.

"Singapore is a melting pot of races and has been celebrated as a successful multi-racial society. One of the best ways to experience Singapore’s unique identity is through food. Much of our local cuisine is made with a fusion of different spices and ingredients from different cultures, passed down from generations and influenced by cultures of immigrants who came to Singapore in the early days.

Through our fun-filled food trail around Jurong, our student National Education (NE) ambassadors and student councilors will share with participants their knowledge of the ingredients, origins and food culture that accompany Singapore’s iconic dishes through interactive activities. Some of these activities will be conducted through an app that participants will download. As participants move from one food location to another, they will also be introduced to iconic or interesting locations within the Jurong area.

Our nation’s fundamental belief in mutual respect and harmony has enabled the nation to come together as one and allowed us to eat at the same table, regardless of race or religion. We hope our trail will allow participants to better appreciate our local food culture and celebrate Singapore's success as a racially harmonious nation built on a rich diversity of culture and heritage."

extracted from mysg-trails

Yes, the above description of trail attracts me. Which Singaporean does not love food? Hence, I signed my whole family up.

Upon reaching ShuQun Primary School, we borrowed an ipad from the school. It has an app to complement a food trail that was to be conducted soon. The main purpose of the app is to learn more about Jurong and also the food that we would be tasting that day.

The ipad with the App

There were games too. Little One was trying to make the correct number and type of roti prata. 

Yuhua Village Market and Food Centre

Our first stop was to Yuhua Village Market and Food Centre. We arrived by chartered bus. The student guides brought us to 3 stalls to introduce their food, namely, Soup Kambing, Ice Kachang and Rojak. We were also given samples to taste.

Left:  Rojak stall
Right:Dessert stall where Ice Kachang is sold.

Left: Rojak
Center: Ice Kachang. (We get to pour our own syrup and condensed milk)
Right: Soup Kambing

Believe or not, I have never eaten Soup Kambing until that day. It was spicy mutton soup. Little One does not fancy any of them except ice kachang which I had introduced earlier.

Taman Jurong Market & Food Centre

This food centre was my favorite food hunt with my ex- colleagues when I worked in Jurong. I love the Bak Chor Mee at 58 Minced Meat Mee and the Lor Mee at Feng Zhen Lor Mee. However, we were not here to eat these then.

The food introduced here were all spicy: Roti Prata, Bak Kut Teh and Laksa. All of these are my favorite food and it was my first time eating them from the introduced stalls. I was happily digging in all the food. Little One only ate a little of the Roti Prata because the prata were topped with curry which was too spicy for her.

The familiar escalators that leads to the food centre.

Student guides introducing the spices used for Laksa. These children took turns to introduce us food!

Left: Roti Prata stall
Center: Bak Kut Teh stall
Right: Laksa stall

This is the best shot among all the food.
Left: Roti Prata
Centre: Bak Kut Teh
Right: Laksa

Jurong West Street 52 Block 505 Market and Food Centre  

Jurong West Market and Food Centre

We were introduced to Hokkien Mee, Chicken Rice and Soy Beancurd. Little One had been talking about wanting to try Hokkien Mee and this was her chance!

Little One digging in Chicken Rice which was her all time favorite. The jelly like substance was soy beancurd. Sorry, as I am not a fan of Hokkien Mee, I had passed my portion to hubby to consume. 

Stalls introduced at Jurong West.
Left: Hokkien Mee stall and Soy beancurd stall (side by side)
Right: Chicken Rice stall

I do not know how but Little One manage to "escape" out of the app and start to do her own drawing.

Ayza's Restaurant

This is actually a coffee shop close to the Jurong West Food centre, really. And it is close to the school too!

Ayza's Restaurant

Food introduced were Ayam Penyet, Nasi Briyani and Mee Soto. By this time, all of us were already full. We hardly had time to digest the food we consume earlier. But, they were thoughtful to pack the food in mini containers for us to bring home. As Mee Soto is a soupy food, it was best to consume then.

Ayam Penyet stall

Nasi Briyani Stall

Mee Soto stall

Nasi Briyani (back) and Ayam Penyet (front) for us to take home and my bowl of Mee soto
The packet contains Indian Keropok which Little One learns to enjoy!

All in all, we were very pleased with the food trail. We learnt pretty much on the origin and the ingredients used. We understood that the students had put their effort to source for information. I think it is not easy. Of course, we enjoy sampling the food even more! lol...

There will not be another Jurong food trail but if you are interested in trails conducted by students, you may wish to take a look here. Some of them are DIY trails which you can download the app to learn about the places while others are student guided trails.

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