Curry Puffs and Polar Cafe

One of the first things I did on arriving back in Singapore in July 2013 was to go out and buy a curry puff to eat. 

My favourite curry puffs are sold by what was the former Polar Cafe. It was founded by a man called Chan Hinky who arrived in Singapore from Hong Kong with only 90 cents in his pocket. In 1926 he realized his dream of opening a cafe (at 51 High Street, the same street as where my grandfather had a tailoring business). He called it Polar Cafe and I have fond childhood memories of being taken there for a snack. In 1986 the cafe was acquired by the government to make way for the new Parliament House and Chan then switched to a take-away outlet. Being halal certified in 2001 helped expand the business clientele to include Muslims. Now called Polar Puffs and Cakes it has grown to 62 outlets dotted across the city. They sell a variety of baked treats besides their signature curry puff. 

I had to explain myself to the servers as I sketched this at the Polar Puffs and Cakes outlet at Jurong Point Mall. The two lovely muslim servers asked me to sketch them too. 

The curry puff is a crescent shaped baked snack. Puff pastry is filled with curried meat and potatoes…or is that flaky pastry? This opens up a whole new discussion.  Historically it is thought to have sprung from the post war epok-epok which Malay ladies sold door to door. This was a fried pastry filled with spicy sardines or potatoes. It is thought to have been inspired by the British Cornish Pasty introduced by British colonists. Others think it was influenced by the similar shaped Portuguese empanada brought by Portuguese colonists much earlier in the 1500's. The Indian samosa is undoubtedly also an influence despite being triangular in shape. 

The snack was modified by the Chinese who produced a version filled with curried potato and some pieces of hard boiled egg.  This is recognized as the modern day curry puff. This modern day version (popular in Singapore and Malaysia) is sold at outlets and cafes. High end hotel cafes serve them as well and tourists probably see them as a British colonial legacy. 

The other main chain businesses well known for curry puffs are Old Chang Kee (which sells a deep fried version with a thicker crust) and a favourite of mine Delifrance…but writing about them calls for another sketch and post.

To see photos of the range of snacks sold by Polar Puffs and Cakes: 
http://www.polarpuffs-cakes.com/

More information at Singapore Infopedia: 
http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1805_2011-03-30.html

The Rain Tree

With a population of 5.3 million people in an area of 716 square kilometres, Singapore has one of the highest population densities in the world. However, the emphasis on urban greening as a cornerstone of urban development has resulted in Singapore now being called The Garden City. 

The city is dotted with magnificent old trees and one of my favourites is the Rain Tree (Samanea saman). When it blooms, the crown of this tree is covered in clusters of pinky white flowers. Interestingly, the leaves fold up just before sunset and before rain. This is why it is called the Rain Tree.

I sketched this Rain Tree which was just a stone's throw from our apartment on the campus of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. It came with it's own resident woodpecker. The little blighter made a din with it's drumming.  

The public can now nominate trees to be part of The Heritage Trees Scheme with the objective of conserving mature trees. For me the Rain Tree figures large in my childhood memories of the city. Rain Trees are part of *my* heritage. 

This sketch (including colour) of a grove of majestic Rain Trees  was done while I was waiting to have lunch with my niece at The National University of Singapore. I was trying out my (then) new Daler-Rowney travel watercolour sketch set. 

Just can't get enough of them! This photo was taken on the campus of Nanyang Technological University where we used to wait for the bus.

Singapore Mosquitoes and Other Daily Visitors

There was always much activity outside our apartment on the campus of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore where we lived for 8 months in 2013/14. I found it rather enjoyable to watch the comings and goings and to sketch the vehicles and people who came to do their regular chores.

Spray for Dengue Carrying Mosquitos
Every Wednesday a van from a pest control company parked outside and the driver then fired up a contraption with a huge roar. He then went on foot around the buildings carrying the contraption on his shoulder. It emitted a dense white cloud of strong smelling gas. This was spray to kill Dengue carrying mosquitoes and we would hastily close any open windows and bathroom doors. Despite 2013 being the worst epidemic since 2005 with 18,000 cases (and 6 deaths) recorded between January and October that year, in the 8 months we spent in Singapore I saw no more than 3 mosquitoes. Presumably the weekly spraying did it's job in our neighbourhood. 

View outside our window after the spraying.

Buses and Taxis
Much to our annoyance, travel coaches and taxis parked outside every day especially at lunch time. The drivers took themselves off to eat at the cheap student canteen just close by. 

Garbage Removal
A tiny garbage truck came daily and removed the contents of the tiny garbage bin outside our block of apartments. The bin was always overflowing. 

Kampong Glam and Sultan Mosque, Singapore.

Kampong Glam is the Muslim quarter of Singapore, settled in 1819. The original Masjid Sultan (Sultan Mosque) was a simple structure built in the 1820's but it was demolished and a new mosque was commissioned in 1924, designed by Irish architect Denis Santry from the architectural firm Swan and MacLaren (which still exist in Singapore today!). The present mosque is a prominent landmark standing next to the peaceful grounds of the Malay Heritage Centre (from which I sketched this drawing on an exceedingly hot afternoon). 

With adjoining street names like Muscat Street, Khandahar Street, Baghdad Street, Arab Street, Haji Lane and their mix of Middle Eastern, Malay and Indian eateries and businesses selling carpets and exotic fabrics, it was an afternoon that sent my senses reeling...and I was transported back to 1924.

Sketched Doro Cafe from Sufi's Restaurant where we had lunch and then went to Doro Cafe for coffee so I could sketch Sufi's Restaurant.

Shop selling baskets and rattan ware.

Sultan Mosque from the Malay Cultural Centre.

Sultan Mosque from Bussorah Street which is now a pedestrian mall. 

The mosque is closed for prayer times but at other times is open to the public, free admission. Shoes must be removed before entering and the mosque provides full length robes for the public who are not appropriately dressed ie. those with bare arms or legs. 

Inside the mosque.

View from back of the mosque.

Arab Street.

Japanese Food Street, Jurong Point Mall, Singapore.

With it's huge replica of a crab at the entrance, this Japanese Food Street in the basement of Jurong Point Mall in Singapore is a favourite of shoppers (including myself). Along the passage (inspired by streets in Osaka), there are restaurants, a fresh fish market and snack stalls. It includes Ichiban Sushi which is a chain that owns Ichiban Boshi. We ate at Ichiban Boshi (in the open air pedestrian mall at Bondi Junction, Sydney) last Christmas. 

Looking from the other end, the big fat paper fish suspended from the ceiling is just wonderful! The restaurants in this Japanese food street serve food considered authentic (though probably not as good as in Osaka). 

I drew these 2 sketches (standing against a wall) over a couple of visits, colour was added at home.

Chendol and Ice Kachang

Among my favourite local desserts in Singapore are Chendol and Ice Kachang. The two are vaguely similar. 

For my Canadian friends you can try these 2 desserts in Richmond Public Market in Vancouver. 

See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpAnB4NQcnE

Chendol is a dessert though you might call it a drink if it was served in a tall glass. The dish consists essentially of shaved ice, boiled sweetened red beans, worm-like green jelly "noodles" made from rice flour and pandan flavouring (from an aromatic leaf), fresh coconut milk and gula melaka (palm sugar). To this can be added a number of other ingredients, the most common being atapchi (immature fruit of the Nipah Palm). 

In a Chendol I had recently there was also tapioca balls (as is served in Bubble Tea), grass jelly and slivers of Jack Fruit.  

Red beans are said to be a Singapore and Malaysian addition and not included in the Indonesian dish. 

There seems to be some debate as to the origins of Chendol. A popular belief is that it originated from Indonesia and the name comes from the word "jendol" which means "bulge" or "bump" referring to the little green worm shaped jelly noodles. (I see Chendol is also the genus of a spineless eel which is native to South East Asia!). It is a popular dessert in Singapore, the Malaysian peninsular, Vietnam, Thailand and Mayanmar.

Ice Kachang on the other hand is basically the same but without the dominant coconut milk. It is always served in a bowl (never in a glass), drizzled with green pandan flavoured and red rose flavoured syrup and evaporated milk.

Must-have additions include creamed corn, jelly cubes and atapchi. It is thought to have originated in Malaysia but is popular all over South East Asia. As you eat, it all melts into a wonderful refreshing slurpee.

Traditionally the shaved ice was churned out by hand in a special machine. This dessert (like Chendol) used to only be served in roadside stalls and hawker centres, it has now taken it's place on the menus of cafes in international hotels.  

Cafe Sketching

Cafes are the ideal place to sketch especially over coffee and something nice to eat. Here are a few of my favourite cafe sketches done in the last few months in Singapore. 

Pique Nique in the JCube Mall in Jurong East in Singapore was particularly well patronized the day after the Jem Mall next door was closed due to a collapsed ceiling in one area. This was caused by an accumulation of water after an unusually wet spell. 

They sell good coffee and particularly nice macarons. These little treats have really taken off (I think) world-wide. A macaron is composed of two almond meringue discs filled with a layer of buttercream or jam. (Not to be confused with macaroons). The coffee at Pique Nique came with a face of a Mandarin drawn in the foam. 

The table we sat at on another occasion at the same cafe allowed us to watch people waiting to catch the shuttle bus to the nearby IMM Mall (Singapore is a city of malls). Unfortunately the people in line were just a little too close for comfort. 

Dimbulah is a cafe in Raffles Place, the business district of Singapore. Named after the town of Dimbulah in North Queensland, Australia and catering mainly to the expatriate community who work in the area, they sell meat pies, sub sandwiches, Lamingtons (see below for what these are), muffins and cakes. My Australian husband just had to have their last Big Aussie Toastie! 

A Lamington is a cake of Australian and New Zealand origin. It consists of 2 squares of sponge cake sandwiched with cream and coated in chocolate icing and then dessicated coconut. A strawberry version is also popular. Commonly sold in bakeries and often used as fund raisers for schools in Australia and New Zealand, it is unusual to find them for sale in upmarket cafes.