If it weren't for the foodies on my Instagram to stalk list, I wouldn't have found out about the World Streetfood Congress going on in Singapore now.
Street food. La Guerrerense. Bourdain. Put all of them together and you'll be sure to find me there. And so we made our way to the F1 Pit Building next to the Singapore Flyer last Saturday. Just as I was about to purchase a day pass ($28 including $20 food coupons), I met a friend who scored me free entrance (;
What's luckier than free entry? Having beer and a La Guerrerense seafood tostada with Anthony Bourdain AND scoring a photo with him.
Mexico: Seafood Tostada ($10)
To be honest, this was the dish that gave me that final kick in the ass and made me decide to drag myself to the event in the unrelenting heat that Saturday. When I found out that La Guerrerense made it to Newsweek's 101 Best Places to Eat list, I was honestly prepared to be let down by this as most things these days are, infact, overrated.One tostada later, you're left curious and slightly bedazzled by the flavours and textures. How can a single deep fried corn chip hold together something so spectacular and be a street food, no less.
Ensenada, a coastal city in Mexico, is well known for their seafood ceviches. And Sabina of La Guerrerense is known to have the best - Anthony Bourdain agrees. This particular tostada was a crab and seafood ceviche one, but apparently back in Mexico Sabina does all kinds - from abalone to sea snails. What makes her tostadas so unique and spectacular is her salsa, the "chilitos de mi jardin" - mostly dried chillies and nuts in oil, and the rest, we can only guess.
I was given the choice of a Level 1, 2, or 3 heat level and being the chilli wimp that I am, I went for Level 2 which was just perfect. And that slice of avo sitting on top? Brings it all together. Crunch of the corn chip, slightly chewy seafood, creamy avocado...there is nothing for me to fault here. My only regret is that I did not try her Seafood Cocktail (also $10).
USA: Shrimp and Grits ($10)
I can't say that I've had enough Southern Style dishes to judge this by, but this shrimp and grits by The Swamp Shack has by far the tastiest polenta I've had the pleasure of trying. The prawns were freshly fried to order, and the crumb coating was tasty enough to be eaten on its own. The only let down was perhaps the sauce - a little more heat would have kicked it up a notch.
Mexico: Fish Tacos ($10)
Selling tacos in a Volkswagen van - that's how Tacombi came about. Their signature Ensenada crispy fish taco is a piece of beer battered deep fried tilapia fillet topped with "fiery chipotle sauce" and pickled cabbage. The sauce reminded me of thousand island dressing, no where as fiery as I thought it would be. Good, but not great.
India: Chicken 65 ($3.50)
Abhishek's Chicken 65. 65 days or marinating? 65 herbs and spices used? Who knows? After the whole controversy of this Chicken 65 being dead unwanted chicken, I had to try this. I mean, this is Singapore. It should be safe right? (; I would have liked it better if the chicken was served piping hot, but deep fried chicken is always best served just out of the fryer. Eating it together with the mint chutney was good, but somehow this reminded me very much of tandoori chicken at your 24 hour mamak stall.
Grilling Chuoi Nuong
Vietnam: Chuoi Nuong ($4)
Loosely translated as sticky rice banana - this is more than it looks. Imagine this. Perfectly steamed coconut milk sticky rice, wrapped around a specially selected banana. This entire thing is then wrapped with banana leaves and thrown over charcoal till it gets all toasty and caramelised on the inside. Once done, more sweet coconut milk is ladled over and then a generous sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds completes this dish.
It's a pity we didn't get to try more dishes - our stomachs wouldn't let us. But like KF Seetoh of Makansutra said that day, try dishes you can't pronounce. Go with the unfamiliar. Bring a bunch of hungry friends and share - you'll stretch your $20 food coupons longer that way.
Drink stalls are available and soft drinks/bottled water go for $2 which is surprisingly cheap for an event like this. I did however have a bottle in my bag and it wasn't confiscated during bag inspection so if you like, bring your own water and save your $2 for great food (:
This is a coupon only event, strictly no cash transactions. Coupons are available nearly every corner though so bring along enough cash!
31 May 2013 - 9 June 2013
F1 Pit Building & Paddock
0 comments:
Post a Comment