Bangalore

I'm such a slack blogger these days. There was a time I would've knocked out a series of posts on my recent trip to Bangalore, but I really can't be arsed so you'll have to make do with just one. It's not that I ate badly, far from it, but the sheer variety left me bewildered on how to make sense of it all. For instance, I ate at places described as North Indian, South Indian, Veg, Non-veg, Punjab, Parsi, Gujarati, Rajasthani, Coastal, Railway-style, Multi-cuisine and Chinese (no, really). This scattergun approach manifested itself in one place that had minestrone and burgers on its otherwise North Indian menu. This isn't apparently unusual, as restaurateurs widen the net to pull in Bangalore's bright young things, many of who hail from other parts of India.

South Indian Breakfast

Of the food I tried (and I tried a lot) my favourite was South Indian cuisine. In particular, I adored breakfast dishes such as a bowl of sambar ready to be dipped with idli and vada, and of course the classic masala dosa. It wasn't just breakfast, I loved mopping up all kinds of curry with various breads, pancakes and stringhoppers for lunch and dinner, too. One place that does this style of food well is Karavalli (round the back of the Gateway Hotel). Don't be put off by the fact it's a hotel restaurant, as it manages to maintain a discrete identity. Let the waiters guide you on ordering, but make sure you order loads of appam, neer dosa and super-flaky Malabar paratha.



I would love to tell you more about the curries I ate but I often didn't get to see a menu, and when I asked, the reply was 'chicken', 'fish', 'veg' etc. Having said that, I didn't have much of a clue of what I was eating when I did order at Rajdhani. This restaurant served vegetarian thali from Rajasthan and Gujarat. Yes, that's right I am recommending a fully vegetarian restaurant in my blog. To be honest, the fact it didn't serve booze irked me more than the lack of meat and fish.

Thali

I ordered the Maharaja set thali, which consisted of countless dishes served up by blokes who buzzed around the tables with fresh pots of various curries, dhals and all kinds of stuff. A man with freshly baked breads and another guy with rice and khichuri (rice-dhal combo) did the rounds, too. Looking back, bread guy along with potato curry man came round our table most frequently. From start to finish, I enjoyed it all.



I usually found myself too full to sample Indian sweets, but on the occasions that I did, I found them too sweet. That's a shame, as I really like the idea of gulab jamun and jalebi. Quite possibly the strangest thing I ate was the local Chinese food. I wasn't a big fan of the couple of places I went to, as they were caught between the two stools of casual Indo-Chinese food and the real deal. Mind you, there was one dish I liked: chicken lollipops (aka Drums of Heaven in the posher places I was taken to). These spicy, tangy chicken wings were very moreish. I'm pretty sure I've barely scratched the surface of the food in Bangalore, and I wish I had the chance to explore a few more places freestyle. Having said that, I was fed well and my love of Indian food has been rekindled.

Off The Blog 6: Curry Special

The food of the Indian sub-continent that is served up in London is often inauthentic and formulaic. However, there are an increasing number of eateries breaking free from the shackles of tikka masala to offer more interesting fare. Here are three of them.

Samosa chaat

Brixton Village's Elephant styles itself as a purveyor of authentic Pakistani street food and its short menu certainly hits the spot. A starter of samosa chaat, with its abundance of chickpeas, would do as a light meal in itself.

Vegetarian thali

For something more substantial, I recommend going for a thali. I liked my vegetarian thali so much that I actually forgot that cauliflower is on my list of verboten veg! Drawbacks? The naan was a tad anaemic but I can forgive them this given the limitations of the tiny kitchen.



Elephant, 55 Granville Parade, Brixton Village Market, Coldharbour Lane, London SW9 8PS
Nearest station: Brixton (BR, Victoria Line)

Next stop is Isleworth where I enjoyed a fantastic meal at the Cinnamon Lounge. I can't take credit, though, for uncovering this gem. All the kudos must go to the Mysterious Mrs A who put her foot down when her hubby (my old mate) El Greco wanted to go to a bog-standard curry house.

Chicken methi, jeera rice & garlic naan

The great thing about this restaurant is that they consign many of the 'curry house standards' to the back of the menu. Instead they focus on starters such as machli amritsari (fish fillets with ajwain) and mains like murgh kalimirch (a black pepper based chicken curry).

The consensus around the table was that there wasn't a single duff dish. But don't take my word for it; much of the clientele was south Asian including a fair sprinkling of matriarchs who are notoriously hard to please.



Cinnamon Lounge, 181 Twickenham Road, Isleworth, Middlesex, TW7 6AB
(Tel: 020-8560-8995) Nearest station: Isleworth (BR)

Salaam Namaste

One could also be forgiven that Bloomsbury's Salaam Namaste was a run-of-the-mill joint especially as it serves a lunch buffet. However, scratch beneath the service and the à la carte yields many a delight. From the specials board, the duck kebab was a winner as was the spicy soft shell crab from the regular menu. Onto the mains and there are unusual choices like wild rabbit achari and narangi duck. My personal favourite is the Goan green chicken curry and my friend enjoyed his Keralan monkfish curry.



Salaam Namaste, 68 Millman St, London, WC1N 3EF (Tel: 020-7405-3697)
Nearest station: Russell Square (Piccadilly Line)

Family Dosa @ Chennai Dosa

When I was kindly invited by Su-Lin to join some other foodie blogger twitterer types to check out the six-foot family dosa at Chennai Dosa, the answer was always going to be yes. Sometimes dishes like these are ordered for their novelty value rather than being any good, but in this case, I needn't have worried.

I was lucky enough to sit at the end where the dosa had a crispier consistency, and I enjoyed tucking into this with potato curry and the various chutneys. We didn't quite finish it off but we had a pretty good go at it.

There were other dishes too, and for Su-Lin's fuller account of the meal, please click here. There are branches of Chennai Dosa dotted around London, and we ate at the Ealing Road branch, which is pure vegetarian. This is adjacent to a non-vegetarian branch on High Road, Wembley.



Chennai Dosa, 3 Ealing Road, Wembley, Middlesex HA0 2AA
(Tel: 020-8782-8822) Nearest tube: Wembley Central

Brixton Treats - Guyana Roti & Chorizo Colombiano

The Indian influence on how the world eats can be illustrated by the popularity of roti. From its Indian origins, roti has become a firm favourite in places as far apart as Malaysia and Guyana, so much so that it's considered a national dish in both these countries.

I'm quite familiar with Malaysian roti canai but until recently I'd never tried the Guyanese version. And nor was I likely to until I stumbled across a bright blue caravan in the shadow of Brixton Recreation Centre. Sadly, Guyana Roti was closed when I first came across it, but I made a mental note to return.

And I'm glad I did. For a mere £4, I tucked into chicken curry with roti. The soft flaky roti was a fine accompaniment to the hot and spicy chicken curry. The chicken was on the bone, just how I like it (one thing I'll never understand is why so many people prefer bland chicken breast meat off the bone). Before the roti was plated up, it was put in a plastic container and given a good shake. Why is this done?  My guess is that's how the roti is folded but can anyone confirm this?

Other choices include goat curry, pumpkin curry, and jerk chicken, which are served with either rice or roti. None of the dishes cost more than a fiver, and there are a couple of tables outside the caravan if you want to 'eat-in'. If you love street food then you really ought to check out this stall.

Having finished my roti, I went for a stroll around Brixton Village, which is turning into quite a foodie mecca. There are loads of decent looking cafés and restaurants in this covered market that I'd like to check out. I was particularly intrigued by some of the South American eateries but these would have to wait for another day.

In the meantime, I satiated my curiosity by buying some chorizo Colombiano from Carniceria Los Andes. This Colombian sausage consists of coarsely ground pork and beef with quite a bit of fat. The amiable butcher kindly passed on some tips on how to cook these beasts; he recommends bunging them in the oven at gas mark 4 (180C for electric ovens) until golden brown.

I followed these instructions, and they turned out a treat! These sausages are very juicy and quite garlicky. I'm not sure what other seasonings are used in chorizo Colombiano but who cares? All you need to know is that this is one mighty fine tasting sausage. Highly recommended.

Guyana Roti, Brixton Station Road, London, SW9 8PD

Carniceria Los Andes, 13 Brixton Village, Coldharbour Lane, London, SW9 8PR

Tokyo Part 1 - Left To My Own Devices

Tonkatsu joint

Discombobulated. I thought I would be on my first visit to Tokyo, and indeed Japan, but I wasn't. I think that had a lot to do with staying in Ginza, an upmarket shopping district dominated by luxury brands like Chanel and Prada. But I wasn't in Tokyo for shopping; I was there for the food, well technically speaking I was there on a business trip.

Ginza is full of places to eat, and in addition to all kinds of Japanese food, I was surprised to see so many Chinese, Korean, and European/Western restaurants. Some of the western food made me laugh, especially the 'pan-Mediterranean' joints that sold both paella and pasta. I guess this is the mirror image of the pan-Asian joints that are so common in the west.

Noodles! Yeh!

But for my first meal in Tokyo, there was only one thing I was looking for. So whilst my colleague had a Sunday afternoon nap, I went in search of noodles. I wasn't getting much joy on Ginza's main drag – too posh for its own good – so I dived down the side streets. It wasn't too long before I found a tiny noodle joint with about eight seats. Just the job!

The magical noodle machine

My first bowl of noodles in Tokyo

As I can't read Japanese, I chose by picture, and ordered using the machine in the corner. This system gives a whole new kind of meaning to the term, hole-in-the-wall! I went for what turned out to be soba noodles in a soy-based broth topped with shrimp tempura cake and spring onion. It wasn't anything special but it really hit the spot after the long flight from London, and it only cost around the equivalent of £3.

When my colleague awoke, he was hungry and he suggested we go for dinner at a robatayaki. So off we went to hit the streets of Ginza, and after a bit of wandering around, we found somewhere that fitted the bill. We were seated at the counter where beef, chicken, seafood and assorted vegetables all jostled for attention. It was a real education watching the chefs cook on an open charcoal grill, and of all the dishes, the beef skewers were our favourite.

Beef skewer

Japanese-style curry

As much as I enjoyed the robatayaki, you have to be in the mood for it. Other times, you just want something quick and easy, something like a curry. In common with many cultures, the Japanese have their take on curry. So after a long day at work, I was more than happy to find a little tonkatsu joint near the hotel.

Everything on the menu was a variation of tonkatsu (deep-fried breaded pork), and I went straight for the tonkatsu karē, breaded pork loin with curry, rice and salad. The best part of this dish was the excellent curry sauce that had been pimped up with bits of pork belly.

I thought I'd done well left to my own devices but really it was nothing compared to the treats that my Japanese colleagues had in store for me. In the next post, I'm going to focus on where they took me out for lunch.

PS: I'm sorry I can't tell you more about the places where I ate, but none of them had any signage in English or for that matter, Romanised Japanese. Nor according to their business cards did they have a website that I can refer you to. In subsequent posts on Tokyo, I will, wherever possible, link to websites although you may need to use Google-translate for those that don't have an English page.

Rasa Sayang Express

{Update Apr 13 - Rasa Sayang Express is now closed and has been replaced by a branch of Noodle Oodle}

Rasa Sayang is one of the more interesting eateries in Chinatown, specialising as it does in the Straits cuisine of Malaysia and Singapore. Notwithstanding the odd rogue dish, most of what they do is pretty decent; favourites of mine include fried fish rice vermicelli (魚頭米粉) and beef rendang.

So I was quite excited when I came across Rasa Sayang Express on Oxford St. As the name suggests, this is a stripped-down version of the original that aims to serve food swiftly to time-poor shoppers, wage-slaves, and tourists alike. The menu is a lot shorter when compared to the parent restaurant, but classics such as Hainan chicken rice, nasi lemak, and laksa are all present and correct. These dishes, and in fact all of the 'one-dish' meals, are uniformly priced at £5.99.

Now for this sort of price, I didn't expect five-star cooking and my roti canai with curry chicken was OK without pulling up any trees. It should also be pointed out that much of the food seems to be pre-cooked and merely dished up to ensure express service.

That said it's good to see Straits cuisine become more common and as fast food goes, Rasa Sayang Express is a cut above the 'shit-in-a box' merchants.



Rasa Sayang Express, 50 Oxford Street, London, W1D 1BG
Nearest tube: Tottenham Court Road

Dinner @ Ma Goa

I'm an idiot. Now I know this isn't news to those who know me, but really I am. Since moving to London, many moons ago, I have never lived more than thirty minutes away from Ma Goa. Yet over the years, I've only eaten at this superior Indian restaurant on a handful of occasions. This despite really enjoying every meal I've ever eaten there. Yes, I'm an idiot.

This Putney veteran has been churning out Goan treats since 1993, long before regional Indian cuisine became fashionable. As the name, Ma Goa, suggests, the family matriarch is in charge of the kitchen with her son taking care of front-of-house. And like all good family restaurants, there is pride and passion in their food that is conveyed through genuinely warm and helpful service.

The Starters
Joining me for dinner was Mr Wine, and to kick off we shared a couple of starters. Our favourite was sorpotel (£5.50), a traditional Goan dish of lambs' liver and kidney with pork belly in a roasted spice masala. Given the inclement weather, this dish really hit the spot with its comforting but not overpowering kick. It's also available as a main but given its richness, I think it's better suited as a starter.

Kingfish special

Less successful was a special of kingfish steak (£5.95), marinated with lime and garlic then topped with a coconut and coriander salsa. There was nothing wrong with the generously sized pan-fried kingfish steak but we felt the salsa lacked a certain zing. I guess we might have been better predisposed to this starter but for the excellence of the sorpotel.

The Mains
I was torn between several options for my main, including an authentic pork vindaloo, but in the end I went for Goa chorizo amot-tik (£11), home-made pork chorizo with potato, palm vinegar, red chilli and garlic in a hot Goan sauce. This dish was proper spicy with a double-whammy of heat coming from the chorizo and the zesty piquant sauce. The home-made chorizo deserves a special mention, as it would give many an Iberian sausage, a run for its money.

Chorizo amot-tik, chickpeas, coconut rice and sanna

Mr Wine plumped for Ma's fish caldin (£11.25), swordfish in a fine coconut, mustard and fenugreek sauce. I had a small taste and when I did I realised my faux pas in sampling this more subtle dish having already started on my own fiery main. If I was being churlish, there could've been more swordfish but like many of the dishes, it was quite rich. Mr Wine enjoyed it but with hindsight, he might've tried something else, as he was a bit fished out.

'Ma Fish' Caldin

We also shared a side of chick peas in roasted ground spices, red chilli and tamarind (£4.25), which was a fine accompaniment to our mains. Also worthy of mention was the exceptional quality of the basmati rice with onion seeds, coconut and curry leaves. I'd be lying if I said either of us were over-enamoured by the sanna (Goan steamed coconut bread) but that doesn't mean it was bad, it just wasn't our cup of tea.

The Desserts
We were full but we took one for the blog and squeezed in some dessert in the form of kulfi (£4.75) and bibique (£4.75). There's not much to say about kulfi but I really enjoyed the bibique, a layered coconut cake that was home-made by a family friend. I hope for his sake that he negotiated a good deal, as this traditional Goan pudding was a real winner.

Bibique

Other Details
If you're looking for the 'tikka masala' school of curry then you will be disappointed, as Ma Goa's relatively brief menu consists largely of Goan specialities. This is a good thing, not just because the food is authentic, but more importantly because it's tasty and freshly made. Some of the portions may appear to be slightly on the small side but I didn't find this a problem given the richness of the food.

The dining room is tastefully decorated and has a warm atmosphere. Sadly the low lighting combined with my reluctance to use flash meant that my photos didn't come out very well. With a bottle of Marlborough Pinot Noir and 12.5% service, the bill came to £90 or £45/head. Our mains and wine were amongst the most expensive and you could probably get away with spending £35/head with a more modest order.

The Verdict
Ma Goa serves top quality food in a warm setting combined with excellent service. In short, everything I look for when eating out. Highly recommended.

If you like the look of...
...Ma Goa then you might want to try Gourmet Garden or Imperial China. Whilst neither of these are Indian restaurants, they do have one thing in common with Ma Goa, they're both superior neighbourhood eateries.



Ma Goa, 242-244 Upper Richmond Road, Putney, London, SW15 6TG
(Tel 020-8780-1767) Nearest stations: East Putney (Tube), Putney (Rail)

A Big Day in the North (and the Story of How I Became Mr Noodles)

Manchester Wheel - looks bigger than it is

Mr Fussy, Italian Shetland Pony, Mr Frosty and the Black Widower are amongst the first friends I made when I moved down to London as a callow 21 year old. Most of them have since left the smoke but we try to meet up at least once a year. This year's reunion was in Manchester and by the time we all pitched up to the hotel, it was time for lunch.

We decided to visit Chinatown, which for me was also a trip down memory lane. It's hard to believe that it's over thirty years ago since my parents first brought me here. It's from my parents that I have a passion for food but the reason why I love noodles is all to do with Manchester.

Are you sure this is Chinatown? Give me the map!

During school holidays, we'd go on family outings to Manchester for dim sum with a healthy side order of noodles. Sometimes we'd order wonton noodles (雲吞麵), other times it'd be three roasts with crispy noodles (三燒麵) and let's not forget my old friend, beef ho fun (乾炒牛河). The noodles were a treat as we mainly ate rice and chips at home (everyone eats chips in Lancashire, even the Chinese). To this day, I adore noodles and that's why I adopted the moniker, Mr Noodles!

I fear I'm turning into Kevin from The Wonder Years so lets fast-forward to the here and now. Manchester's Chinatown has evolved from being pretty much 100% Cantonese to encompassing other Chinese cuisines, most notably Sichuan, as well as other Asian cuisines like Japanese and Thai. With such a bewildering array of options, I had no idea where to go. It also didn't help that many of the best places for dim sum aren't in Chinatown, e.g. my parents' favourite, Tai Pan. In the end, we plumped for The New Emperor because it was busy. I'd been here before but it was so long ago that I had no idea whether it'd still be any good.

Haam sui gok 鹹水角 and the scary Chinese-only dim sum order form

The clientele was mainly Chinese, as was reflected by the Chinese-only dim sum order form, and whilst there was a menu in English, it wasn't cross-referenced to the form. I ticked off as many items I knew the Chinese for (not many) before conceding defeat and getting our very helpful waitress to complete the order form.

The dim sum isn't the most delicate but it is freshly made, well seasoned and generously proportioned. I can't remember everything we ordered but I do recall that everyone really liked the ginger & spring onion beef dumplings (薑蔥牛肉餃). Consisting of beef and ginger wrapped in bean curd skin, these zingy treats were steamed with a soy-based sauce and topped with spring onions; a great combination of classic Cantonese ingredients.

There were one or two misfires but I could live with that as this veritable feast cost a mere £10/head, which included loads of dim sum, a giant platter of three roasts with crispy noodles (三燒麵), tea and a tip. An amazing bargain and none of us could remember the last time we ate so well for a tenner. It isn't as good as the best dim sum in London but it's certainly better than the stuff found in the capital's Chinatown.

But it wasn't the quality of the food or how cheap it was that made this meal special; it was the good company and the convivial atmosphere. I know I'm forever banging on about this but there really is something special about the vibe in old school dim sum joints like The New Emperor. I think the Black Widower had it spot on when he proclaimed this restaurant to be 'a classic of its genre'.



The New Emperor, 52-56 George St, Manchester M1 4HF (Tel 0161-228-2883)

Why is Manchester Town Hall not called Manchester City Hall? 

After lunch, we waddled over to the imposing gothic Manchester Town Hall, where the Manchester Food & Drink Festival was being held. As we were stuffed, we ignored the food and sampled a few local brews from the Greater Manchester Ale Festival bar. This was a more than pleasant way to spend the afternoon and these were followed by a few more snifters around town before dinner.

Dinner was always going to be a curry given that Mr Frosty, who currently resides in Helsinki, finds it hard to get a decent ruby in Finland. He also has a hard time in getting the Finns to smile but that's another story. Like its Chinese food, Manchester's Indian food is amongst the finest in Britain and the 'curry mile' in Rusholme tempted us.

However, we couldn't be arsed to get a cab to south Manchester so we ended up in East Z East just off Deansgate. This is an opulent restaurant with a plush interior that features palm trees! I was a bit suspicious of the bling but the selection of seven different pickles that arrived with the poppadoms allayed my fears that this place might be an exercise in style over substance.

"Take me to your leader" demanded the giant naan

I really enjoyed my main of chicken methi, this fenugreek based curry made a nice change from my usual order of dopiaza or jalfrezi. I also liked the giant naans that seem to divide opinion amongst curry lovers. I can't remember what everyone else ordered but judging by the largely empty plates, the food went down well. Highly recommended and the Italian Shetland Pony also rates the Preston branch of this mini-chain.



East Z East (Riverside), Blackfriars St, Manchester M3 5BQ (Tel 0161-834-3500)

After a nightcap or two, we decamped to our hotel, the City Inn, a great choice by the boy Pony. In the morning, we kicked off with an above par full English that was cooked to order. Unfortunately, the dismal weather put paid to the rest of our plans so we ended up hanging out in cafés and wandering around the Arndale Centre. After leaving 'Eat Noodles Love Noodles' on assorted iMacs and iPads in the Apple Store, we went for a final brew at Druckers. I wasn't going to eat but I couldn't resist ordering a toasted currant teacake with butter.

None of that panettone crap, I want a toasted currant teacake

This Lancastrian classic brought back memories of a time when Britain wasn't shackled by the corporate chains of Costa and Starbucks, and traditional treats like these were more common. It was also nice to eat one as a final reminder of the beautiful North. As always, it was great to meet up with everyone and I'm already looking forward to the next reunion.

Postscript: There was one low point during the trip and that was Duckgate. At The New Emperor, we tucked into a platter of three roasts with crispy noodles. All of it was delicious but the roast duck was different class with its glistening crispy skin. So you might wonder what kind of a man would toss the skin aside with the bones. A betting man might've had Mr Fussy down as the prime suspect but it was Italian Shetland Pony who was guilty as charged. But don't worry; I ate the skin before giving ISP, a stern lecture on why crispy duck skin should NEVER be discarded.

Singapore Part 2 - Cheap Eats

I love Singapore's hawker centres. There's something great about checking out the different stalls and buying a snack or two, as you decide what to eat next. One of the most famous hawker centres in the island state is Lau Pa Sat, which means 'old market' in the local vernacular.

Mixed satay

Lau Pa Sat satay stalls

You come here for one dish above all others, the satay. You know when you're getting close to Lau Pa Sat when you can see the plumes of smoke coming from the outdoor grills. First up bag a seat outside and watch the satay being grilled but try to not to get too close to the smoky grill.

We ordered a combo of chicken, beef, and mutton satay. I thought it was all good although some thought that the honey baste was too sweet. I didn't mind so much as the accompanying zingy sauce counterbalanced the sweetness.

BBQ stingray w/chilli sauce

fried bee hoon

We also ordered bbq stingray w/chilli sauce and a dish of fried bee hoon (rice vermicelli). I really liked the chiili sauce that came with fish; so much so, I stirred it into the vermicelli. My hosts were truly mortified when I told them that in the UK, curry powder is added to fried bee hoon to make 'Singapore noodles'.

We then went inside this fine Victorian building for more food. To be honest, other than the satay, I don't think the stalls at Lau Pa Sat are the best in Singapore. I had trouble finding a decent laksa stall so I played it safe and went with an old fave, a bowl of shrimp dumpling soup noodle (sui gow mein) – a mere S$3.50 for a giant bowl including six plump dumplings.

Bak kut teh is another iconic dish found in Singapore and the name literally translates as 'meat bone tea'. Originally introduced to the region by Hokkien Chinese, there are many different versions of this pork rib broth found across Malaysia and Singapore. I'd previously tried the darker medicinal version but this was the first time that I'd sampled this lighter peppery variant.

bak kut teh

We sampled the bak kut teh at Outram Park Ya Hua Rou Gu Cha located on the ground floor of the PSA Tanjong Pagar complex on Keppel Rd. This was like a hawker centre stall-restaurant hybrid in that it had its own seating – we even reserved a table – but the ambience was very much like a hawker centre.

you tiao (fried dough stick)

I adored the bak kut teh, as the fatty meat fell away from the bone full of the flavour of the 'tea' (you can order lean rib but really what's the point in that?). This peppery version was quite different from the medicinal version I'd previously tried but enjoyable nonetheless. Some of the guys thought that it was too peppery but I didn't mind. I also liked dipping the you tiao (fried dough stick) into the 'tea'.

Whilst the bak kut teh may look like a meagre portion, there are unlimited top-up's of the 'tea' throughout the meal. We also shared loads of different dishes in addition to our individual bowls of bak kut teh and rice.

fish slices in broth

liver & kidney in broth

My favourites included separate bowls of fish slices, liver & kidney, and watercress – all served in broth. Oh and I managed to sneak in a crafty bowl of mee sua noodles! This rustic home-style food was a great counterbalance to some of the richer fare I'd eaten during the course of this trip.

The bak kut teh was my last lunch in Singapore and during the afternoon in the office, my thoughts started to drift to what to have for dinner. Although like many a Friday night, my plans for dinner were interrupted by an excursion to the pub. For a change I was vaguely sensible, as I still had to get to the airport that night. I stopped drinking, said my goodbyes and took a cab to the Maxwell Rd food centre.

I'd already had some nibbles at the pub so I didn't have room for a big meal. I went for an old favourite, chicken murtabak at a stall I vaguely remember visiting a couple of years ago, Hajmeer Kwaja Muslim Food. To the uninitiated, murtabak is a roti filled with meat (usually mutton or chicken), onion, and egg that's served with curry sauce.

This dish was introduced to Singapore by Tamil Muslims and you can't really get it in the UK, so I was glad that I managed to squeeze it in before I left. It was as good as I remembered, the flaky filled roti combining really well with the curry sauce. It was just what I needed before picking up my bags at the hotel. Now that I come to think of it, my last meal in Singapore was a curry after a few beers on a Friday night! Some things are universal.

As I left for home, I realised that there were so many other dishes I hadn't got round to sampling on this visit. In particular, nasi lemak, prawn noodle, laksa, and fish head curry. Next time, I hope there'll be a next time.