Bok Choy, anyone?

This morning the Newcomer's group that I joined back in January took a field trip to the Little India wet market. The leader's son, Aaron, just graduated college as a chef so he met us there to educate us on all the local fruits and vegetables and how to cook them. Some day I would love to go back and look at the rest of the stalls as today we concentrated only on the produce - I will skip the meat stalls, though, as the smell is a little overwhelming! It was very interesting and I'm looking forward to trying some of the local produce.

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Egg noodles, anyone? These are used in stir fries. There were also bean sprouts (kind of hidden behind the lady on the left) and tofu. You can also purchase fried tofu - seems like that defeats some of the purpose of tofu but on the other hand anything fried tends to taste better!
This man was cutting up jack fruit. We all tried a piece and I wasn't too impressed. It's more of a melon-y flavor than sweet. We were told that it's better dried as the flavor is more concentrated so I'll try it that way first before I completely write it off. We also sampled some rose apple which was bland - not bad, though. The bright pink fruit behind the jack fruit is dragon fruit - it looks like a white kiwi inside but has a very bland flavor. Here is one of the fruit stalls - notice that there are a lot of recognizable fruits as well! There are mango's in the box by the lady with the pink shirt.

Aaron is explaining to our group the different vegetables and what they are used for. One that I want to try soon is called baby bok choy. I will have to post a picture because I'm not sure how to describe it. You steam it and than add an oyster sauce and dried shallots (type of red onion) to the top. I had it at a hawker's center once and really liked it...now it's time to try making it myself!
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I'm not sure if I already posted about a provisioner so if I have please forgive me. I had a man call me last week who is known as a "provisioner." He calls each morning, except Sunday, and asks if there is anything you need. He can deliver anything you can buy in a supermarket to your home - usually before 6pm that same day. He has been a life saver to me as he can usually get hard to find items - like Pillsbury crescent rolls:) I haven't used him every day but there have been times when I haven't been able to make it to the grocery store so I've had him bring milk, oj, spices, Coke, beef bouillon, applesauce (which I can't find), and Kosher salt. I also found an online butcher the other day where I was able to order brisket - a cut of meat that is hard to find here. Most things from back home are available here - you just need to know how to find them! We have pork ribs in the slow cooker for supper tonight:) YUM! Add some real mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, and bakery bread and you have a good KC meal! Incidentally, slow cookers are very popular here - most likely because they save you from heating up the kitchen with the stove.
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This one is for Dad R - I can hear a thunder storm moving in:) Days that there is rain it's so humid that you find yourself taking a shower 3 times a day!

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One Last Note of Interest:

For those of you who have been following the news there have been several earthquakes in Indonesia (Sumatra, which is directly to the West of Singapore) this past week. It's possible that they are gearing up for another big one like the one in 2004 that caused the Indian Ocean tsunami. Singapore has been proclaimed by geologists as one of the safest places in the world, tectonically (safer, even, than Central Illinois should a big quake occur along the New Madrid fault line.) Since Singapore is a relatively young nation most high rise buildings have been built to withstand the tremors that we do feel from the bigger earthquakes. We haven't felt any of the past week's tremors.

If you are interested I posted a link below that will give you more information on Singapore and earthquakes.

http://app.nea.gov.sg/cms/htdocs/article.asp?pid=1199

Wet Market Field Trip and Smelly Fish

Friday morning I was able to find a sitter for Ethan so I could go with Kaitlyn's class to a local wet market. These are usually found underneath HBD housing flats (or government housing) and are made up of a bunch of different stalls/stores selling a variety of things. They are known as wet markets because the floor around the meat will be wet from melting ice.

Kaitlyn and I were in a group together with one other mom, Kay, and Jessica. We had three goals for the trip: a scavenger hunt, buy a Chinese New Year decoration for the classroom, and buy a typical Singapore lunch from a hawker center.

Kay, Kaitlyn, and Jessica are waiting for us to order lunch.

The little orange trees or bushes (I can't quite figure out what they are) and the pussy willows you see symbolize prosperity - you will see these in arrangements in store windows and the orange bushes can be seen outside establishments to symbolize that they had a prosperous year and are hoping for another one. I'm guessing that they are displayed whether or not the previous year was prosperous:)
Kaitlyn is looking at decorations to buy. Each child brought $5.00 along - $2.50 for the decorations and $2.50 for lunch.
Kaitlyn is showing off her clipboard with the scavenger hunt. They were looking for CNY related items like the color gold, dragons, rats, fish, pussy willows, new clothes, etc.
You can even buy live fish for an aquarium at the wet markets!
The girls are going through a shop where they are selling CNY paraphenalia. I bought "hung bao" packets that you are to give to children with money inside to wish them prosperity in the new year.
More CNY decorations. As you can see from the signs they are inexpensive. I think that you are supposed to barter for them but I didn't. It was easier not too:)
Kaitlyn and Jessica try to find items for the scavenger hunt.
Behind Kaitlyn is one of the fish stalls. It's smelly and a little disturbing because the whole, entire fish, eyes and all are being sold! There are shrimp directly behind Kaitlyn.
Kaitlyn, Jessica, and Kay are ready to begin their adventure at the wet market! There is a bike shop directly behind them.
You can find inexpensive electrical items here at this store.

The girls are ready to eat their chicken rice - a distinct Singaporean meal that is mild enough for kids. I have had it twice - once I really liked it and this time I didn't so much. It all depends on how the chicken is prepared. The first time I had a vegtable, bok choy, I think that was really good. We didn't order the kids vegtables;) I had pepsi as they didn't have Coke and there is a big difference between the Pepsi made here and the Pepsi made in the US.
A hawker's center stall selling all kinds of food. They usually have pictures of each dish on the menu which is nice because you know exactly what you are ordering.
This is a fruit and vegtable stand. They have a much wider variety than the grocery stores and it's usually cheaper.
And We're done! The girls are in front of a fresh flowers stall - I didn't see prices but I've been told that they are VERY cheap - maybe 50cents a stalk. No excuses for the men to not bring home fresh flowers EVERY day:)


Below is a video of Kaitlyn and her classmates doing the annoying chicken dance that they learned in music class this week. Joan - ignore the temptation to break into song about now...=O Notice that most of the little girls are in dresses. I have seen very few little girls in shorts even at the school....a refreshing change over the US I have to say! Lately Kailtyn had been refusing her dresses and now I can tell her, "But it's what all the little girls are wearing!"

We are headed to China Town for an adventure this evening so be sure to check back in the next few days for more pictures and experiences! We've heard it's crazy to go this time of year but we figure what a better time to go and learn more.

MRT

Ethan and I had a high adventure today! I took a taxi up to SAS this morning to meet with Kaitlyn's teacher and to go to the PTA new parent welcome. I paid about S$23 for the fare up there - now I had a problem - I didn't have enough cash to get home as I was expecting the fare to be S$20 or less each way. I couldn't find an ATM so I decided to find an alternate way home. You can use a credit card but there is an extra fee attached (of course!) Anyway, I ended up walking about 10 minutes to a bus stop which took me to the nearest MRT (Train/Subway) station. Ryan had bought me an EZLink card last week for that purpose. I found the correct train that would take me to Dhoby Ghaut where I would need to catch a second train. On the second train I was able to get off at Clark Quay and walk about 10 minutes home. I didn't time the ride but I'd say that total it's about 30 minutes (not counting walking and bus.) It was stressful for the first 10 minutes because Ethan was screaming - I knew that he had a bad diaper rash but there was NOTHING I could do about it right than - I felt so bad. Most people had looks on their faces like, "Oh Great!" A few were nice and smiled! I was feeling really self conscious between that and being the ONLY Caucasian aboard when a woman and two children boarded. They were really nice and wanted to know all about where I was from and Ethan. God knew when to send someone so I didn't feel like a complete outsider! The EZLink card is really easy to use - you swipe it over a reader when you board a bus and when you get off and when you enter a train station and when you leave at your last stop. Guess what my total fare home was? Around S$2.00!! It's a little longer but MUCH cheaper so guess what I'm using from now on when I can?