I have always considered myself quite a nice person. I like food of all shapes, flavours and colours. From every country and continent. I don’t discriminate, I am an equal opportunity eater. It’s only the doctors who say I’m intolerant. And certain foods who refuse to tolerate me. They certainly refuse to recognise and respect my right to eat them without major physical discomfort and distress.


Gluten and lactose are not my friends.


Despite the negative attitudes surrounding me from many of those I love best, (cakes, ice cream, hot toast) I decided to become a chef. Not always easy when you live in a bread and milk filled world. I like to think that this has helped me become a better person as I embrace my differences and refuse to let the gluten get me down. I believe InTolerance. I am the InTolerant Chef.

Food should not be about what you can’t eat, but what you can and what you enjoy eating. This blog is about my journey of cooking and eating and discovery. It’s not a definitive guide to allergy awareness nor do my intolerances make me an expert. Your body is your responsibility, not mine. I only know what works for me.


I can tell you this..... No glutens were harmed in the making of this website.

October 31, 2012

Tastes of The Orient

















City Skyline




I know this one's a little later than usual Dear Readers, but you see,  I've been away on holiday.

So long overdue, that it's actually the first time in over 20 years that we've travelled anywhere that wasn't to visit family- just something for ourselves.

Bliss....  And we had a wonderful time indeed!


We went to gorgeous Singapore, the country where I was born, and have always wanted to explore as a 'grown up'. The plan was to explore the real country and not just do touristy stuff but meet real people, see real sights, and eat real food.

Well, we sure did plenty of that!

I had a few concerns about eating gluten and lactose free overseas, but it didn't end up being as difficult as I first thought.
Most people speak english very well, so I was able to ask about meal ingredients, and sauce was generally served on the side so there was no contamination that way either.
Lactose free milk was readily available, but gluten free bread was nowhere to be found, and most shops didn't seem to understand what I was talking about.

All in all the trip was just wonderful, the country is fabulous, and the food is AMAZING! I've already started planning another trip for the future :)

I certainly won't bore you with our over 1000 photos, but I thought you might  like to see some of the foodie highlights of our trip




Now at first glance, this may not look typically Asian in origin...but what if I tell you that it's the gluten free option for High Tea at iconic Raffles Hotel?
And all for me!!!

Bottom tier: Sandwiches
Smoked Salmon; Egg and Cucumber, Ham,Cheese,Tomato with Basil; and oddly, plain tinned Salmon with Mayonaise
Middle Tier: Fresh Fruit floating in Orange Juice, and  Caramel Apple Verine
Top Tier: House made Fresh Raspberry Marshmallow, and two gorgeous Chocolates- yummo!
At huge buffet display there were also one or two goodies I could enjoy, and it was a wonderful experience indeed

























Ice Kacang
A mountain of freshly shaved ice, topped with three syrups, drizzled with evaporated milk, then with additions of corn, red beans, palm seeds and glass jelly.
Big enough for two to share at the bargin price of $2


























Haianese Chicken Rice
This dish was one I was really hanging out for. I make my own version at home, but wanted to try the Real Deal. The only problem was everywhere I went it was sold out! It's such a popular meal that the lines at Hawker Centres and food stalls selling this were huge, and I just seemed to be pipped at the post each and every time. I was so happy when I finally got my share :)
Such lovely, moist chicken and the rice might look bland, but the flavour was just amazing and rich too- delicious





















Another iconic Singapore dish- Laksa
Each version I tried was very similar, but quite different from what I'm used to over here.
For starters, they locals used only rice noodles (which was great) here in Australia- or at least in Canberra, they come with both rice and egg noodles and I have sent many back to kitchens when they ignore my only-rice-noodles-please request. Also these ones were a lot stronger in prawn-y flavour and not as rich in coconut milk.
I really enjoyed having it for breakfast though!





















These little ice cream stalls were everywhere, usually run by lovely little old gentlemen with gorgeous smiles for everyone.The ice cream was wrapped in wax cardboard, and kept in eskys with a huge slab of ice for cooling, then cut to size by the vendor, then wrapped in a slice of pink and green sweet bread to stop it dripping everywhere. I obviously had the messy bread-free version, but my choice of durian flavour was certainly delicious.

























Before we went away, BigJ, littlej and I agreed on the Great Singapore Satay Hunt.
We all love these little sticks of yum, and were determined to track down and try as many varieties as possible during our stay. We sampled 17 varieties all in all, and our hands down favourite was an Indonesian variety! We gave each one a score out of 10, with catergories including spiciness, stickiness, sauce, char technique and overall flavour.





















This is a prawn.
A very Big Prawn.
For scale, check out the regular sized chopsticks at the back of the plate. HUGE!
Served simply grilled with some garlic and a tiny little lime. I've never seen a prawn of this size before, and I once worked at a seafood market for a year. Now where to track them down over here?...





















This picture is of A Random Act of Kindness
littlej was at the pastry counter at the first hotel we stayed at, when she saw another young girl with a packet of my usual Country Life bread I eat here in Australia. They struck up a conversation over the toaster and littlej mentioned that her mummy ate gluten free too. Halfway through breakfast, a lovely lady approached our table and said that they were on their last day in Singapore, and would it offend me if she offered me the rest of their gluten free loaf? They had bought it with them from Perth, and it would be a shame just to throw it out.
I was really touched and of course it just made my day! Unfortunately I failed to get the lovely peoples names, but although it may seem a small thing to others, when you struggle with food InTolerances, little things like this are such a big blessing indeed :) Thankyou xox





















My Australian Breakfast in Singapore, with Beerenberg jams too!





















Congee Rice Porridge, I much prefer savoury to sweet, so this might become a winter breakfast staple for me from now on





















These signs were at every food stall and hawker stand everywhere. It shows that the stand has been inspected and aproved by the govenment, with each stand being licenced and given a hygene rating





















The rating must be prominently displayed at each stall,with D being the lowest, but I only saw A's and B's.
I wonder if our food courts would welcome this idea here?


























Pineapple Rice
Not strictly Singaporean, but a nice choice for littlej as a change from steamed rice. Very delicious, and topped with yummy pork floss




















In contrast to our first hotel, who truly tried but just didn't get the whole 'InTolerance' thing, this second resort had things sorted!
I had emailed ahead, and been assured that there would be plenty of options for me, but I've certainly been stung before. It was great to see that these issues were a priority for the kitchen too.





















Freshly made gluten free waffles!
 




















Gfree toast and mini muffins too





















More ice creams:
Durian (a bit too strong for me this time), Red Bean, and our favourite- Jackfruit



















Last, but certainly not least Dear Readers, what trip to Singapore would be complete without the famous Chilli Crab?
This was our one big blow-out meal, eaten at a nice little reataruant on the river. The crabs were displayed at the front, and you could either choose your own, or just order small, medium or large. We left the choice to our waiter, as even though littlej has no trouble eating anything really, and my Dad kills his own meat, she found it too difficult to actively particeipate in picking a live victim herself.
Wait until I bring home my own live mud crab from the markets to make this dish at home!

Before:




















After!




















So my Dear Readers, I apologise for my absence from the blogisphere of late, and for not keeping up with comments on your lovely blog posts as well, but as you can see I was busy eating my way around Singapore :) I can hardly wait to go again!



















So Dear Readers, were you born overseas, and what country would you visit if you could?





.

31 comments:

  1. Welcome back! And what a trip you had! :D I'm so glad that you tried all the good stuff (well in my humble opinion anyway :)) like the chicken rice, ice kacang, chilli crab. And woah, that prawn is enormous! :o Was it tender or tough? And those people were so sweet to offer you the gf bread!

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    1. Thanks Lorraine, so many yummies to try indeed! To tell the truth the prawn was a bit over cooked, it would have been better taken off the heat a minute or two earlier in my opinion, but it was worth it just for the thrill anyway :) It was a lovely gesture, wasn't it? I was very grateful indeed.

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  2. I didn't know you were from Singapore, Rebecca! Hawker markets in Singapore have been on my list list of places to visit for a while now and reading this post stirred the travel bug in me.

    I'm from China and I'm taking Jason back there in January next year! We'll also be visiting Europe on the way (well.. it's not really on the way..)! I'm super excited and have already started putting together a list of foods to try out:)

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    1. It was a long time ago unfortunately Lucy! How exciting to share your background with your boy, and even more fun to explore some more of the world together :) I had a list too!

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  3. Mmm Singapore! Sigh.. haven't been back there for more than 5 years! I was born overseas and would love to visit Greece :) I've already done Egypt one of my MUST visits, and will be visiting Spain.. Ideally anywhere that has an ancient civilisation :) I guess I should add China to the list.. but... Meh...

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    1. You certainly are a seasoned traveller! My littlej is fascinated with archeology and would love to visit some ancient civilisations too. She has a museum in her room with bits and pieces that have been sent to her from my parents many trips overseas and one of her prized exhibits is a pebble from the pyramids :)

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  4. Oh, you've been in Singapore! That's our home away from home! What a wonderful time you've had! Chicken rice, my all time favourite!

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    1. You lucky thing you, Celia! We are certainly going back again, it's such a lovely place. Chicken rice is delicious, isn't it? I'm posting about it soon with a funny story!

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  5. Really? I had no idea. You did keep that under wraps. I'm so glad you've all had a lovely holiday away. (I thought you were being fairly quiet on the blogging front). How lovely of that lady to offer you her GF bread. You must have been so touched. Some people are so thoughtful xx

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    1. Hi Charlie :) Internet access was ridiculously expensive at our first hotel! Crazy, when we're paying so much to stay there. I did miss everyone indeed!
      It was certainly very nice of her, wasn't it? There was a lovely variety of breakfast choices, but it was nice to have some 'crunch'!

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  6. Hi Bec! What a wonderful, exciting and delicious time you have had! That prawn is amazing... and the shaved ice sounds delicious. Glad you had a good holiday. Keep in touch xox

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    1. We had a wonderful time indeed Lizzy! I can hardly wait to go again some day :) I hope you're feeling better sweetie :)

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  7. ahhh I thought that 1st photo was from Singapore!!!

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    1. It was a shame it was such a hazy photo though Lisa. It was taken from the 56th floor of the Marina Bay Sands, a great place to see it all. We had a view all the way to Indonesia and Malaysia as well!

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  8. I dream of one day making it to Singapore! South East Asia is so good for gluten-free food aye, love it xx

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    1. It certainly was easier than I had anticipated Emma, thank goodness! I only reacted badly once- but that was enough! I can hardly wait to go again, and this time I want to include Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand in our trip as well

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  9. I love Singapore - all the exoticness (!) of Asia, in a safe, friendly, clean little package. We have been a couple of times - before the celiac diagnosis, and I was worried that I would find it too hard to go back. I'm thrilled it was so easy :-)
    I hope you shopped till your wheels fell off?? :-)
    (born and bred in NZ - nothing exotic about me at all)

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    1. I'm sure there are many countries that view New Zealand as exotic Janet! Just not us Aussies of course :P I guess you just need to be vigilant as usual, but that's second to us InTolerants of course! My hubby has always wanted to go to NZ, so if it ever happens you had better put the kettle on :)

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    2. You could base yourselves at our place. We would LOVE to see you :-)

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  10. Ohhh wahhhhh I had no idea you were BORN in Singapore, how amazing!! That place really fascinates me more and more each time I'm there. There really is so much to experience, isn't there? Glad to hear you finally had a long OVERDUED trip and had a blast while you were there!!! Well deserved and hope you're already planning your next getaway trip haha

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    1. It was wonderful indeed Winston! We explored as much as we could, but there is still so much to discover! We did take littlej with us, but maybe next time it could be just us grown-ups :)

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  11. Singapore is such an easy city to explore and get around plus there is heaps to do there with the kids as well. Glad you managed to find gluten and lactose free eating achievable. It is always a concern when you travel. Sounds like it was a great holiday made even nicer by the lovely lady from Perth and her gluten free bread. I need to get back there soon.

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    1. I hope you get there soon Sherilyn! We had passes for the hop-on hop-off bus so we could go anywhere we wanted, whenever we wanted- it was so convenient. It was lovely wasn't it? Such a nice thought indeed :)

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  12. It sounds like you had a most amazing time! Love the gorgeous shots of the food...so much gluten free that is available too! Make me want to go to Singapore!

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    1. I hope you can go sometime Ina! I took nearly 1000 photos, and at probably a third of them are of the food, or somehow related to it! I have so many ideas and recipes to explore now, I hope you guys don't get tired of Asian food soon :)

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  13. yay! How fun to go back & explore. I've never been to Singapore. The eats look delicious. I'd love to visit India!!! Cannot wait til I get to go one day :)
    Heidi xo

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    1. You have been to so many wonderful places Heidi, I'm sure you'll get to India soon too! The food certainly was lovley indeed, but I still think about the Thai food you blogged about :)

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  14. Which hotels did you stay at in Singapore? Am travelling there soon and want ot know where I can eat gluten free?

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    1. The best idea is to email ahead to the hotel with your dietary requirements. The first hotel had no clue at all, and I wasn't at all confident. The second place we stayed was the Shangri La at Sentosa, and I received a great email back from the executive chef and met with him as well. The best thing I did was have the little cards made up in Chinese saying I was allergic to wheat. People tended to see that as more 'official' than just my say-so. Good luck!

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  15. Mmmmm, now that all looks delicious but it's the chilli crab that holds my attention the most. Now if you weren't all splattered with delicious chilli sauce, sticky fingered, and an odd smear running from your cheek to your eyebrow...well I'd be disappointed :-)

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    1. Oh Brydie, it was running down my arms to my elbows! Fingerbowls and wet towelettes were hardly adequate- we practically needed a bath by the time we finished :) I can hardly wait to make it here at home myself now!

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