Eating In Translation

Huat Kee

ABC, or air batu campur ("mixed ice") is an increasingly common name for this cold dessert, owing to the many add-ins.

Annie's Peanut Ice Kachang

In common with many ice kachang vendors, Annie's prepares a variety of cold desserts; the nearly obscured window gives some idea.

Jin Ji Mei Shi

Suan pan zi are commonly called abacus seeds, or abacus beads, from their resemblance to the counters on the calculating tool. Connotations of prosperity make this a popular festival dish, especially during the Chinese New Year, but outside of private homes, you can't count on seeing it often, even in Singapore. Essentially, abacus seeds are dimpled gnocchi, made from boiled yam paste blended with tapioca flour; at Jin Ji Mei Shi they're fried with minced pork and dried mushrooms (S$2, about US$1.50 at the time).

Also: a half-and-half order of sweet potato and yam steamed "cakes" (S$2.00), cut from the rectangular pans shown at bottom.

Jin Ji Mei Shi
Maxwell Food Centre, stall 96, Singapore
Closed after lunch and all day Wednesday
(From a summer 2010 visit)

"Don't pay more than you should..."

"...know your food prices, order at the stalls" and not, presumably, from roaming touts. A response, in all probability, to a notorious incident of overcharging by a BBQ seafood vendor the year before.

"Don't pay more than you should..."
Newton Food Centre, Singapore
(From a summer 2010 visit)

Produce stall

Dirty work: Lotus roots (technically, rhizomes, but we'll stick with the usual moniker) are typically harvested from the bottom of ponds. These, still slicked with mud, were otherwise indistinguishable from the roots at extreme left. Perhaps the mud was retained as a mark of freshness; it certainly seemed to help sales.

Produce stall
Chinatown Complex Food Centre, stall B1-130, Singapore
(From a summer 2010 visit)

Air kathira stall

In the Malay language, "air" means "water"; "kathira," or "katira," offers a sticker problem in translation. The proprietor, and a couple of passers-by, could offer no insight except that it's a common fast-breaking beverage during Ramadan; as with eggnog, many drink it, but few can elaborate on the etymology. Possibly "kathira" is a loanword from Urdu, denoting a gum derived from sap and used as a thickener.

Of several available flavors, I eventually settled on pale green pandan (S$2.00, about US$1.50 at the time) over golden durian.

Air kathira stall
At a Ramadan bazaar on Geylang Road near the Joo Chiat Complex, Singapore
(From a summer 2010 visit)

Lao Liang Cold Trotters & Shark Meat

Queued for Teochew surf 'n' turf.

Zhao An Granny Grass Jelly

On its own the jelly isn't all that sweet.

Fried-food stall

Fish sticks, after a fashion: Keropok lekor, a specialty of the northeastern Malaysian state of Terengganu, are a blend of fish paste and sago. Traditionally they're hand-rolled, though these have a mass-produced, extruded look, then tossed in the deep fryer. My fellow Ramadan bazaar browsers and I got a half-and-half order (S$2.00, about US$1.50 at the time) — four chewy, four crispy.

Fried-food stall
At a Ramadan bazaar on Geylang Road near the Joo Chiat Complex, Singapore
(From a summer 2010 visit)

Indian fritter stall

Prawn vadai (three for S$2.00, about US$1.50 at the time) were soft-bodied yet chewy, and laced with bits of hot green pepper.

Indian fritter stall
At a Ramadan bazaar on Geylang Road near the Joo Chiat Complex, Singapore
(From a summer 2010 visit)