MAKAN-MAKAN IN SINGAPORE

The hotel in Killiney Road, Singapore that I stayed in last week is not Muslim-friendly although it is a very comfortable, value-for-money place. I guessed they do not have that many Muslim guests to warrant a "Direction of the Kiblat arrow" on the ceiling or, as in some hotels, inside the bedside drawer. The room comes with free buffet breakfast but ham or bacon is served cheek-by- jowl with the baked beans and beef patties. There is a food stall next door with a mamak stall inside. The sign says "Muslim Food" with "Bismillah" thrown in for good measure. The food though is not as good as Mehboob's or Syed's in Bangsar. The mee mamak is blushing red and so is the briyani
There are many other food places along Killiney Road although I am not allowed to eat at most of them. There is a shop selling Sarawak Kolok mee, an Italian restaurant, a Thai restaurant, a shop selling Malay currypuffs and Javanese noodles and a 7-11 where Mimi had cup noodles late at night. Most of these shops have tables outside and ONE of the tables is designated for smokers. Under the new law, you can only smoke at the designated table. If you want to quit smoking, Singapore is a good place to live in. You cannot bring in cigarettes and one packet of Salem costs SD10. That's RM24 for 20 sticks.

If you are hankering for Nasi Padang you can go to the shop in front of Great World (Zion Road side). Unfortunately for me, they closed for the Hari Raya holidays. I discovered a new place for authentic delicious Nasi Padang fare in Telok Ayer Street (opposite the DBS Bank).
The owner told me that he has been in the Nasi Padang business for the last 14 years. His wife is the chef. They have 3 outlets now. This particular shop caters mainly for the business crowd who can eat on company's expenses. I do not know about the prices because I was a guest and guests are not supposed to ask about the damage. What I remembered is they have a unique way of serving rice. The rice comes in a banana leaf cone much like the Terengganu nasi dagang. heavy eaters will invariably have to ask for another cone in due course. They serve sambal belacan whether you ordered it or not. The sambal comes with lime.
Their otak-otak ( a whole deboned fish in spicy santan) is delicious and so is the grilled sotong which I attempted to gum without much success.
For less elaborate Nasi Padang, go to this shop in Killiney Road ( fronting the Singtel Commcenter).
The rendang and the masak asam pedas will not disappoint you. There is a table for 4 smokers outside. Yes, you might be asking the same question that I asked: Is this the "Sifu's" shop? Go and find out.