Food and friends

My recent trip to Singapore wasn’t entirely about chess—those moments were reserved for the late afternoons and evenings. So, what did I do during the mornings and mid-afternoons? For one thing, it was all about the food.

On two mornings in Geylang, I set out to explore the area in search of Bak Chor Mee, a Singaporean street food I find utterly irresistible. Every time I’m in the Little Red Dot, indulging in this dish becomes a priority. While I’m happy with any variety, the traditional style remains my favourite. Over two days, I managed to find two stalls—one at the Sims Vista Market and Food Centre, which was a bit farther from my hotel, and the other at a nearby coffee shop. My tastebuds decided: the stall at Sims Vista was definitely the better of the two.

On my last morning in Singapore, I opted for breakfast at a 24-hour roti prata restaurant just minutes from the hotel. Their thosai masala was delicious—a perfect way to wrap up my morning culinary adventures in Geylang.

Of course, my food explorations weren’t limited to the mornings. On one of the nights, I introduced one of my travelling chessmates to a popular beef hor fun restaurant in Geylang. It’s a place I’ve visited many times before, but it was his first time there, and the experience didn’t disappoint.

Another objective of my trip was to reconnect with friends and relatives. Unfortunately, I couldn’t meet my younger relatives—our schedules simply didn’t align. They were busy working and making money during the mornings while I was free, and when they were available in the evenings, I was tied up at the World Chess Championship matches in Sentosa. One was so consumed by religious fervour that giving me some time of day might have required divine intervention! That left my old classmates to call on, reliable people who, like me, were either retired or working less intensively nowadays. On Saturday, I met up with Nai Kwang and his wife, Eve, for lunch, and on Sunday, I caught up with Teik Kooi and his wife, Cynthia.

Teik Kooi and I go back a long way. He's my oldest school friend, we having known each other since kindergarten days in Seang Tek Road. And then during our Westlands Primary schooldays, learnt that we could be distantly related to one another as we shared some common relatives (who were then living in Hutton Lane and New Lane) while visiting these relatives during Chinese New Year. We discovered our common interest in chess during our Secondary schooldays at Penang Free School and naturally here in Singapore, we had much to discuss about the match between Ding Liren and Gukesh Dommaraju. He was initially doubtful about the quality of the games but I encouraged him to attend the games, pointing out that such a high-level chess event in Singapore, where he’s now a citizen, could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’m not sure if he took my advice, but after I returned home to Penang, we continued exchanging notes about the games via social media.

With Nai Kwang, our time together was very much less about chess—his awareness about the game was limited to what he could read in the local newspapers about the chess match—and more about exploration. A passionate walker, he took me meandering through the streets of Little India. I wasn't complaining; in fact, I looked forward to it as I got a unique glimpse into Singapore’s daily life. We made a detour to the Sakya Muni Buddha Gaya temple, which I shall write about on another occasion. 

Our long walk ended at Muthu’s Curry, a very popular and well-patronised South Indian restaurant, where we enjoyed a fiery feast of fish head curry, lamb shank and naan bread. Lunch with Teik Kooi, on the other hand, was a completely different experience. He introduced me to the Sunday buffet at the Fullerton Hotel, the building once housing the Singapore Post Office. The sumptuous spread featured an array of delicacies, with seafood being the undeniable highlight.