There are fibreglass palm trees with built in speakers on the island of Senatosa, the sign read 100 meters to the biggest man made water fall at the bird sanctuary, and everything runs on time, like clockwork, and the malls there’s MALLS everywhere . You can walk all day in underground passageways from mall to fucking mall , all with the same set of shops it can drive you crazy, there is a condition known as mall fever, stay out of the malls.
Despite all this waffling and remember, you have to know about the shit stuff to appreciate the magic. If you love food, adventurous food, Indian, Indonesian, Thai, Malaysian, Chinese and you wonder what happens when all these cuisines fuse, dance together for a while are touched with some British influences, perfected over decades and adored by a multicultural population, then you must go and when you get there you must do the MAKANSUTRA .
I guess doing the MAKANSUTRA involves picking up a copy at the airport or better still order on line before going, that way you can study every page and decide where you want to go and what you want to try. The guide covers mainly food stalls in food centres, also restaurants and cafes. The guide is divided up into individual dishes, e.g. banana fritters, chilli crab, grilled stingray and more general terms like seafood or cze cha both of which cover a whole range of dishes. There is also a restaurant guide section for more formal dining . Everything in the book is graded with a bowl and chop stick emblem, one bowl and a pair of sticks is good. The ultimate, three bowls and six sticks, one above five sticks which is Devine, is referred to as Die die must try. Jumping around the island from stall to stall eating at all the top mark stalls is a sure way to delight even the most nutty of foodie nut jobs, providing you like that particular dish, for example, I ate a Die die must try chicken porridge and wasn’t much more impressed than when I ate an unrated version at the hotel, basically chicken porridge was not for me. However I ate a clay pot full of Kiam Chye Ark, salted vegetable and duck soup at Die Die level and I almost started crying with delight, honestly I was laughing one minute sooking my fingers and the next minute I was so overcome, I couldn’t describe how good the dish was, I couldn’t speak .
The best approach I would say is pick a food centre with a few high rated stalls and get in some practice. First thing to do is claim your table, this is achieved by simply placing a pack of paper tissues on a table one pack per guest, no one will steal your spot, now take a wander around the family run food stalls. Grab a Tiger beer, a bubble drink or a cocktail, wait in line for Hianeese Chicken, Chilli crab, Dim Sum, Curried Fish Head , Oyster and Carrot Cake, the choices are breath taking. There’s even a more touristy food centre, organized by Makansutra, called Gluttons bay, where I ate the most amazing Oyster Omelette, Chicken Wings and Grilled Stingray. Another good thing to do is specialize, pick a dish and try a few versions, who does the best Chilli Crab, BUTT KAT TE ( rib soup) Laksa (noodle soup). Travel the island, there’s always a food court, go to Maxwells Food Court, East Coast Lagoon, the Red Light District, go anywhere your heart and gut desires, go fucking mad, you're in heaven.
If you are like me a food crazy son of a gun, and you can stand the heat, a fairly expensive long haul flight and a country that can't stop knocking down and rebuilding and more annoying a country that lists rules and fines everywhere you go. Then go do the MAKANSUTRA you will remember this for the rest of your life.
