Legendary!

Long time no post! I'd have to say, I blame it on the weather! It's been raining in Singapore recently, and as you know, I love to stay curled up in bed on a rainy day. Makes me very lethargic, and (thank God!) decreases my appetite just a little. Good for the waistline I say :D

Last week, I had the chance to go running with Melvin out at East Coast Park. His incentive throughout the run was "Legendary Fish Soup!" In fact, he couldn't stop talking about it! The fish soup can be found in this dingy little stall at the hawker centre just below his place at Bedok South.

As with many of the hawker centre food stalls, this one has been here for over 20 years. Melvin still remembers coming down to this same stall as a kid and has (and still does) eat this fish soup at least once a week. He is a pescatarian, so fish soup is one of his mainstays! Trust him to know the best!

As well as fish soup with vermicelli, they do fish porridge and duck.

The "Legendary Fish Soup". Looks av? I know, but don't let looks fool you! That soup tasted like it had been stewing there for the past decade! A really full flavour with depth and history behind it. I could almost taste the blood, sweat and tears of the struggling stall owner, working 18 hour days just to stay afloat.

The soup features vermicelli, vegetables, fried shallots, steamed fish slices, fungus and (shh) fried pork fat. A wholesome full meal in one huh =p

After the fish soup, we headed over to the ubiquitous dessert stall for something to cool off.

Not so appetising huh. Looks like baby vomit spread over something else that belongs down below...

What I actually got was Ice Chendol with Durian puree (that's the yellow stuff on top). Chendol are those green wormy looking things you see poking out from under. Also in this dish is shaved ice (the white stuff), red beans, grass jelly, coconut milk, gula melaka (aka palm sugar syrup) and atap seed. A real mixed bag of delicious surprises hidden under that smelly durian mess on top. I love this dish for the variety of flavours you get, and the sweet milkiness of the palm sugar and coconut milk combined is almost like a milkshake! (My breath stank a bit after this though.. word to the wise: side effects of eating durian - no one wants to go near you afterwards).

Each neighbourhood in Singapore has its fair share of local gastronomical legends. The residents will vouch for particular stalls they've been eating since they were kids; sometimes it's hard to tell if the taste is simply ingrained into them as nostalgia, and their tastebuds are in familiar and comfortable territory. Solution for the adventurous eater: follow friends from different suburbs around and taste their local - the experience is sure to be good!