The food capital of Asia

Singaporeans have two passions: shopping and eating, and there's is no shortage of places to engage in either activity. In terms of food, you can get almost anything: Chinese (and this includes the different provincies), Malaysian, Indian, Indonesian, Thai, Japanese, Italian, Middle Eastern, French, American, Mexican, you name it. However, no matter what you get, there are a few common elements that are typically Singapore: a) there are few or no napkins (unless you're eating at a fancier place, where you get a cloth napkin, of course), b) most of the time, it's going to be fried, c) the portions are somewhat small (I think they're perfectly sized for me, though), and d) things tend to taste saltier, albeit lighter than in the United States. That being said, the food is almost always delicious and inexpensive.

Some of the typical Singaporean dishes are: chicken rice, chili/pepper crab, fish head curry and laksa. We've only tried the chili crab so far but we can't wait to try the others (and in case you're wondering, no, I didn't actually eat the crab... but I can tell you the sauce was pretty good). Singaporeans are also fans of lightly sweetened desserts such as custard tarts and mango pudding. For breakfast they enjoy kopi or the (coffee and tea with condensed milk) with kaya butter toast and soft-boiled eggs.

One thing I find great is that in many places the menus have pictures of the dishes - it's really helpful when you're trying new things and have absolutely no idea what the words mean. What's really funny is that most foods and drinks are served hot... I mean, it's hot enough as it is!