Skip to main content

Uniquely ours?

Last week, CNA had this bit of news about some American experts (in something to do with food but can't remember exactly what) advising Singapore on what can be marketed in their part of the world as uniquely Singaporean food. Today, Colin Goh wrote a nice piece reflecting on 'What's so unique about Singaporeans?' My last post was partly about our eating habits. So let me just put a bit of all this here.

First, the American guy thought that Hainanese chicken rice and kaya can be 'developed' into recognisably Singaporean food, in the same way sushi is Japanese, kimchi is Korean and tom yam is Thai. Hmmm... wouldn't Hainanese chicken rice be a more suitable choice for Hainan? As for kaya, perhaps not kaya itself but kaya toast (click link for source of pic and info)? Maybe that's what he meant, but he said kaya.


Next, Colin Goh, I'm glad, pointed out that:
1. We consider a number of things 'uniquely Singaporean', 'but are Singaporeans really recognisable abroad, except by other Singaporeans?'
2. Many characteristics we identify as 'Singaporean' are 'qualities that many other countries have as well.'

Sometime last week, our MICA minister also said that we needn't be in such a hurry to create a Singapore identity because such things 'evolve'. I agree with him that identity 'evolves', but I also think that a nation needs to consciously preserve, and perhaps even nurture and document certain things which are part of its heritage.

So back to food, certainly a cultural marker, what else can make it as unique?

Chilli crab and black pepper crab? (click links for picture source and recipes!)



Roti john?

Soya bean curd (tau huey)?

What about eating everything with chilli sauce? For example, chicken wing with chilli sauce, hamburger with chilli sauce, french fries with chilli sauce, fried rice with chilli sauce, etc?

Very hard to actually come up with something because most of the stuff here can be found elsewhere (as Colin Goh says), especially Malaysia.

Non-food options off the top of my head:
1. COE
2. ERP gantries deducting from your cashcard
3. Singapore-Idol-cum-make-everyone-stay-together-type-reality-show
4. PSLE
5. If-you-don't-have-TV-set-better-report-or-esle-must-pay-licence-fee
6. Many-years-of-courtesy-campaign-already-still-must-have-some-more-and-be-reminded-to-smile
7. being uniquely unhappy (Sorry, haven't got Wormie's permission to link and I hope he doesn't mind)
8. legal football betting booths
9. Singlish
10. Standard Singaporean English

Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
i certainly agree more with your choice of unqiue sg food! definitely chilli/pepper crab. think it was long beach seafood that invented either the sg's chilli or pepper (can't rmemeber which) crab dish?
dee
11:26 pm
Anonymous said…
Hi Dee
I don't know either but I believe many people say that Long Beach's chilli AND pepper crab can't be replicated!
11:30 am
fuzzoo said…
The MICA minister said that our identity will "evolve"? I thot our Gahmen is in the business of social engineering. I'm surprised they would let anything evolve around here. Look at the Merlion - made up by the STB rather than the result of any evolution.
9:18 pm
Anonymous said…
Hi Fuzzoo,
Ya, he did say 'evolve':-)

Oh well, some things you just have to leave be, I suppose...
7:48 pm
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A lesson in love

I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world. -Mother Teresa Most of the time my eyes just glaze over when I see article upon article of football news. One caught my glazing eye over the weekend, though - 'De la Cruz - Mother Theresa in boots' , because of the familiar name. Mother Teresa, that is. It was the first time I’d ever heard of this de la Cruz guy, an EPL player who hails from Ecuador (GNI per capita US$2,630; as a comparison, Singapore’s is US$27, 490 – source: BBC country profiles ). His is a great story to illustrate that famous Chinese saying about not forgetting your roots. According to the article, ‘Each month a proportion of that salary (about S$150,000) Reading pay him - be it 10 per cent in January or 20 per cent in February - goes direct to the village’ (where he grew up). (Picture and profile from here ) Here's what he has been credited for: 1. 'The 2002 World Cup,' de la Cruz reflects, 'finan...
4 comments
Read more

True train school

‘Having eyes, but not seeing beauty; having ears, but not hearing music; having minds, but not perceiving truth; having hearts that are never moved and therefore never set on fire. These are the things to fear, said the headmaster.’ How would you like to have such a headmaster? I finally re-read (read it first as a teenager) Totto-chan, The Little Girl at the Window , a ‘school story’ by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, translated by Dorothy Britton. Totto-chan is the name Tesuko Kuroyanagi called herself, and the book is about her life during her school days at Tomoe Gakuen. Totto-chan was expelled from her first elementary school because of her ‘disruptive’ behaviour, which included constantly opening and closing her desk top (because she was so thrilled by it), ‘vandalising’ her desk (because there wasn’t enough space on the piece of paper to draw) and standing by the classroom window waiting for street musicians to pass by or talking to swallows. Her mother, although probably alarmed about the ...
3 comments
Read more

When the best man doesn't win

Speaking of 'sway' spurned lovers, the latest one I've come across is in Love Revolution ( only 12 episodes!), a J show I recently watched. Heroine of the story is pretty, 30-ish Smart Doctor, who is dying to fall in love and get married. She meets Aspiring Actor and Broadcast Journalist (right). She falls for Broadcast Journalist like a ton of bricks. It's obvious from the start (to the audience but not to her) that Aspiring Actor is nuts about her. But... she has fallen for Broadcast Journalist like a ton of bricks already. No doubt, Smart Doctor and Broadcast Journalist must be given credit for their love that stands the tests of time, separation and misunderstanding, but the one who loves most in the show is undoubtedly Mr Aspiring Actor. What he does/does not do because of his undying love for Smart Doctor: Y does not pursue her at first because he is still struggling to survive in this small-time drama group and he knows he doesn't have much to offer Y resp...
Post a Comment
Read more