Singapore Hawker Glossary, Food Festival

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   Greetings again from Colombo, Sri Lanka.  I have the full moon Nawam Perahera festival tonight, and I climb the World Heritage Site rock fortress of Sigiriya tomorrow.
   I could be back in New York City doing parking tickets, but as the guy from THE PRODUCERS said before he skipped off to Rio with Ula: "What a dilemma!"

--------------------------------------------------------------SINGAPORE FOOD FESTIVAL & HAWKER GLOSSARY

   Someone should do a book on international food festivals.
   The 10th annual Singapore Food Festival will take place March 28-April 30 and is at www.singaporefoodfestival.com.
   It is the Chinese year of the (drunken?) goat.
   This is from WHERE (Singapore, February 2003), pg. 31:

   _HAWKER FOOD GLOSSARY_
   Ayam goreng:  Malay fried chicken.  "Goreng" means "fried."
   Bak kut teh:  Pork rib soup seasoned with garlic and Chinese herbs.
   Bao:  Steamed bun filled with various ingredients, including roast pork, chicken, and sweet red bean paste.
   Bee hoon:  Rice vermicelli noodles.
   Carrot cake (chai tow kueh):  Not what you'd expect--this is made of white radishes steamed and fried with egg and pickled turnip.  "Kueh" means "cake."
   Chapati:  Flat unleavened Indian bread made from wholemeal flour.
   Char siew fan:  Barbecued pork with rice.  "Fan" means "rice."
   Congee:  Rice porridge often served with fish, pork or chicken.
   Dosai:  Thin Indian crepe stuffed with potatoes or other ingrients, and served with various curries and sauces.
   Gado gado:  Vegetable salad covered in a peanut and coconut sauce, and served with prawn crackers.
   Goreng pisang:  Fried banana fritters.
   Hokkien mee:  Thick yellow noodles and vermicelli fried with pork and prawns in a thick, rich gravy.
   Hor fun:  Thick flat rice noodles, also called "kway teow."  (You can order "whore fun"??--ed.)
   Kambing:  Thick mutton stew served with bread.
   Kueh pie tee:  A crispy flour shell stuffed wiht _poh piah_ fillings.
   Ikan bills:  Dried anchovies.
   Laksa:  Spicy noodle soup made of coconut m,ilk and chili; often serve with chicken or prawns.
   Lontong:  Vegetables and rice cake covered in a rich coconut gravy.
   Mee rebus:  A Malay noodle dish in a thick and spicy sauce.
   Mee siam:  Rice vermicelli fried with chili and prawns and served in a sweet-sour gravy.
   Or luak:  An oyster omelet.
   Poh Piah:  Rice flour spring roll typically filled with turnip, dried shrimps and Chinese sausages.
   Rendang:  Indonesian-style curry served with beef or chicken.
   Rojak:  A salad of bean sprouts, pineapple, white turnip and bean curd tossed in a spicy peanut-and-shrimp paste.
   Sambal belacan:  A prawn-chili paste often used in Singapore cooking.
   Soto ayam:  Spicy chicken soup with vegetables and fried potato cakes.
   Shui jiao:  Prawn dumplings.  Also commonly referred to as "har gow" in Cantonese.
   Tahu:  "Tahu" means soybean, a food you can drink and eat.  Tahu goreng is deep-fried bean curd covered with peanut sauce.
   Tau hui chui:  Soybean milk.
   Yong tau foo:  A dish made famous by the Hakka CHinese.  Eggplant and bean curd stuffed with fish paste and minced meat, served in soup or dressed with sauce.

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MISC.

MERLION:  "Meet the majestic Merlion--the half-lion, half-fish symbol of Singapore."  Does the revised OED have this?

PORK FLOSS:  From a Singapore shopping guide.  "AUTHENTIC FLAVOURS  Bring home a taste of Singapore with fine food products such as Ambrosia Abalone, Hainanese Chicken Rice Mix and Crispy Pork Floss, from _Singapore Premium Food Gifts_."  Porkers floss?

NIAN GAO:  "_Nian gao_, literally translated to 'New Year Cake,' is made from glutinous rice flour and sugar.  Steamed or fried (often with batter) nian gao is consumed to facilitate increases in wealth and social status as 'gao' also means 'to rise every year.'"  OED or revised OED?

BUDDHA JUMPS OVER THE WALL:  From a guide to Singapore's Chinatown.  "Classic Cantonese dishes include _Dian Xin (Dim Sum)_--steamed or fried tidbits--and _"Buddha Jumps Over The Wall"_, a boiled herbal soup.  The Hakkas are famous for their _Yong Tau Foo_, a variety of boiled and fried vegetables filled with fish meat and served with sauces or in soup.  _Fish Ball Noodles_ is a specialty of the Teochews who are also famous for their porridge.  The Hainanese from the island of Hainan have made their culinary mark in Singapore through the ubiquitous _Chicken Rice_ stalls found all over the island.  The Hokkiens, which make up the largest CHinese ethnic group in SIngapore, are famous for their noodle dishes _Char Kuay Teow_ and _Hokkien Mee_."

LITTLE INDIA:  The Singapore Little India guide has a food glossary with these:
Chapati  A flat whole-wheat bread served with _dahl_ (lentils) and vegetables.
Dhosai  A rice flour and lentil pancake.
Gulab jamun  Cream cheese balls in syrup.
Paan wallah  A seller of _paan_--a preparation with betel leaf, betel nut, lime and spices.
prata  A crisp-srusty pancake served with curry gravy.
Puri  A deep-fried bread served with potato curry.
Samosa  A triangular snack filled with potatoes.
Teh=halia  GInger tea.
Teh-tarik  Tea, hand-pulled so as to aerate for flavour.
Vada  A savoury lentil doughnut.