我家附近的小贩中心
- 我听说这里的食物很难吃，甚至有人吃了生病。。
- 我不知道小贩中心的规定。
- 整天有坐前面的人。他们看行人。我有点害怕。
然后，这个日，我决定我得去。
下雨了。 It was raining. For a brief moment, my will faltered. After all, maybe could I come another day, a sunny day?... No! No! No excuses. All the parameters were green: it was noon, I didn't have anything important planned this night or the next day (so I could, in the worst case, fall sick from the food), I had cash on me (they only take cash or weird mobile apps) and I would get wet only a few seconds going there.
So I went into the arena, in the middle of a dozen stands selling Beijing duck, chicken, or the famous chicken rice of Singapore... and I decided to eat rice with pork. In a corner, in an isolated spot, a stand that had an available vendor and clear prices. "Roasted pork and rice". 4$. That was my target.
In addition to all these good point, I was also the only client, which is not a good sign about the food in this particular stand but it relieved me from stress a bit.
"Hello", I said timidly.
-What you want ?
-Euuuuuuh raustaide paurque end raillsse.
-Chicken? You want chicken?"
I stayed still a few minutes, shocked, appalled by my English level, so low that I could say "pork" and people would understand "chicken". And it was a pork seller! Specialized in pork! Why would he ask if I wanted chicken?! Did I look SO lost, not even able to go to the chicken stand to buy chicken?!
"No no. Raustiiiide pôôrque end raillsse."
His coworker, appearing from thin air, came to help me. "You want that?", she asked me, pointing to the dish I had selected. Props to her.
"Yes...?"
But in fact, I didn't want anything in particular uh. The day's objective was to go eat at the Hawker Center, I didn't care what I would eat. If they wanted to give me calamari eyes with mortadella sauce I really didn't care. I was ready to take whatever they were ready to give me.
"Fourteen dollars."
Uh? Fourteen?! Did I read wrongly? Was it a tourist trap? A bit disappointed, I took my bills out but, to my relief, she took only one bill and gave me the rest back. Ok, so, it really was 4 Singaporeans dollars.
She gave me a bowl of soup. Was I supposed to take it with my hands? I quickly realized I wasn't.
"HOT! It's HOT!", she berated me.
"Ah! Ah bon.", I answered, lost. I then remembered that I was supposed to take... a platter? Yes, a platter. And I let her put the smoking hot bowl on top.
Alright. Now, how to GET my plate? Should I put the platter on the countertop, in front of the seller, right where people pay? This is what I decided to do and I was immediately rewarded by a delicious looking plate with rice, unknown vegetables and sliced pork.
"Ah ! Ah ! Véri fasste.", I said enthusiastically to hide my awkwardness. I didn't get any answer. Maybe none of them understood me.
Anyway, I went to sit, shaking from head to toe, almost spilling out the soup under the disapproving eye of the old lady. I had spotted a seat near a small guy wearing glasses. Maybe he was also a geek, maybe we could bond over lunch? But I knew I was day dreaming.
The first bite reassured me a bit: it was alright. Not excessively spicy, not tasting like food poisoning.
The more I ate, the more relaxed I became. Until someone interrupted me. "You need something?", he asked.
Why me? There were not a lot of people around, maybe 10 or 15 eaters, but he SPECIFICALLY came to see me. Did I do something wrong? Was it some sort of scam?
I said no, thanked him and kept eating, happy to see him disappear.
End of lunch. Ok. What to do now? I knew I was supposed to bring back the platter, or risk paying a fine (example, $300 fine for this foreign student). So I needed to find the return tray area. I got up, wobbling, and thankfully managed to find it fast.
There was 2 trolleys, halal or non-halal. Pork.... mmm... non-halal, I guessed. Amused by this segregation, I decided to take the picture below, losing enough time for the scammer from before to come back to look at me wide eyed. Was it so ridiculous to snap this picture?
Well, this was my experience. Happy to have completed it, I went back home. All this adventure had made me hungry, thankfully I had French bread and French cheese at home.
22 juin 2026 - Paul