Prawn Eyes, Tortoise Shells, and Other Savory Items

Originally, I’d planned to post a daily blog. But, alas, I was over-ambitious. Almost two weeks have passed since I’ve arrived in Singapore, and as it would be nearly impossible to record my daily events, I will mince my descriptions. 

So far I’ve made two trips to Chinatown: the first for a sit-down dinner of live prawn tempura over fried rice and the second for some much-needed shopping. As Singapore’s population is made up of almost 75% Chinese, you can imagine the size of Chinatown. It swallows New York City’s Chinatown three times over and that’s before you add the gigantic shopping complex at the entrance. I found beautiful floral fans large enough to display on my wall back home and chopsticks with every design from fish to flowers to Hello Kitty (all of which I found necessary to buy). 

One of our most intriguing meals so far was at a sit-down Chinese restaurant (outside Chinatown) called Dian Xiao Er on Thursday night (June 2). As we arrived at the restaurant early, we were able to walk around the mall (the restaurant, like everything else from the metro to the hair salon to the grocery store is connected to the mall) beforehand, and we discovered that the mall was hosting an international sandcastle competition. From tiny granules sand artists sculpted kissing parrots, underwater sea creatures, an assortment of jewels, and, my favorite: a merlion which is a mythological creature with the head of a lion and the body of a mermaid. 

Kerri Nicole, Marquis Peacock, Gautum Sanka, Ananda Day, and I posing in front of a sand sculpture before dinner.

We returned to the restaurant at our reserved time and noticed a colorful sign welcoming our group inside. We were ushered into a back room lit with red lanterns where we were served plate after plate of every meat imaginable. If it swim, crawled, or flew, we tried it: duck, chicken, prawns, pork ribs, and white fish. And that was just the meat. We also enjoyed marinated vegetables and an assorted mushroom platter. I had particular difficulty with the sugar-glazed prawns. I have yet to master the art of de-shelling a shrimp with the tips of my chopsticks. Remembering my Vietnamese friend’s assertion that in Asia you can eat the shells, I popped the whole thing in my mouth, much to the surprise of everyone else at my table. I, too, was surprised when I realized I’d eaten the prawn’s eyes!

Our professors waiting outside the restaurant.

Then dessert came. “What could top the banquet we’d just enjoyed?” we wondered. I imagined a slice of cheesecake, chocolate mouse, or a bowl of ice cream. I would’ve even settled for a fortune cookie. Instead, we got turtle jelly. That’s right, the jelly was made from ground tortoise shells. After the meal I’d just enjoyed I couldn’t very well feign vegetarianism! I was stuck. We were instructed to pour honey on top to cut the bitter taste. Self-preservational skills called for equal amounts of honey and jelly. Looking around the room, we quickly surmised that the only people who’d managed to finish their bowls had lived in Singapore all their lives. One of our UNC professors later described the dessert as tasting like “delicious concrete.” I would only add that concrete is probably sweeter. 

"Dessert"