Delicatessen: Tiong Bahru Hawker Centre

Tiong Bahru hails a neighbourhood of tremendous heritage that has been kept up to this day, bits and parts of it that has not only coexisted with the development, but lived and breathed together. A man (a doctor he is, but I do not remember his name) wants to establish this place in Singapore as a UNESCO site. It's not a surprise if you think through it. Tiong Bahru can never be as brilliant as Taj Mahal but this man says some many UNESCO sites are established for its cultural space.

The hawker centre is an exemplication to my opinion. Climbing up a hard flight of stairs, the place is nothing of the old. Its stalls are new, high ceilings, lots of fans, lots of space. Many of its stalls are rated 'A' for hygiene as well. The food stores, the people is the essence...

Pig's organ soup (Thi-U Huang Giam Cai). Tasty and absolutely. Lots of zest and effort in the ingredients. The old man collects the orders. The aunties collect the money. The younger man cooks. Very friendly stall...the old man gives me time to consider my order and explains to me the serving. "Man man lai" he says, as the queue piles up...

Lor Mee with fried Stingray. Another delight. The Lor Mee is delicious and the stingray makes it greater.

Fried Ice-Cream. This is the only place that I know sells. The dish is a legend, and exotic in the sense that something frozen can be fried over, and to savour in the ice-cream that is still frozen as you tug in. But they have run out of ice-cream and I was to miss it after spending my childhood years thinking of eating it again! "The group of kids this morning finished the ice-cream" The young Malay girl explains though her empty stall (as compared to the bustling hawker centre) had no evidence of that. I could only leave in disappointment!