Singaporeans love a bargain, and they love to eat, so the factory outlets that sell foodstuffs are pretty popular. The lovely Chris and I are partial to a spot of fish, so yesterday we popped off to the Fassler outlet in Woodlands. Woodlands is in the north of the island, very close to the causeway to Malaysia. Woodlands is very different from where we live, in central Singapore. Its development started in the seventies and it has grown into a huge neighbourhood, with lots of high rises, but also lots of green space. It's not for me, but it is popular with a number of expats, because the American school is there. It was pretty popular yesterday too, but there wasn't an expat in sight, apart from me. When we decided to go, I had forgotten that we are just 10 days away from Chinese New Year and it hadn't struck me that Fassler would be any busier than on a normal weekend. What was I thinking? Turning into the street should have been the first clue. Fassler is one of a number of outlets in the same street, but parking is not usually a problem. Yesterday though, there were coaches parked along the length of the street, which had transported hordes of Singaporeans shopping for their Chinese new Year dinner.
Normally, I am in and out of Fassler in 15 minutes - 10 minutes to shop and 5 minutes to pack and pay. This time, though, there were 50 people in front of me in the queue and only two tills operating (double the number of a normal trading day). Think Oxford Street on Christmas Eve. If anyone from Fassler reads this, can I suggest you hire in some temporary labour for the run up to CNY?
I was very tempted to abandon my basket and go home, but apart from the fact that it took ages to get there because our sat nav wouldn't play the game - it seemed to think we were walking there and kept giving us completely inappropriate routes - I needed some of the stuff I was buying to cook dinner that night. So I stuck with it, got chatting to my queue neighbours and had as good a time as you can have when you are stuck in a queue for 50 minutes without a phone (I had stupidly left it in the car and I had no idea where Chris had managed to park), a book, or any stimulation apart from a basket full of frozen fish.
The dinner, though, was a great success, so it was all worth it in the end. We had prawn and pomelo salad - a personal favourite - salmon fish cakes made with salmon belly, followed by Nigella's sticky chocolate pudding. I'm not really a pudding girl, but this was dead easy. It's the first time I've ever made it, but I'll definitely do it again. Using salmon belly was a first for me as well, and it was amazing. The belly is much juicier than the centre cut fillets I usually buy and it produced the yummiest fish cakes. Once CNY is over, I'll definitely go shopping for more.
Here's a recipe to get your taste buds tingling:
Normally, I am in and out of Fassler in 15 minutes - 10 minutes to shop and 5 minutes to pack and pay. This time, though, there were 50 people in front of me in the queue and only two tills operating (double the number of a normal trading day). Think Oxford Street on Christmas Eve. If anyone from Fassler reads this, can I suggest you hire in some temporary labour for the run up to CNY?
I was very tempted to abandon my basket and go home, but apart from the fact that it took ages to get there because our sat nav wouldn't play the game - it seemed to think we were walking there and kept giving us completely inappropriate routes - I needed some of the stuff I was buying to cook dinner that night. So I stuck with it, got chatting to my queue neighbours and had as good a time as you can have when you are stuck in a queue for 50 minutes without a phone (I had stupidly left it in the car and I had no idea where Chris had managed to park), a book, or any stimulation apart from a basket full of frozen fish.
The dinner, though, was a great success, so it was all worth it in the end. We had prawn and pomelo salad - a personal favourite - salmon fish cakes made with salmon belly, followed by Nigella's sticky chocolate pudding. I'm not really a pudding girl, but this was dead easy. It's the first time I've ever made it, but I'll definitely do it again. Using salmon belly was a first for me as well, and it was amazing. The belly is much juicier than the centre cut fillets I usually buy and it produced the yummiest fish cakes. Once CNY is over, I'll definitely go shopping for more.
Here's a recipe to get your taste buds tingling:
Prawn and pomelo salad
- 1 large pomelo - I don't know how easy these are to find outside Asia, but you could try using a couple of pink grapefruit instead. Keep the shells and serve the salad in them.
- 200g cooked prawns - peeled and de-veined. I like to use big ones and chop them into 3 or 4 pieces, but leave a whole one for garnishing each serving
- a handful of chopped dry roasted peanuts. You can use almonds or hazelnuts instead if you prefer, but it is important to toast the nuts in a dry frying pan to maximise the flavour
- a handful of chopped fresh mint leaves and coriander
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot or red onion
- 3 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce, mixed with 3 tablespoons of lime juice. Most recipes call for a bit of sugar in the dressing, but I leave it out
- 2 tablespoons of dry roasted grated coconut
- some finely chopped red chillis - as much or as little as you like
Make sure you leave all the pith behind when you get the fruit out of your pomelo (probably a bit harder with a grapefruit, but worth the effort). Separate the segments out into little bits, with your hands or a knife, add everything else except the nuts. Toss it all together and add a sprinkle of nuts to the finished article. Enjoy!
My friend Steve is not a fan of the nut of the coco, and you can of course leave out the coconut if you like, but it won't be the same. I feel a haiku in praise of the prawn coming 0n.
Strange little pink thing
Delicious with pomelo
And with mango too.
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