Up to Singapore and a bit of Malaysia - July 18th-August 1st 2008

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July 26th 2008: Little India and Kampong Glam (Arab Quarter)


Page 3 of 3.
Click on images below to enlarge:
More Kampong Glam (Arab Quarter)
Look at this mammoth, vine-coated tree.
The Hajjah Fatimah Mosque (a.k.a. Rochor Mosque) and its octagonal minaret.
Alsagoff Arab School is the oldest surviving girls' school in Singapore and also was the first Muslim school.
Malabar Mosque (a.k.a. Golden Dome Mosque) is a mellow blue.
Look at this mammoth, vine-coated tree.
The Hajjah Fatimah Mosque (a.k.a. Rochor Mosque) and its octagonal minaret.
Alsagoff Arab School is the oldest surviving girls' school in Singapore and also was the first Muslim school.
Malabar Mosque (a.k.a. Golden Dome Mosque) is a mellow blue.
Back to Little India
More of what are likely to be government-erected buildings.
More of what are likely to be government-erected buildings.
Sri Perumal Temple
Back in Little India, I visited another Hindu temple, the Sri Perumal Temple. Its gopuram is tall and so filled with idols that I took this picture at the highest resolution so I could go back later to examine them. (See the full-sized image.)
Looking toward the main shrine.
What can I say? Pretty fancy.
Back in Little India, I visited another Hindu temple, the Sri Perumal Temple.
Its gopuram is tall and so filled with idols that I took this picture at the highest resolution so I could go back later to examine them. (See the full-sized image.)
Looking toward the main shrine.
What can I say? Pretty fancy.
Additional shrines.
I like the ceiling.
Additional shrines.
I like the ceiling.
Dinner at Banana Leaf Apollo
Banana Leaf Apollo, where I ate dinner.
The setting inside the restaurant. Notice all the open banana leaves that served as plates.
They gave me the sides that come with most meals on the menu but they later realized I ordered the fish head curry and therefore shouldn't get any sides. The sides were eggplant and a non-traditional preparation of cabbage.
The fish head curry. I ordered the smallest size. It was a good-quality, spicy fish curry. I wouldn't have known it was a fish head (carp?) if I hadn't been extracting meat from the bones by hand. (Yes, I did it mostly by hand once it cooled enough to handle; I had heard that was the way one is supposed to eat it.) A noticeable difference between this and the body of a fish is that the head has a larger amount of skin. (The skin is tasty, so that's not a complaint.) By the way, the soup also had okra, which worked well with the curry.
Banana Leaf Apollo, where I ate dinner.
The setting inside the restaurant. Notice all the open banana leaves that served as plates.
They gave me the sides that come with most meals on the menu but they later realized I ordered the fish head curry and therefore shouldn't get any sides. The sides were eggplant and a non-traditional preparation of cabbage.
The fish head curry. I ordered the smallest size.
It was a good-quality, spicy fish curry. I wouldn't have known it was a fish head (carp?) if I hadn't been extracting meat from the bones by hand. (Yes, I did it mostly by hand once it cooled enough to handle; I had heard that was the way one is supposed to eat it.) A noticeable difference between this and the body of a fish is that the head has a larger amount of skin. (The skin is tasty, so that's not a complaint.) By the way, the soup also had okra, which worked well with the curry.
After eating some fish, I turned the dish to make it more obvious for this picture that it is a head, complete with eyes and a mouth.
A close-up of an eyeball. The eyeballs were the most distinctive difference between a fish head curry and a regular fish curry. The eyeballs' outer coating looked and tasted like fat. The ball itself tasted like egg. The center of the ball got harder (calcified?) and was impossible to eat. One eyeball and a taste of the outer membrane was enough for me.
The remains, with a pile of bones in the bowl and on the banana leaf, just to prove I ate the whole thing.
After eating some fish, I turned the dish to make it more obvious for this picture that it is a head, complete with eyes and a mouth.
A close-up of an eyeball.
The eyeballs were the most distinctive difference between a fish head curry and a regular fish curry. The eyeballs' outer coating looked and tasted like fat. The ball itself tasted like egg. The center of the ball got harder (calcified?) and was impossible to eat. One eyeball and a taste of the outer membrane was enough for me.
The remains, with a pile of bones in the bowl and on the banana leaf, just to prove I ate the whole thing.
Nearby
In Little India, a large crowd watched a movie on a small screen. As I view this picture now, I notice it's all men.
In Little India, a large crowd watched a movie on a small screen.
As I view this picture now, I notice it's all men.
Fodder for Panorama of inside of Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple