Singapore Foodie and Newbie Meet Up

I can’t help but break into that (slightly annoying) Disney tune — It’s a small, small world! And it really is, especially when you’re thousands of miles away from what you once called “home” and end up meeting people through random coincidences who not only come from places you’ve lived, but also share similar interests and experiences. In this case: being a foodie and a newbie to Singapore.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my family and I have recently moved to Singapore. We’re what you’d call “expats,” a term this country is very familiar with, given how large a part of the population comes from elsewhere. Singapore itself isn’t entirely new to me. In fact, it was the first country I ever visited outside the US — my very first “foreign” (or phoren, as we used to say in India) trip back in high school. My uncle and his family have lived here for over two decades, and I used to visit them during my summer breaks.

That said, the Singapore then and the Singapore now feel vastly different. For one, I don’t remember it being quite this expensive (not that I paid much attention as a teenager). I also don’t recall noticing just how many expats lived here. And I certainly don’t remember being struck by how jaw-droppingly expensive owning a car is — especially when you see Ferraris and Maseratis casually cruising the streets (beats Dallas hollow).

So here I am, about three and a half weeks into life in this “new” city and country, exploring it partly like a tourist and partly as someone just trying to keep a tween occupied.

Just last week, I was doing a Google search to find the local wholesale fruit and vegetable market so I could kick-start my juicing routine. That search led me to a blog post by another inspiring blogger I had mentioned earlier. Fast forward exactly seven days, and I can proudly say I now have five new friends in Singapore. And believe it or not, half of them are from Texas. One even happens to be from Wisconsin — which, incidentally, is where we lived before Texas. What else can you say but it really is a small world after all.

After an initial email exchange with Andrea Stunz, the author of Our Family Adventures, she graciously invited me to join a shopping and dining outing with “the girls.” What I didn’t realize at the time was that most of them were also relatively new to Singapore, having moved here within the past year. We hit it off instantly and soon found ourselves chatting like long-lost girlfriends. There was so much to talk about. And that’s how I met Randi, JoAnn, Karie, Staci, and of course Andrea — the social butterfly who brought us all together.

We wandered through the famous Arab Street, known for its textiles, Persian carpets, wicker, stunning lamps — and, of course, amazing food.

We strolled along, chatting, exchanging information, picking up a few tchotchkes, admiring the beautiful shops, and imagining what we’d do with the ornate lamps we were tempted to buy before eventually leaving Singapore and heading back to the US. Reality quickly set in, though — condo living here means much smaller rooms than what we’re used to.

Eventually, we stopped for lunch at a simple, no-frills café called Cafe le Caire. And honestly, that turned out to be the highlight of the day. Plates of mezze kept coming — hummus, baba ghanoush, falafel, tahini, olives, hummus bil tomato (soft chickpeas in tomato sauce), foul (fava beans in gravy), eggplant in yogurt, and plenty of pita bread.

This was truly the highlight of the outing. The food was light, flavorful, and — as anyone who knows me well will appreciate — offered plenty of vegetarian options. My kind of meal.

We had such a great time that we parted with plans to turn this into a weekly lunch group. Our next destination is Chinatown for dim sum, so there’s more to come next week.

Thank you, Andrea, for making it feel “like I was back in Texas,” as you put it. It genuinely felt like we’d all known each other for ages, which makes me think this meeting was meant to happen. Here’s to many more outings and a growing friendship.

To the Lunch Bunch 🥂