You know you can’t go wrong in a country where two new restaurants open each day. Seriously, Singapore means food.

MOVING COUNTRY in the middle of a stable career does demand a well thought-out plan. It’s neither easy for grown-up kids nor for a family to pitch the tent in a new country. However, as they say, the action is in Asia. Singapore is not only the gateway to Asia, but also the most promising alternate to a Western country. The city-country that is smaller than New Delhi, offers impeccable infrastructure and a great quality of life. We moved to Singapore two years ago, and the first thing that amazed us was the ease of getting assimilated into the Lion City. It’s hard to say what attracts so many expats from all over the world to Singapore. Perhaps, it is lower taxes, or fantastic infrastructure and public transport, or maybe it is the great food choices. You know you can’t go wrong in a country where two new restaurants open each day. Singapore means food.

Singapore is a melting pot of several cultures and it’s a great place for an Indian family, too. English and Tamil are among the four official languages, so it is a plug-and-play transition for most Indians. However, once we started fixing up the dinner table, the real sense of global citizenship became evident.

With no resources of its own, Singapore relies heavily on global supply chains. Thus, at any point of time, my shopping basket has the produce of at least six countries, with another 21 countries’ products vying for attention. And this is in the vegetable section alone. I started my observation with the humble potatoes — the staple vegetable for an Indian platter. A glance through the vegetable section and the varieties of potatoes is astounding. There are potatoes flying in from Australia, Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia, Thailand, and the US. On a certain day, my inner earth citizen woke up and I ditched the supermarket and opted for a local grocery store. After picking up the selective pieces I enquired about their origin, only to find out these were flown from Holland to land up in my pakodas. Scandinavian aloo bonda, anyone?

On a regular day, the kids drink milk from Australia, although there is the option of Amul milk as well. The bread, although baked in Singapore, is made of wheat flown in from India. My wife packs my daily ration of fruits, which has Kiwi fruit from New Zealand (obviously), apples from the US, grapes from Brazil, and blueberry from Norway. I am not a meat lover, but the observation of meat stall is equally intriguing. The meat options on the stall span from Scottish salmon fish and beef from Australia, to the poultry from neighbouring Malaysia. While doing this analysis of potpourri in my plate, another point of view seeps in. We seek what we consume. Likewise, there are people of other nationalities tracing the origin and logistics of their food. This means that while my point of view is skewed by my Indian palate, there are many variations of views available. The thought is humbling in a sense.

While the city is mapped with speciality and regional food stores, one can visit the 24-hour store Mustafa to see the wide array of ingredients. Mustafa is akin to the Library of Congress for food connoisseurs. No wonder it was included in the “Icons of Singapore” list during this year’s SG50 celebrations. The sheer variety of food in Mustafa is mind boggling. Out of 63 aisles, I start my voyage with sugar. I am spoilt for choice with 13 varieties of sugar. Spice section can increase your general knowledge of food by manifold. If the aisles of Mustafa were not so narrow, it could have been a great place for school excursions.

Singapore’s community integration programme has been in force for many years now. Only the experts can analyse and dissect its impact on creating a homogenous society. However, from a bystander’s point of view, the results are already evident. I think it is the palate that has so many distinctions and yet, it is the best uniting force of Singapore’s multicultural society. All hail the food courts!