Don’t Call It A Comeback…

Did you miss me?

I know, it’s been a while since my words have graced your screen. A lot has changed since we last spoke (or rather, I spoke while you listened, which is the way most of my conversations go). I finished my sophomore year of college and am now almost twenty, a thought that terrifies me. And how do we cope with this quarter-life crisis? By jumping headfirst into drastic change. Which brings me to why I’m resurrecting this publication in the first place. Instead of heading back to Washington, DC this fall, I’ll be taking my talents to South Beach. Not Miami, a different south beach.

I’ll be spending this upcoming school year in the tiny island city-state of Singapore. In approximately a month, I’ll make my way to the Yale-NUS campus, dump my duffel bag, and immediately make a beeline for the nearest hawker center. Because let’s be real, that’s really why I’m going. For the food. That’s why I do anything, why I get out of bed in the morning, why I’m working 40 hours a week all summer so I can save money to then spend on food in Singapore. Does it help that I’ll be studying at the #1 ranked university in Asia, or that my grandparents will finally be proud of me because I’ll be an Ivy Leaguer? (Attention grandparents: this is a joke and I know you’re proud of me regardless, love you.) I consider that to be an added bonus.

Real ones may remember that I visited Singapore very briefly back in 2016. Did I vow to someday return? Honestly, I couldn’t tell you. But when I was pondering my study abroad options, Singapore jumped out at me. As I thought about it, it checked all of my boxes. The food is second to none, and I’ll give a brief history to contextualize why that is. Back in the olden days, Singapore was a stopover for trade between India and China – one look at the above map can tell you why. So for hundreds of years, Singapore has had large Indian and Chinese communities in addition to Malays and other ethnic groups. You can imagine how this translates into amazing food. And despite Singapore’s reputation for being an expensive city – while it certainly is, it’s comparable to DC – there’s a plethora of cheap dining options in the form of street food and hawker centers.

A typical hawker center: think an indoor cart pod, with food stalls and communal seating.

Singapore has a lot of other things going for it as well. The public transport is world-class, and the city as a whole is incredibly clean and safe. There are some downsides, like some restrictions on freedom of speech and political opposition, and a judicial system that makes the United States look like Denmark when it comes to some things. But no worries, I think I can stay out of trouble.

Anyways, I just wanted to say watch this space! I’ll be posting my adventures here, and there’s a chance I might discuss my life outside of what I’m eating. If you want to get a feel for Singapore, let Anthony Bourdain be your guide and check out S10 E1 of Parts Unknown or S4 E1 of No Reservations. For potentially more of my content, be sure to check out @zeveatsit on Instagram and Twitter as well. Catch you later…