What is Singaporean Food?

A friend arrived from France yesterday and we trooped off to Newton Circus Food Centre for a late night dinner. It was his first time in this part of the world. What better way to introduce him to Singapore, with a mind-boggling selection of local food, the hustle bustle of an outdoor food centre and of course, cheap cold Tiger beer. He would get to rub shoulders with locals and tourists alike in Newton.

There's a dish you have, with noodles and prawns. It looks really good, my friend said. I saw it in documentary about Singapore some time ago. What's it called? Lah... Lao... Cah...?

Do you mean Lau Pa Sat? It's a food centre not far from the business district.

No, it's the name of the dish, just noodles done this way. He mimed a frying action.

Turned out that he was referring to char kway teow. Mystery solved.

At Newton Food Centre, we had popiah, bbq stingray, oyster omelette, satay, chicken wings, black pepper beef and of course, a plate of char kway teow. Presented with such an exotic spread of food, my friend asked, Is this typical Singaporean food? What is Singaporean food?

I was stumped.

Is it chili crabs? Or Hainanese chicken rice? Should it be spicy? Or have its roots in Chinese or Malay or Indian food? What do I cook at home - a mix of Western and South East Asian food with influences from anywhere and everywhere else. What are the characteristics of Singaporean food - something that my mother would cook? Or something that we can easily find on every street corner?

I didn't know what to say. What do you think? What is Singaporean food, what characterizes it?