The Food Court Phenomenon

I've never been much of a food court eater.  Eating at a mall food court for me is usually a result of desperation or a craving for Chick-Fil-A.  While we don't frequent the food court in the US, in Singapore we eat at the food court almost every day.  It takes some getting used to and I'm still learning my way around the different stalls but it is definitely becoming my go-to for a quick, cheap meal.  The mall is the closet place with eating establishments to my office so everyone wants to go there all the time.

Doesn't this sound appetizing?

Every mall has a few American fast food establishments (McDonald's, Subway, KFC, Burger King, Carl's Jr., and Pizza Hut), a few local chain sit-down restaurants, and then a food court or two.  These food courts are filled with dozens of stalls serving every Asian cuisine you can think of - Indian, Chinese, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean and more.  There is even a stall that sells Western food and is conveniently called just that, Western Foods.  A western meal sounds exciting until you realize its just fish and chips.  The most interesting stall I have seen has to be Pig Organ Soup.  The names really aren't creative, they sell what they say.

I always intend to try different things when I go but since I have no idea what many of the choices are I usually end up with one of three dishes - Thai Chicken Curry and rice (with breast meat!), #4 Fish Meal from the Indonesian stall (unknown fish type that is grilled and dipped in this teriyaki like sauce served with rice and egg), or Yong Tau Foo (you get to choose 7 items like fish balls, mushrooms, eggplant, eggs and other stuff to be flash boiled in chicken broth and served with rice or noodles).  All of these meals cost S$5.40 ($4.30 USD) or less which really isn't too bad.  Derek gets his lunch at a Food Center and spends less than S$4.00.  The only difference between my lunch and Derek's is that I got to sit in an air conditioned mall and he had to sit outside.

A few things to know when eating in a food court or food center.

• Napkins are not provided. You must carry your own pocket tissue or napkins if you need one.  I keep a small pack of Kleenex in my purse at all times.
• Drinks sold separately.  Separately as in a different stall.  There is only one stall that sells drinks in the whole food court and most people will not drink anything with their meal.  They wait until after to go get a coffee, tea, or juice.
• Don't take your trash.  Almost every eating establishment including McDonald's has people to clear your dishes or trash.  I still feel awkward leaving my trash on the table.

Air conditioned mall seating

Just one line of stalls.  This was taken late in
the lunch hour so not very many people
in the Q (yes, they call lines Qs and not
queues).