Return to Singapore 1995

After Tang Xinyi picked up the phone, the callers were her two best friends, Lisa and Xiaomei, who had agreed to go practice dancing together later.

"Xinyi, where are you now?" Lisa asked on the phone.

Tang Xinyi said, "I'm in Newton Circle with a friend. We just sat down to order food. Have you eaten yet? If not, come over together!"

"Okay, Xiaomei and I are also near Newton Circle. Where are you in Newton Circle?"

"We're waiting for you at Shop No. 70! By the way, what do you want to eat? Let's order it together first to save time!"

On the phone, Lisa smiled and said, "Spicy crabs, black pepper crabs, manta rays, tiger shrimps, clams and other seafood are all fine!"

"Wow, so much, can you eat it? ”

“It’s a rare occasion that you treat us, so of course we have to eat more! Okay, Xinyi, just kidding, just order whatever you want, we still have to dance tonight, so let’s eat less!”

After hanging up the phone, Tang Xinyi said to Li Xiaofan: “Brother Xiaofan, I have two girlfriends coming over later, so you don’t have to spend money tonight, I’ll order the dishes, I know what they like to eat!”

Then she went to two or three shops and ordered satay, manta, tiger prawns and fish ball noodles, Rojak, Popiah and other delicacies and drinks such as sugarcane juice.

Soon, the first dish served was Rojak.

“Rojak” means “mixed” in Malay. This food is really a hodgepodge, mixed with fresh guava, pineapple, green apple, mango, cucumber, chili, peanuts, tamarind, honey, black soybean milk and other foods. The most special thing about these fruit pieces is that they are finally mixed with various sauces such as rojak sauce, roasted peanuts, and roasted sesame seeds.

Among the local foods in Singapore, only this Rojak food is a bit hard for Li Xiaofan to eat, and it feels very strange.

However, Tang Xinyi picked up a piece of guava with a toothpick and threw it into her mouth, but she ate it with relish: "Well, delicious, very authentic!"

"Brother Xiaofan, why don't you eat it? Is it not delicious?" She asked curiously,

Li Xiaofan smiled and perfunctorily said: "I'm not very hungry yet, I want to wait for other delicacies to eat together..."

"Hi, Xinyi!" While the two were talking, Lisa and Xiaomei, two girlfriends, arrived.

"Lisa, little sister, come, let me introduce you, this is my brother's mainland friend, Brother Xiaofan..."

Tang Xinyi introduced them to each other and Li Xiaofan.

"Hello everyone, my name is Li Xiaofan, just call me Afan..."

After Lisa and Xiaomei greeted Li Xiaofan, they chatted with Tang Xinyi while eating Rojak.

Because they grew up together, the three of them were used to communicating in Singaporean English. The English spoken by Singaporeans is also mixed with a lot of local Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese and Malay words, just like the food Rojak is a hodgepodge.

Halfway through the conversation, Tang Xinyi felt something was wrong. She was afraid of ignoring Li Xiaofan, so she said to Li Xiaofan in Chinese: "Brother Xiaofan, do you understand what we are saying?"

"No problem!" Li Xiaofan smiled.

So the three girls continued to chat.

Then the shop next door sent Popiah. This Popiah is called pancake in Chinese, which is actually the Singaporean version of fresh spring rolls. The thin dough is rolled with fungus, mushrooms, radish and other delicious ingredients. It is fresh, rich in taste and delicious. Popiah pancake is also one of the popular snacks loved by Singaporeans. Li Xiaofan also likes this food.

Later, satay, fish ball noodles, tiger shrimp, manta ray and other delicacies were served one after another.

Satay is called Satay in Singapore, which is actually a barbecued meat skewers with Nanyang style.

Fish ball noodles are made of fresh chopped fish meat. The fish balls are fresh and not fishy, ​​and the soup and rice noodles are very delicious. Singapore fish balls are also called fish balls and fish cakes. They are an indispensable food in Singaporeans' daily diet. They are indispensable for cooking, making soup and cooking. The local fish balls are made of pure fish paste without any additives and flavors. They pursue the original flavor and pay attention to softness and chewiness.

For the tiger prawn dish, the shell is cut in the middle and covered with garlic paste. The prawn meat is fresh, refreshing and chewy. Every bite is delicious.

The most popular food in Newton Circle must be grilled manta rays. The owner of the stall generally only uses manta rays weighing no more than 1.5 kilograms to ensure the tenderness of the meat. Fresh manta rays are coated with a special sauce and grilled on banana leaves. The sauce includes a special recipe of dried chili, lemongrass, turmeric, dried shrimp, etc. After being grilled, it is squeezed with small lime. The tender fish meat is matched with a special Southeast Asian sauce, which is sour, spicy and fresh.

After the food came one after another, the four people ate with relish. The three girls also shifted the topic to the food in front of them and the food topics of Singapore Island. At this time, Li Xiaofan began to participate in their discussion.

Halfway through the conversation, they found that Li Xiaofan's Singaporean English was very authentic and there was no problem in communication.

"Afan, have you been in Singapore for many years?" Lisa asked curiously.

"About half a year..." Li Xiaofan replied.

"Wow, Affan, you are very adaptable. It's rare to meet mainland friends like you who can communicate seamlessly with us in English!" Xiaomei praised.

Then Lisa and Xiaomei began to tease Tang Xinyi: "Xinyi, when did you meet this handsome guy Afan? You didn't introduce him to us. You actually hid it secretly for so long and even dated in private. If we hadn't just called you……"

"What's this all about? Brother Xiaofan and I were busy working just now, okay! I'm a partner of Brother Xiaofan's new company..."

Lisa and Xiaomei teased: "Xinyi, don't explain, it's getting darker and darker..."

Tang Xinyi looked at her watch and said, "Sisters, it's getting late, we should set off!"

Lisa looked at Li Xiaofan and asked, "Afan, do you have anything else to do later?"

"It's nothing serious..."

"Would you like to learn to dance with us?"

"Dancing? Forget it!"

Xiaomei also invited: "Afan, come with us, we have a young male escort there! Please accompany Xinyi. Aren't you worried that Xinyi will be attracted by other dancing boys?"

Tang Xinyi said angrily: "You two guys, why do you want to drag me into anything?"

She turned to Li Xiaofan and said, "If you have nothing to do tonight, why don't you come learn to dance with us?"

"What dance are you learning?" Li Xiaofan asked.

"Argentina Tango, do you know?" Lisa asked.

"Argentinian tango?"

"Well, that's how it should be said in Chinese!"

Li Xiaofan smiled and said: "This seems to be a bit clever, I have learned a little bit before..."

In fact, this Argentine tango is from Li Xiaofan’s past life in Shanghai.

"Ah? Brother Xiaofan, have you ever learned Argentine tango?" Tang Xinyi's eyes widened.

"Well, but it's just scratching the surface!"

Lisa and Xiaomei clapped their hands and praised: "That's great! We are in need of a male dance partner!"