A Meal at a Hawker Center.

Now that you have a better idea of what a Hawker Center really is, it's worth mentioning and describing one particular meal at the Adams Street Hawker Center.

I will admit that this was not a meal that I stumbled upon. Prior to leaving, I had read up on several suggestions on specific meals to eat. Anthony Bourdain, whose love affair with Singapore is well known, made mention of a specific dish known as Sup Tulang. Literally translated as "bone soup" the name of the dish is quite descriptive of what it actually is: mutton bones roasted and stewed in a hot-and-sour chile sauce. And by mutton bones, I do not mean mutton chops, or rack of mutton, etc. Once I was served the dish, the first impression I had was, "where the hell is the meat?" For in front of me looked like scraps from a previous meal: bones and pieces of fat.

But my concern quickly vanished as I began to eat what I can honestly describe as the first experience I've ever had with food porn. For those who think food porn is a cross between Whole Foods and an Adult Video store, food porn is a modern-ish phrase that refers to the sensual experiences that we feel when we eat really good food. It's an uncontrollable rush of flavors and smells. And to be honest, I really hate the phrase. I think it's cliche, unnecessary, and simply stupid. But I will say that sup tulang made me feel something on the same plane as food porn.

To eat sup tulang, one must do one of two things. First, you have to spend a good 15-20 minutes gnawing on the outside of the bone, chewing and savoring the roasted connective tissues and fat that usually is ignored and discarded in favor for the meat itself. Once that's complete, I had to start digging into the bones themselves, to dig out the roasted marrow. To get all the marrow out is a true test of one's patience. In addition to using my silverware, I had to use my drink's straw to suck out the remaining bits from the bones. It's certainly one of those things in life that requires one to earn their keep.

(Digging for the morsels.)

And was it worth it? Absolutely. Here I was, an American completely covered and stained with chile sauce, probably a complete visual mockery in the eyes of the locals sitting around me. And yet for an hour, I may have been the happiest person on Earth. I cannot explain to you how good this dish was. This was me as my brother was every time he got a copy of the new Harry Potter book from Amazon (which in fact, looked something like this). This was on the verge of being June 12, 2009 happy.

In the end, what is truly endearing about the dish is the idea that we can take something with little obvious value (mutton bones) and through practice, ingenuity, and patience, we can turn it into something freaking delicious. Sup tu lang is one of those dishes that is a product of generations. It's a lasting testament of cultural identity. And we are the beneficiaries. C'est la vie.