Buying fish in Singapore

[Lisafuller]

I consume about 1 can of tuna per week, not a western country brand, if that matters. Tuna here is very pricey, so I’ve always gone for the lowest price that tastes reasonably good.

I used to consume Fair Price brand, but during Covid they ran out and I found Farmland to be equally good - it claims to be “skipjack” tuna, but I have no idea what that means.

Prices of tuna have been going up so I’ve stocked up whenever there is a sale, sitting on over 30 cans at last count.

30?! Well at least it's canned so it really can't go bad. I didn't know Farmland sold tuna, I know them mostly for potato products. Their hashbrowns are okay, though the Fair Isle ones are far better and cheaper. I usually get the Ayam brand, but Meadows (cold storage's house brand) is pretty good too.

I was also skeptical about the brand but was forced to try something new after my usual FairPrice brand ran out. I would actually give Farmland a slight edge over FairPrice in terms of taste and quality.

The cans don’t expire until 2025, and my consumption is around one can a week or 52 cans a year. I don’t mind having extra.. the way prices are going. I used to get FairPrice brand for around $1.80 on sale, but since they came back into stock they are now they are $2.47 and haven’t gone on sale.

I haven’t tried Ayam brand since over 20 years ago, but I recall it wasn’t anything special, nothing that would make me want to pay a premium price — if I’m paying a premium l’ll get a western brand. The absolute worst tuna I’ve ever tried was Fortune brand — only suitable for feline consumption.

I honestly think prices are getting out of hand. I don't know if it's just me, but I don't feel like canned food should be more than a dollar.

[Lisafuller]

Why only western canned tuna? I find the Ayam brand tuna to be not half bad.

Ayam isn't all that bad. While not voiced, I meant the controls on production, mercury, and cleanliness of the facilities generally speaking are more controlled in Western countries (Singapore, Japan & Korea[maybe] being the exceptions).

Gotcha. Though I would expect the requirements that the SFA imposes on fresh food to also extend to the canned stuff.

[Lisafuller]

Why only western canned tuna? I find the Ayam brand tuna to be not half bad.

Ayam isn't all that bad. While not voiced, I meant the controls on production, mercury, and cleanliness of the facilities generally speaking are more controlled in Western countries (Singapore, Japan & Korea[maybe] being the exceptions).

I treat it like hot dogs… I don’t wanna know

As long as I don’t see or taste anything weird…

Hahaha, that's how I am with impossible meat. I don't want to know how they make it, I just sear and eat.

[Wd40]

My wife didn't like the tuna, although to me it was okay. So I guess we go back to Pomfret, Smelt whiting, Sardine and mackerel. These 4 are going to be our staple.

My wife is completely against canned food. In India we don't even get any canned food, it is a big taboo there to eat anything that is not freshly prepared. Even UHT milk is something only I add to tea. My wife and daughter don't even touch it. The roti/naan we make kneading the flour. Actually even the flour is a new adoption like a 2 decades ago. Before that we would buy wheat go to a mill and get it powdered into floor and then make naan/roti out of it

The thosai that we make, we buy white colour pulses called Urid daal and then we have a grinder at home we mix it with rice and make batter out of it after soaking overnight and then make the thosai. We make the chutney(The sause which is used as side for the thosa) by buying whole coconut and then we have a grater at home, we grate it and then grind it with chilli and make the chutney.

Indian cooking is very elaborate and a full time job

[Lisafuller]

My wife didn't like the tuna, although to me it was okay. So I guess we go back to Pomfret, Smelt whiting, Sardine and mackerel. These 4 are going to be our staple.

My wife is completely against canned food. In India we don't even get any canned food, it is a big taboo there to eat anything that is not freshly prepared. Even UHT milk is something only I add to tea. My wife and daughter don't even touch it. The roti/naan we make kneading the flour. Actually even the flour is a new adoption like a 2 decades ago. Before that we would buy wheat go to a mill and get it powdered into floor and then make naan/roti out of it

The thosai that we make, we buy white colour pulses called Urid daal and then we have a grinder at home we mix it with rice and make batter out of it after soaking overnight and then make the thosai. We make the chutney(The sause which is used as side for the thosa) by buying whole coconut and then we have a grater at home, we grate it and then grind it with chilli and make the chutney.

Indian cooking is very elaborate and a full time job

Wow, sounds like a lot of work! That must be why Indian food is so tasty. I saw a video a couple years ago about this lunch delivery system that runs through India, people pass their lunch boxes to the cooks to prepare food and have it delivered through train by lunchtime. In America, you just pack a sandwich.

[x9200]

I love Indian food so naturally I made a few attempts to cook it all from the raw ingredients. No, thank you Yep, It's often a full time job for a single dish and surely it takes some experience too. Such simple thing like garlic-ginger paste, I remember what a disaster it turned to. It seemed the taste was acceptable by the texture affected the whole dish - probably ginger was too old.
Or another seemingly simple component: Paneer. In principle you add something like lemon juice to cow milk, drain it, press it and it never feels and tastes the same.

So now, I rather buy the ginger paste, paneer, GM and such. Marinating over night is not a problem, but sort of challenging is buying the right stuff, spices for example. For example, I can buy Cumin Seeds in a chain supermarket or Jeera in an Indian store. Is it actually the sames stuff? And the quality could be very very different so one has to know what to buy and from what place.

[jalanjalan]

My wife didn't like the tuna, although to me it was okay. So I guess we go back to Pomfret, Smelt whiting, Sardine and mackerel. These 4 are going to be our staple.

My wife is completely against canned food. In India we don't even get any canned food, it is a big taboo there to eat anything that is not freshly prepared. Even UHT milk is something only I add to tea. My wife and daughter don't even touch it. The roti/naan we make kneading the flour. Actually even the flour is a new adoption like a 2 decades ago. Before that we would buy wheat go to a mill and get it powdered into floor and then make naan/roti out of it

The thosai that we make, we buy white colour pulses called Urid daal and then we have a grinder at home we mix it with rice and make batter out of it after soaking overnight and then make the thosai. We make the chutney(The sause which is used as side for the thosa) by buying whole coconut and then we have a grater at home, we grate it and then grind it with chilli and make the chutney.

Indian cooking is very elaborate and a full time job

Way more effort than I ever do, even at Deepavali. I can make a mean mango dal and meatless biryani but the rest is premix or frozen.
(I tried to cook thosai in an air-fryer once. The result was interesting from a scientific perspective but not edible.)

[Lisafuller]

My wife didn't like the tuna, although to me it was okay. So I guess we go back to Pomfret, Smelt whiting, Sardine and mackerel. These 4 are going to be our staple.

My wife is completely against canned food. In India we don't even get any canned food, it is a big taboo there to eat anything that is not freshly prepared. Even UHT milk is something only I add to tea. My wife and daughter don't even touch it. The roti/naan we make kneading the flour. Actually even the flour is a new adoption like a 2 decades ago. Before that we would buy wheat go to a mill and get it powdered into floor and then make naan/roti out of it

The thosai that we make, we buy white colour pulses called Urid daal and then we have a grinder at home we mix it with rice and make batter out of it after soaking overnight and then make the thosai. We make the chutney(The sause which is used as side for the thosa) by buying whole coconut and then we have a grater at home, we grate it and then grind it with chilli and make the chutney.

Indian cooking is very elaborate and a full time job

Way more effort than I ever do, even at Deepavali. I can make a mean mango dal and meatless biryani but the rest is premix or frozen.
(I tried to cook thosai in an air-fryer once. The result was interesting from a scientific perspective but not edible.)

Meatless biryani as in using impossible meat? Or just vegetables. I've been looking for egg biryani recently, but not many places seem to sell it.

[Lisafuller]

I love Indian food so naturally I made a few attempts to cook it all from the raw ingredients. No, thank you Yep, It's often a full time job for a single dish and surely it takes some experience too. Such simple thing like garlic-ginger paste, I remember what a disaster it turned to. It seemed the taste was acceptable by the texture affected the whole dish - probably ginger was too old.
Or another seemingly simple component: Paneer. In principle you add something like lemon juice to cow milk, drain it, press it and it never feels and tastes the same.

So now, I rather buy the ginger paste, paneer, GM and such. Marinating over night is not a problem, but sort of challenging is buying the right stuff, spices for example. For example, I can buy Cumin Seeds in a chain supermarket or Jeera in an Indian store. Is it actually the sames stuff? And the quality could be very very different so one has to know what to buy and from what place.

You're right, the pastes take a lot of skill. I remember when I first tried to make chili paste over a decade ago, I didn't really know what I was doing and ended up with a chili so spicy that we had to open all the windows to let the room air out because we were all tearing up from the fumes.

[Wd40]

I love Indian food so naturally I made a few attempts to cook it all from the raw ingredients. No, thank you Yep, It's often a full time job for a single dish and surely it takes some experience too. Such simple thing like garlic-ginger paste, I remember what a disaster it turned to. It seemed the taste was acceptable by the texture affected the whole dish - probably ginger was too old.
Or another seemingly simple component: Paneer. In principle you add something like lemon juice to cow milk, drain it, press it and it never feels and tastes the same.

So now, I rather buy the ginger paste, paneer, GM and such. Marinating over night is not a problem, but sort of challenging is buying the right stuff, spices for example. For example, I can buy Cumin Seeds in a chain supermarket or Jeera in an Indian store. Is it actually the sames stuff? And the quality could be very very different so one has to know what to buy and from what place.

Yes, cummin and geera are the same thing. The Indian variety is likely to be stronger.

I believe western cooking was also elaborate but they adapted to modern times. Indians never adapted and the cooking methods suits one spouse staying at home and cooking and the other spouse working. Indians would hire a cook at home if both spouses are working rather than adapt. I guess cooks are cheap in India and even in Singapore, I know my Indian colleagues who hire helper if both spouses are working, the helpers biggest task would be cooking.

[Lisafuller]

I believe it depends on what kind of Westerns you're referring to. Historically, I don't think cooking has really been a huge part of American culture. On the other hand, in Italy, meals are a labor of love. Hours are spent making fresh bread, fresh pasta, and sauces from scratch, where in the US the same meals would be eaten as takeout or using boxed ingredients.

[jalanjalan]

Meatless biryani as in using impossible meat? Or just vegetables. I've been looking for egg biryani recently, but not many places seem to sell it.

Veggie or egg usually, or tofu cubes. Never tried impossible meat so far.

[Lisafuller]

Meatless biryani as in using impossible meat? Or just vegetables. I've been looking for egg biryani recently, but not many places seem to sell it.

Veggie or egg usually, or tofu cubes. Never tried impossible meat so far.

Sounds delicious. I don't eat meat really, so the majority of my protein comes from eggs and tofu. Impossible meat has been a game changer, it's really tasty and easy to work with. The only downside is that it's pretty pricey.