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シンガポールに魅せられて
年末にシンガポールを初めて訪れた筆者は、すっかりその魅力のとりこになってしまった。
英語が通じる国であること、建築物の美しいことはもちろんだが、中でも「食通」を自認する彼女が気に入ったのは、中国から東南アジアの料理がいろいろな形で楽しめることのようだ。
Enamored by Singapore
I recently visited Singapore for the first time and was pleasantly surprised by how charming I found it.
For starters, it was revelatory to be in an Asian country where everyone speaks at least some version of English. English words (if not English syntax) appeared to be the default language between Singapore's main ethnic groups: Chinese, Malay and Indian. I knew that English was spoken in Singapore, but I hadn't expected it to be so dominant.
I also couldn't help but notice how much Singapore felt a bit like Japan — at least in terms of fashion and shopping. Singapore seems to have plucked the best brands out of Japan and placed them neatly along its Orchard Road. Unfortunately, I can imagine a Singaporean visiting Japan and thinking, "Hey, wait a minute, I can buy all of this stuff at home — and it's cheaper there!"
And the food — oh the food!
Singapore's cuisine exhibits a confident curator's approach to Asia's appetizing treats. Homegrown Nyonya cuisine — that of the ethnic Chinese Malaysians and Singaporeans — gave rise to the famous laksa, but also Hainanese chicken rice, popiah (a kind of fresh spring roll) and kueh (glutineous rice snacks). Staples like roti prata (Indian flatbread with curry sauce), nasi lemak (Malaysian coconut rice) and satay (Indonesian grilled skewered meats) are all required stops on the tastes-of-Singapore tour. But culinary inspiration is not merely drawn from the immediate region. It's easy to find top-notch ramen from Japan, xiao long bao (soup dumplings) that can compete with Shanghai, delicious thirst-quenching coconuts from Thailand, and a rainbow of cuisines from southern China — all fighting for the right to satisfy your hunger.
Architecturally speaking, Singapore pulls no punches. I was lucky enough to be able to ring in the new year from inside the newly completed Marina Bay Sands hotel, which abuts the Marina Bay, where the fireworks were set off. This megastructure is as impressive from inside as it is from the outside. Singapore's well-considered but aggressive urban development makes it easy to understand why people want to do business there.
And, unlike Japan or the U.K., the government seems to welcome foreigners. With low taxes, generous work visas and a low cost of living, it's no surprise that Singapore is a magnet for the kind of talent Japan is losing at record rates.
But it's not all sunshine and palm trees in Singapore. There are still quirky and discriminatory laws on the books. And while I could probably tolerate the bizarre chewing gum ban, I'm not sure I can abide a country where homosexuality is officially illegal and registering double-barrelled ethnic identities only just became law.
Still, Singapore seems hard to ignore. What's a native-English speaking, Japan-fix seeking, urban foodie to do?
- revelatory
- 思いがけないこと
- syntax
- 構文
- default
- 標準的な
- have plucked
- 〜を持ってきた
- curator
- キュレーター(=通常は博物館や図書館の資料収集業務にあたる学芸員のこと)
- appetizing
- 食欲をそそる
- treats
- ごちそう
- Nyonya cuisine
- ニョニャ料理
- gave rise to 〜
- 〜を生み出した
- laksa
- ラクサ(=カレーやスープにビーフンが入った料理)
- Hainanese chicken rice
- 海南チキンライス
- popiah
- 薄餅
- spring roll
- 春巻
- kueh
- クエ(=ニョニャ料理のデザート)
- glutineous
- ねばりけのある
- Staples
- 主食
- roti prata
- ロティ・プラタ
- flatbread
- フラットブレッド
- nasi lemak
- ナシ・レマッ
- satay
- サテ
- skewered
- 串に刺した
- required stops
- 外せないメニュー
- culinary inspiration
- 刺激的な料理
- immediate
- 近場の
- top-notch
- 一流の
- xiao long bao
- 小籠包
- soup dumplings
- スープ入り団子
- thirst-quenching
- のどの渇きをいやす
- pulls no punches
- 手加減しない
- ring in 〜
- 〜を迎える
- abuts
- 〜に隣接する
- fireworks
- 花火
- were set off
- 打ち上げられた
- megastructure
- 巨大建築物
- generous
- 気前のいい
- quirky
- 奇妙な
- on the books
- 成立して
- bizarre
- 訳の分からない
- abide
- 〜をがまんする
- registering double-barrelled ethnic identities
- 異民族同士の両親から生まれた子どもを、両方の民族名を併記して登録すること
- Japan-fix
- 日本的なもの
- foodie
- 食通