Tantalizing the Senses: Food & Martial Arts in Geylang

I have spent a fair amount of time lately in Geylang.

Local friends may wonder what on earth I’ve been up to, as Geylang has long been synonymous with the Red Light District. To these raised eyebrows, I shrug. There are other things to do in Geylang, like eat — a lot, worship at one the many Buddhist/Taoist/Confucian temples, admire the historic shophouse architecture, or, as in our escapades last weekend, try one’s hand at martial arts.

To be clear, Geylang (“gay-lung”) is indeed home to a number of police-regulated and monitored brothels in Singapore. I was as intrigued as anyone when a CNN report came out last November featuring a tour of this neighborhood where “sins and salvation collide.” Geylang has the highest concentration of religious organizations in Singapore, and yes, it is the unofficial Red Light District. There are a number of hotels charging hourly rates, with Hotel 81 perhaps the most well known (and owned by one of Singapore’s wealthiest and most philanthropic families; see this Singapore Tatler article for more of the scoop), and row houses operating as brothels, distinguished by their large house numbers and red lights aglow on their front patios.

So the world’s oldest profession does have a foothold in these parts. Project X is an organization that provides vital services to people in the sex industry and shines a light onto the current situation. As their website states, prostitution is not necessarily illegal, but sex work is not fully legal either. Brothels are regulated businesses with licensed sex workers who hold work permits and must get regular health screenings. Of the 4,200 estimated sex workers here at any one time, just one quarter are licensed and the majority are migrant workers. Although COVID put a pause on business operations, where there is demand, there is still supply.

Beyond this notoriety, Geylang is crammed with restaurants, food stalls, and open air markets, with hungry diners queuing up to thirty minutes or longer at unassuming places like 126 Dim Sum Wen Dao Shi on Sims Avenue. Since the CNN report, I’ve been on not one, but two tours of Geylang with the charming Tony Tan of Betel Box Tours. A couple weeks ago we went on a five hour food walk with three other couples. Altogether we sampled more than twenty Chinese Singaporean dishes. We ate pork ribs, red bean buns, egg tarts, rice rolls, stingray, chicken feet, frogs legs and congee, paired with refreshing teas, juices, and of course, the ubiquitous Tiger beer.

When we were stuffed and couldn’t take any more, Tony plied us with pastries: coconut tarts, pineapple tarts, mala ko (rice flour steamed muffins), lotus paste mooncakes and cheese tarts. For the gut bomb finale, we donned plastic gloves and ate durian. If you’ve never been to Southeast Asia, you may not be familiar with this fruit. For most westerners, the smell and texture are memorable — and not in a good way. For many locals, it’s a yummy treat. My friend Alice orders hers online and it comes vacuum packed, with same day delivery (duriandelivery.net). That said, there’s a reason airlines, buses, and the MRT (subway) prohibit carrying durian aboard. Tom likens the smell to garbage rotting in a dirty gym sock; you’ll have to judge for yourself. We have one lasting sensory memory of trying durian while traveling a winding mountain road in Sulawesi. Our mistake was chasing it with Coke, after which we endured durian infused burps for several nauseating hours.

Beyond eating our way through Geylang, our friend Tzung Mei introduced us to Wushu last Saturday at Martial House. “Wushu” is the Chinese term for martial arts and it encompasses several different varieties, including Kung Fu and Tai Chi. Today Wushu is taught more commonly to school children, but it has also become a competitive international sport. Keep in mind, a couple of middle-aged beginners looks nothing like this performer at the 2019 World Wushu Championships in Shanghai. His grace and agility are reminiscent of the dreamy fight sequences in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I had to remind myself of our pledge to try new things when we moved to Singapore, as I fumbled through half-assed kicks and punches and teased muscles that hadn’t been used in, um, a while. Once I started to get the hang of it, I began to understand the appeal, as there is a discipline, strength, balance and grounding to each “form,” or series of movements. An article in yesterday’s newspaper highlights one woman who, after watching her kids’ lessons, took up the practice fourteen years ago and has since gone on to win numerous medals. While an unlikely path for yours truly, I’m game to do it again.

After working up an appetite, we went out for more food in the ‘hood. Tzung Mei and her friend Judy hail from Taiwan (Judy by way of Michigan), so they took us to a small joint that serves up typical Taiwanese breakfast dishes. I had no idea that breakfast culture was a thing in Taiwan. Now that we’ve been initiated, I say, “book me a flight to Taipei” once the travel corridor opens. Who knew chilled soy milk would taste so good after a workout?

Here are pics of some sights and mouth-watering dishes. See you in Geylang!

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