There are only 2 reasons to go to Ma-laysia - to eat and to make fun of Malaysians. The latter can be done from Singapore, and for the first, why go to Malaysia when you can wait for Malaysia to come to you? Most school holidays, Penang Hawkers come down to York Hotel, and you can enjoy their food in hygienic and comfortable conditions, all for S$25.40 (nett price).
Of course, I understand that for many, this detracts from the joy of the whole experience, which is why they prefer to eat Malaysian hawker food in the first place (thus proving my theory of relativity right - when there's the Malaysian smell and you're squatting by the roadside, the food will taste better thanks to your discomfort):
Someone: hmm..sounds ok then
but then..major thing missing
no atmosphere
haha
true
i never denied that [the theory of relativity holds true]
hmm...if u get singaporeans to cook there..i dunno
they are too clean..
[On why dirty food/conditions = nice food] it's the complete package leh..
my 1 wk trip to malaysa shows
eating mee alongside a bz road..
then can smell chicken shit
but the noodles is still damn good
eat chendol next to a smelly drain
Andrew asked me to bring along the issue of FHM featuring Dawn Yeo and he was reading it while we were eating, so people probably thought he was sick for choosing this sort of reading material to read while dining.
One of my (many) pet peeves is of so-called food blogs or reviews which have lots of pictures but next to no description of the food, except 1001 ways of saying that the food was very "nice" (while giving no clue as to in which way the food was so "nice"). I would strive to set a good counter-example, but not eating beef and chili, it would be untenable for me to do so (besides which, I'd like to think I fill other niches).
[Addendum: Someone's nickname: "What I want to see at Penang Hawkers' Food Fair - 'Live' orh luah cooking, the return of duck porridge"
What I don't want to see: Roti Jala]