Restaurants

While the current situation in Singapore might sound eerily similar to the early stages of “Circuit Breaker”, it feels entirely different to me.

“Circuit Breaker” of 2020 saw me attend lectures at 6 AM in the morning, complete homework assignments and lab reports seated on the dining table in my mother’s living room, shrugging on a blazer to pair with my pajama shorts for my Zoom interviews, and repeatedly wish for, hope for, beg for a change.

Eats by Anya had only just started, and I was too consumed in fighting the Instagram algorithm to truly learn about and understand the Food and Beverage Industry in Singapore. I would routinely “save” various posts of different restaurants and bars, and my list began to grow, and grow, along with my desire for the city to open up, and for normal life to resume.

The moment the news of “Circuit Breaker” ending broke, I opened every restaurant reservation system I had an account on - I also called my waxing lady, but restaurants were a close second priority.

My family and I began to venture out again.

No longer were we eating from takeaway boxes, wearing the same clothes from the previous day, and sitting on the dining table conversing about what day of the week it was…Instead, we were dolled up, seated somewhere OUTSIDE our house, and eating hot, fresh food that was plated and served…The first dinner out after months of being home was an absolute treat. Ever since then, I always equate a dinner out to be just that: a luxury.

I began Eats by Anya in May 2020. I was about to graduate from Boston University, and I had just moved to a new city. I had left my best friends, everything and everyone I had known for the past four years, and was beginning a brand new chapter. While I am incredibly fortunate that I was with my parents, and not completely alone, I still somehow felt alone. You forget how important it is to have people your age around you, to talk to, to just simply be with, until you don’t. The transition between college life to working life is a delicate one, and it is one where you need as much support as you can get. While you most definitely need guidance from your parents, you need emotional, physical support from your friends who are going through the same change as you are. The latter was difficult to achieve - for me at least. I didn’t have any friends in Singapore when I had just arrived. Any friends who I was able to rely on to provide that type of support, which can only come after there is some trust, some interaction, and most importantly, after having knowing someone for a while. Having interned in Singapore in 2019 and feeling quite alone, sad and lost without any close friends, or a social circle, I was dreading for that to become my new reality living in Singapore in 2020 as well. Cue, Eats by Anya.

Eats by Anya became my opportunity to learn more about Singapore. What better way to learn about, and adjust to a city than by learning its culture through its food? So much of Singaporean culture is ingrained in its food, and especially hawker culture. Hawker culture cultivates this idea of eating together as a community, and I absolutely love this. Eating together at a hawker center fosters a great sense of togetherness and unity, which made this city less scary, and intimidating to me. I began to research about the vast culinary scene in Singapore, and was determined to make up for the lost time during “Circuit Breaker”.

Good food is great and all, but what is good food without having company to enjoy it with? This is a thought that struck me, and I wasn’t able to shake. When restaurants opened again in Phase 2, it was my opportunity to meet all of my family friends, childhood friends, whom I was familiar with, but had barely seen or spoken to in over a decade. For those thinking I didn’t need a restaurant as an excuse to meet an old friend, you’re wrong. Reaching out to someone you barley know is intimidating, and is always an idea that is easier said than done. Thankfully, reaching out to someone to go for a coffee, or to dinner, is far easier. For me, at least. With Phase 2 opening, restaurants on my list slowly being checked off, my friendships strengthening, a new job starting, I finally felt like I had a place here, that I belonged. I was no longer the kid who had to move back with her parents because a pandemic shut her school down. I became a young working professional, who was lucky enough to begin her career in the metropolitan city of Singapore (yes, where Crazy Rich Asians was based). And for the first time in my life, I had a hobby: Eats by Anya.

It’s been over a year since I so haphazardly moved to Singapore - this story is one for another time…and we were almost coming to one year of “normal” life with food and beverage outlets open. Unfortunately, the recent increase in cases has suspended dining in at restaurants, and we are back to hopelessly waiting for our food delivery to reach out doorsteps. Watching a waiter carry trays of food while hoping one of the plates is yours is far more bearable than staring at the delivery status on your phone…That being said, I will most definitely be ordering in as much as I can stomach, and as much as my wallet will allow. Part of the reason why I feel much more at home, and comfortable in Singapore is because of the friendships I have made - many of those which began because of Eats by Anya. My favorite restaurants in Singapore are my favorite because of their staff, and the feeling of comfort, and happiness that ensues with every visit. I feel more at home now because of this familiarity I have with the city, and the food. Without restaurants and their hospitality, I would have never been able to meet those old friends I was nervous about reaching out to…I would have never gone on those first dates…I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to have monthly dinners with my aunt…I wouldn’t have had any of the memories I deem to be the best of 2020.

During the last “Circuit Breaker”, I spent most of the time alone, alternating between eating yogurt and cereal at home, and simply just waiting for my friends in the United States to wake up so I had someone to talk to. While it isn’t technically “Circuit Breaker”, there is a restriction for social gatherings, along with the suspension of dining in at restaurants. Instead of crawling back into the introverted, safe space I had made for myself last year, I’ll be on FaceTime with my friends, ordering in delivery from my favorite restaurants, sipping on bottled cocktails from the bars I love. Restaurants have always been there for us, either by being open on public holidays, or bringing out that piece of cake with a candle for your birthday (I know this far too well having just celebrated my birthday). I hope you will help support them during these times. I know I will be.