When I was first looking into moving to Singapore I came across an expats website which said 'for those of you who miss home cooking, not to worry - there is a Western kitchen in every food court and a Western restaurant on every other block'. What they don't really tell you is that the 'Western' food bears about as much resemblance to British food as sweet and sour battered chicken balls does to Chinese food.
My latest experience of Singapore's attempt at Western food was the worst of the 4 or so that I've had. I found a stall in a food court which claimed it was a chippy - so I ordered fish and chips (obviously). I got battered fish balls and, er, battered chips. The battered fish was reasonable, the battered chips - quite a strange experience. If you ever get offered battered chips I would find a way to politely decline!
It seems to me that the stereotype of Western food is battered. I have also had battered pork, and battered chicken twice. With the cooking always done in deep fat... I think the concept of going out for a 'Western' every day is fatally flawed, or just fatal.
I have to admit that I rarely miss British food. Part of this is that 'Western' is rather more expensive than local food. I can get a perfectly good lunch for about $4 (which is under £2), whereas I can get a perfectly poor Western for about $7... still that won't stop me eating them from time to time!
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