i'm ana cabrera. have a great night and a great week ahead. ♪ >> anthony: spotless, efficient, safe, protected, controlled. a utopian city-state run like a multinational company. welcome to singapore, incorporated.

♪ i took a walk through this beautiful world ♪ ♪ felt the cool rain on my shoulder ♪ ♪ found something good in this beautiful world ♪ ♪ i felt the rain getting colder ♪ ♪ sha, la, la, la, la, la, ♪ sha, la, la, la, la, la, ♪ sha,la, la, la, la, ♪ sha, la, la, la, la ♪ ♪

♪ >> anthony: singapore. one can be forgiven for thinking it's a giant ultramodern shopping mall. an interconnected, fully wired air conditioned nanny state, where everything is beautiful and nothing hurts. and those things are kind of true, especially if you read the papers or the carefully monitored internet. you look around the litterless streets where everything seems to work just fine, just fine, and you think, or you can be forgiven for thinking, "gee, maybe a one party system is just what we need." you look at all the social problems and ethnic strife,

street crime, drugs that singapore has managed to avoid, and you could think, "is this the life we want?" it ain't my system. it's not the world i want. but damn, it has its appeal. ♪ >> hi, this is singapore. hope you like it. >> anthony: jam-packed in between the carefully feng shui'd architecture, the skyscrapers and office blocks are rich, deep, very old and deliciously funky remnants of the old world. chinese, indian, malay, and a culture that still cherishes the joys of simple good thing. >> cab driver: i love the national foods we get in singapore. >> anthony: what's your favorite? >> cab driver: my favorite is -- we call it -- >> anthony: that's your favorite malay dish. what's your favorite chinese dish? >> cab driver: chinese, ho kai min.

>> anthony: ho kai min? >> cab driver: ho kai min. sometimes chicken rice. >> anthony: chicken rice of course. >> cab driver: yes. >> anthony: how about favorite indian dish? >> cab driver: definitely biryani. you know that? >> anthony: the biryani. >> cab driver: ya. biryani rice. >> anthony: oh, sungei road right? >> cab driver: yes, yes. >> anthony: oh that's the best -- on sungei road. it's funny. i recognize every place here by food. >> goh: tony, how are you? >> anthony: pretty good. >> goh: my brother. so what blows you back to singapore? >> anthony: you know why i come here. i come here to eat. >> goh: i live here to eat, too. ♪ >> anthony: i come here mostly to eat because that's what they do here. and they arguably do it better with more diverse, affordable food options per square foot than just about anywhere on earth. ♪ my godfather and mentor for singaporean street food has

always been and remains kf seetoh, the guru behind the makansutra food guides and an advocate for the kind of democratic, affordable, casual chaos of the hawker world. >> li: so this is the dry one. >> anthony: thank you. >> li: thank you. enjoy. >> anthony: thank you. okay. so wet and dry? >> goh: wet and dry. when the heat gets to you, a little broth. >> anthony: 545 whampoa prawn noodles for prawn mee seemed a good place to start. >> goh: we are here because ray found this girl who served us. she's one of the new heroes, new generation heroes. >> anthony: right. >> goh: that's out to protect and preserve our food culture. you know i've been talking about continuity for the longest time. >> anthony: i mean, i know you want to see traditional recipes and preparations preserved. >> goh: i'm here to preserve what's traditional, what's progressive, progressive heritage food has a space. but if you are too creative with your stuff, you start putting truffle oil in this kind of stuff.

>> anthony: but that's wrong always. >> goh: creativity is not a flavor, tony. >> anthony: most hawker stalls are family run operations, and whampoa is no exception. what's unusual is that li ruifang left her white collar job to work alongside her parents, bucking a trend that has left the hawker centers with an aging workforce, unable to replenish generations of expertise with new blood. >> goh: when you look around, tony, you look at all the hawkers, more than 70%, 80% of them are 50 and above. so the tipping point will come where everybody will give up their stall because their children have gone to university they have told them, "yeah, go be a doctor, lawyer, go be something else other than a hawker." >> anthony: but the singapore government wants to build more stalls, more better, modern. >> goh: 20 more hawker centers like this. >> anthony: 20 more hawker centers. >> goh: in which i say, "where the hell are the hawkers coming from?" >> anthony: well, that's a good question. where are they going to come from?

>> goh: there's a lot of insinuations of an answer, but no true answer. >> anthony: the answer is not from singapore, right? they're going to have to come in from china. >> goh: for the 15,000, or 20,000 food stalls like this we have in singapore, if it's public run like this one, you can't hire foreigners. it's meant for singaporeans. >> anthony: but isn't the beginning of all of this was people from china, india. >> goh: that's what i keep saying, our food came from the rest of the world. yeah, we had nothing. and in that tradition, i say we must continue. >> anthony: for rent, cook food stall. we should do a pop-up. get my apron. >> anthony: stamford raffles arrived in singapore in 1819 with the british east india company, establishing at first as a trading post for the british empire.

soon thereafter, singapore grew, quickly becoming a economic hub and regional capital for the british empire's new colony on the malay peninsula. after world war ii, singapore clamored for independence, first becoming part of the malaysian federation, then a fully independent state in 1965. helmed by its first prime minister, lee kwan yeu, tiny singapore famously went from a third world outpost to a first world nation in a single generation. >> cab driver: in singapore, rules and regulations in singapore is very strict. we have to follow them. like, i am taxi, i can't break any laws. >> anthony: so if a camera catches you? >> cab driver: yeah, everything is in camera. so it is important everyone, we have to follow the rules and regulations, that's the reason

singapore is very good. same time, singaporeans are very hard working. as human beings, what we need? food to eat, clothes to wear, a place to sleep, you can get in singapore. so in other words, we have to continue work, you see. if you're working, you'll get something, once lazy, you're out. >> anthony: by some measures, singapore is a welfare state, taking care of the less fortunate, but at its heart, it's a cold blooded meritocracy. you follow the rules -- and there are many, work hard, and you will have a good life. that's the message. >> najip: we are starting to define the definition of success. i think we are very clear with the 5 "cs." car, condominium, credit card, cash, and career. >> anthony: wow, that sounds awful, dude. >> najip: i grew up with that idea. >> anthony: well, that's not good.

>> najip: yeah, exactly. >> anthony: that sounds kind of depressing. >> najip: i know, but that's the past. >> anthony: the muslim quarter --just following afternoon prayers. i'm here with najip ali, a singaporean malay entertainer and producer. >> najip: yeah, okay. >> anthony: that looks good. >> najip: this is it. >> anthony: so this is a -- >> najip: longton. >> anthony: and this? >> najip: mee siam. >> anthony: we are having longton. rice cake, coconut gravy, vegetables, and a hard-boiled egg. and mee siam, fried rice noodles with chili paste, prawns, bean sprouts and a spicy sweet and sour gravy, fried bean curd and an egg. delicious. i mean, we like to make fun of singapore in the west and call it disney land with the death penalty, and we're skeptical, of course, of one party rule, we're skeptical of constraints on freedom of the press or the things you can't do. >> najip: can't do, yeah.

>> anthony: do you think that young creative singaporeans feels those constraints and suffer from them? >> najip: i think some of them who travel knows better. most of them are over educated and under exposed, meaning they have very little experience in what they know. and i think that's what we are lacking. they're looking for things to do. and the problem with this is we're living in a small country and we have nowhere to go and no way to experience these things. if you're in new york and you don't like the city life and you say shit, i'm -- >> anthony: you can say "shit" on the show. >> najip: i'm going to take this. >> anthony: i think we have two more in this hour. >> najip: you want to get out of the city, so you go to minnesota, you go to texas, you take time to think about. >> anthony: right. >> najip: and even in malaysia when you are in kuala lumpur, you can go to tanjung you can go to -- we have nowhere to go. >> anthony: not only is singapore a small city-state a little more than half the size of l.a., but there is also pressure of a kind from a big brother government who's always watching, however benevolently

one might think. >> najip: every day as an entertainer, as a producer, director, we are reminded what not to do. we don't insult other races, don't insult other religions. there are some parameters that we always need to see, but i think as a creative person, we are always trying to work out. and i think that's challenging for us, and again, most of the things that i do on television is funded by the government. so you know, so what -- >> anthony: you're biting the hand that feeds you. >> najip: but our job is basically as an entertainer is just to purely entertain, and we know there are line that we cannot cross -- religion, our ancestors, our parents. you know, things like that. so it's -- >> anthony: you can't make fun of your parents in your comedy? >> najip: if your own parents, it's okay. >> anthony: how about your, i mean, family members? >> najip: yeah, but they can give you a twist to a story of a mother-in-law. >> anthony: a mother-in-law is okay? >> najip: a mother-in-law is okay. >> anthony: why does the mother-in-law always get the joke? >> najip: i don't know.

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ask your doctor about opdivo. see opdivotv.com for this and other indications. bristol-myers squibb thanks the patients, nurses, and physicians involved in opdivo clinical trials. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> sudhir: so on the basic level, singapore works in so many ways, security, your family, education. >> anthony: housing? >> sudhir: housing. so in a way, you're kind of numbed into thinking that everything is wonderful. and then you start to wonder after a while, is there another

way of life? i think that's the big kind of singapore. >> anthony: so is there angst? >> sudhir: yeah. definitely there's angst. >> tanya: but i think there is no outlet for it. so everybody is going online, but everybody wants to be anonymous about it. >> melanie: even online, they have paid the price for it. people have been let go of their jobs, and that's the price that we have to pay. >> anthony: the price may seem pretty high by american standards. no political dissent, no right to assembly, a restricted press, and limited freedom of speech. sadir vadaketh, melanie chan and tanya angerer. all singaporeans, all navigating the rules and regs, both spoken and unspoken that go along with prosperity, security and safety. lor 29 in geylang for fried oyster omelets and fried prawns and chili paste. bak chor mee. fish ball noodle soup and beef

satay. >> sudhir: i think one of the issues is that we're kind of a victim of our own success in many ways. we've grown so fast, and i guess expectations among the liberals and progressives have just gone so far ahead, including myself. because sometimes, we need a reality check about what pace society can move at. so i think that's the tension, it's that economic growth has happened so quickly and sometimes, social laws, social customs, might need to take a bit more time. >> anthony: you know, a place where everything works this well and a system so seemingly different than the one we are taught to venerate, that's generally confusing. so what's the best thing about singapore and what's the worst thing about singapore? >> sudhir: i think best things are tolerance and efficiency, but you know, if you look around us right now, there's like a

mosque over, there's a buddhist temple over there. there are a bunch of brothels over there, prostitutes walking the street legally. they're regulated by the government. and everyone has kind of accepted this quid pro quo situation. and it somehow works. >> anthony: okay, you were shaking your head no on some of the things he was saying. >> melanie: no, i agree, but to be feeling so secure and the security of it all, i think that's priceless, you know? it's like, i'll do what i have to do to be able to afford to live well here. i'll work hard, i'll tolerate, and you know, even then, it's not that bad. when it comes to me voicing certain things which maybe the government doesn't agree with, i feel i have outlets that don't have to be public, right? and i'm okay with that. >> anthony: you talk about feeling safe, as a woman. >> melanie: yes, security. >> anthony: do you feel respected?

>> melanie: definitely, i do. >> anthony: do you feel there is parity for women and that you are paid and treated as well as men? >> melanie: yes, i think so. >> tanya: yes. you know why, i think that's because of maids. >> anthony: what are maids? >> tanya: maids, as in helpers. >> sudhir: helpers. >> tanya: i think you'll find that actually, if you look at singapore, a lot of woman are in the workforce. and the reason why that is so is because everyone's got a maid looking after their child at home. so maids are kind of like the opiate of the masses. >> anthony: wait, opiate keeps you slothful and laying on the couch. >> tanya: exactly! >> anthony: but if you have a maid, you're saying it frees you up to join the workforce. >> tanya: it frees you up, but it also means that my husband now, he doesn't know how to serve himself water. he goes, "hey, water." >> anthony: laundry? >> tanya: sorry? >> anthony: do you do laundry? >> tanya: no. >> anthony: really? >> tanya: no. >> anthony: does anyone here know how to do laundry? >> melanie: we know how to --

>> tanya: we kind of know in theory, we haven't done it. >> sudhir: the guys can do it because we've done two years of military service, but the girls are pampered. >> tanya: oh, me? >> sudhir: when was the last time you did laundry? >> anthony: four days ago. >> sudhir: four days ago? >> melanie: you sent it to the butler? >> anthony: no, no, i enjoy doing laundry. >> sudhir: yeah? >> anthony: i live by myself in new york. i live by myself in new york, and i have to tell you, maybe it's a sickness, maybe it's a weird thing, i enjoy throwing my clothes into the washer and then moving them to the dryer. it's a process that makes me feel very satisfied with myself. >> sudhir: therapeutic. >> anthony: no, no, i feel very self-reliant. you know, listening to you people, i want to go out and join the communist party. it's like bourgeios, man. you're living off the labor of an oppressed underclass. >> sudhir: yeah, yeah, yeah.

>> anthony: i'm going to start my own cell. i'm just -- with you. for a state where an ounce of weed can put you in the jug for up to ten years and the same weight of dope can mean death, where chewing gum is indeed illegal, a surprising number of vices are allowed here. drinking age is 18. prostitution is legal, with sex workers getting regular medical check-ups. there are casinos and strip clubs. the government seems to understand that along with a certain amount of repression, safety valves are required. get drunk, get laid, and you are less likely to be difficult. perhaps that's the thinking. or maybe it's just business. ♪

♪ ♪ >> anthony: to many, singapore is the land of opportunity. people from all over the world come here to get a good job, to find a better life. >> mike: as an overseas chinese, we have been discriminated in laos, thailand, vietnam, indonesia, malaysia, in america, australia, all over the world. suddenly, you got this guy called lee kuan yew. there's nowhere else in the chinese world have a real leader as big as lee kuan yew. >> anthony: much of singapore's success is often credited to its first prime minister, lee kuan yeu, a singaporean of chinese decent considered the founding father of modern singapore. reigning pretty much unopposed

for 30 years, he's responsible for much of the social engineering that holds singapore together, as well as the favorable economic policies that have allowed it to thrive. michael ma arrived in singapore to take advantage of its business climate, becoming an early pioneer of singapore's now famous nightlife. back then, in the beginning, at the very beginning, was it a favorable business climate in the sense that, did they look upon your early efforts generously or kindly? or were they not so sure about this guy? how was it? >> mike: oh, no, singapore is fantastic. >> anthony: and what time did bars close? >> mike: 2:00. that's where the opportunity i saw. you know, you cannot run this economy hopping on one leg. like, you got the right law, the right safety, the right, everything's right. but the social part was not right. >> anthony: right, right. >> mike: 2:00, you're managing a teenager. "2:00 guys, go to bed." >> anthony: so when did it change and why?

>> mike: i started my bars and restaurant in '99, yeah? and the prime minister of singapore at that time went, "what is singapore doing? 2005, 2010, 20, 30, 50. this is before all this. i suggest partying all night type of thing. ♪ >> welcome to singapore. come and join with us. ♪ >> mike: i'm not very smart, so the only way that got me through university was just throw a lot of parties. you know, i was good at throwing parties, but now i get paid to do it, which is even better.

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♪ ♪ ♪

>> anthony: one-fifth of the world's shipping containers move through the port of singapore. it is the busiest transshipment point on the planet. singapore has fully embraced globalization. and that's proved in their case very rewarding. >> donald: singapore is an outsized economic port primarily because it's so attractive to foreign entrepreneurs primarily in the form of multinational corporations. so right from the start, the economic strategy was always to attract foreign capital. >> anthony: donald low is an economist who spent over ten years researching and

writing about singapore's unique financial policies. >> donald: you know, this place is almost contrary to the founders' original expectations. this place was this multiethnic meritocratic idea, this pragmatic understanding that free trade is good for everyone. this is place is, after 50 years, is deeply imprinted in singapore. it's remarkable how open and welcoming of diversity singapore still is. >> anthony: we are now living in times where globalism and globalization are bad words. we are seeing a rise of -- >> donald: yeah, i know, populism. >> anthony: -- of populism, of nationalism. >> donald: which is why, you know, i'm concerned about singapore's future. this is a place that has been a main beneficiary of globalization. and as the world turns against globalization, as the world becomes more inward looking, as countries in europe and u.s. become more concerned about protecting their own borders, literally in the case of the u.s. there is a high probability that

singapore will not thrive in such a world. ♪ >> anthony: a lot of social engineering has been superimposed to hold that together, and i think what a lot of westerners who come to singapore come here skeptical are often reluctantly holding to the inescapable conclusion that it seems to work. >> donald: it seems to work. but of course, the post independence singapore government has been often accused of being extremely keen and extremely competent at social engineering. of course, the most powerful instrument of social engineering is public housing. you know, before, singaporeans, a large majority of singaporeans, more than 80% of

them to live in these more or less uniform housing estates. but that form of social engineering also has certain benefits. >> anthony: unlike most of the wealthy developed world, there is universal healthcare and little to no homelessness in singapore. the country's public housing policy provides an astonishing 80% of singapore's 5.6 million people with affordable homes, with 90% of the population owning their own home. >> donald: singaporeans would be hard-pressed to name a neighborhood that they would describe as a slum. they would be hard-pressed to name a neighborhood where they say of the people here are living relatively deprived conditions, with poor schooling, and poor amenities. and most of singapore feels, i mean even though economic inequality is high, income inequality is high, you don't see it in the public housing estates. it's a picture of general equality. >> anthony: by ensuring its

citizens are safe, housed, healthy and for the most part economically successful, the singaporean government has been effective at keeping the masses placated enough, willing to accept curbs on their freedom and civil liberties. do you think that the singaporean success story is a rebuke to american and western values in some respect? >> donald: no, no. >> anthony: i mean, is free speech overrated? >> donald: i don't think we succeeded because the absence of free speech. >> anthony: it's a fact, though. >> donald: the values of free trade, the values of a liberal global order, these are western ideas. i mean, singapore did not invent them. the asian did not. >> anthony: i mean, look, it shouldn't work. it hasn't really worked like this anywhere else. and yet, it works. >> donald: i think my objection or my discomfort with the lack of democratic freedoms is that i think we cannot allow a lot more without hurting singapore's

prosperity, its stability, one ounce. what will we lose if we had a free uprise? what would we lose if we had more democratic opposition representation? it would make for not only a livelier debate, it would make for a better debate. we may well arrive at the conclusion that the current dispensation of the current order represents the best possible society for singapore. but let's have that debate. >> anthony: i mean, it's a horrifying thought, "what if?" >> donald: it's possible that the human mind, that the average citizen, cannot deal with that much diversity, that we need these curbs or restrictions on our freedom. >> anthony: what if free speech is like bad? >> donald: it's like a drug, right? it's too much of a good thing. i don't want to sound paranoid, but d'ya think our recent online sales success seems a little... strange? na. ever since we switched to fedex ground business has been great. they're affordable and fast... maybe "too affordable and fast." what if... "people" aren't buying these books online, but "they" are buying them to protect their secrets?!?!

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♪ >> anthony: of the many ethnicities coexisting in singapore, one of the oldest is the peranakan culture, straits-born chinese who immigrated to the malay peninsula in the 16th century. >> damian: we have a heritage that exists in singapore that comprises the five different ethnic groups that originated here. you have your chinese, you have your indian, you have your asians and your peranakan. and this makes the cuisine here very, very special.

cheers, tony. >> anthony: cheers. chef damian d'silva has made it his mission to preserve and protect the knowledge, techniques and flavors of singaporean heritage foods. guan ho soon is the oldest peranakan restaurant in singapore, pre-dating independence. >> damian: so this is a dish you probably find in lejo. it's sour, it's sweet because of the pineapple, and it's savory as well. >> anthony: ikan assam nanas, sour fish curry with pineapple. so really, we're really talking about a sort of, i hate the word fusion, but its natural fusion. >> damian: it's indigenous fusion. it's a fusion that started 500 years ago. so now, it's evolved so much, tony, that it's become a heritage on its own, a cuisine on its own. you know, there's nothing i

think that is like this anywhere in the world. thank you. that's duck. >> anthony: braised duck. itek sioh, duck braised with tamarind and coriander. and the famous lady fingers, or sambar bendir, okra sauteed with sambal. who's cooking now? has that changed? >> damian: it has changed. you know, everybody wants to go up the ladder very, very quickly, and they want to do it in a way where they don't want to put too much effort in it. where is the prestige in a peranakan restaurant? you work in a kitchen, 12, 14, 15 hours a day, and most of them don't want to do that. so what happens is that they want to work in a french restaurant, they want to work in an italian restaurant. why? because they get more money. >> anthony: okay. >> damian: okay? >> anthony: i think it's a tactical mistake, because i just

flew halfway around the world to singapore, and i sure as shit am not eating french food when i am here. >> damian: no, you're right. you shouldn't. >> anthony: and you know what? i'm not going to eat japanese food. >> damian: so you talk about peranakan cuisine, right? are there people who cook it today? i can tell you out of 100 peranakans, maybe 1. >> anthony: whoa. >> damian: maybe one. >> anthony: so you're saying that basically, you're talking about the dinosaurs. >> damian: yeah, this no longer exists, tony. it's gone. >> anthony: one of the things i admire about singaporean food culture is that people are very passionate about food. they value a fancy french or italian meal as much as they enjoy a really good chicken rice. they're just not willing to pay for it. >> damian: exactly. you know, that's the public that we have to re-educate.

but it doesn't make sense to me, because we're a first world country. you know? how could food be so cheap? how long more is this going to last that we pay $3 for chicken rice? it's insane. >> anthony: i have the solution. it's an ugly solution, it's a terrible solution, but it will probably be the only salvation. it's the hipster solution. the hipsters will save the day. >> damian: no, you're right. >> anthony: it takes people to stand up and say, "look, i don't care whether his is $4. mine is $12. it's $12 and it's worth it." >> damian: but to go and work in a restaurant 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, that needs someone who's not passionate, but a little bit mad. >> anthony: man, you're telling me. >> damian: a little bit mad. >> anthony: cheers to that.

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♪ >> paul: okay, we're just going to let you know what we are doing. this dish is my dad's recipe. hokkien recipe. so it's pig trotters with black vinegar. and this is my mom's recipe. hainan mixed vegetable. >> anthony: meet the liews, choy, koy liang, daughter geraldine, and sons paul and wayne. the family behind long running, much loved eating house keng eng kee seafood in the alexandria village neighborhood. and your parents met in the restaurant business? >> paul: yes. we only knew about this story when we get older and the media start to interview them, "oh, that's how they knew each other." we are typical chinese, they never talk about how they met. no. >> anthony: in the beginning when they were working at your mother's parents' restaurant. and then in the beginning of

their eating house, how many hours a day did they work? and how many days a week, how many days vacation? >> geraldine: 12 hours per day. and then he gets one day off every two weeks. >> anthony: that's hard. thank you, that's fantastic. wow, that's good. choy has been making this dish for decades. pig's feet cooked slowly in black vinegar, ginger, dried chilies and assam. chop chae is a hainanese family favorite, cabbage and glass noodles stir fried with bean curd, black mushrooms, pig skin and shrimp.

now, i've been speaking to a lot of people who talk about how singapore loves its hawker culture, it loves its food. but the general story is the first generation starts a hawker stall, they get successful, they send their kids to school, and they tell them, "do not -- i did not work hard for you to go into the restaurant business." >> paul: my mom and dad said the same thing. don't come into the business. >> geraldine: get a 9-5 job. stay in the air conditioning. >> anthony: many of the people i speak to are very sad that these original recipes and preparations are disappearing. you know, other than this wonderful family, who do your parents think will keep these traditions alive? >> geraldine: my mom was saying like now that the government encourages a lot of young people to preserve the traditions, i think she believes and hopes that ten years down the road that maybe more people like us

or younger generations are going to take over the business. >> paul: and right now, wayne's eldest daughter is 14. makesha, she helps out in the shop on weekends. so to let her understand it's not easy to earn a life. >> anthony: but would you like your child to stay in the restaurant business? >> wayne: if they are really interested in this and it's their dream, then why not? >> anthony: you say yeah? this is so good, by the way. this is delicious food. now singapore is a rich country, a lot of rich people live here. why can't you charge as much money for this traditional food as the french charge for french food? what do you think? why won't singaporeans pay? >> paul: actually, just a couple of months ago, we go through some of our old photos, and there's one photo that was almost 20 years ago, there's a price list. they're selling their fried rice

at $3. right now, we are selling at $4. >> anthony: 20 years later. >> paul: $1 more. >> anthony: why? singaporeans love food. >> geraldine: i think that's not the point between us and the customers, so he doesn't want to increase the price. >> anthony: you know your customers, you have a lot of regulars. >> geraldine: yeah. a lot of them is like they seen us growing up, the three of us, and we see their kids growing up. so i think that's a different kind of bond between us and the customers. >> anthony: i just hope this doesn't disappear, because it's, of course, always going to be the good stuff. it's important. can i have a little more of that? it's delicious food. satisfaction over cable for 17 years running. but some people still like cable. just like people like wet grocery bags. getting a bad haircut. overcrowded trains. turnstiles that don't turn. and spilling coffee on themselves. but for everyone else, there's directv.

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♪ >> cab driver: singapore is a multinational society. we got chinese, malay, indian, and other races in singapore. >> anthony: it seems to work. >> cabby: yeah, it works. it works, yeah. ♪

♪ >> anthony: one last trip straight back to where it all started for me. a simple good thing, in this case, one of my favorite things. oh, here it is, the mighty char kway teow. ordinarily, this is a breakfast, i eat it every time i'm in singapore. it's just about the unhealthiest breakfast you could have. i mean, it's literally like lard, crispy lard bits, healthy cockles, shrimp paste and a whole lot of noodles. and it's like legendarily fattening.

originally created to feed laborers. so it ain't pretty, not the healthiest of breakfasts, but delicious. if you're looking to fit into that silver lame speedo, this would not be option one. the problem is, you eat this and you're surrounded by all these wonders of asia in the food court here, and after this, you're kind of done. i don't know how anybody works after this, frankly. once in a while, you hit a little piece of crispy pork fat. well, my work is done here today. wide. ♪

>> cab driver: in singapore, everything is perfect here. this is one of the safest countries in the world. we are gifted to be in singapore. we show some good examples to the world. ♪ ♪

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