After living abroad for awhile, you tend to grasp at any piece of Americana you can find. An American chef named Ryan Jette opened an American restaurant, Communal, in Singapore, that became my go-to when needing a taste of home. I'd walk in and suddenly be wearing a Budweiser shirt and waving an American flag as I shoveled fried chicken and bourbon down my gullet. I'd finish my meal, content and no longer homesick, then waddle back home. Sometimes a reminder of home does the opposite - like seeing three massively overweight Americans dressed like they just robbed a Tommy Bahamas store (while shoveling fried chicken and bourbon down their gullets) speaking in their loudest voice to a Singaporean metro worker like he was a mentally challenged dog.

"WHERE. DO. YOU. GET. THE. TICKETS?" they said.

"Uhm, right here in this machine that says tickets, sir" said the Singaporean, patiently.

Similarly, there are things I'll find or make here in the U.S. that remind me of things in Singapore. Most recently, that was a restaurant discovery off Olive, across from Lulu's: Jia Xiang / Hometown Restaurant. It specializes in Shanghaiese cuisine and features a sign and menu that are not in English. The food that we've had there has been excellent - which reminds me of the good side of Singapore - while the the service was less than friendly - the bad side of Singapore.

The menu is pretty large and reasonably priced, with few things going above $10.99. Unfortunately, I don't read or speak Chinese. I quickly texted photos of the menu to a few coworkers and friends hoping for a recommendation or full translation of the entire menu, but they were all useless. Everyone should be at my beck and call, especially when I'm hungry.

We started with a small cold appetizer made up of thin strips of celery and tofu. It didn't have the typical celery flavor (which I hate), thanks to some kind of light dressing that probably had a bit of sesame oil in it. Even so, it was just celery and tofu, so you can imagine that it wasn't packing much of a punch in the flavor department.

Girls at another table near us had this Kung Pao Chicken looking dish, so I just pointed and said I wanted it too. Hunks of fried chicken, served alongside red chili peppers, green chilies, potatoes and celery, were tossed lightly in a spicyish sauce. The flavors were fantastic, and most importantly, the chicken was good. The outside was crispy and crunchy and the inside was hot and juicy. None of that dried out crap you find at so many other restaurants.