Guess which local dish whetted Alicia Keys’ appetite?

Stir-fried beansprouts with salted fish.

She enjoyed it so much, a second plate was ordered for her when she dined at Ka Soh Gourmet Paradise at Amoy Street on Wednesday afternoon.

It’s hardly the kind of food one would expect a pop royalty to go gaga over.

But Keys loves vegetables and fish. And she wanted to try something Singaporean.

So, the Chinese dish seemed a good choice for the singer who grew up in Hell’s Kitchen, a notorious neighbourhood in New York.

Keys was brought to the traditional eatery by local representatives from her record company BMG.

Ms Janice Lim, assistant manager of international marketing at BMG Singapore, said: ‘Alicia was game to try out local dishes. But she stayed away from spicy food because she didn’t want her voice to be affected.’

After lunch, Keys spent a few hours in Chinatown, snapping up painted masks and rice-paper lamps to decorate her home.

Ms Lim said: ‘When she got out of the car, she said, ‘I’m going to do some serious damage (to her purse, that is).’

Keys also got a silk top for herself from one of the shops along Temple Street. On her way there, she passed by Orchard Road, but didn’t want to make a stop because she said ‘you can find designer stuff elsewhere’.

Keys, who’s said to have worn a casual singlet and jeans sans make-up for the outing, was ‘polite’ to shopkeepers, and used ‘please’ and ‘thank you’with them.

As she strolled down Chinatown with her two bodyguards, personal assistant, stylist and musical director, some passers-by spotted her.

Keys, who stayed at the Ritz-Carlton, apparently stopped to sign an autograph and posed for a picture with a female fan.

When Keys came into town on Tuesday, she also made a trip to the Night Safari.