Newton

SINGAPORE - Two days left before I leave and I am not going to leave this country until I go to Newton Food Centre. I've heard a lot about it, attempted once to go with a friend but it was closed, so I had to try again. So this evening, I got into a cab, looking all scruffy and hungry from packing and headed to Newton. I didn't know what exactly to order and it didn't feel like most hawker centres. A friend of mine recommended the Sting Ray. So Sting Ray was exactly what I had.




Sting Ray with Sambal @ Newton Centre
It was really good! :)


Newton Center reminded me of Lau Pa Sat, and I wish I had eaten here much earlier.

Last Few Days Pt.3 - Gindaco

SINGAPORE - This is my story behind Gindaco. I came into class on a Monday morning and to break the ice, I always ask my students what they got up to over the weekend. It's also a good way for them to use the English they know in a practical manner. Chisato, one of my Japanese students was trying to tell us that she and her friends, bought a sort of pan, that had hallow bits in it. I looked terribly confused and so she asked me if she could come over to draw it on the board so that she could explain better. Off she went, drawing a picture of what looked like a baking sheet with hallow bits in it. So I said, "Ahh! You mean a muffin pan!", and of course she didn't know what I meant and she made that sound that Japanese people make when confused "Ahh-eh?". She then drew an Octopus and was trying to say that you put the octopus inside the pan. Just then my other Japanese student, Yuzu, walked-in, and sat down. My other student was still trying to explain, she was making flipping motions with the pens. Poor Chisato was really trying, but I (we) had no clue. So I looked at Yuzu, she squinted and said... "AAAHHHH TOKOYAKIIII!!!" And some of the students started repeating AH Tokoyaki! I still had no idea what she was talking about. Yuzu then explained that they were octopus balls. So basically, Chisato went out with her friends to buy a Tokoyaki pan so that they could make Tokoyaki. Both Yuzu and Chisato (they have got to be my fav students in this bunch) told me that I had to try Tokoyaki and it had to be Gindaco, which was from Japan. They told me that there was a Gindaco stall at the newly opened ION mall in Orchard.

So today, as I was in the area. Me and about 20 odd people were queueing for Tokoyaki @ Gindaco.




They used real octopus pieces!


Watch them in action...




This was my Tokoyaki (the drink at the back Iced Mancha Tea -- skip it!)



The flakes on the top of the Tokoyaki freaked me out! They move!
Over all it tasted good, but I think it needs to grow on me. Great experience though.


See the flakes move... There was no draft, I swear it was on its own!

Bubble Tea

@ AMK


SINGAPORE - My favourite bubble tea in SG.

Singapore Botanical Gardens

Swan Lake ~ Swans from Amsterdam... who now have PR

The Swan Lake was added as a feature of the Botanic Gardens in 1866. The pair of mute swans was imported from Amsterdam.




Dendrobium White Fairy - My new favourite flower. This was also my favourite area in the Orchid Garden.


I am not sure what this flower is called, but it's gorgeous!


Tunnel of Trees/Plants ~ really beautiful...


The London Millennium Tree from Kew Gardens, London ~ With matching squirrels


The squirrels freaked me out, it was a good thing I was near(ish) the exit. So, I made a run for it! :)

Botak Jones

Botak Jones Burger @ Orchard Youth Park (across Cineleisure)


SINGAPORE - I guess I could say that this could be their version of Brother's Burger or GBK.

Steamboat

SINGAPORE - I came home from a very tiring day at work (on a Saturday), and my landlady asked me to join her to have Steamboat. I had never tried it before, but my Chinese students always spoke about it and urged me to try it. So, I wasn't about to pass up on this opportunity.




Steamboat is a variant of Hot Pot or Shabu-shabu (I'm guessing). You basically are given two types of broth, clear soup type and a spicy broth. You then order the ingredients that you want in your Steamboat, such as, corn, mushrooms, dumplings, prawns, vegetables etc etc. Once the broth starts to boil, you can start popping in your ingredients so they cook. You then fish it out with your chopsticks when it's ready to be eaten.

My landlady had warned me earlier that the spicy broth was really spicy and that I may not be able to handle it. Nah, I thought, how spicy could it be?! Chinese people around me are eating it. It was painfully spicy, I found out later on! Worst part was that, I was sitting where the draft of the air-con was blowing the steam of the spicy broth into my eye. Now that was even more painful! Apart from that though, it was rather delicious and it felt extremely healthy.

Highlander

SINGAPORE - In Asia it's terribly difficult to find decent coffee. I am sure that they grow great beans in this side of the world. However, I don't think it's their forte to handle and grind beans the proper way. I think this is owing to the fact that Asians are really more tea drinkers, and the coffee drinking culture isn't really there. In Singapore you have Milk Tea and other Coffees, but most of it is drowned in condensed milk.

Most people I meet (in Asia) don't understand my fixation for proper decent coffee (no sugar please!). I've had really great coffee when I was living in London so I can really tell the difference between cat piss (Starsucks) and a proper coffee. So when I moved here and when my brother-in-law emailed me to check out Highlander Cafe, it was on my list of places to check out. Almost a year later... ta-dah!

It's located in Kampong Bahru, which for me was rather tricky to get to. So I took a taxi to get here. I think most of it's clientel are the people working in the vicinity, because they later told me that they were shocked that I arrived in a taxi and obviously making the effort to trek to their cafe! Haha! The cafe is really tiny but cosy (and independent -- the way I like it!). The bigger area at the back of their cafe is where they train baristas. So back to the coffee, I was debating on whether I should have a macchiato or a cappuccino... weighing the odds.
'I will only know if the coffee is good if I have an espresso or macchiato... but I haven't had a decent cup of cappuccino in AGES..."
more thinking...
"I'll have a cappuccino".

It wasn't the best cup of coffee I've had, but it wasn't the worst either. I think it was nice to check it out for the experience and for the adventure of getting there (and finding a way back home!).

Highlight of Mum's Visit Pt.2

Previously on Travelling Mon...

Not really!

SINGAPORE - Day five was more of an errand/shopping day. However, I managed to make mum try one of Singapore's signature dish, Laksa. I had tried Laksa in several places, but it never really tasted right. I could see the potential of how it could taste amazing, but for me it always lacked that rich coconut flavour. When I was living in Marine Parade, behind my apartment was the famous Katong Laksa, but even that was not as good as the one an Uncle of mine recommended. It's in the food court of the Peninsula Shopping Centre in City Hall.



Laksa @ Peninsula Shopping Centre


I had to work most of the remaining days, but we managed to squeeze in a visit to the Esplande (also known as The Durian), Merlion and dinner at Forlino's. Unfortunately, the food in Forlino's was not as amazing as it had been on my birthday. I later found out that they had changed their chef, which was such a shame really.



The Merlion and the unfinished IR Marina Bay Sands (behind)


Sadly, mum's visit had to end. However, the night before she left, I made sure she tried Singapore's infamous Hainanese Chicken Rice at Chatter Box, Mandarin Hotel. Everyone swears by the Chicken Rice in Chatter Box, but I didn't really impress me. The view on the other hand was amazing!



Hainanese Chicken Rice @ Chatter Box

Highlight of Mum's Visit

SINGAPORE - It was great to have my mum visit. I made sure she got to see all the touristy spot that we hadn't seen when we visited when I was younger, also which didn't exist.

It started with Dinner at Carnivore, a Brazilian restaurant at CHIJMES. There's a set price and they go around your table with different kinds of meats (lazy man's buffet). You are given a card, and when the green side faces up on your table, they come over and offer you some meat, and when red, they leave you to eat your meal. It's worth visiting when in Singapore.

The next day we headed to Little India to have Dosai at Ananda Bhavan. It's a tiny canteen like place, but for me the food tastes authentic and it's much better than The Banana Leaf Apollo. It's also one forth the price. After lunch, it was a short stroll to Sim Lim Center, electronic haven. However, some people find that the things you buy in Sim Lim are dodgy, so Funan might be a better place to check out electronics when in SG. We then headed by taxi to Arab Street. It's very near Little India, but I can never get my head around how to get there from Little India. Arab Street is one of my favourite places in Singapore. It's extremely quite because of the Sultan's Mosque being situated there. Along the stretch are tiny shops mostly selling Pashminas which in my opinion is the best place to buy it. There are a few places to eat along that area, but nothing to write home about.

On the third day, we decided to explore the Tanjong Pagar area, which was near our hotel. First stop of course was to visit Maxwell Hawker Center. It's not my favourite Hawker Centre, but some people (Anthony Bourdain) swears by it. I much prefer Lau Pa Sat and Newton Centre. The queues for some of the stalls were crazy so we decided to have lunch somewhere else. Along that road are a few temples, they have the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, which is an amazing structure and it's rather stunning to visit at night. They also have The Sri Mariamman which is the first Hindu temple in Singapore (located in China Town). As it was a Saturday, we decided to head to Sentosa. I knew the place to take her for lunch. Chilli crab by the sea, at Palawan Beach. I know there are other places in Singapore that have the best Chilli Crab, but eating it by the beach is just the best experience, in my opinion. After lunch, we went for a long stroll by the beach and had some ice cream to cool down. We were a bit sun stroked, tired (after managing to sneak in shopping at Vivocity) and needing a lay down. The evening was spent in the hotel ordering room service. Ah, that's the life!

Day four was my favourite day. We had a leisurely breakfast and long rest at our hotel after which, we headed to Raffles Hotel. I had made a reservation at the Tiffin Room, Raffles Hotel for High Tea. In my opinion, it was a lot better and a lot more elegant than the Bar and Billiard Room's High Tea, which was a buffet. I loved how they would bring you a tier which contained scones, sandwiches and pastries, which was equally nice as the High Tea at The Savoy in London. This for me, is a must when in Singapore.


High Tea at the Tiffin Room, Raffles Hotel


I couldn't let my mum leave Raffles Hotel without trying the infamous Singapore Sling at the Long Bar, where it was created by Ngiam Tong Boon, a bartender working at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel Singapore before 1915. Apparently, owing to the large number of orders, the drink has been pre-mixed and are dispensed using an automatic dispenser that combines both alcohol and pineapple juice to pre-set volumes. I can't say that this is a drink I look forward to have (only because it's a tad bit too sweet), but when in Singapore you have to try it. Throw a few peanuts on the floor while you're at it! :) After the Raffles experience, we made our way to the Singapore Flyer. The best time to go is around 7 pm, because the sun starts to set at around 7:15 pm. So you get to see the view of Singapore both in the day and at night.






We thought of having dinner at Clarke Quay, but couldn't find anything suitable for a Sunday evening. So we made our way instead to Bodega Y Tapas, and it was a great way to end such a lovely day.



L-R: Clarke Quay, Bodega Y Tapas


TBC...

An's Visit Part Deux

SINGAPORE - On An's second visit to Singapore, the only thing she wanted to do was go on the Singapore Riverboat Cruise -- and so that's just what we did.



You start in front of Fullerton Hotel, enjoying the sights along the river and you end up alighting at Boat Quay.


Singapore's CDB


Singapore's CDB & Boat Quay

Oh Christmas tree!

SINGAPORE - Massive Christmas tree at Parkway Parade; Orchard Road is decked up with Christmas decorations. However, nothing beats the decors and vibe of Christmas in Manila and London. Did some last minute Xmas shopping before I go home for Christmas. Santa is on her way!

Clever Signage

In The Paper

SINGAPORE - Financial Crisis.

My Sanctuary

SINGAPORE - Kinokuniya (or as I call it, KK), is for me, by far the best bookshop in Singapore. It's a Japanese bookstore chain, which started in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Free Art Friday (The Sequel)

SINGAPORE - Plastered on the building of Raffles City is Fantasmas (Phantoms) an artwork by Isaac Montoya, a Spanish artist. What passersby see is the psychedelic design of the portrait is of a woman screaming. Two very different images are revealed once one looks through a red and blue filter... like so ...

...and these are the images which are revealed...

Pretty amazing isn't it? This has to be one of the most unique and creative artworks I have seen in a while. Hopefully, I will manage to find the rest of the Biennale artworks around town.