Coming Down off the Singapore High

Posted on 20 March 2009 by christao408

It took me five days, but finally this afternoon I came off my Singapore high. I no longer pine for the smooth pavement and large, shady trees of the Singaporean parkways. I’ve made my peace with motorcycle taxis and the Thai post office.

It was while I was walking home from lunch with Stuart at J Avenue that I had this epiphany. Full from my lunch at a favorite Japanese restaurant, carrying my groceries from Villa market in one hand and eating a single scoop of rich chocolate ice cream from Ummm… Milk (a local dairy products company) from a cone in my other hand, I stumbled along the side of the road, looking over my shoulder to avoid oncoming cars and motorcycles, and wondering whether I would make it home before the rain started to fall.

And it was at that moment that I realized: Krungthep is fine. I don’t need any fancy city-state central planning. I’m perfectly happy with my red shirt – yellow shirt political merry-go-round.

But before I let it all go, here’s one final picture from Singapore, snapped while we were driving to the IT mall.

Above: A Chinese immigrant to Singapore pauses in the shade to read a text message. I really like the composition.

Taste of Singapore

Posted on 19 March 2009 by christao408

Some say that Singapore doesn’t have great food, only okay food. One thing I like about it, though, is the variety. The quality is good and with such a mélange of cultures, the number of different styles and flavors is enough to pique my interest for days at a time.

Here are a few of the treats I enjoyed:

Roti Prata with curry. Coming from the Malaysian side of things (and tracing back to Pakistan and India), roti prata is an unleavened bread fried in oil. Many layers and nice and crispy. Served with a bowl of vegetarian curry and, for in this case, a side of stir-fried greens. Roti is available here in Thailand, too, mostly from Muslim vendors and mostly served sweet.

Hainanese Chicken Rice. This is the ubiquitous Singaporean dish. Chicken (either boiled or roasted – in this case boiled) served with “oily” rice, some broth and a plate of braised tofu and duck eggs.

Claypot chicken rice. This is one of my favorite Chinese dishes, originating from southern China. Cooked over a charcoal stove, the rice at the bottom bakes on, forming a nice crispy texture. The sausage is sweet, the chicken succulent, and the bitter greens provide a nice counterpoint to the satisfying savoriness of the overall dish.

Funny story about the claypot chicken rice, though. I ordered this at a food court and the guy looked at me for a long time, like he couldn’t decide whether or not to serve the dish to me. It wasn’t a case of him not understanding me, though. Instead, after a few moments he walked out from behind the counter, crossed the sea of tables to a person collecting dirty dishes, and poked through the tub of used dishes to find a clay pot and lid.

Then he returned the dish to the kitchen and I proceeded to wait ten minutes for them to prepare the meal, hoping the whole time that they were really going to scrub the pot first!

The high heat of the fire would kill any germs, right?

Additional vegetarian selections at the restaurant downstairs from Otto and Han’s place. Big line outside in the morning makes me think this is the neighborhood hot spot.

Breakfast in Singapore

Posted on 15 March 2009 by christao408

Singapore was the first place outside of the US and Canada I ever visited, way back in 1996 or so. In the dozen-plus years since, I’ve visited any number of times. I’ve enjoyed watching it grow and develop. At the same time, having visited so often, I’m less inclined to snap a lot of photos and document each visit. Thus my three days of blog silence. Here’s a little bit to share, though.

Saturday morning Suyoung picked me up at my hotel to take me for brunch. She and I worked together for a few years at the SF International Asian American Film Festival (going on now – visit http://festival.asianamericanmedia.org/2009/ for information) and then again at the Hamptons International Film Festival. Now she’s working in Singapore doing marketing for a high-tech firm and we’re able to meet up either here or there every year or two.

Suyoung took me to this beautiful restaurant called PS Cafe, located up on Harding Road in the Dempsey Hill district, a rennovated complex of former British Army barracks that now house galleries, furniture shops and restaurants.

The entrance, down a flight of steps from the road, looks small and secluded but when you walk into the restaurant you see that the entire far wall is glass, looking out on a small meadow with lush trees and tropical foliage. The style is very Californian and it makes for a beautiful setting for brunch.

Outdoor seating is pretty well-shaded although we had a few minutes of strong sun before the clouds of a thunderstorm brought back the shade. The fans kept a nice breeze and all the surrounding plants kept the temperature comfortable.

Service is a little slow and disorganized but with such a nice setting, it was easy to overlook this hiccups and instead enjoy a relaxing meal.

PS Cafe’s menu is international with typical brunch dishes as well as salads, sandwiches, and mains with a generally western feel. Truly, this restaurant would not be out of place in Napa and its selection of baked goods is extensive.

Suyoung had a beautiful eggs benedict which she said was tasty. I had the buttermilk pancakes which, made from a combination of spelt flour and whole wheat, were just a little dry – especially as they were stingy with the maple syrup. They were tasty, though.

After brunch we walked around the different shops, stopping in at Jones the Grocer, an upscale cafe and gourmet grocery featuring specialty products like pastas, preserves, teas, coffees and spices.

A very relaxing Saturday afternoon.

Border Run to Singapore

Posted on 13 October 2008 by christao408

Hot on the heels of Bruce’s departure, I did a one-day border run to Singapore. The type of visa I have for Thailand (despite being a one-year visa) rather inexplicably requires that I exit and re-enter the country once every ninety days. For no other purpose, it seems, than to ensure that the immigration officers have employment, seeing as how other types of visa allow holders to just check in every ninety days at the immigration office off Sathorn Road.

Accepting things as they are – a very Thai trait, if I do say so myself – I booked a one day trip to Singapore as a change of pace from the usual all-day van trips to Cambodia. At least with Singapore there would be something interesting to see at the other end of the trip.

Keeping costs low, I flew Air Asia, the “Southwest Airlines of Southeast Asia”. The outbound flight was on time and the return was only thirty minutes late – some sort of a record for Air Asia. Both flights were pretty full although on the return flight I managed an empty middle seat between me and the lady sitting at the window.

It was a fun day for flying with good views of both Suvarnabhumi (left) and Changi (right) airports.

Arriving in Singapore at about 10:30, I spent an hour exploring the newest terminal (Terminal 3), which is really a beautiful facility with lots of light, water and plants to make it comfortable. I also wanted to see the new Airbus A380. There were two of them, but always with several layers of glass between me and them. No opportunities for a clear view or a good picture.

I did, however, get a picture of this rather gaudily painted Air Asia jet:

When I passed through the deserted immigration hall in Terminal 3, the officer was a little confused at how I had wound up so far away from my arrival gate (which was in Terminal 1). When I explained that I had come over to see the new airplane, he promptly gave me his advice for the best view – outside the secured area and on the fourth floor. Unfortunately, the planes were still parked outside the line of sight from the otherwise nice viewing gallery.

Taking the clean and efficient train into town, I met with Otto at Vivo City, the largest mall in Singapore. You certainly can’t avoid malls when you visit there, and we had a very nice visit with lunch at a food court and then a stop for coffee.

Below – Indonesian style lunch with fried chicken and rice, along with a few pieces of Chinese dim sum.

Late afternoon I headed a few stations away to the Chinatown area. After a little exploring, I met with Suyoung, a former colleague from the SF Int’l Asian American Film Festival and the Hamptons International Film Festival. Along with a friend of hers, we had a lovely dinner at a small Italian restaurant called Spizza. Really good thin-crust pizza and a pine nut torte that was the perfect end to the evening. As I told Suyoung, Tawn and I really should do more weekend trips to Singapore. It is so nearby and there are lots of good restaurants to explore.

With an easy taxi ride I was back at Changi International in time for my return flight home, even with a little time to spare for duty free shopping.

With my return, I’m “locked in” to Thailand and will not be able to leave again until my return trip to the United States in December, when I’ll apply for another one-year visa.

Fun Way to Learn Science in Singapore

Posted on 24 August 2008 by christao408

Many of us will agree that maths and sciences are not given proper attention in school. They are seen as something only for the geeky students. Certainly, girls do not receive enough encouragement to learn about, and pursue careers in, those fields.

Otto Fong, former science teacher at the Raffles Institute in Singapore, finally left his teaching post last year to follow his dream to be a full time cartoonist.

His cartooning is firmly rooted in his teaching, though: his first two books, Sir Fong and Sir Fong 2: Fur-O-Cious, are both about his experiences as a teacher and science figures prominently in the humor.

Otto’s latest release is Sir Fong’s Adventures in Science, Book 1. It marks the first in a series of 100% Singaporean science comic books. Using humor and an engaging story line to talk about science topics – particularly those covered in the local school curriculum – he encourages students to find the fun side of science.

“Children love the cute bunny students and parents love the lively science coverage.” Otto explains.

Sir Fong Adventures in Science Book 1 was launched at the Toy & Book Convention in Singapore this June, receiving rave reviews from parents and children alike.

Currently, the book is just for sale in Singapore although I personally hope that it will find wider distribution. Anything that will help children enjoy and engage in science is a good thing.

If you have friends or family in Singapore who want a fun way to learn science or are interesting in a great science coming book for their primary or secondary school children, please let them know that there is an event this Saturday, August 30th at the Kinokuniya Main Store at the Crossroads.

From 4:30 to 5:30 pm, Sir Fong’s creator, Otto Fong, will be there signing books, answering questions, and helping people gain a life-long passion for science and learning.

Please pass along the news and, if you are in Singapore this weekend, consider stopping by.

christao408

The adventures of an expat American who moved to Bangkok for his husband.

Tag Archives: singapore