The land of the shiny green suit...

Earlier this month I was in Hong Kong for a quick visit. Hong Kong is perhaps one of my all-time fave cities (although maybe Shanghai has overtaken in…), so it’s always great to go back. The weather was quite cool at this time of year (at least for the first few days), so it was also nice to escape the heat of Singapore! The flight itslf is only three and a bit hours, so its a fast hop (for anyone who wants to visit next time they're in Singapore...)


When I first arrived, my colleague form HK was feeling a little under the weather, so I had a whole Sunday night to kill. I remembered that the walk along Nathan Road was quite a nice one, and as it was around 5pm when I set off, I figured that if I started at one end, by the time I reached the Causeway it would be dark, giving me a nice view of Hong Kong Island at night. I took the MTR to Prince Edward, thinking it was a short walk to the causeway. Wrong. I had underestimated the length of Nathan Road, and ended up pretty damn far from where I wanted to be. Nonetheless, it was a nice (but tiring) walk that night, finished off with some Sichuan noodles with bubble tea (left). Not sure how Sichuan the noodles were (they seemed to be mostly carrots), but nice enough.

Next day I was off to Lan Kwai Fong in the evening. I was pretty beat after work, but I figured I should venture out a little to soak up the nightlife. Being a Monday night, LKF was a little empty, but was still as I remembered it, the hang-out for expats and local businessmen. Full of bars and pubs, it looked like an ideal place to have a beer after work. Only I was too tired. I wanted to eat, and sleep. So I found a neat little noodle bar in Central and had some beef noodles. Some of the best noodles I’ve ever had, although maybe a little too much tenderiser in the beef. I had a Tsingtao beer as well (well, I’m in China, right?). Apparently the chef made noodles in Macao for years, and even knocked up a bowl for the Portuguese president some time ago. Now, this sounds good in theory. But it’s a bit like saying that m fish and chips are great because I cooked them for the Japanese premier once. How is the Portuguese president to tell good noodles from bad? Maybe he does, and I’m doing him a disservice. All I’m saying is that if he had made noodles for the Chinese premier, I’d have been impressed…;-). Anyway, they were good. The couple in front of me took a pic, so I thought I would as well.




Left: Lan Kwai Fong
Far left: Beef Noodles & Beer






Tuesday night I had dinner on the Peak, which was lovely. It’s so much cooler up there than down at sea level, you can see why the rich and famous make their homes in the clouds.

Then, time to come home. And buy duty free at Changi Airport. This is a ritual that all locals (and foreigners who live here) partake of, give that booze is so damn expensive here. The staff at duty free are very helpful (I think they’re on commission), so the whole experience is very easy (and costly, if you buy the regulation 3 bottles of beer, one bottle of spirits, one bottle of wine).

The one thing that strikes you after visiting HK for a few days from Singapore is that you have just used two of the best airports in the world. Seriously. You can tell the organisation and thought that went into them, and their design. The airport train from Lantau Island to Hong Kong Island is wonderful, the airport itself in HK is beautiful – and shopping is not bad either. But Changi is great, with the efficiency that it prides itself on. Which one is better? I’m not sure. But I do know that they are more enjoyable and relaxing than Heathrow!

Colbar

I didn’t get around to posting about one of our new favourite places to go makan – the Wessex Estate and OneNorth in Singapore. The whole estate is very close to the new Biopolis that has been developed in Singapore. Biopolis was developed to attract genetics engineers and scientists to Singapore, and I think that the chap who cloned Dolly the Sheep might even have been here at one point. The whole estate felt very much like the Little Kent area we have visited before – lots of colonial bungalows (many named after outposts of the British Empire, or major battles in the history of the Empire). Some of these bungalows have been converted to allow space for small business to grow, giving the whole estate quite a relaxed and quirky feel. Therew as a lot of redevelopment going on, and it would seem as though the Estate is getting quite a makeover. Nonetheless, there were quite a few classic cars around, lending a feel of Enid Blyton-esque Britishness.

However, the real standout was Colbar. An old bar frequented by expats for years, it was almost pulled down for good recently, when a new highway was built. However, a petition was gathered, and the bar was actually relocated (brick by brick) to its current location. The food here is absolutely fabulous (think old English pub foods, real brown sauce & ketchup, and vinegar…), and there is even a bring and borrow library there as well. You’ll see from the pics that I had the fish n chips – best on the Island. The bar also sold other pub favourites (sausage & chips, burger & chips - you get the idea), and pickled eggs. Not sure how popular they were, but there they were on the counter. The bar also stocked a decent selection of British real ales in the chiller. All in all, a great place.



Far Left: Bungalow with suitably exotic name
Left: Me on Woking Rd









Far Left: Research Lab
Left: Colbar





Colbar
9A Whitchurch Road, Wessex Estate Tel: 6779-4859
Opening hours: 11am-10pm; closed on Mondays

Haji Lane

Whilst I posted recently about the joys of dérive (note: this is not the same as getting lost), we ourselves did some exploring recently. We had heard a rumour about an interesting street in the Kampung Glam area of town called Haji Lane. Off we trotted form some exploration, and reportage. We had also heard that this was the narrowest street in Singapore. The lane itself did not disappoint. The lane did have some pretty cool shops, including one that sold vintage clothes and ice-cream (Pluck). No, we didn’t try the ice-cream yet, but yes, we will definitely post about it when we do!!! (the toils of service...)


Haji Lane also has one very small theatre. Pitch Black claims to be "...the only boutique screening room, art gallery and café featuring High Definition Blu-Ray Projection and 6.1 Cinematic Surround Sound.". More importantly, we were told that screenings were free, provided that you bought a certain amount of booze and food. When we go, we'll let you know what it's like.
The lane felt like a small back street in any city, and the mix of trendy labels and boutiques was a welcome diversion. We even had time to stop and have a chat with a wedding photographer that we almost went with for our wedding.

Pluck, 31/33 Haji Lane, Tel: 6396 4048
Pitch Black, 63 Haji Lane, Tel: 6392 3457
39 East Photography, 39 Haji Lane, (S)189232, Tel: 9740 8317


Something else we did recently was visit the main Singapore Train Station (Tanjong Pagar railway station) Built in 1932, the station is reminiscent of those that we see in the UK, with art-deco architecture of the period. the station is a working station, with regular services between Singapore and the western seaboard of Peninsula Malaysia, with stops including Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur. Inside, main attractions are some huge freezes and tile pictures. Interestingly, and as far as I know, the station And the tracks in Singapore are Malaysian state land, with the land on which the station and the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) railway tracks in Singapore are situated held by KTM on a 999-year lease.


Well worth a trip, and quite interesting. There's even a signal box that wouldn't look out of place in the UK.




Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, 30 Keppel Road (S)089059

Here you go, a non-food post.

Another place we visited recently was TK Pottery Jungle, located way of into the midst of Singapore’s greenery. We were on a hunt for a large pot to put some plants in, and a pot to put some fish in, and this place fitted the bill.

Although it’s a little off of the beaten track, (closer to Malaysia than it is to many places in Singapore) it’s well worth a visit. They have all manner of pottery there, including vases, and kitchenware. They even seemed to have a Commie Corner, with all kinds of Marxist memorabilia. The day was a hot one (aren’t they all), and seemed popular with ex-pats. We wondered if some my family would appreciate it (the carrot-cake expert, and Marty, to name two), and thought we’d stick these pics up to entice….


Far Left: Lots of Pots

Left: You could fit a-lad-in there (weak pun)




Far left: A kiln

Left: Another kiln





Thow Kwang Industry Industry Pte Ltd
85 Lorong Tawas (off Jalan Bahar)
Singapore 639823

t: 6265 5808
e: pottery@thowkwang.com.sg
Open: 9am to 5 pm daily


After visiting the place, we took a drive round the coastal regions to check out the wildlife. To drive around these often empty country roads is to forget that you are in Singapore, sometimes. The area of Singapore on the West Coast is home to a diverse range of industries, from chicken farming to furniture making. Trucks get lost here, and we saw a dead dog once. Still, it’s a great adventure, and the coastal area is definitely a visit worth making. When we got there we saw were a handful of fishermen wading around in boats setting off to try their luck. Out in the straits we could see a couple of Kelong, an offshore platform built with wood to fish from, although larger ones can be used as homes. These are increasingly rare in Singapore, but there are a few around.

We stayed on the jetty, and looked in amazement as we saw clams, crabs, and other stuff that I don’t know but comes under “fish”. We also saw a crab – not sure what it is called, but it looks like a Horseshoe Crab. Its popular in South-East Asian food, and in life the male and female stick together (literally), and both die if they are separated - how sweet. Anyway, thee area is quite tranquil, and makes for a relaxing diversion from pounding shopping streets in the centre of Singapore. You know you have reached the end of Singapore, because there is a bus turning circle - they drive up to the end of the road, cannot go any further, and then the bus turns around.

After tiring, we did indeed go and eat ice-cream (at the Island Creamery, no less). I got some food mention in at the end, phew.


Far Left: A mysterious fruit

Left: The crab - any idea?

Pasir Ris Park

One of the more picturesque places we have visited recently was Pasir Ris Park, on the east coast of Singapore. Whilst we weren't there for long, the sunset was quite stunning, and the place had quite a Brighton-esque feel to it. It even had a prawning pond (so close to a cafe you can yell over and order beer), and as an added bonus was right under the flight path of Changi Airport, allowing much fun plane spotting (for those who like that sort of thing. Not me, oh no). Definitely a place worth visiting, and perhaps having a BBQ at...

Far Left: A Mills & Boon moment

Left: Prawning at Pasir Ris Park

Malacca revisited (quite literally)

As some of you will know, last weekend we headed off to Malacca. This was my third trip, and I never get bored of the town. It’s what the guidebooks might call rustic, but it certainly has loads of charm. The architecture is interesting (although I think I have covered that in a previous post), and the food is tops.

We went to Malacca primarily for Elena to choose her Kabaya (she covers this in her post on the topic), but it’s always a nice getaway for the weekend. It’s a three-four hour drive depending on the road conditions and other drivers, and I slept through all of the drive. I tried the old “resting my eyes” excuse that always worked for Granddad, but I guess I don’t have his honest look – no-one believed me. Perhaps the snoring gave it away…

Anyway, once there we dealt with the business at hand – we ate. I think I mentioned before that the Wan Tan Mee in Malacca is the best around, and we stopped off there again. It didn’t disappoint, and I was left split between sharing another bowl, and making the most of the other food on offer in the town. I got the better of my greed, and we wondered of to deal with Elena’s Kebaya (on a separate note, one day I’ll perhaps compile a list of the best Wan Tan Mee stalls in Singapore. It might include the Mei Ling food court, the one in Toa Payoh, the one at Cambridge Road….hey, I’m a researcher – what can I say!)

Something else we had that day was Chendol(left), a desert that includes a lot of brown sugar, coconut milk, and ice. On a hot day, there’s nothing like it. The brown sugar is the Gula Malacca I mentioned before (although it was in beer in a previous post), but here it was in its pomp, holding together ice. The secret is not to mix the ice, milk, and sugar together too much – if you do that, you get a sweet goo. If you leave it fairly unmixed, you can appreciate the finer flavours of the desert in their own right…!

We headed into the night market later that evening. Interestingly (and I only just found this out, the same way you did if you cliked on the link I kindly provided), Pasar is a Malay word derived from Bazaar in Persian. So now you now. Anyway, you’ll see from the pic on the left that the night market is usually along one street, with stalls either side selling all manner of things. Usually toys and trinkets, they are quite fun, and they sell a lot of stuff to tourists. They call out to people as you pass by, enticing you to buy anything from a platsic gun, to a barking toy dog, and so on. The streets are usually quite busy but it makes for a great atmosphere, and certainly something that everyone should see when they are in this part of the world.

We stopped off at a shop along the road to take a look at some of their paper-cutting art. This isn’t as odd as it sounds, and is a traditional art form in China. Using just paper, scissors, and perhaps a knife, some artists are able to create incredibly intricate pictures or landscapes. We were amazed by a TV show in China about a very old women who did this for a living. She was around 80 years old, but was fantastically talented. Anyway, we fell in love with the technique then, and were lucky enough to find a paper-cutting of the Chinese symbol for double happiness, a traditional feature of Chinese weddings.

What the also sell is food. Street markets in Asia usually sell loads of food at small stalls, often cooked up in front of you, and usually inexpensive. This was the case in china and Thailand, and is the case in Singapore and Malaysia. I love eating this kind of food, and can’t resist trying a few things. Something that caught my eye was deep-fried ice-cream. Take a slice of bread, wrap it around a ball of ice-cream, and then drop in super hot oil for about 15 seconds. The bread is crispy and fried, and the ice-cream is still frozen. And all for only 499 calories. But it is great, and I’d recommend it to anyone. I also ate a curry puff and a char siew puff. Fantastic. However, I was quite full the next day, and still am rather full today (Tuesday).

What else? Well, the next day we headed down to Tesco. Malacca has an enormous Tesco shop, and we often stop in on the way back to Singapore to pick up some groceries. It’s a little cheaper than Singapore, and Singapore doesn’t have Tesco. Here’s a pic of me outside Tesco, just to prove it. It’s always exciting to go into a shop like this abroad; we used to have the same experience going to Carrefour in China last year. The Tesco was hugely busy, and there must much coming together of trolleys. In the end, we didn’t stay for long, although I bought some cereal (note: the Handbag belongs to Elena's mother; not me. Mine is in the car).

Whilst we were there, however, I had time to inspect at first hand a car "built in a jungle clearing by people who go to work in shoes made from leaves", according to Jeremy Clarkson. The Malaysians were (understandably) unhappy about his comments. However. he was referring to the Perodua Kelisa, whereas I got to sit in the Perodua Myvi. And actually, it wasn’t half bad. It was small, but it looked kind of fun, and was only around £4,000. It reminded of the Mitsubishi Colt, which can’t really be a bad thing. There were loads of them on the highways in Malaysia, and I actually quite liked it.

Changi Chapel Museum

Yesterday we took advantage of my day off - due to Chinese New Year - to take a mini tour with some Singaporean friends from Nottingham who are here for a few months. There were a few places that we wanted to go, and that we wanted to scout out for operation 777, so first up was the Changi Chapel. We had intended to visit the Istana - the presidential palace - but the queues were eye watering, so we went ahead with plan B - Changi Chapel.

The museum and chapel is tucked away next to the main Changi Prison, still used as a penitentiary today. The museum was very well put together, with a lot of eyewitness accounts of the PoW camps and the events surrounding the fall of Singapore. What was most interesting was that there were plaques donated by the various battalions that served in Singapore, and the one that you can see to the left is that of the 5th Beds & Herts. It's sideways now, but I'll try and put it the right way round soon! What amazed me was the sheer diversity of regiments (India, USA, Australia, Malaya and so on), and the age of the men who were fighting. Many were younger than me, and that is something that hits home when you go to something like this.

The museum also includes a lot of information on the Burma/Thailand railway, and loads of artefacts, including a lot of things that were made by the men who worked on the railway. What astonished me is that in the Changi PoW camp, within 3 weeks they were putting on plays, and after a while were giving lectures at the "Changi University", on anything from Maths to Egyptology.

Chinese New Year Steamboat

One of the traditions of Chinese New Year is the reunion dinner, when the whole family gets together. Having had one for the maternal side of the family previously, last Saturday the paternal side of the family came over to our place for steamboat. Steamboat is often referred to as Chinese fondue, and that's about as accurate a description as I can think of. Generally, a pot of soup/stock is placed in the middle of the table, and surrounded by plates of meat, seafood, tofu, vegetables and s0 on, and you dip them in the soup to cook them. The bonus being that at the end of the evening you get a delicious soup to drink! As you can see, we had two tables up, and loads of food - with the highlights being a type of fishball that has other meat inside, and a chilli sauce that was fantastic!

Chinese New Year

This time of year Singapore (and a lot of Asia) is alight with festivities, as people get ready to welcome in the New Year - the year of the pig. Last year we were here for CNY, and had seen the heart of Chinatown clogged with people on New Year's Eve, so this year we went and had a look a week early.

You can see from the picture on the left that it was still packed with people doing some last minute shopping, much like we would do for Christmas. Visiting relatives is an important part of Chinese New Year, and people buy snacks that they can offer to people when they receive visitors. Much of the preparations are very similar to what we do for Christmas, with everyone dashing out at the last minute to stock up, and shops shutting on Chinese New Year's day itself, and the day after.

Some of the most interesting stores are the dried meat stores, that have all kinds of Chinese sausages, chicken, and other meats hanging up to be eaten during the holidays. Peanuts, sweets, barbequed pork, and other such things are crammed into shopping bags, ready to be distributed to guests. Apart from food and snacks, people buy decorations to hang around the house, fake firecrackers (real ones are banned), and generally come to walk around and enjoy the atmosphere.

Something else that people do is stock up on flowers at home, and we went down to the garden centre on Sunday night to do some stocking up ourselves. Unfortunately, so had everyone else. Here’s me with a tree - related to the kumquat tree, I think. These type of trees are very common at Chinese New Year, and businesses put them up in the lobbies and so on. The oranges signify luck, which we can all use from time to time! One thing that was pretty cool (forgive the pun) was a cold room that had roses and other flowers (lilies, tulips, eustomas, gladiolia, etc) that need a cooler climate. The room itself was a cold enough to give brass monkeys a shock, but the flowers were nice and it was almost like going round a garden centre back home.

KL

My blog is starting to take on a Dr Who type of feel – I whizz around in time when I come across photos to post. Now, let me take you back to last year in my TARDIS…whoosh….

(Left: Me in Dunkin Donuts in KL.)

Some of you may remember that, last December, our friend from Nottingham came and visited us. Mona’s in China now, and popped over to Singapore for some warm weather and a quick break. We had tried to visit another country whilst she was here, but the looming Christmas holiday meant that everywhere was fully booked. It seems as though everyone in Singapore had the same idea – to make the most of the holidays that were next to weekends, and get away from a long break. KL it was, then.

There are three ways of getting to KL. You can take a bus, drive, or you can fly. The flight is around 45 mins, but can be quite expensive. The coach trip itself is not too bad, taking around 5 hours to get there. There is a stop along the way (much like a trip to Malacca), and the scenery can be quite stunning. The hotel we stayed at did a reasonable cooked breakfast buffet in the morning, including some rather tasty waffles.

(Left: the Petronas Towers.)

One of the best things about Malaysia is the food and, like true tourists, we spent most of our time eating. We sampled some Dunkin Donuts and KFC, the former of which you can’t get in Singapore anymore. It was a tough assingnment, but one we carried out purely in the name of research. Result? Yes, they were good.

We visited the Petronas Towers (alas, no Catherine or Sean), and spent some considerable time on the shopping centre underneath. Right now, there’s a guy sitting in a spa in KL rubbing his hands with disbelief that we all entered his shop. He’s retired since, and lives the life of a king.

We also took some time to go see the Merdeka Square in central KL, where independence from the Brits was proclaimed. There is a couple of notable buildings on the square, one of which is the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. Built at the tail end of the 19th Century, and originally known as "The New Government Offices", it now houses the Commercial Division of the High Court of Malaya.

KL is a very pretty town, and one of the key attractions is just walking around, and taking in the architecture. It can take a while (and requires a decent map), but is well worth the trip.

Malacca

I've finally gotten around to uploading the pictures I have taken over the last few months, hence the the prodigious level of posts. Now, time to turn attention to our trip to Malacca at the end of November. Malacca is a pretty, interesting town about half-way up Malaysia, one of those towns that various colonial powers have fought over in the past couple of centuries. Some of you may remember that the last time I went to Malacca I was sick for a few days, so this was a chance to see the town and actually take in sights other than public conveniences. The journey itself is a 5-6 hour drive along Malaysian roads, although there is always a stop for some fantastic food at the equivalent of our petrol stops along the motorway. (Number one being the Ramlee Burger.The scenery along the way is great, and always serves as a reminder of how rich Malaysia actually is in natural resources, with Palm Oil plantations all along the road.

As a result of its strategic position in the eponymously titled-Straits, Malacca was home to the Dutch, the Portuguese, and the Brits. Places like the red church are a testament to this, and have left an interesting tapestry of architecture.

The food in Malacca is also pretty interesting, and again reflects the history of the town. Ice Kacang s perhaps one of the more famous, although the wonton mee is also tip-top. Another thing that you will see (and hear) in Malacca is the army of cycle rickshaws that pedal around the town, ferrying tourists to and fro. A recent addition to these traditional bikes is a loud-speaker stereo, so you can hear them coming a mile off! They're also pretty heavily decorated, covered in colourful garlands and other eye catching dangly things.

Singapore Motor Show

Yesterday (Sunday) we visited the Singapore Motor Show for the first time, at Suntec City. All manner of cars were on display, from the faintly ridiculous, to the actually quite nice. One of the actually quite nice cars was a Malaysian-Australian TD 2000, a replica of a "The T-line-up of MGs, which ran from the MG TA Midget in 1936 through to the MG TF in 1955". This one's for Dad:


On top of that, there was also a rather cute Suzuki LC, apparently based on its first model back in the 50s, the Suzulight. I think that it's quite reminiscent of the Fiat 500.



What's more, there were also a few Ferraris and Lamborghinis there:



Lexus also showed off the technology behind its new RX 400h (h for hybrid):


That was pretty much it, although there were plenty of other interesting cars, and a lot of the mundane SUV types. I managed to blag quite a few freebies, of course, so I'll be spending the next few weeks digesting magazines.

Little Kent and a little hungry

We went on a tour of Singapore last weekend, and one of the places that I had read about and was keen to go was Little Kent. Now, I knew that Singapore had China town, and a Little India, so I was eager to see what Little Kent was like. Tens of middle-aged ladies talking about butter? Men growing hops and barley, and sitting on tractors?


As it turned out, it was not quite like that, but was a lovely (cue Kent-terms) place to visit, and all of the street names were named after towns in Kent. Mainstone, Folkstone, Deal etc, so it felt a little like home. I've even looked at the street directory here, and there is a Lambeth Walk, and a Bedford Road, so more exciting road name pictures to come. Where's little Bedford? I think thats coming next July.

Some of the houses around that area were lovely, and it was quite nice to see that they were in really good condition. And loads of the people there were British, and one nice British chap even said hullo, Famous Five style as I walked past his house.

This was strange, because I had just been standing in the middle of the road like a crazy man taking a picture of a street sign, with cars going either side of me. He must have thought that a cross between Evel Knievel and an amateur photographer had just stepped off of the plane.

After exploring Little Kent, we had a bit of an exploration trip. One of the places we went was the site of one of the last battles of Singapore before it fell in WWII. Right on top of a hill, with spectacular views of Singapore, it seemed to be the ideal place for a last stand.

There was a tank there, and a nice plaque to tell a bit of a story. There was a class full of kids there as well, which was a poignant reminder to us all; never visit anything of any interest when school holidays are on. Ever.

We were a little peckish after all this excitement, and headed off to get some food. Here's a pic I took of an Indian chap flinging some dough to make roti prata, whish those of you in Singapore earlier this years will know and love!!