Goa

Just returned from a week in Goa
Can't wait to share my stories & photos
Give me some time to sort them out

Can you believe it was my first time in India ?

Amazing Asia

Look what I found in the back seat of the cab
More on the dashboard & everywhere
I would never see this in France

Beach

Singapore being an island, you would think that we would be at the beach more often. Most of the beaches on the mainland are nothing to shout about - East Coast ? Changi ? So I guess we are left with Sentosa.

I have fond memories of Sentosa. As a kid, getting to ride in the cable cars was reason enough to go there. Fort Siloso. Musical Fountain. School camping trips. Cycling around the island. Roller skating. Riding on the monorail. These days Sentosa is all about Resorts World, Capella Hotel, Zouk Out & Megazip.

I suppose if you don't mind the view of oil tankers & container ships in the horizon, the beach is really quite pretty. The sand is fine & the water clear enough, although a little too warm for my liking. I like a refreshing dip in the ocean not a warm bath.

On the weekend we were there, Tanjong Beach was fairly tranquil. There were families, friends playing beach volleyball & dog walkers. Tanjong Beach seem to be popular with dog owners.

But I doubt it will stay quiet for long. A Ku De Ta style bar/restaurant is slated to open next year. That should be interesting.

Since there was no beach shack & we only brought some snacks, we took the shuttle bus over to Palawan Beach. I had such a shock. Where did all these people come from ? The place was packed. You mean everybody had the same bright idea of going to the beach on a hot Sunday afternoon ?
We decided to escape the crowd & headed for Bora Bora Beach Bar which is owned by a friend. It is laid back & definitely less posey than Cafe del Mar.

As long as the beach bar serves a mean cocktail & spicy chicken wings - I'm good. Close your eyes & you might even imagine that you're on vacation. Now do you think that is reason enough to get a car in Singapore ?

Roti Prata

The following shots were taken using the Hipstamatic app on my iphone. Ms Maryann, the fabulous photographer from The Studio Loft must have single handedly pushed up sales of this app ever since she posted her pics on Facebook.

I finally tried it out this morning when we had breakfast.

The roti prata man at the Jalan Kayu Roti Prata Stall (which is of course not in Jalan Kayu).

What a great way to start the day.
My kind of breakfast

The Girl's favorite is the paper prata

That's my daughter for you. I could barely hold her back before she attacked her prata. She ate every last bit & dunked in curry too.

X, if you're reading this don't worry. Knowing how the French don't eat anything savory for breakfast, there are cheese & banana pratas too. Or you can order the plain ones with sugar.

My drink of choice at coffeeshops or mamak stalls is Kopi Halia - ginger coffee. Actually the taste of ginger is so strong, it doesn't make a difference if you order teh halia or kopi halia. I order kopi for my caffeine fix.

Then there are recent inventions called Milo Dinosaur & Milo Godzilla which seem to be popular with the kids. Milo Dinosaur is milo with extra powdered milo on top (without mixing) & Milo Godzilla is milo with a scoop of ice cream. If someone can enlighten me on how the names came about, much appreciated.

Good old kopi filtered in a sock

Just desserts

Thanks to my brother who introduced us to this dessert place along Liang Seah Street. I haven't been around that part of town much so it was a surprise to see several dessert shops along with a whole bunch of interesting looking eateries.

On that day we went there just for dessert. The shop has a catchy name, Ji De Chi, translated to mean Remember to eat. Don't forget desserts. Fair enough, desserts has never been a big part of the Chinese meal, unlike the French of course.

My mother ordered the durian roll. I couldn't tell you if it was good but my mother gave her thumbs up. There were the traditional desserts like sesame paste & almond jelly but the rest of us opted for the more interesting shaved ice.

Almond Shaved Ice

The Girl ordered her Strawberry shaved ice
but abandoned it cos it was too sweet &
took over mine instead

Black Sesame Shaved Ice
with bits of red bean & jelly
Clearly our favorite for now

Ji De Chi
8 Liang Seah Street

Some like it Hot

It has been a long time since I blog about something that just happened. I've slacken in recent months & tend to fall behind a little on my blogging. Tonight's different. I attended an event so awesome I needed to tell you about it.

The Girl & I used to have our Friday girls' night out. However due to various commitments, we haven't done that lately. So it's not exactly Friday night but what better excuse than to check out the opening act of the Singapore Arts Festival.

Indochine right by ACM is one of my favorite restaurants. I tend to shy away from the other side of the river with the very touristy joints. So when I'm in the vicinity, I almost always head over to Indochine for a bowl of pho or bun. At $14 a bowl, it does a pretty decent job - the stock is flavorful & the beef is tender.

The Girl loved the Laotian sun dried beef. Asian beef jerky. Delicious.

We even had a view of the dragon boat races that were going on. The Girl, needless to say was thrilled.

Here's my date

Before

After
The Charcoal Balls

Before

After
Who would have thought the ah pek singlet can look so cool

Before

After
This is a rotating structure. Very captivating.

We sat there for a good 10-15 minutes watching them light up every one of the pots.

This whole program is called Invitation to Dream - a Fire Garden installation by the French group Compagnie Carabosse. True to it's name, the entire Esplanade Park & the ACM Green was converted into one huge garden of fire. It was hot ! & it was amazing !

Accompanying this fire spectacle are musicians that provide the haunting background music as you wander around.

My first impression after WOW this is so awesome was WOW Singapore allowed this to be put up. Okay so there was nothing controversial nor risque about this but there were pots of fire everywhere. The Singapore of the past would not have approved anything that could potentially be dangerous.

But hey this Fire Garden is fantastic. There were security guards around but most definitely not intrusive. Nothing was fenced up. You were free to get as close as you wanted with any of the fire installations.

Fire bulbs attached to metal chairs scattered around Empress Place

Fire is very mesmerising
You really need to be there to feel the heat, see the flames to fully appreciate this

Even the Lim Bo Seng Memorial got illuminated

A member of the group which the Girl calls the Cowboys, managing another fire contraption.

Does it not look like a Fire Garden ?
What are you waiting for ?
Tomorrow's the last night
I know you will enjoy it

Toys from the past

Another nostalgic post.
Found these toys in Kampong Glam area.

The blow up paper balls.

My best friend bought this for The Girl last year
& we love them
Haha had to get a refresher course on how to blow a balloon

Kuti Kuti
More colourful & cuter than Mikado sticks

Mini spinning tops

There were chateks too but the photo didn't come out well.
Ah those were the good old days
when toys weren't electronic & didn't need to be educational