Singapore Part II - Catching up with old friends

I've been down in the dumps being so far away from The Boy. So, this week I got a grip and got off my butt and met up with old friends. There was my church group at Rider's Cafe, which I didn't take any pictures off. Many of the riding clubs have nifty cafes where the expats hang out. My spa is even located in a turf club! Food is generally ok - you go more for the colonial atmosphere, as they tend to come with - you know, dark wood, white walls, bamboo blinds, whirring fans, muggy breeze.

For most of my Singaporean friends, however, food is actually very important. Here are some of the highlights:

Met up with C and her fiance HM
- we're getting married on the same day!

White steamed chicken

@ The Soup Restaurant, Seah Street.
Best chicken I've had - too bad doesn't come with chicken rice.

Where it comes to chicken rice:
Dad likes 5 Star.
Boon Tong Kee has become too chee chee.
Wee Nam Kee has really gone down - it's tasteless!

We then adjourned to look for some sweets.
I never knew there were so many people in Singapore.
I am told that there are now 4.6 million people in Singapore;
2/3 are citizens and permanent residents;
that leaves a freaking 1.2 million foreigners
- half a million from China!
It was, needless to say, very crowded, but we found a seat @ Crystal Jade.

I thought this dessert menu (above) was pretty decent already, until...

I turned it open and there were blinking 3 more pages of dessert!

@ Killiney Road Coffee Shop with mum, now located at the
busy food hub of Singapore (one of many)
that is Seah St, Liang Seah St, Purvis St and Beach Road
(so many ma la hot pot restaurants! apparently all
opened by Chinese nationals too...)

The coffee is OK.

This blogger is very suaku and has actually
never been to Ya Kun (the Other local coffee shop).

The laksa at Killiney is more lemak (coconut milk) than
Katong Laksa (the Famous laksa now chain).

Mum taught me Singaporean coffee vocab the other day:
kopi = white coffee
kopi peng = iced coffee
kopi o = black coffee
kopi see = with evaporated milk
(they add condensed milk over here)
kopi siew dai = less sugar
("dai" because sugar used to be produced
by a local company called Dai Ho)

Cousins' gathering @ Pasta Brava.
My risotto nero.
Wedding diet prohibits pasta. Grr...

Dim sum with my best friend
@ Golden Peony, Conrad Centennial Hotel).
Truly, Singapore has reached the heights of dim sum sophistication.
More excellent places to go to now!

Other places I like:
Wah Lok, Carlton Hotel (parent's fav)
Shang Palace, Shangri-La Hotel (my fav)

Being a bride-to-be, I've also been noticing restaurant china.
And turning my plate over
- quite a few high-end Chinese restaurants use Narumi!

Catching up with my friend, KC.
We hung out at Dempsey (another food hub).

First @ The Red Dot (brewery).
Great place, laid back, excellent beer (check out my green beer,
which contains spirulina!), good food, not crowded.

Then @ The Wine Company with a bottle of
Burgundy and a platter of cheese.
Hm... wine and cheese goes muggy very quickly in Sg weather,
even in a/c though obviously slower than if outside....

Will update with trip to SAM (Singapore Art Museum) and more cooking adventures!

P.S. The wasabi burger is a stroke of genius! Fish and wasabi - why didn't anyone think of putting Mac's fish-0-fillet with wasabi mayo before?!