Just down the street from the guest house we’re staying in is Chow Kit Market. We were actually under the impression that it was a huge hawker style area where we could get good local food for a good price. Instead, it turned out to be a sprawling, mostly covered wet market. It was definitely wet too. The floors were cut with grooves to help water flow out of the market and into the drainage system.
It was pretty cool to walk through. We saw everything from fresh veggies to cat fish so fresh they were still flopping. I wonder if there’s something similar in Singapore and we just haven’t seen it yet?
Walking through this market was also the first time I noticed just how many Malaysian flags are flying in Kuala Lumpur. They’re everywhere. Malaysians are definitely proud of their country.
Going to Kuala Lumpur isn’t too big a deal when it comes to the actual travel part. By the time the plane gets leveled off and the steward or stewardess hands out the immigration cards to fill out, you have about five minutes before the pilot will alert the cabin crew to prepare for landing. Ya, it’s just that fast. I think the total flight time is about 35 or 40 minutes. We actually spend more time getting to the airport in Singapore and getting from KLIA in Malaysia to Kuala Lumpur than we do in the air. That’s one of the great things about traveling in Asia. It doesn’t take much time to get to a new place.
This being our second trip to the Kuala Lumpur area, we weren’t as stressed out about how to get from the airport to the city. On our last visit, we flew Tiger Airways and landed at the budget terminal, so coming in at the regular terminal was a bit confusing. It was still easy to find the buses that take you to the city.
KLIA’s main terminals are VERY nice looking. They’re very classy, very modern and I saw a banner that said it had won an award as the best airport in the world for three years running. That’s quite an accomplishment! The inside looks like a brand new mall and there’s an Air Train that will transport you between terminals. The interior actually reminded me of Changi International in Singapore a lot. Even the name of the train was similar. In Singapore it’s called the Sky Train.
There are a few different ways you can get to the city from KLIA. You can take a cab, which is expensive, a high speed train which is also fairly expensive, or you can take the airport bus. There are also other shuttle buses, Star Buses I think, that will take you to KL Sentral. KL Sentral is a train station near the heart of the city. The buses are a good deal. You only pay 9 or 10 ringgit in comparison to about 35 for the train and they leave the airport every hour on the hour. I don’t even bother with taxis anymore if I can avoid them.
The bus we took dropped us off at KL Sentral. From there we crossed the street and got on the monorail. That was kinda fun. The only monorail in Singapore is the one that goes from Harbourfront to Sentosa Island and I don’t ride that much. The ride also gave us the chance to get a good look at the area. There are plenty of windows.
Finding the guest house we stayed at was a little difficult once we got to Chow Kit station, but there was entertainment along the way. We were standing at the intersection below the monorail station looking around, when we noticed people dashing through traffic to get across the street. Apparently, waiting for the pedestrian green light is optional here. It wasn’t just young healthy folk doing it either. I saw a man with ONE LEG navigating his way through a busy street full of traffic. Ya. That old man may be missing a leg, but his balls are certainly intact! That’s him in the above picture, with the crutch. After he made it across the road he stopped to have a smoke.
Once we got settled in at Hostel Cosmopolitan (more on that later), we walked through the Chow Kit Market (look for photos tomorrow!) and then sat down to a meal of Nasi Ayam Goreng. It’s made a bit different in Kuala Lumpur than it is in Singapore. I’m not sure which I like more. Both versions are pretty good.
Later that night, after a shower and a nap, we went out again and found out that there are lots of stalls set up along the street at night. They carry quite a few different things, from stuffed animals to telescopes but we weren’t really there to shop.
We just wanted to try local food, so we found a vendor selling satay. It was really good! The two sauces pictured are a curry sauce with shallots on top and a sweet and spicy peanut sauce, which I preferred. I like curry, but not on my satay.
We followed that up with some ice cream that an old man was selling from a cart attached to his bicycle. It was better than I expected, especially with the crushed peanut sprinkled on it. I think it’s peanut anyway. The guy called it ‘kachang’ I think. The ice cream was mostly vanilla but there was a strong hint of durian flavor as well. I normally can’t even stand the smell of durian, but it was ok mixed with the ice cream.
Starting today and going through Tuesday my wife and I will be taking a short vacation in Kuala Lumpur. It’s nice to get away sometimes right? We found ourselves a nice guest house with some great amenities and we’re looking forward to checking out the Batu Caves, hopefully tomorrow.
Anyhow, I didn’t take the time to write any posts in advance so this blog will be quiet until perhaps Teusday night or Wednesday, depending on how tired I am when we get back to Singapore. I already wrote one good draft though, so you can expect to see a lot of great stuff about Kuala Lumpur later this week!
Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and has a great start to their week!
(Just a side note: As I type this I can hear what sounds like the Muslim call to prayer coming in through the windows. It’s a very lovely sound, but it brings back memories for me. The last time I heard it so clearly was when I was in Iraq in 2003 sitting on the rooftop of a building in the outskirts of Baghdad. We were playing cards to pass the time and when it was getting dark a building a few blocks away exploded. It lit the sky back up with an orange glow and I could feel the thump from the blast deep in my chest. One day I think I’ll blog more about that.)
Hawker centers in Singapore are basically food courts. I’ve had a few people argue with me that a hawker center indoors is actually a food court, but they have the same types of stalls and selections of food so I don’t see the point in differentiating the two. Coming from the US I initially considered them to be the ‘poor man’s’ choice of dining establishments, but experience has proven otherwise.
There are a lot of good sit down restaurants in Singapore, like Sakura and Seoul Garden, but the majority of what Singapore has to offer in terms of food comes from its hawker establishments. Hawker centers can have anywhere from a handful to dozens of stalls to choose from. You can get anything from ‘Western’ style food (typically fried chicken, steak, lamb and fish & chips) to mee goreng and roti prata. You won’t find much in the way of Italian food that I’ve seen, or anything Russian, etc. The choices seem to focus mostly on Asian cuisine, which only makes sense given that Singapore is in Asia.
Some of the best eating I’ve had has come from hawkers, like Hainanese Chicken Rice, which is one of Singapore’s signature dishes. You can also find chili crab in hawker centers, which is another local favorite. These hawker centers are like a door to experiencing Asian eating. I can’t even count the number of foods I’ve ‘discovered’ through eating at them. My latest discovery is a great mutton soup from a hawker stall at Bedok’s interchange. It’s incredible!
Indoor hawker centers do closely resemble what you’d see in the US in terms of set-up. The only major difference is that when you want drinks you have to go to a separate stall to order them, where in the US you would order your drink along with your food. The stall that serves drinks is also where you go for local desserts like pulut hitam or ice kachang (sp?), should you want to sample them. The outdoor hawker centers are typically covered, or partially covered, by a roof with fans. Most will also have a TV to cater to the beer drinking, football (a.k.a. soccer in the US) loving crowd. People do tend to gather together in the evenings here, especially the weekends, to watch TV and drink at the hawker centers, which is pretty cool.
There are a few things you have to keep in mind when eating at a hawker center, as a foreigner. The first thing you need to know is to bring your own napkins! Hawker centers won’t provide you napkins, with few exceptions. Most food in Singapore is spicy too, so if you don’t come prepared you’ll wind up using your hand and pants / shirt to wipe away your sniffles. I’ll admit I’ve had to do that myself a few times and it’s not at all pleasant, and is a bit embarrassing. Another thing to keep in mind is that you’ll want to wash your hands somewhere else before-hand, or bring hand sanitizer. Not all hawkers have a restroom, and the ones that do are often not the best smelling or cleanest looking. That’s more the case with outdoor hawkers than indoor ones, because indoor hawkers are typically located in malls which have great restroom facilities. Also, most hawker stalls have pictures on billboard style menus to help customers with the ordering process. It helps in a lot of cases, but don’t let the pictures fool you. Sometimes the food is better than it looks. And well… sometimes it’s not.
During my first trip to Singapore in March of 2008 I avoided the hawker centers. Like I said before, I considered them to be the ‘poor man’s’ choice and assumed I would find better food in sit down restaurants. I was actually disappointed with my choices and wasn’t too impressed with the food offered in Singapore. Later, my wife told me to stop being so damn picky and to eat at the hawker and I’m glad I did.
In closing, if you come to Singapore don’t fall into the trap that I initially did. Don’t assume that price equates with quality or good taste when it comes to Singapore’s dining scene. If you come to Singapore and don’t try the hawker food you’re going to be missing out on most of the best of what Singapore has to offer.
Ok, just to get it out of the way, this isn’t my story. This is the maid’s story. I thought it was worth sharing because it highlights a problem that’s unique to Asia. For the sake of the story and her privacy we’ll call her Cookie. Ok, here we go:
Cookie was at the mall with one of the boys she looks after. They’d been having a good time at the arcade, but it was time to head home. It was starting to get dark out and it was close to dinner time. So, they walked down to the bus interchange and got in line.
While they were waiting in line, Cookie noticed that there was an old white guy in the line behind her. He looked to be in his mid-50s, was bald with scraggly white hairs around the sides of his head and a he had a rough, unshaved look. He also looked like he was smuggling a small pig in his shirt, the way his gut overhung his shorts. In other words the guy was pretty gross looking all around. Cookie didn’t pay him much attention, but every now and then she’d catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye. He was watching her.
When the bus showed up, Cookie hurried herself and the boy onto it and they made their way to the center area, close to the exit door. The old white guy got on the bus with her and sat down where he could see her. During the short trip to her bus stop, Cookie noticed that the guy kept glancing over at her. She was starting to get uncomfortable with it so she was glad when they were able to get off the bus.
As she started walking down the sidewalk she looked over her shoulder and saw that the old white guy had also exited the bus at that stop. She started walking faster. She looked over her shoulder again and saw that the old man had matched her pace. She started walking even faster, but whenever she increased her pace so did the old man.
When she reached the bottom of the building where she lives she grabbed the boy’s hand and ran to the stairwell. She took the stairs quickly and then dashed down the hallway to her door. She could hear the old man running behind her, chasing her. For an old fat guy he was pretty quick on his feet.
When she got to her door she started fumbling for the key and finally got it out of her bag but she was so nervous she couldn’t get it into the lock. She heard steps approaching and knew the old man was right there, coming around the corner. She finally got the key in the lock and looked over her shoulder and…
The old man was right there behind her. She backed up against the door gate and asked him what he wanted. He reached in his pocket and quickly pulled out…
A piece of paper. With his phone number on it. He handed it to her and left.
Prostitution is one of the oldest professions in the world and one of the most enduring. It is probably the only profession that will remain the same throughout all of history as there will always be a supply and there will always be a demand. You can find prostitution anywhere you go, but in ultra-conservative Singapore, it took me by surprise to find out that prostitution is not illegal here.
Here’s a quote from the “2008 Human Rights Report: Singapore” as per the U.S. Department of State:
Prostitution itself is not illegal; however, public solicitation, living on the earnings of a prostitute, and maintaining a brothel are illegal. The authorities periodically carried out crackdowns on solicitation for prostitution and arrested and deported foreign prostitutes, particularly when their activities took place outside informally designated red-light areas. In practice police unofficially tolerated and monitored a limited number of brothels; prostitutes in such establishments were required to undergo periodic health checks and carry a health card.
(Note: The quote says ‘foreign prostitutes’ because the majority of prostitutes in Singapore are not locals. They are from the poorer surrounding countries and enter Singapore on a temporary visa, during which time they engage in prostitution to raise capital. They then return home and, I assume, repeat the cycle as necessary.) //pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js
Coming from the US, legalized prostitution is nothing new to me. It’s legal in Nevada and until earlier this year it was legal in Rhode Island. However, I grew up in a conservative family and spent most of my childhood in the South, which is commonly referred to as the Bible Belt. Until I was older and put more thought to the subject I viewed all prostitutes as inherently evil. I now know that most prostitution is done out of necessity. That doesn’t make it right in my eyes, just understandable.
I had always assumed that this sort of activity was illegal in Singapore. The laws are very strict here, including fines for eating or drinking on public transit and the outlawing of chewing gum. So, I can’t help but wonder why prostitution is legal. I see it as dangerous and morally reprehensible, but that could just be a cultural difference. When it comes right down to it, consensual prostitution doesn’t really hurt anybody, and given the prostitute’s circumstances it may be beneficial to her (or him) financially. The banning of prostitution in Singapore could be more detrimental than helpful to social order. Or another way to look at it would be that since it’s not a problem, there’s no reason to fix it.
Legality aside, there are three places in Singapore that are known for prostitution. I’ve mentioned most of them in passing in previous posts, but I’ll detail them here again.
The first place is the Geylang area. Singapore is divided up into town areas for political and governance reasons. Geylang is located in eastern Singapore along the East-West MRT Green Line. The MRT won’t drop you directly in Geylang. You have to get off at the Aljunied station and then catch a bus the rest of the way. It’s not a long ride. Geylang itself is a sort of seedy looking place. It’s an older part of town that’s a bit run down. A lot of the buildings look like they’ve been standing since before Singapore was Singapore. The best spots for finding prostitutes in Geylang is to look in the mostly dark alleys around Lorongs 10 thru 12. //pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js
The second place that’s fairly famous for prostitutes is Lucky Plaza. Lucky Plaza is a mall along Orchard Road that caters mostly to the needs of Filipino foreign workers and Permanent Residents. The mall contains shops that sell imported Filipino goods, remittance centers, Internet cafes, and Filipino restaurants. It also has a lot of Filipina prostitutes. If you click through on the link at the beginning of this paragraph there’s a photo of two of them in that post.
The last place is Orchard Towers, which is also known as the Four Floors of Whores. It’s located at the end of Orchard Road, next door to the Thai Embassy. My wife and I had heard rumors about the place but we’d never actually been there. So, when we were out enjoying this year’s Christmas decorations we figured, why not? We were close to it anyway. As I walked up to the building and peeked down the stairs I saw two girls hanging around in the hallway area. It was obvious what they were up to. My wife had looked around the corner of the mall and told me to come see. She said there was a whole bunch of them lined up back there. So, being the ass that I am, I turned on the video recording function of my camera and recorded as I walked down the side of the mall. How many prostitutes can you count in the video below?
There’s the girl all in white, the group sitting by the curb, and obviously the ‘couple’ against the wall who were negotiating a price as we walked by. The inside of the mall was even more packed. By the back entrance there was another group of them chatting as they waited for potential customers, as well as isolated pairs standing around. They always seemed to be in groups of two or larger, except when they were appeared to be negotiating. It was somehow exciting to see so many women engaged in an act that we considered wrong and criminal so blatantly plying their trade in an otherwise picturesque part of Singapore.
As we left the mall we speculated on whether or not President Obama would be put up at the hotel across the street, and what Michelle might think about it all. We also saw some of the girls that we’d seen standing around in or on the side of Orchard Towers moving up the road a bit and engaging potential customers. //pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js
Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I don’t condone prostitution, nor am I posting this for the sake of directing people where to get paid sex. I’m just detailing an aspect of Singapore that I discovered while living here. What you do with this information is up to you. So, if you go to Orchard Towers, get paid sex and then find out you have black syphilis and can’t return to your country due to health reasons, don’t blame me alright?
I’ve been trying to keep up with the news about what’s going on with the incident at Fort Hood and it looks like Nidal Malik Hasan is going to be facing the death penalty. Well, that’s what prosecutors are pushing for anyway. He’ll be tried in a military court, rather than a civilian one, and if he is executed it will be the first time that an active duty serviceman is put to death since 1961.
That’s all well and good but honestly I’d rather the guy spend the rest of his life in a Federal penitentiary, without the possibility of parole. It would be like throwing a child molester into a general population prison. This guy killed soldiers in a cowardly act of domestic terrorism and I think it would be much fairer for him to get his ass beaten in jail every day for the rest of his life. Ya, the other people in the Federal penitentiary may have broken the law as well, but I have a feeling that the majority of them won’t take kindly to a person who killed a bunch of soldiers on a US military base, especially given his terrorist ties.
Something that’s bothering me is that the papers and online news sites are still referring to him as a Major. They’re also still referring to him as a soldier. While both of these are technically true, I think he’s lost the right to be accorded that honor. Yes, it’s an honor to be called a soldier. It’s an honor to be addressed by the rank you’ve been awarded. It’s an honor to be acknowledged as one of the country’s finest. He’s a domestic terrorist with ties to known Middle Eastern terrorists. He killed real soldiers. He’s not a soldier. He’s not a Major. He’s just an asshole.
Also, people seem to be trying to paint Hasan as the victim, or at least a victim, in this whole scenario. He’s not a victim. In fact, I read that he wasn’t even a therapist. He was just one of the people that processes paperwork and occasionally prescribes medication. It’s likely he never spent more than 15 minutes with any single person. He certainly wasn’t putting them on a couch and trying to couch them through personal problems or help them deal with PTSD. That being the case, you can’t even claim that he was suffering from some second-hand PTSD, whatever the hell that’s supposed to be. Does anyone else notice how medical illnesses seem to create themselves whenever someone does something f*cked up and wants to justify their actions?
It’s pretty clear what happened to him. This guy never felt like he was an American. He never felt like he belonged. He had an ideological difference with how the US does business. For whatever reason, he joined the Army as an officer. That was the stupidest thing he could’ve done. People join the Army for a lot of different reasons, but to some degree all soldiers are patriotic. So, if you don’t believe in what your country is doing why be in the military? I refuse to believe that he didn’t have ample time to resign his commission. Instead of doing that though, he reached out to Islamic extremists and used his position of trust as a military officer to do as much damage to the Army as he could alone.
People are arguing that if this guy was a Christian his beliefs wouldn’t be at the forefront of the investigation, but we’re not at war with a Christian country and we’re not at war with groups of extremist Christians. Hasan is a Muslim with ties to Muslim extremists, who committed this atrocious act with the idea of protecting his Muslim beliefs in mind. His religion has everything to do with the investigation and with the cause of the killing of 12 US Soldiers and 1 devoted contracted medical professional.
I’m in no way saying that we should take a hard stance against having Muslims in our military. I know a lot of Muslims, especially after having lived over here in Singapore, and for the most part they’re good or just average people. They live their lives more or less the same way any other person does. Hey, there are even gay Muslims. I think people have the misconception that all Muslims are hard ass extremists. That’s simply not the case. What I am saying is that we need to take a harder look at Muslims who are put into positions of authority and trust, at least for the time being, to make sure they have no ties to any extremist groups. Consider the minor loss of privacy to those individuals a temporary necessity of war. At least we’re not throwing them all in concentration camps like we did to the Japanese during the second World War. Hasan had obvious and known ties to extremists and it was brushed off by top government agencies as legitimate professional and educational research. I call bullshit on that. I think someone just dropped the ball. At a time when we’re at war with Muslim extremist groups I think more care should be given to those who are obviously reaching out to them, especially those who are within our military ranks. I’m getting really tired of seeing our government drop the ball when it comes to stuff like this. First the September 11th, 2001 destruction of the World Trade Center in NYC. Now this. What next? Are we going to miss connecting the dots and have a whole city get blown up?
I have a feeling this is going to turn into a long drawn out process. The legal proceedings I mean. This guy will probably push for appeal after appeal, and the final execution order would have to be signed by the President himself, since he’s technically in the military. For example, remember the other guy that rolled a grenade into a tent full of soldiers in Kuwait? Well, that guy, then Army Sergeant Hasan Akbar, was sentenced to death four years ago. His case is still held up in the first level appellate courts.
On Sunday night, as part of our tour along Orchard, my wife and I looked through Orchard Central. The lighted escalators on the end closer to Dhoby Ghaut Interchange kind drew us in. It had been quite a while since we’d gone in there. I visited it once right after it opened and my wife and I visited it together shortly after that. At the time I wasn’t too impressed, but I thought it might just be because the place had recently opened. It was more or less deserted of both people and stores. Most of the facades were still covered with ‘Coming Soon’ banners. In fact, it didn’t even have Wireless@SG set up inside at the time.
This time was a whole other story. The place was full of people. Almost ever retail space was open and ready for, if not doing, business. The best part of it all though was the look and feel of the mall. I’ve often said that there isn’t much, if anything, the US can learn from Singapore. Call it national pride. Call it arrogance. That’s just how I feel. However, one way I was wrong is in how Singapore is designing its new malls. I’ve often said before that Singapore does shopping right. The shopping experience has been refined into something close to an art form, especially when it comes to design and architecture. You only have to look at Ion, Orchard Central, and to some degree Vivocity to know that. More so with Orchard Central, since it draws the customer in and keeps them interested in staying, not through false sales or huge bins of promotions, but through a classy, well presented, fun to explore mall. And, as you walk through the mall you are of course presented with stores that you will wander into if the items for sale suit your taste. Malls in the US are bland by comparison and are a chore to go to, rather than an enjoyable experience.
Orchard Central seems like it was designed more for tourism than for actual sales. The place practically screams “Explore me!” The front of the building has escalators that cling to the face, so that as you go from the ground floor up to the top you have a clear view of the city around you. The view is stunning, to say the least, especially once you get yourself up onto the roof. The last time I went to Orchard Central, the top floors were still closed off. I managed to get some good shots of the city at the time, but it was nothing compared with the view I saw this time. To get onto the roof via the outside of the building you have to take a stairwell just down from where the last escalator leaves you. You can also reach the roof through the escalators and elevators inside.
The roof on Orchard Central wasn’t done as plainly and blandly as the roof on Tampines 1. I couldn’t see it too well because it was dark and poorly lit, but it has flagstones as paving for the majority of it, which makes for uneven footing but a more enjoyable experience. There are also small pools of water, vines, and a few lights mixed in. The railing around the edge is a glass wall with a metal frame that doesn’t inhibit the view of the surrounding area. You can see a LOT from up there, and the people down on the street seem very small. I haven’t been that high up in a building in a long time. It made me miss New York City.
On our way back down through the building we noticed that different areas seem to have different themes. Various architectural tricks were used like having a ramped area with stores that are offset from the normal floor level to draw attention to them. There is also a giant wall inside that you can climb. I noted it last time but this time it seems functional, if unused.
I think we wandered through Orchard Central for more than an hour without seeing everything. We eventually had to head back down so we could get back to viewing the lights on Orchard Road. As we were heading down though we noticed that there are basement levels and took a quick detour to check them out. The first basement is pretty bland. It’s probably the most boring part of the mall. The stores are small and didn’t seem too interesting. There is a Mos Burger down there though, and another place right next to it. I think it was a Subway but I can’t remember for sure. The second basement level was really cool though. We couldn’t actually get down to it yet because it was still under construction but we were able to lean over the rail and peer around a bit. It looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun! The floor was done in tiled designs, there were false, old fashioned building fronts, wooden frames for stalls, and the whole thing seemed to be designed to resemble an outdoor town that you might have seen in old Mexico. If you’ve ever passed by the front of Orchard and noticed the flower pots and wondered why they don’t match the interior, this is why. They’ll match the second basement level.
I’m looking forward to going back to Orchard Central again, just to window shop and hang out. I want to see the view from the roof during the day. I also want to take some more time to look through the stores and find the good cafes and sitting areas. I hear the restaurant up towards the top called The Loft has some good food and a good view. Oh, and speaking of restaurants, the roof will sport some restaurants eventually too, but for now they’re under construction.
Sakura is a sushi and grill buffet style restaurant. Typically, when a person says a restaurant is not to be missed it’s really classy or has a great signature dish, but in this case Sakura is all around great food at a reasonable price. You pay 25 SGD at the door, are shown to a table, and then you’re free to pick and choose from everything that’s on display.
There are rows of sushi, cooked shellfish, soups, grilled items, and desserts. There’s enough to choose from that you couldn’t sample everything in one sitting, even if you were frugal with your servings. I haven’t found anything there that I haven’t liked either.
One of the interesting things about Sakura is their grill system. Your table has a little stand on it with numbered clips that correlate to what table you’re sitting at. You take these clips with you to the grill and then clip them to posts next to example dishes. Later, you food will be brought to your table when they’re ready.
I’ve been to both the Orchard location and the Pasir Ris location, which is where we went this time, and I have to say that the Pasir Ris location is more appealing to me. The Orchard location has a darker ambiance and might be better for a date, where the Pasir Ris location is more brightly lit and seems more suitable for large groups of people, parties and groups of friends. It also has a children’s area with toys and a TV playing cartoons. I could see the TV from where we were sitting so I was able to enjoy some Tom & Jerry episodes with my dinner.
Like I said before, Sakura offers a great deal on the price for what you’re getting. The food is all good quality. Also, if you pick and choose right, you’ll likely end up eating more than your money’s worth. That brings me to something funny that happened during our trip there. My wife told me to enjoy the sashimi but to go light on the sushi, since it’s coupled with rice and rice will fill you up fast. It’s good advice. If you’re going to an all you can eat buffet, why fill up on a staple food when you can instead enjoy the better food that’s on offer? While I was standing at the bar thinking about what to get another lady was reminding her son of the same thing: “Don’t get a bunch of rice! We can eat that at home!” Oddly enough, I did see a woman pile up two plates with nothing but fried rice.
Here are a few pictures of what’s on the menu. Pardon the quality. I forgot my camera.
A shot of some of the sushi to be had.
The roast duck with the sauce on it is great! Also, that skewered thing in the back was one of my favorites. It’s fried squid (or octopus) legs. I’m not sure how they get them so crunchy, but I could eat them all day.
Black pepper lamb from the grill.
Wagyu beef from the grill.
Skewered octopus leg. It’s great when dipped in the sauce it comes with. Also an item from the grill.
The shellfish in the back right is slipper lobster. I’d seen them before on TV and in aquariums, but I’d never actually had one before trying it at Sakura. It’s not bad at all. I wish I’d had some coctail sauce for dipping it though.
I can’t recall the name of this veggie, but it’s delicious. I think it’s fried in butter and garlic. It must be pretty popular because when my wife went to order it from the grill there were a lot of clips on its post.
A small plate of dessert to finish off the meal. By the time I started eating this I was so full I wasn’t sure I’d be able to finish it. The cheesecakes at Sakura are some of the best I’ve had in Singapore. I suppose it’s because they’re so similar to what I’m used to in the US. The mochi were great too! If you’ve never had mochi, I don’t know how to explain the taste to you, but it’s well worth it to try them. My favorite was the pinkish one. It has a red bean paste inside.
On Saturday night at 7:30 PM the Christmas lights along Orchard Road were officially lit. I wasn’t there for the ceremony, as I was laid up in the house with a mild case of food poisoning, but we can’t have everything right? I decided to tough it out and get my butt up to Orchard Road on Sunday evening at least to have a look at this year’s decorations.
Last year the decorations were awesome! I remember how impressed I was, and how incredible everything looked. I had never seen such a huge display of Christmas decorations. I don’t know if anyone does it as big as Singapore does when it comes to setting up lights. If you’re not familiar with Singapore, Orchard Road is what you would call the ‘Main Street’ of Singapore. It’s in the heart of the city-state and is home to the biggest, poshest malls Singapore has to offer, carrying brands like Docle & Gabbana, Prada, Lous Vuitton, etc. It’s a popular place to go, even if you’re not planning on buying anything. You could literally spend all evening cruising the malls and never go through the same place twice, unless you have to to exit the mall again of course.
Like I said, last year’s decorations were stunning, especially to me, since I’d never seen Orchard Road in all its Christmas glory before. This year was no less thrilling. In fact, I think the decorations this year were far more elegant and classy looking than last year’s. I have no clue if it’s true or not but I have a feeling that the decorations are rotated, and that there’s a stock of them somewhere, so that each year there’s something different. Who knows? Maybe there are no ‘repeats’ and the road is decorated with fresh stuff every year? I have a feeling that this year the planners were really pushing for that classy, elegant look, especially considering the fact that the APEC meeting is happening here in Singapore from the 5th through the 18th (?) of November. There will be a lot of important political figures in Singapore during those dates, and the city-state has really ‘dressed to impress’.
Before continuing on, you may want to take a quick look at this post to see some of the decorations from 2008.
The photos below aren’t in order, exactly. I matched some of them up according to decoration type. We exited the MRT at Dhoby Ghaut Interchange and walked all the way down to Orchard Towers before turning back and using the Orchard MRT station under Ion to go home.
And now, a sample of 2009’s decorations (click for larger image):
The tree in Tampines Mall. I know that’s not Orchard Road, but just thought I’d throw it in there, since it looks so nice.
Like I said earlier, everything has a real classy, professional, elegant look to it. I wonder if everything is set out yet, though. I seem to remember there being more displays last year. Of course, it’s only early November, so perhaps more will be added as we get closer to Christmas. We’ll definitely be making another visit to check! Also, the place was crowded, but it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as when we went last year. The atmosphere was somewhat subdued as well. It didn’t feel overly cheerful. On our next trip down there I think we’ll buy some ice cream and hot chocolate to get more into the spirit of the season. ^_^
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