1) Shopping at ION.
2) Lunch at "Akashi" (??) Japanese Restaurant with the lovely Ms. Tang ***1/2
3) Ramen at "Tampopo" ***1/2 (Yes, Wen and I had Ramen an hour before our dinner reservation)
4) "Table at 7" for party of 4**** (The main course was fine, but the desert was divine, and made up completely for any possible whines)
Singapore, Thursday 12/15
In the afternoon, we met her aunt Cynthia at the mall for lunch at a Japanese restaurant. I tried Fugu for the first time. Glad none of us died and Wen and I lived to "hike" the Henderson Wave, a 274-meter long pedestrian bridge 36 meters above Henderson Road. It is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore and offers a nice view of Singapore and the MBS (Marina Bay Sands) building. It storms a lot in Singapore (at least it did while I was there) and we were caught in the heavy rain while on Henderson Wave. We tried to hide under the side railings (see photo) but it did not work spectacularly well. So... Fun in the rain it is! Wen disagrees with me, but I think Singapore looks better in the rain. And I'm not just saying that to annoy her because in Midnight in Paris there's this repeated quote "I think Paris looks better in the rain." I'm only 80% saying it to annoy her and 20% truly mean it. Singapore looks best at night. And at night, I met my friend Grace for dinner on Orchard Road and walked around the shopping center and streets catching up.
Singapore, Friday 12/16
Started off the day with a light swim, then Wen and I went to the Singapore Art Museum. They had an exhibit for Hyung Koo Kang. This artist paints up close faces in jumbo sized canvas. I liked his work a lot. The museum was interesting and enjoyable; there were many artworks aside from the main exhibit that caught my eye.
The museum has a coffee shop attached, and to avoid the pouring rain, we went to it for quesidillas and the "world's best coffee" (verbatim from their menu). The cappuccino was pretty damn good. Somehow we ended up at the mall again (?) and I tried Durian for the first time. Wen got me a Durian Puff, thinking it is better for me to start with a mild Durian flavor. First, I took a whiff and was repulsed. Then, I bravely put the entire puff in my mouth and began to slowly chew. At this point, I realized that I absolutely hated the taste and I became petrified and unable to act. I looked at Wen with desperation in my eyes, as I could not swallow and with each inhalation came a taste of Durian. Finally, she gave me a plastic bag and I disposed of the puff. Good times.
To be fair, everyone should try Durian at some point in their lives, many people love it. Somehow (through showering) I was able to get the smell off my aura for dinner. One of the things I wanted to do in Singapore was see a view of the city. This was well-accomplished with a visit to the MBS rooftop, where Wen and her parents showed me where to see the best view of the city. Could the night get any better? Yes, much better with dinner at KU DE TÁ. We got seated on the terrace and had a ***** meal with the night city view. I'm very grateful for this night with great food, great view, and great company.
On the drive out, we made a stop to see the giant merlion statue. Then, Wen and I were dropped off at the CQ plaza (Clarke Quay) and chose Helipad as our first stop. What's cool about Singapore night clubs is that even though there is a cover charge, the fee gives you 2 drink tickets. Helipad is a safe place to dance and have a good time. They have stages where girls can get up on and dance. Guys may try to go on stage to dance, but they will be escorted down by security. True story. We took a break from Helipad and ventured off to Aqua bar, where I ordered my first (and last?) Singapore Sling. We were not a fan of Aqua. They have karaoke with speakers that blare out into the outdoor seating and plaza. After I finished my drink, Wen took us to Attica. We were a fan of Attica. They had two dance floors (House upstairs and Top 40 downstairs) with an outdoors bar garden in the middle. This was a fun and funny night. Only while we were waiting in the cab line to go home did I find out it was 4:30 in the morning. You know you achieved vacation success when you stopped keeping track of time since the day before.
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| Panorama view from MBS |
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