Exploring Singapore

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Today started at 7 am for me. I'm wondering if I'll be a morning person after this trip... Probably not 😉

I went to lunch at a local Malaysian spot named Bedok. I hardly recognized any of the cuisine at this place. I ordered ayam penyet which is smashed fried chicken and spice. I also ordered a fruit milk drink that tasted like milk that's been left in fruity pebbles too long. I quickly changed drinks to a more familiar cherry soda. Dessert was a bowl of exotic fruits in sugar water.

I also found Thailand's Red Bull which is supposed to be MUCH more potent than the American version. Overall though it seems that Asia likes milder sweets compared to the sugar laden palette of America.

After work I walked around Raffle's Place and tried the restaurants that had a line. The best thing was a pancake with raisins and cream cheese. Mmmmm. I'm lucky it's on my way back to the apartment and will be coming back for sure. Afterwards I stopped for a starbucks to use the wifi. Starbucks are EVERYWHERE here as expected.

I made my way back to China town to try some new cuisine. I ended up going with Cockles Fried Kway Teow which was just Cockles and noodles. I learned that going to the places with the longest line of locals is clearly the best way to find good food. It was cheap and quite tasty.

After the new food adventure I met up with some other coworkers at BluJazz. Lychee martinis are pretty standard here and even tastier with the fresh fruits. Most of these coworkers have only been in Singapore a week as well so we compared our experiences here. I found out rent ranges from $2500-$6000 in the nice neighborhoods! Here I thought San Francisco was expensive.... They told me this is due to the fact that renting is a relatively new concept in Singapore since most locals tend to live at home until they marry. Also, the city is booming and many people can afford the high rent.

We ended up back on Club Street and went to The Screening Room. The cheapest drink, a 1/2 pint of Hoegaarden, is $S13 which is about $10 in the states. Needless to say the price on drinks is very high here. The sin tax is pretty steep here. It's now 1am and I'm about to go to sleep. I feel much more awake than previous nights and think that, after four days, I'm almost fully adjusted. Tomorrow is looking to be a night of partying and clubbing. This pace surely can't last 2 weeks, but it's fun to try 😊

The next night was dinner at a place called NanBanTei of Tokyo. This was the most adventurous dining experience yet. I went with many co-workers and let Nigel order all of the food. The food list was extensive: Bacon wrapped salmon, large prawns, fish on a stick, liver, lamb, corn, asparagus wrapped in bacon, and mystery meatballs. It was all very tasty and probably the best dining experience yet.... I did feel extremely awkward while eating the fish head. Everyone else at the table had a good laugh at my inexperience with eating such food.

After eating I decided to meet up with some other coworkers at Clarke Quay (Pronounced Clark Eh). On the way to the MRT, which is their public transit, I saw a blind pianist performing. I am told he is there almost daily and everyone knows him. We shot some pool and had lots to drink at their Burger King Bar. That's right, Burger King Bar. This is the cheapest place to get beer in the area and since beer is CRAZY expensive we ended up here a few times 😊

Once I found out it's legal to drink in the streets I couldn't help myself but enjoy two beers out in public. Some coworkers ended up going home around 2:30, but Malcolm and I made it out until 4:30. Although there is no technical limit on how late the party goes it ended around 4:30.

I managed to Skype with Monica briefly before passing out at my apartment. Little did I know what experiences were waiting for me the next day..

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Photos

Owner
Here is the master chef

Drinking in Public
Legally!

Comments

[anonymous]

I don't know that I could eat that. You are a brave soul.