2 A weekend to remember

Tourist in my Country

Gallivanting around the city, discovering the new and old side of Singapore. This weekend brought me to places from Marina to Tanjong Pajar, Duxton Hill and Ann Siang, Botanical Gardens and even Geylang [see below]. While each area boasted their own charm, I cannot help but feel that there is too much consumerism and 'urban spectacle' at the Marina area. An aura of development also hangs palpably in the Duxton area; construction was going on in every other shophouse, perhaps to make way for yet another indie cafe, quirky book store or off-the-track fashion store. Give another one or two years, I will not be surprised if Duxton morphs into the next Clarke Quay. In contrast, the vibe in Geylang, with pot-bellied Singaporean uncles, Bangla and China workers and families out in full-force over the weekend, feels so much more authentic, so much less pretentious.

Soul Food

While at Marina on Friday, I had lunch at Alli*Oli, a tiny nondescript cafe in Marina Link mall, seating no more than ten. It was the dreadful lunch hour, which meant the white-collar yuppies and expats were out in full force. This cafe was the only decent one that had space for dine-in. Although they had sandwiches and hot pasta, I opted for the salads which went at 3 for $8. Unfortunately, it was a case of over-ordering and over-eating. The black pepper linguine, tuna carrot & asparagus salad, and vinegary mushrooms were superbly tasty, but I still can't believe I finished that whole mound of food. Not to mention, the pasta was dripping in [olive] oil and the tuna was probably canned in brine for it was a tad salty. I felt quite disgusted after, and my bloated stomach (which remained bloated for another 10 hours or so) was a cruel mockery of my overeating episode. I must say it did provide fuel for my walk from Marina to Chinatown [or maybe it was the cause of it?]

The Big Bird wholemeal wrap from Salad Stop! is an in-house combination consisting of mixed greens, roast turkey, avocado, green apple, grapes, celery and ranch japanese wafu dressing. I had this for lunch today with the parents 'cause I was sick of Novena FC. I was slightly disappointed that the turkey was in the form of turkey ham rather than meat, and as such, quite on the salty side. That aside, I was pleasantly surprised how well fruits go in a salad, albeit "wrap" style, for I usually prefer salads to be of greens only. The tart sweet green apple and grapes helped toned down the saltiness of the turkey, while the avocado provided creaminess and healthy fats. Overall it was rather refreshing. I wonder why salads are so expensive though. Surely some green veggies shouldn't amount to more than $10? But a dear $10.80 this yummy wrap was.

At Cold Storage, I bought a tub of So Delicious Chocolate Almond ice-cream. The company specializes in dairy-free ice cream, and this one is soy-milk based and fruit-sweetened. (They also have coconut milk-based and almond milk-based ice creams but these were not available at CS.) I don't know whether to rejoice or be guilty. I mean it's the first time buying ice cream in years (although not 'real' ice cream). Anyway I opened the tub and peeked inside and it looked and smelled deep and rich with chocolate. Wonder what I should pair it with. Perhaps I should make spelt pancakes or even spelt ice cream bread.

And the highlight of the weekend no doubt goes to..... unctuous, creamy, bitter, sweet, potent, deep yellow mao shan wang durian. I specifically trooped down to Geylang after church to buy durians! At $20 for 2 boxes, this was reasonable. This was from the stall at Lorong 19, and as I walked from Aljunied side, I didn't know there were still so many stalls further down towards Kallang. Luckily the durians at those stalls didn't look that good, and although some were slightly cheaper, they were of other varieties (D24 etc). If not, the pain of regret! As mentioned in the first paragraphs, the atmosphere was fantastic. Families gathering by the road side to have durians on the spot, cars queueing for the $1 kampong durians... so very Singaporean. The two boxes of durians were so potent I could smell it even as I was in the MRT. Luckily no one else seemed to be able to smell it. Or do I have an extra sensitive nose for durians?

Quiet mornings and more chocolate bakes
this time with Royal Gala apples, Ezekiel cereal and spelt flour streussel

Play time with the Cat

At this point he was not fully awakened yet, but in less than a minute later he was all ready to bite!