First Visitors

Day One
This week we had our first visitors from back home, Jon and Jason. They already planned a trip to Singapore before they knew we were moving. So the timing was perfect! I spent the day with them eating, eating, and more eating. Then Tony joined us in the evening for...you've guessed it...more eating! :) We were so happy to have them here, as we've missed our close friends quite a lot. Jon's been to Singapore before so he already knew which places he wanted to check out. Jason was a Singapore virgin so he happily ate whatever we gave him. Such a good sport! 

On their first day we met up for dinner. We asked them to come to our apartment first so we could show them the place and the area. We also wanted them to experience their first seafood feast at Changi Village Seafood. We had Black Pepper Crab, Chili Green Beans, Steamed Grouper, Cereal Prawns, and Seafood Fried Rice. Sorry there's only one photo. We were hungry and started eating before thinking about it. :)

Black Pepper Crab

Day Two
It was day two of J&J's Singapore adventure so I wanted to join the fun early. We had lunch at the famous Tian Tian Chicken Rice inside the Maxwell Road Hawker Center. Chicken Rice is THE dish of Singapore.

Local delicacies: Oyster Omelet and White Carrot Cake (with no carrots!)

Peanut pancakes for dessert

To work off the meal we took a stroll through Chinatown.

Favorite fruit of the island

Curiously disturbing...

Walking around Chinatown in 90 degree, 80% humidity weather made us hot very fast. So we decided to take a taxi to Robertson Quay which was close to the river. There was a coffee shop there called Toby's Estate: http://www.tobysestate.com.sg/ that I wanted to show Jason since he was a coffee zealot. We planted ourselves in the air-conditioned Toby's Estate, had delicious affogatos, and reminisced about old times for the next three hours.

We strolled around Robertson Quay for a bit admiring the scenery. We got hot again and luckily stumbled upon a cool wine bar. We took a seat in a cushioned booth and enjoyed glasses of Sauvignon Blanc for another "happy" hour.

Later in the evening Tony joined us for dinner. We took them to Kilo Kitchen: http://www.kilokitchen.com/ one of our favorite places which was also reminiscent of San Francisco cuisine. To complete the experience, we walked Jon and Jason through the abandoned industrial district that we journeyed through to get to the restaurant. Luckily, they agreed the food was worth the excursion.

Scallops with Sauteed Mushrooms

Pork Ribs, Pork Belly with Purple Yam Mash, and Salmon Roll with Chicken Skin

Jason in action

Look of happiness

Caught in action

What I do best

Basil Ice-Cream with Chocolate Lava Cake

Day Three

On this day J&J went to Universal Studios. Since we went there recently we decided not to join them. We did have dinner together at No Signboard Seafood: http://www.ladyironchef.com/2010/02/no-signboard-seafood/  

which was known for their crabs. We splurged on a three course meal and tried their white pepper crab this time.

Day Four

This was our last day with J&J in Singapore. We were sad to see them leave since we had such a great time. After visiting us they would continue their travels to Malaysia, Thailand, and Hong Kong. We ended their visit with a bang. We had a lavish lunch at Ku De Ta in the Marina Bay Sands: http://www.kudeta.com.sg/, and enjoyed the views from the Sky Deck.

Jason's Drink

Tony's and My Drink

Jon's Drink

Truffled Sashimi

Bread Pudding with Peaches

After lunch Tony had to go back to work (bummer...) so J, J, and T headed to the Art and Science Museum to check out the Harry Potter Exhibit. Beforehand we took photos of the area around the museum. We even took a detour through the Louis Vuitton store floating on water. The store was like a museum as well.

J&J getting a perfect shot of the Marina Bay Sands

Art and Science Museum

After a full and fun day, we met up with Tony and capped off the night with dinner. We introduced them to Peranakan cuisine (Chinese food with Malay spices) for something different and new. We took a bus to the Joo Chiat neighborhood also known as the Peranakan district, and had a delicious dinner at Chili Padi: http://www.chillipadi.com.sg/. 

Their signature dish was Chicken with Black Nut where the nut tasted "slightly better than dirt" according to Tony. :)  We also enjoyed Beef Rendang, Spicy Eggplant, and Kang Kong in Sambal. No photos again since we were too busy chowing down. After the meal, we toasted to our dear friends and wished for them to come back again soon.