These past few weeks we had many friends in town visiting us from the United States. Our first visitors were Shahana and Alejandro from San Francisco. They were in Bangladesh visiting family and stopped over in Singapore before heading home. We took them to a Peranakan restaurant called Blue Ginger in the Tanjong Pagar neighborhood (http://www.theblueginger.com/).
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| Ayam Buah Keluak (Chicken with Black Nuts) |
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| Udang Masak Assam Gulai (Prawns in Tamarind Gravy) |
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| Tauhu Nonya Style (Tofu) and Curry Vegetables |
After dinner we took them to Desserts First (http://sg.openrice.com/singapore/restaurant/dessert-first/11034), located in our old hood of Liang Seah Street. Tony and I opted for our usual mango pudding with sago, but Alejandro was daring and ordered the special "black jello." We kept asking the waiter what it was, but he didn't know how to describe it in English. Tony "Googled" it on his phone and found out it was "turtle jello" made from the the turtle's shell. We waited until after Alejandro finished eating before telling him what it really was. Still, he finished the whole bowl!
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| Dare to eat! |
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| Turtle Jello |
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| Mango Sago and Honeydew Sago |
Before heading back home we were distracted by a make-shift fire in the middle of the street. We saw fires like this all over the city which locals created to commemorated the "Hungry Ghost Festival" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Festival).
We couldn't help but be mesmerized by the fire, FIRE!
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| Building the pit |
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| Making sure it's perfect... |
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| Early stage of the fire |
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| Starting to grow... |
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| Full blown! |
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| Dying down |
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| Bon Voyage |
Our next visitor was Hazel from Los Angeles. She stayed with us a day before and a day after her trip to Bali. She went there to enjoy a week long surf camp (http://www.surfhavenbali.com/). Since Hazel's visit was short we took her to Singapore's "greatest hits" which mainly involved eating. On her first day we took her to eat Roti Prata, our favorite weekend breakfast. For lunch we tried taking her to Maxwell Road's famous hawker center. To our surprise it was closed for renovations. First time ever! We walked around, scrambling to find another place. At this point it was 2 p.m., we were starving, and out of nowhere we found a cute neighborhood called Duxton Hill. We stopped in front of a building mainly to admire the architecture, then a lady standing out front stopped Hazel and asked "Do you want Group Therapy?" Expressing a confused look she said "Huh?" Then the lady pointed to a staircase which lead to a restaurant called Group Therapy (http://www.gtcoffee.com/). Lunch was served!
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| Hazel & Trish on the balcony |
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| 1st Kopi-C |
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| Mushroom & Cheese Roti Prata |
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| Lunch at Group Therapy |
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| The Old vs. The New |
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| Duxton Hill |
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| Clever Bill Holder |
The next day Hazel had to leave for Bali. After a day of shopping we were all tired. So instead of going out to dinner we stayed inside Casa Mitzelfelt and enjoyed each others' company.
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| Shrimp Omelet, Chicken Satay, Green Beans, Soy Sauce Chicken, and Tofu |
The following weekend Hazel returned back to Singapore. After picking her up from the airport we tried a second time to check out a hawker center. However, it was only 11 a.m. and the place opened at 4 p.m. Strike two! We took her to Toast Box instead (http://www.toastbox.com.sg/) so she could try the traditional Singaporean breakfast of kaya toast and soft boiled eggs. Later on we walked around the Esplanade and went to the top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel.
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| Breakfast at Toast Box |
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| Singaporean Breakfast |
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| Ice-Skating Rink at Marina Bay Sands |
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| Top of Marina Bay Sands |
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| View of Gardens by the Bay |
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| Singapore Flyer |
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| Floating Soccer Field |
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| T&T at the Top |
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| Mid-day Cocktails |
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| Afternoon at Ku De Ta |
We capped the evening with an oh-so-messy-but-delicious chili crab meal and wine on the rooftop. Good friends and good times!
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| 3 thumbs up! |
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| Cheers! |
Our next visitor was Meredith from San Francisco. She was working in India for the past few months. Before heading home she traveled around Asia, making Singapore her first stop. My new job didn't start until the following week so I was able to hang out with her during the day. She had another friend Weilin who also lived in Singapore. I joined them to run some errands and we spent the afternoon at Gardens By The Bay (http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/home.html). Last time I went with Tony we only walked around outside the gardens. This time it was blistering hot outside so we paid to go into the air-conditioned domes. It was well worth the $20.
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| Refreshing Waterfall inside the Cloud Dome |
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| Meredith enjoying the breeze |
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| Monkey Canoe |
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| Crystals Exhibit |
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| Top of the Waterfall |
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| Top of Supertree Grove |
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| The most "can not's" in one place |
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| Pollen Restaurant inside Flower Dome |
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| Beautiful Hibiscus |
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| Weilin's Hibiscus |
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| Flower Bow Tie |
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| Autumn Wreath |
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| Mere Lion |
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| Autumn Harvest |
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| Vegetable Garden |
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| Queen Meredith |
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| Strawberry Plant |
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| Flowery Trees |
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| Snake-like Succulents |
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| Spider Cactus |
We had so much fun entertaining our friends in town. It's always sad to see them leave, but we look forward to next year for another set of visitors to Singapore.
