Category Archives: Lifestyle

Singapore – my thoughts in 2009…

ImageM-Set Satay Street Meal

8pm 5/11/2009

Rating: Delicious   S$24 for 40 sticks (with sauce, rice cubes and cucumbers)

Lau Pa Sat with Andrew & Adam

Steamy heat, even at night – the smell of smoke and a thousand aromatics fills the air.

My stretch tea has a bitter sweet edge, keenly waking my senses.

Colourful lights and a multitude of voices dance through the night. Families, couples, lone diners and the ever present flurry of the hawkers circling and then descending upon new arrivals as they sit down.

Presenting the famished with a plethora of exotic delights and tantalising morsels they flourish their menus and attentively take your orders while the beer girls wait their turn. Beer is served by the mug, and the local favourite is Tiger, closely followed by Heineken.

We eat our fill and then some more, because that is what you do in Singapore.

Magnificent.

A little later.

East Coast Hawker Center by the beach – 945pm

Fruit with Phil

The night here is much cooler and more pleasant. The fruits Phil selected are juicy, tart and sweet. Star fruit, Guava, Mango, Pineapple (oh so sweet – I do not think I have ever had Pineapple this sweet), Jackfruit and Papaya.

We are enjoying a refreshing icy cold sugar cane juice with our fruits.

There are more families here than in the city, including small children, even this late. That is what I love about Singapore and like cities – they never truly stop, sure they slow a little and might even seem to rouse very slowly come morning, but they do not stop. One can find food and drink at any time of the night or day, of the finest quality.

The East Coast is pleasant. There was a heavy rain and the moisture still clings to the ground, giving the gentle ocean breeze a heady undertone.

Cool, yet tropical.

Food

Some of my posts mention that I like food. That is an understatement.

I love good food.

One of the most outstanding cities (countries – as Singapore is that rarest of things – a successful and thriving city-state) to eat in, in the world is Singapore. I agree with Anthony Bourdain’s assessment that, if one loves food, then, quite possibly Singapore may be the best place on Earth.

From local Peranaken cuisine to Malay, Indian, Chinese, Western and all manner of fusions thereof one is left breathless and giddy with excitement by the sheer choice, variety and complexity of flavours, smells and aromas to be sampled.

I recommend the Chicken rice (at Maxwell), Chicken Briyani (at Lau Pa Sat – also has great Satay at night), check out Little India for awesome Indian cuisine, or the famous Singapore Chilli Crab – personally I prefer the Pepper Crab for its intense heat.

You can eat anywhere at anytime. Grazing is probably the best way to experience Singapore, which means you will eat every 30 minutes or so. There are tasty treats and tidbits everywhere.

There is even a German Bratwurst stand in the middle of Chinatown (run by a grumpy German) – it was quite surreal when I saw it for the first time.

The foodhall below Takashimaya is brilliant, and quite upmarket. If you get the chance check out Food Republic. They are dotted all around Singapore, but I like the one on the roof of Vivo City.

It truly is a culinary paradise.

Stay tuned as I will be in Singapore in April, and will delight you with Food pics and accompanying commentary.

Bon appetite!

Insight

Someone once said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

That is probably true.

So is stupidity.

Every day we come across people that test us, annoy us and generally make our lives that much less enjoyable.

We think.

I once held a party. Food and drink were in plentiful supply and a good time was had by all. That is until I realised that my 30 year old single malt highland scotch was being mixed with diet coke by one nameless individual.

I was incensed – how could he – Single malt!!! Being the good host that I am I let it go. For that night.

My resolve was never to invite that nameless individual again.

Years later I recounted the story to a good friend of mine. She looked at me strangely.

‘You know mecci, you are the one with the problem.’ She said.

‘What – why?’ I retorted hurt and confused. (Having expected wholehearted approval of my banishment for that unnamed individual.)

‘Well,’ said she, sagely’ the party was held for people to enjoy themselves. The nameless one enjoyed himself drinking your single malt with diet coke. You thinking it is wrong is your problem. You cannot expect all people to live as you wish them to live.’

I was dumbfounded. She was 100% right. I had imposed my sense of appropriate behaviour upon my guest.

What I learned at that moment was that even when you think you are right and justified in your actions and your view of certain people and their actions, you are probably not.

We all see the world through our own eyes and think our own thoughts. Tolerance is your ability to accept that.

I am working on that.

Reflections upon a pond…

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
– Marcel Proust

I think that is very true. It is very hard to view the world afresh, without the filters that we have been taught to use, the barriers of perception we built up around ourselves. Some of the filters might be genetic, such as our preference for symmetry when judging beauty.

I see a man in the street. He is old, shabbily dressed and as he comes close smells of alcohol. I do not really SEE the man but rather my perceptions of him.

I have no way of knowing his essence, I only see what my filters allow me to see. Old, poor, smelly, derelict.

I am wrong. I cannot really see him until I let him in, but my filters will most likely prevent that. He passes me and I have made a dozen value judgements I am not even aware of. I may have moved slightly out of his way in order to minimise the chance of an incidental physical contact.

We all do that. Having new eyes is the ability to let go of those filters. I do not really know anyone who is able to do that. Even the most tolerant and open-minded person will have some perceptive predispositions.

The best we can hope for is to recognise our shortcomings and actively work against them whenever we become aware of them. Who knows this might open the door to wonderful friendships and experiences we could never have imagined.

I, for one, will smile at the next old man that comes across my path as we pass each other in the street.

Thought construct

Time to write again. I have shared with you some of the pictures I was lucky enough to take around the world. We do live in an amazing place, on an amazing planet.

In some ways we are the guy that works in an office overlooking Sydney Harbour or Central Park or the Eiffel Tower. Initially, this guy would feel fortunate to be allowed to have that view every day. He would look at it constantly and feel uplifted.

After a while he would but glance at the vista, maybe enjoy his lunch while gazing outside. A little further down the track the view would just blend in with the wallpaper and shelves next to his desk.

That guy will become blind to the unique beauty he is allowed to behold.

The amazing has become the mundane. Too much of a good thing.

This is how I think we live most of our lives. At first – as children- we explore the wonders of the cosmos. I used to watch ants (and other insects) for hours, in our backyard in Germany, as they went about their business.

I remember the smell just before and after a massive thunderstorm. I remember the taste of forest strawberries and vanilla ice blocks. The way the light came in through our red and orange curtains just before my favorite TV program would start on a Saturday afternoon in summer was magic.

Each and every day was an adventure.

Now, some 40 years later, I am a cynic and a dreamer and a stark realist.

I look at my nephews, 5 & 7, and feel gladdened by their adventures and wonder. There is hope for all of us if we can just recapture that magic, just a little of it. Watch the children, really watch them and remember how you felt and what your enchantments were.