Another night at Lau Pa Sat

The sounds, smells and atmosphere at one of Singapore’s best night food markets is unbeatable. As soon you enter you will be approached by various food hawkers proffering their wares. The selection is second to none and since it was recently renovated it has become a little more upmarket – I miss the old more gritty feel – it seemed more authentic. Nonetheless, a definite – die, die, must try – there is something for everyone.

Make sure you get the stretch tea, but ask the purveyor before you take pictures – common courtesy.

We had a group of about 10, so no, I am not a glutton – 😉 Go with a large group and try as much as you can! Afterwards some nice cool juicy fruit or an ice kachang do not go astray.

Naturally, we were served by the ubiquitous Tiger Beer ladies and also enjoyed the cold fresh lime juice.

Kopitiam – Singapore

Kopitiam – soft boiled eggs, kaya toast with a slab of butter and dark soy sauce and white pepper and the obligatory strong sweet coffee – boiling hot. Breakfast is served, Singpaore style.

Cocktails at the Raffles hotel in Singapore – life could be worse – but I do miss their coctail range from 4 years ago – dry ice added a nice bit of theater to a relaxing afternoon of indulgence.

These pics were taken on a recent family/friends trip to Singapore. Love that city and love the Raffles hotel.The cocktail list from 4 years ago was better though. If you have the time visit the Long Bar, where, according to legend the last tiger in Singapore was shot and the Writer’s Bar, where they have a sublime selection of scotches.

Lunch in Singapore at Ku De Ta on top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel on a recent trip with friends and family.

The images immediately below this text are of the most expensive beef – kobe – you can buy. I will not tell you how much it was – only that it was worth it. Texture, marbling and flavour were exquisite.

Food in Hong Kong on a recent business trip – amazing city – Bladerunner on steroids…

Yup, that’s right I found a Belgian Beer Café in Hong Kong. It was excellent! You will be pleased to know that I also sampled plenty of the more traditional local cuisine which I will blog soon.

Food, Glorious Food – Bazaar Beer Cafe – Bohemian food in a little Hungarian place in St Leonards. Good eats with some good friends.

The food was rich and delicious. Not health food by any stretch of the imagination. Enjoy the food, enjoy the beer, do not count calories.

Food blogging – Chur Burger

My brother and I occasionally go out for dinner and have decided to review our respective experiences. So, in a nutshell, one meal, two points of view. You can find his blog at: https://itlooksclear.wordpress.com/

Without further ado, we bring you Chur burger in Surry Hills, Sydney.

The pictures above do the food justice – pure deliciousness.

We were lining up – waited 15 minutes – really? For a Burger?

The clientage is largely Asian, and 20 years younger than me, reflecting the general neighbourhood demographic.

Finally seated, we overlook the magnificence that is Surry Hills.

Muzak is thumping in a neverending blend of bass and fragments of melody – while conversation acquits itself well in the competition to achieve maximum cacophony. Smells are wafting through the humid air in not at all unpleasant profusion – the juxtaposition of auditory and olfactory pleasure/pains is not lost on this humble scribe.

The menu is simple, with a burger of every carnivorous variety as well as vegetarian options. The chips are crunchy and the burgers a delightful explosion of flavours. I myself enjoyed the pulled pork – a revelation if you go in for that sort of thing. We also ordered coleslaw and the iceberg salad – slightly too salty for my taste.

Which brings me to the drinks – a variety of up market soft drinks, shakes and beers, something for everyone.

All in all, I highly recommend the Chur to all burger enthusiasts – you will not be disappointed, but if you want to avoid a queue, go early.

Interior shots of the strangest building in Singapore

These shots I took while I was having a drink inside the building with my friend Phil, who initially alerted me to the building. I will not guide your own conclusions but do we detect the presence of ‘stonecutters’?

A building of this kind does not just happen – it servers a purpose. It may carry messages, statements, proclamations or simply show intent. I do not know which but I am certain there is more to this building than meets the eye.

“There are many bronze effigies of some of the most famous figures in world history, including Sun Yat-sen, Abraham Lincoln, Salvador Dalí, Mozart, Chopin, Isaac Newton, Pablo Picasso, Rembrandt, Shakespeare, Plato, Dante, Winston Churchill and Albert Einstein.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkview_Square

I saw the statues myself – we truly are standing on the shoulders of giants.

Strangest building in Singapore

I am not sure if you are familiar with this building but it stands out like the proverbial – what’s its – very much art-deco and reminiscent of other 1920s architecture – certainly the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building – it is nonetheless an oddity. I urge you to go and look at it if you are in Singapore. I will upload some internal shots as well in my next post.

Info about the building:

Parkview Square is an office building located in the Downtown Core Planning Area, Central Region, Singapore. It is situated along North Bridge Road, and is near the major commercial hub at Marina Centre. It is next to Bugis MRT Station, Bugis Junction, and The Gateway, and straddles the Rochor Road and Ophir Road corridor.

Parkview Square was designed by the US firm James Adams Design, together with DP Architects of Singapore.

It was built at a cost of SGD$87.93 million.

It was built as the last major project enterprised by the late Mr. C. S. Hwang, a Taiwanese tycoon chairman of Chyau Fwu Group.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkview_Square

Thoughts

India is very vibrant, alive but in the jungle sense of the word – there is no order and everything feels organic. Structures, even when new, seem be in a state of permanent disrepair. Nature and Culture face off in a constant battle, neither winning, only keeping entropy at bay to allow continued existence, to allow life to propagate, to allow chaos, to allow colour and decay, beauty and brutality. Inimitable.

One is not sure if a view into the past is afforded or, indeed, a vision of the future. For the world has many paths it can follow – all possibilities along the quantum stream, liber universum.