on the Go with Bo!

Brussels Sprouts in Singapore!

Last Friday we were invited to a reception at John Erdos Gallery for the launch of his new furniture line ... which btw is fantastic!

We went with a friend from Shanghai who we know from Brussels.  And there comes the connection ... I suddenly remembered that there was this Belgian restaurant called Brussels Sprouts that I've walked passed several times at The Pier @ Robertson, which was a 5 minute walk away.

So for old time's sake, to commemorate the city we all lived in previously, we went there.  When we arrived it was already packed ...  full of revellers eating moules and frite.  Yummy!  I told the waitress she had to find a table for us for all three of us had lived in Brussels and we weren't going to take no for an answer :-)

A table was found and we dined on filet Americain, mussels with cream sauce, frites and of course some good Belgian beer.  Duvel was my choice for the evening.

Phew ... it was a delicious meal and a heavy one at that.  We should have not eaten so many appetizers at John Erdos' reception!!

But it was worth it!

Cambodia - Siem Reap, Angkor Wat

Departing Siem Reap I realized that it's the Khmer people that make Cambodia so special. There is a pureness and genuiness in them that you don't see anymore in countries like Thailand and India. They are full of smiles, always happy to talk to you, helpful and what impressed me the most, they never wanted something in return. Of course they were happy to receive a tip, who wouldn't be, but if you gave them nothing, the beautiful smile didn't suddenly get wiped off their face like it often happens in Thailand.

Discover Angkor Wat and it's surrounding temples ...

NDP - National Day Parade

When I lived in Canada, NDP stood for the New Democratic Party.  So when I started seeing banners all around Singapore several weeks ago with NDP written all over them, along with pictures of people from all sorts of ethnical backgrounds, I was curious as to what NDP stood for.

August 9 commemorates Singapore's 43rd birthday, and the city plans an annual extravaganza that culminates with the National Day Parade (that's the NDP definition I was looking for) at the Marina Floating Platform.

Singapore, however, will be celebrating for the 6 weeks leading to August 9.  How about parties at the Padang, open-air concerts, exhibitions, fireworks, Red Lions Parachute Display, etc.  Check out the official website to find out what exactly is being planned.

Unfortunately, I won't be in town for the big day ... although I did get a fantastic preview of the aerial show last week.  We were just going to the Raffles Hotel to have a Singapore Sling, when the doorman at the hotel told me that the Singapore Air Force was going to rehearse their routine for the NDP within a few minutes.

Given that I love planes, I dragged everyone to the corner of Beach Road and Bras Basah Road and patiently waited for the planes to come roaring by.  And roaring by they did.  First a military helicopter appeared against the Singapore skyline, backlit with the beautiful colours of the sunset against an evening blue sky, dragging a huge Singapore flag as it flew by.  It was beautiful!

And suddenly you could here the roar of the jets approaching from the distance.  They came from behind the highrises and shot up vertically into space, dragging smoke behind them.  They performed several routines ... but the highlight was the heart which two jets painted onto the evening sky.  I was touched.  And then ... it wasn't over yet ... the fireworks!  They actually practice the fireworks show every weekend.  I've never seen that in any country.  Wow!

And that was only a brief preview!  I cannot even imagine what the nation has in store for August 9.  OK, I'm not going to be here this year, but next year I've promised myself that I'm staying in Singapore for the NDP.  It's bound to be a grand celebration.

Happy Birthday Singapore!

If I were to come to Singapore for 1 day ...

what would I recommend you see?

This is the question my friend from Shanghai posed to me last week.  So I went hmmm!  Especially, since it's a great question.

I thought about it for 5 seconds and then said this:

> start of with breakfast at Dempsey Hill.  Jones has a wonderful outside terrace which will give you a glimpse of the old colonial days.

> like anywhere else in the world, when you're strapped for time, take the hop-on hop-off bus.  It's the best way to get a feel and glimpse of the city in a very comfortable way.  Check out Hippo City Sightseeing bus tours.

> at around 1800/1830 I would go onto the Singapore Flyer.  Once you've seen the city from a bus and by feet, it's time to get the stunning aerial perspective.  Make sure you reserve tickets in advance!

> the way to start your evening is with a cocktail in your hand!  And what better way to do that than to have a Singapore Sling at the venerable Raffles Hotel.

> the only way to end your day is to have dinner on Smith Street in Chinatown.  You can wander around the streets, visit a Buddhist and Hindu temple and then dine under the stars sampling Singapore's fantastic street food.

You will be exhausted by the time you're done ... but will be left with a wonderful memory of Singapore.

David and the swinging chandeliers at the National Museum of Singapore

I've been waiting for quite some time to go and visit the National Museum of Singapore.  Basically, I didn't want to go by myself, for I thought this would be a great thing to do with the right visitors, when they were to appear.

And this week they did!

I had already seen the entrance of the museum, for I'd been there once for a gallery exposition.  But my friends from Europe weren't quite ready for David to be looking upon them as they entered NMS.  As you go through the main entrance there is a gigantic replica of Michelangelo's David souring into the cupola above.  Besides his gigantic features, the fact that his contours are covered in traditional Malay fabrics of a deep burgundy colour make him overwhelmingly imposing.  The museum has found a perfect spot for him.  To me it symbolized some sort of fusion of Eastern and Western iconography that I found very clever to place at the entrance, for in a way, that is what Singapore represents to me.

On the second floor there are several sections pertaining to fashion, music, families and food of Singapore.  Of course, I found the latter the most fascinating.  I was completely surprised to find out the history of hawkers and street food.  Since the male-female ratio in Singapore was about 10:1 as late as the 1860's, street food became essential to feed the growing and active male bachelor population.

I also learnt that the food in Singapore is representative of its very multicultural demographic.  The various dishes are often a fusion of all the different Asian kitchens that comprise the cultural fabric of Singapore.  There is a brilliant interactive exhibition of all the spices, fruits and herbs that comprise the local cuisine, explaining to you where the herbs come from and what they're commonly used for.  I was intrigued.

At the end we went through the interactive historical walking tour that takes you through the history of Singapore from the 1400's onward.  Along with your high-tech companion device hanging from your neck, you walk through the many exhibitions displaying Singapore's history and enter codes next to the displays to learn more about the specific era and stories of the locals.  To be honest, this is where you can really exhaust yourself from all the possible information that is available to you :-)

To end ... I'm the type that notices architecture.  The actual front of the museum is contained in a beautiful colonial building that has been completely renovated.  But what impressed me is the modern annex that they built at the back.  Merging the modern with the classical is not an easy task, and most often than not, the end result is a complete mismatch.  But here it was done spectacularly.  The integration between the modern glass and steel structure and the classical colonial building was in complete harmony.  The finishing touch was of course the swinging chandeliers!

I'm not necessarily the museum type.  OK, OK ... perhaps I should say that my attention span is not the longest.  But this museum managed to absorb me for 3 hours which is a success in itself.

My Humble House

And I'm not talking about my house, nor is it actually humble ... it is an exquisite restaurant at Esplanade Mall.

The interior is very funky.  The table at which we sat made me feel like Alice in Wonderland.  The back of the chair's were very high and pointy, somewhat like a Joker chair, with a big red tassel hanging from the point right down to the ground.  It was very dramatic.

We had a seven-course meal that was absolutely divine.  The website mentions that they serve Neo Classic Chinese cuisine ... not sure exactly what that means ... but I do know that it was a very innovative way of presenting Chinese dishes.  For example, mixing olives with traditional fried rice or fried shrimps dipped in honey.

And the best was the dessert.  Granted that we were invited for a business function, thus I'm not sure they do this for a regular evening, however, the ending was quite dramatic ... just like the interior.  When it was time for dessert, the waitresses placed 3 big bowls along the centre of the large table.  The bowls were filled with rose petals and some sort of crystals.  I wasn't quite sure what I was looking at ... but I was curious.  Suddenly, the waitresses came back with jugs of water and poured the water into the bowls.  At that point it all made sense.  The crystals in the bowls were dry ice and suddenly smoke filled up the whole bowl, spilled over and draped the whole table and slowly dripped down over the side and down the legs of the table.  At this point several waitresses appeared and placed the dessert in front of us, upon this sea of smoke.

The effect was brilliant ... as is the restaurant.

USA - Connecticut (Jun 2008)

A very good friend of mine from my MBA class is getting married in Rowayton, Connecticut (USA) this weekend and I wasn't going to pass this opportunity to of course be at her wedding, but also to see the beautiful seaside of Connecticut.

During our MBA days she had shown us pictures of her father's house in Rowayton and I always remember it looking idyllic: long summer evenings, calm waters, sailing boats, BBQ's. New England at its best ... a charm offensive you may call it!

Read on ... to be charmed

Netherlands - Utrecht (June 2008)

Everyone knows the bigger, rowdier and more famous brother ... Amsterdam, but Utrecht, located 35 km south of Amsterdam, is a quaint and authentic Dutch town and full of charm.

Not to criticize Amsterdam, for it's a city that everyone should experience at least once ... but truth be known ... it's full of freaks :-) And after being exposed to that all day long, one needs the charm of a small city to unwind while sipping to a glass of white wine on the Oudegracht (old canal).

Read on to find out how to enjoy this small gem of a town called Utrecht ...