I was a tour guide the night before last to a visitor from Sydney. T, a friend of dear Monkey, was over in Singapore for a three-day visit. I first met T when I was in Sydney in June, and found him to be a very polite and softspoken person. When Monkey told me T would be coming over and asked if I could play host, I had to say “YES” ‘cos any friend of Monkey’s is my friend too!
So after work, I met T at Amoy Food Centre and then brought him to Chinatown. I enjoy doing the tour guide thing. The good thing is that sometimes I discover new things too! As we walked around the Telok Ayer area, I discovered some new sculptures and some new spots of greenery just next to the Thian Hock Keng temple. Quite lovely.
At Chinatown, I brought T to the Sri Mariamman temple where we were lucky to catch some religious ritual going on. We then proceeded to the open-air eating spot at Smith Street for dinner. I bought all the local dishes for T to try. I made sure the dishes were stuff that couldn’t be found in Sydney. I stayed clear off things like wanton noodles and charsiew rice/noodles ‘cos those are typical Cantonese fare–something which is found in abundance in Sydney.

The rojak (left) was pretty good. It’s like a Chinese salad. The black sauce is actually shrimp paste, mixed with lime juice and sugar. Rojak contains slices of cucumber, pineapple, turnip, tau kwa (some form of beancurd), bean sprouts and youtiao. The popiah (middle) however, was horrible. It was drowning in sweet sauce. That isn’t the way popiah is supposed to be! It became too soggy. Yucks. The carrot cake, or what the locals call Cai Dao Kueh, was pretty good though. The radish cake had enough seasoning which made it very tasty. Maybe it’s just a lot of MSG but what the heck. It tasted good and we were practically licking off the plate.

The satay was delicious! The meat was well marinated hence the yummy taste!
For dessert, T had ice-kachang and I ordered Cheng Tng. The night was warm and humid, so these two cooling and icey desserts were just the thing for the night!
I then brought T to the Esplanade where we managed to catch a piano recital by some young boys. While we were there, this boy of about 9 played the Christmas song Chestnuts Roasting (one of my favs!). His earnest playing touched my heart and I think the hearts of the people listening. It really was lovely.
At the Esplanade, I brought Tim to the library which boasts stylish interiors and a great view of the harbour. We then walked along the Esplanade promenade to the Esplanade Park which was dotted with Botero statues. Looking at the statues make me very happy ‘cos they are so cute and fat.
T wanted to have a look at the grand old dame–the Raffles Hotel (below).

So we took a short walk there. He also wanted to try the famous Singapore Sling at the Long Bar and insisted on buying me a drink. I, of course, graciously accepted. Haha. We stayed at the Long Bar for a short while before I brought him to the last stop–Chijmes. Knowing T’s fondness for architecture, I had to bring him there as the former school chapel is really quite lovely with its stained glass windows and the nice courtyards around it filled with people dining alfresco. Of course, it’s nothing compared to the cathedrals and gothic churches in Europe but I think Chijmes is quite lovely in its own way.
One of things we talked about got me thinking.
‘Am I any different from what I was when you met me in Sydney?” I asked.
‘Yes, a little. You seemed more “Western” in Sydney,” T said.
‘Yeah? How so? What do you mean by more “Western”?’
‘Well, maybe it’s ‘cos you were on holiday and you seemed more relaxed and open.’
Hmmm. I don’t know really. Perhaps so. Perhaps what he said is true–I was more relaxed when I was on holiday and that came across as more “Western” to him. It’s quite a nebulous term though. *ponder ponder*
Anyway, the night ended with me promising to go to Sydney again!