The Little Red Dot

Just got back from a trip to Singapore. Only a short weekend, but I have realised the promise made to Rui. Better late than never!

The current exchange rate is 2.47. The last time I went to Singapore, the exchange rate was 2.00. It hurt so bad to give RM 300 over the counter and only got back SD$ 120. You can easily draw your own conclusion that this might as well be the first time I go down to that tiny red dot on the map since the last time I went eons ago.

Since waaaayyyyy before I went down, the wise lady gave me a very wise advice:

"Don't convert."

Very wise words indeed. Thus, for the rest of the trip, I spent the dollars, thinking they were ringgit. All the time, keeping the mantra of the wise lady in mind.

For breakfast, Rui took me to this dim sum place in a back road. The star of the meal: Portugese Egg Tart. Crisp pastry with a soft egg custard on the inside. All warm and fresh from the oven.

She asked me to think of where to go. I said, I don't know. Do you want to go see the Merlion? she asked, rather reluctantly. Err.. no. Can we not do anything touristy? I could almost hear her sigh of relieve over the sms.

That's why, knowing what you want is very important. I knew it that I wanna fill this trip with a whole lot of walking, shopping, and eating. Nothing touristy. Just money-spending and each other's company.

And it was really just that through it all.

Check it out: HUNK!!! THREE O'CLOCK!! So gorgeous, so shiny, so adorable.. sigh....~ Don't you think the blue is just such a handsome colour?

We started off with some pretty good bargains. I got myself a new pair of pants, a black leather bangle and a journal. The journal cost me the most. It has this rough fabric cover and unlined acid free paper on the inside. My fingers trembled slightly as I ran my hand across the paper. It was love at first sight. I had never been good with journal. I really really hope I can make a difference with this one.

As for Rui, woohoo~ she had a field day.

She had been looking and staring and trying it on... an obvious goner. Sigh.

I have never tried MOS burger. I got myself the rice burger with unagi. It was not bad. But maybe too early in the day and was still full from dim sum. Didn't really see what all the hype was about.

After a looonnngggg day of walking on the streets, and from mall to mall, we finally sat down for... soup. Tangy tomato soup with basil. Different. Second time? Hell no.

For dinner, we went to Clarke Quay for this Japanese place, Waraku. The curry udon was not bad, but so far, the one from Pasta Zammai reigns supreme.

Between us, we shared this sizzling squid on a hot plate. It was pretty good. But the combination of the sauce and squid reminded me of the sotong bakar in Gurney Drive. Ah, home.

Clarke Quay's a nice place at night to just sit and chill. The place overlooked the river and across from where we sat, there's this row of bars and restaurants. Everything was lit up prettily. A good night for people watching. A lot of ang mohs and smartly dressed guys walking around. Is it any wonder why we sat there for so long?

Ooooo!!! The extreme drop! There's another reverse bungee jumping kinda thing too!! Soooo scared looking at it. We were wild eyed and excited just by looking. So where are we going on it?? Next trip! Pull Hooi Fong along. Lalalla~

Overnighted at her hostel in NUS. Finally, a peek into Rui's life in Singapore. I'd have to say, am impressed by her campus and hostel. Look! It looked just like a condo!

Our new bangles~

Wearing her new shoes, all black and white. Me? Mine's just ciplak. Her's the real thing.

The next day, I only had a few hours before catching the bus ride home. She brought me to Marche, a Swiss Market Restaurant. The theme of the restaurant is a market place where they cook in the open and the materials are laid around. There's a branch at the Curve. Never been to one before this. The presentation of the food was really tantalising. Mantra: Don't convert. I didn't. That's why the meal was so cheap. Repeat mantra: Don't convert.

Would really like to go this place again. Chia Yinn!! Up for a round of Marche?

She had root beer. Very cold and refreshing. I had banana shake. The milk shake was totally over priced, but then again, I was not converting.

Rui battling with her lamb!

I was so spoilt with choices, that I didn't know what to have. I ended up with chicken wings. Kinda lame, I know. But they were good!! And yeah, I had roesti. It's strips of potatos being fried flat in a pan. Just oil and potato and sour cream on the side.

Let me end this post with a tutorial on how to eat Roesti with chicken wing:

And the appropriate eating behavior:

Thank you, Rui, for an awesome weekend!!!!

Rui: And you're just going to leave like that? Just come and go, just like that?
Quin: And you're just going to let me go? You're not doing anything to make me stay!


So gay.