Prosperity Burger

I’m usually not buyin’ it but I’m in Asia and the Chinese New Year (or CNY as they call it here) is fast approaching. Therefore I made my way to McDonald’s and decided to try the two chicken and beef Prosperity Burger specials! They nearly taste the same because of the identical black pepper sauce that fill them both by the way. So what kind of prosperity can they really bring me? Maybe a bit of fat or cholesterol? As if I needed this… Somehow it was a good change to yesterday’s gizzards though!

Guess what this is?

Guess what I had for lunch? French are often looked at strangely for eating tripes, snails and frog legs but not only do you easily find those things on the menu here in Asia but the same way we eat pork's feet or calve's head they also eat chichen feet or fish head soup here. I am used to eat gizzard's salad in France but I do not think I ever had chicken gizzard as a main dish before. I was in Indonesia again today and wanted to try something else than the Gurame fish or the fried Sotongs (squids) I usually have...

The Durians

The Esplanade Theatres opened in 2002 and fast became a landmark of Singapore thanks to their great location by the Bay and their amazing design in shape of two durian halves. The durian being the south east asian fruit par excellence it brings a real local identity to the buildings and is a very interesting architectural feat. On top of a couple of intimate theatres and recital studios, those buildings mostly house a fantastic 1600-seat concert hall and a big 2000-seat theatre.

Verdi's La Traviata

I am just back from a fabulous performance of La Traviata at the Esplanade Theatre performed by the Singapore Lyric Opera. It was actually very nice to have an entirely asian cast and the main characters, Violetta played by the charming Nancy Yuen and Alfredo by Lee Jae Wook were of the highest caliber. A lyrical soprano and tenor voice respectively. It was also directed in a very classical way which always works better for this kind production and the acoustic was up to my expectation. A very entertaining evening and a pleasure to see how Singapore continues to surprise me with its cultural level.

Champagne brunch at The Fullerton's Town Restaurant

Oh my! The brunch at The Fullerton was quite good indeed. I have basically been eating asian food for the past two months so it was a good change to taste these international offerings. I particularly enjoyed the extensive seafood corner filled with fresh shells, mussels, oysters and the like. The 'boudin noir' came as a pleasant and yummy surprise. And what about the cheese corner? An excellent French selection. As a result I am now ready for a relaxing tea not planning to fill my stomach with anything else.

The Fullerton

The Fullerton is probably the best 'historical' hotel in Singapore, with the Raffles of course. It used to be the Main Post Office and has only recently been converted. Everything seems luxury and it even includes a fleet of Rolls Royce for the guests. But, ironically, I will be able to check all this tomorrow because I have just been invited to participate in the Champagne Sunday brunch there for lunch. That is a nice surprise. I might be a non-drinker (most of the guests seem to head to this brunch for the flowing booze) but I have no doubt the food will also be a delight.

Bay Waterfront

If you stand in front of the Merlion (as pictured in yesterday's port) and you look on your right hand side you will have a nice view over the Bay waterfront Complex. It is composed of two durian shaped buildings (you can only see one on this picture) housing theatres, concert and opera halls. It is also fronted by numerous luxurious hotels. On the other side is the future casino complex which, for the moment, only is a big field of cranes and other construction equipment.

Lion City

I have noticed that I have not featured many Singapore icons until now. Therefore I have decided to stroll the city by night these coming days (sorry but I am working during daytime) to snap a few of its symbols. The best way to start is definitely with the half mermaid half lion called the Merlion that was created by the tourist office in the 60s to market the City. You will see it on any souvenir T-shirt, mug or chocolate. I still do not understand how it can attract the crowds but obviously the Tourist office plan worked exactly the way they wished.

Sri Sivan Temple Maha Kumbabishegam

You would be forgiven for thinking I am living in India in view of my recent posts. But I am in Singapore and furthermore in the heart of the historical Malay and Chinese area! Coming back from shopping tonight I passed by the Sri Sivan temple next door where some prayers were going on. It usually is a fairly quiet temple but it is starting to get busy and some big tents which I thought were for the forthcoming Chinese New Year have been erected on the field next door. But I just dicovered what was going on. As per what I just gathered from the internet The Sri Sivan Temple are preparing a Maha Kumababishegam (Consecration Ceremony). According to them, it is a belief that taking part and witnessing a Maha Kumbabishegam is a lifetime blessing. Therefore I might be a part of this magnificent tradition and receive the blessings of the Divine Lord, Sri Viswanathar and all the presiding deities of this Temple over the coming week-end.

ThaiPusam Day

I made my way to Serangoon Road after work and reached Little India shortly after 7pm. The march had already been going on for over an hour but when I left after 9pm it was far from being finished. That means that the number of participants was incredibly high. It was very impressive to see all these devotees carrying all the weight of their 'Kavadis' without any apparent pain. Apart from the common tongue, mouth and cheeks skewer piercings many were also pierced on the whole body by numerous spikes. It was like being in India really, even though I am sure the festival is 1000 times more crazy there!

ThaiPusam Procession

This evening was just a preview with a small procession for this Hindu festival that is starting in the early hours of tomorrow. I might not be able to witness it because of my work schedule so this is why I wanted to at least take a glimpse of this preview. The real thing features devotees who pierce their tongues with metal skewers and attach large frames with hooks and spikes to display their faith and mind over matter.

It's finally installed!

Yesterday I finally went to purchase my new Technics SL1210MK2 as I did not have anything to listen to my nice slabs of vinyl here but I had no time to install it. That has been my morning's task and pleasure and I am now listening to the last order I have received some time back from Piccadilly Records. At the time everyone is going digital I now receive some strange looks from colleagues or strangers when I tell them I still buy vinyl ;-) Most of the people really think it has died ages ago and have no idea that all the new releases are still issued on good old fashioned plastic!

Fringe Festival

This evening I arrived at the Esplanade by 7pm and got a bit scared by the crowds. But I quickly discovered most of the people were here for the Suzanne Vega gig in the main Concert Hall. The concert I was here for was a much more intimate affair and was taking place at the Recital Studio. It was nevertheless a full house. Colleen opened the show with her lovely music and pleased the crowds with her multi instruments cleverly played simultaneously after being looped, Sylvain Chauveau sent the public a bit sleepy with a repertoire that was much more quiet than what I know from him but the good surprise came with the only non-French Hauschka who intrigued everyone with his prepared piano works. Brilliant!

Technics

I finally found the Technics showroom. I knew there had to be one and that it had to be located at Sim Lim square but all my past visits to the mall have been on a Sunday and it appears this shop is closed on Sundays. A bit busy today but I will will definitely branch back to the store tomorrow hoping to buy at least a turntable or two. Having left all my equipment in France I feel frustrated not to be able to play and listen to the content of my Piccadilly Records parcels.

Nasi Padang

Nasi Padang is an indonesian 'buffet'. An assortment of dishes served with rice (nasi). According to my indonesian colleagues it is not possible to find a nice one in Singapore. I have never tried any here but I see them a lot. Because I found myself again in Batam today (it is just a 40 minutes ferry ride from Singapore) and I was accompanied by indonesian expatriated in singapore who were craving for one we made it to the supposedly best rumah makan in Batam. I particularly enjoyed the squid and fish cakes but my colleagues seemed to prefer the chicken and the cracking beef.

Eclipse

The Fringe Festival started this evening. Even though I spent the day in Batam, Indonesia, I made it on time for the asian premiere of Eclipse, a play about a Singaporean going to Pakistan to dispose of the ashes of his father. It was a touching one-man show with the main actor also playing the role of his father and grandfather. It was also directly in line with this year festival's theme: Art and History. A good insight of the romantisation of one's roots and a personal view about the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. Highly recommended.

Pongal

Today is Pongal festival. It is the only Hindu festival that follows a solar calendar and usually falls on the 14th or 15th of January. It signals the end of the traditional farming season in South India. As a result I made my way to Little India after work and headed to Campbell Road to see the cows and to taste the pongal (sweetrice) which also is one of my favourite indian food. I wanted to find a restaurant to enjoy the treat but there was actually a free street distribution. I therefore seized this opportunity to have my share!

Escalators

Escalators. They are everywhere. Stand on the left they say. But as any good rules in Singapore it is actually not respected as such! It is like the queue for the bus. On a good day, everyone is queuing orderly as if it were England but as soon as the bus arrives there is a rush to get in with people ready to push you aside to get in first!

Neighbours

It is the second time since I arrived I read about stories of people who have been found in their home ages after they died. But Singapore does not seem to be much different than any other big city. The polls clearly show that less than 40% people know the name of their neighbours. I believe the polls would be pretty similar in Paris, London or New York (or even worse). Anyway, this article also shows you what makes the front page of the Sunday paper here (the quality of which I would not comment).

Century eggs

They do not look appetizing, they are a bit slimey, they taste a bit foul... so what is so addictive with Century Eggs? I have grown to develop quite a taste for these eggs pictured above with the coating in which they are aged, without, and ready to eat.

Gurame Goreng

I was in Indonesia again today and I went to one of my favourite restaurants to have a very nice freshwater fish called Gurame. It is fried (goreng) and presented as per the picture. I know it looks a bit weird and the photo above might not make you feel hungry but I can assure you it is an absolutely tasty flesh.

Record of the year

It might be a bit late, and I already posted my best of 2007 on MySpace ages ago but I have been listening to that A Mountain Of One album so much more than any other album last year that I was suprised to realise today I was still listening to it in 2008. That should change soon when the new American Music Club is out though. Talking of the latter, I already have my ticket for the gig on the 18th of March in Paris even though I am not sure I will be able to be in France by then.

Sea Cucumber

When I went to China I was a bit reluctant to taste the delicacies offered on the menu after having seen all what was on display at the local market. I did not succeed in finding the snakes, turtles or frogs appetizing. I have always been curious to try new food and I still would be interested in trying sea products like abalone. I just had the opportunity to taste sea cucumber at my local 'No Signboard' seafoood restaurant. I am glad to have tried it but I cannot say I found this particularly tasty though...

Takashi Murakami

My favourite artist is currently exhibiting at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles. I am not unfortunately able to make it but I had the good surprise to have been offered the beautiful catalogue summarising his career that has been put up together for this event. It was a very thoughtful and highly welcome gift believe me!

Air Conditioning

In some European countries, the above would be considered as City Art! Here, air conditioning really is a necessity but it is always surprising to see this kind of unusual set-up which, even though useful or compulsory in this hot and sticky climate, still is a bit of an eyesore. Especially if you happen to have your living room windows overlooking such a wallscape.

Jakarta

Nothing much to report today as it is a post-wedding afternoon and I am quite tired as you can imagine. Here's the view from my hotel room. It nearly makes Jakarta look leafy and attractive. Actually, the view is much better than from the Park Lane hotel I used to regularly stay at over the past two years. Jakarta skyline was also quite clear this week-end (after the storm that hit Thousand Islands quite hard, that is!) which is a rare event as the atmosphere is usually so polluted.

Chocolate

Let's stay on a food tip... Today I travelled to Jakarta as I am to attend a wedding. I booked a room at the Four Seasons for the convenience and I was positively surprised with the room. It is a big clean and elegant space and I particularly enjoyed the chocolate touch! It was very nice to find this lovely plate arrangement on my desk offered as a welcome attention.

Fruits and Fruit juices

On top of the cheap food readily available on every street corner, the other excellent and healthy option anywhere in town is the intensive display of fresh fruits that can be eaten by the piece or blended into fantastic juices. A few shops add sugar (so request for no sugar if that's your option) but most keep everything raw and natural.

Christmas Is Over

Christmas period is (finally) over. This is probably the last time of the year I will see these lights in Orchard Road. They have already started to dismantle all the trees and most of the decorations. But the party is not over. Here and there you can already start to see red lanterns popping up in anticipation of the Chinese New Year... in over one month time!

Olympic Games Undies

Communist China still loves the colour red but they definitely are on a creative capitalist tip in view of the forthcoming games. It was quite funny to see rows and rows of ladies underwears bearing interesting logos. Can you imagine yourself in those outfits? Do you find this sexy? Whatever your opinion, it brings some very eye catching displays in the underwear section of all those street stalls.

2008: Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR from Hong Kong everyone. May all your wishes come true.