Goodbye Melbourne

Another beautiful week is coming to an end. I am off to Singapore leaving Melbourne's skyline behind me. I have no idea what the future holds (who does?). But I like surprises...

Galahs

Kangaroos, koalas, wombats and so many bird species. Especially cockatoos. Yesterday I was raving about the wombats. Today I would like to introduce you to the galahs. They are as common here as pigeons are in Europe. They actually are one of the rare breeds who seem to have adapted well to the developments brought by the European settlers in Australia. They are commonly found everywhere in the country but nowhere else in the world. Their two favourite cities seem to be Perth and Melbourne.

Wombats in the Snow

Anyone who has come to Australia has seen kangaroos and may be koalas. Depending on where you are going you might even see wombats. They are the marsupials that amaze me the most. Stocky, furry, up to 1 meter long, around 30 kilos with powerful claws, I have seen quite a generous number in Tasmania, South Australia or New South Wales but I had never seen any in the snow. It really added to those wonderful two days skiing across the Lake Mountain forests and flats. They come to the melting streams in search of grasses, sedges, herbs, bark and roots. I could have spent hours observing them.

Winter in Summer!

Hardly two hours away from Melbourne, at the foot of the Alps, in the Great Dividing Range, lies Lake Mountain. There actualy isn't any Lake as it was named after George Lake who surveyed the area but it is a great place so near to the city to go cross-country skiing. Here we are for two days in an excellent snow under a lovely weather in the middle of an interesting and abundant flora and fauna. The ferns, the heaths, the trees, the birds. Everything is a marvel! And it is so great to enjoy the end of the winter... in August.

National 'flower'

They are common in the South of France, but did you know that out of the 1400 species or so of acacias in the world nearly 1000 are to be found in Australia? The Golden wattle has been declared the official emblem of Australia some years back. They blossom in winter (it is nearly the end of the season down here now) and they can be found on the Australian Coat of Arms, and the Order of Australia is in the shape of a single wattleblossom. Also Australian Olympic athletes wear wattle inspired green and gold uniforms. If Australia was to become a Republic I suppose it would be high in the list of what would have to be featured on the flag (a kangaroo, an emu, some wattle on a green and yellow coloured flag?).

Tucker at Heide

The big three: Nolan, Boyd and Tucker. They are like the trio of modern Australian painters which had a huge impact on Australian painting in the middle of the 20th Century. I raved about Sidney Nolan on numerous occasions on these pages. I actually discovered him some years back at the Heide Museum and the others logically followed. There currently is a great exhibition of Tucker paintings called 'Hinterland' covering his memories of the Australian landscapes while he was expatriated in Europe. Such a depth. So organic. So captivating. Another must see.

Photograph: Swans at Metung 1969.

Cold Winter

Everybody is complaining how cold the winter has been in Melbourne this year. Personally, I fully enjoy it as it is such a good relief from the hot and stinky Singapore weather. But having experienced long, grey and cold winters in Paris in the past I know exactly the effects it can have on the inhabitants sanity after a while (except that the skies usually are much bluer down here than in the Northern hemisphere). Anyway, one of the pleasures associated with the cold weather is the Hot Chocolate. And it does not come any better than in the numerous small cafés dotting Melbourne. The other enjoyable drinks in this coffee society are the heritage left by the Italians migrants in form of wonderful cafés and particularly café lattés in a glass!

Mirka at Tolarno Hotel

Australia has one of the best food magazines in the world, the Gourmet Traveller, and this month’s edition came with the yearly Australian restaurants guide book. Over the years we’ve already tried quite a few trendy and acclaimed Chefs (at MoVida, Ezard, Ladro, etc…). For this Sunday lunch we decided to head down to Saint Kilda to meet a friend and try Mirka at Tolarno Hotel. It was a real success. From the original Mirka Mora murals gracing the walls, to the friendly service, the food was perfect from start to finish. We all enjoyed the wonderful Goat Cheese beignets and while my friends went for trout and John Dory I settled for a beautiful and tender, generous and perfectly cooked, chunk of beef (I rarely eat meat). The other surprising thing is that French wines are now getting back to affordable price levels and my friends could enjoy an apparently very tasty wine from my hometown called 'Sincerite' by Joseph Mellot. Congratulations to Chefs Anthony D’Augello & Domenic Marzano. Later this week we are supposed to go to the new one from George Calombaris. I’ll tell you about it…

Night flight

I really do not need a flat bed to sleep on a plane. From Economy (as long as I have a window seat to rest my head on) to Business Class (except on the fantastic fully flat bed fitted on the B777-300ER that connect Paris to Singapore on SQ for example where nobody would have any excuse not to sleep) I have no problem sleeping on non fully reclinable seats. It always makes my partner jealous (not being able to even sleep in First Class). Personally, literally 5 minutes into the flight I was deeply sleeping. The flight was very bumpy but it barely woke me up on a couple of occasions. Since, the SING-MEL flight is only just over 7 hours long we were given the choice between a supper or a breakfast. I took the breakie and only woke up because I could smell the food... Being on the top floor of the MegaTop also helped as I find the cabin much more quiet and 'intimate'.

The rush before the calm!

As you have noticed I did not post anything for the past two days. I have been trying to rush things at work in order not to leave any job undone while I depart for a short break. I had absolutely no time to take and post pictures. So here I am at Terminal T3 in Singapore ready to board my SQ237 to Melbourne. Above is a view of the entrance of the Silverkris lounge (not of me!) which is bigger and better than the Star Alliance lounge but much more crowded. In the end, unless I have to travel off-peak, I think I somehow still prefer the Star Alliance one next door...

Special Food for a Special Day

Today, being a special day, we needed to burn that Credit Card on one of the fanciest restaurants in Singapore. Founded by Les Amis, Au Jardin is a quiet haven located in the Botanic Gardens. French cuisine with a slightly Asian twist and Australian products prepared by a local Chef. It was difficult to decide on a dish from the three-course 'Table d'hôte' menu we chose. Everything sounded good. I went for the Confit d'Abalone since I never tried any before. I am not sure on how the 'real' thing tastes like but this was definitely a very nice introduction. It was followed by a nice poilée of mushrooms and for the main I had to go for the halibut which I had not tasted since a trip to Alaska some 6 or 7 years back. I hardly had enough room for the desert. A special restaurant for a one-off celebration. I am glad to have tried it. For the atmosphere, I still prefer Flutes at the Fort though.

nb: the picture above does not unfortunately do justice to the sliced confit abalone

Record of the Week: Friendly Fires 'Friendly Fires'

I discovered Friendly Fires by the end of 2006 when they issued their first 10" vinyl EP on what would become a fantastic label People In The Sky. They followed this hugely collectable record by another 10" called 'Cross The Line' in 2007 and a remix 12" of tracks from the former and the latter. They switched label to Moshi Moshi for a one off 7" vinyl only release 'Paris' which became one of my favourite tracks of the year and their first self titled album is out on XL on the first of September. It basically collects tracks from all their previous vinyls as well as a few new tracks. Even though there is no much surprise as I already know nearly all the songs featured here it is a great opportunity to have those tracks on a digital format for the first time. If you do not yet know Friendly Fires I strongly suggest you invest in their album which bears a strong identity mixing "lush shoegaze melodies", and "classic pop songwriting" (to put it in their own words).

Listen to samples here

12 Lotus

To follow up last year's 881 which became an instant success, Singapore Director Royston Tan kept the same ingredients (cast, getai, musical, etc...) for his new movie '12 Lotus' which was out last thursday. My fear was that it could have turned into a tired formula but even though there were quite many similarities in the movie spirit, this new flick just proves how a major Director Tan has become. It might be a bit more 'underground' than his big hit and if I read the recent reviews I can feel that it disappointed a few Singaporeans who only know Tan through 881. In my opinion, it is more similar to his earlier works (Mother, 15 or 4:30), exposing dark subjects with a sense of humour. Somehow a bit like an Asian Almodovar. It was two hours well spent. And I really like actress Liu Ling Ling (right picture) and her sense of humour. I am sure she is a sweet and fun person to know in real life!

I Nyoman Masriadi

I have mentioned quite a few times how hot the Asian Art scene currently was all over the world. Chinese Art is now commanding very high prices. As a result collectors are turning to Vietnamese or Indonesian Art. A new wing of the Singapore museum just opened yesterday (the official opening will actually be on the 22nd of august) and I visited it this afternoon. 8Qsam supports contemporary and experimental art forms. The reason I wanted to visit was for the first comprehensive international solo exhibition of paintings from the hottest Indonesian Artist of the moment, I Nyoman Masriadi. The works on display forming 'Black is My Last Weapon' highlight Masriadi’s unique visual language of painting – striking visual vocabulary and visual imageries strongly influenced by anime, cyber-gaming and comics. The exhibition features over 30 selected works from private collections in Indonesia, Singapore and Hong Kong, including early works from 1998 to his latest works.

The Friday picture

If you have checked my past Friday blog entries you might have seen quite a generous number of airplanes. Today, I am not screening a plane I actually took to spend a weekend elsewhere but an aircraft I saw preparing to land at Changi. Indeed, I boarded the A380 some long time back on a flight from Sydney to Singapore (actually on its fourth day of operation) and I was rather disappointed by the experience as there was nothing special (except more seats than you usually have on a smaller plane). To be honest, if you give me the choice, I'd rather take a more 'intimate' plane. That said, I am always impressed by this flying beast when seen from outside.

Cruising

This morning after departing from Harbour Front on my way to Batam, we remained on stand-by for quite a while to make way for a Star Cruise ship to manoeuvre freely. it is actually quite frequent. I am not attracted by cruises but I am always impressed by the majesty of those luxury floating hotels. Those ships usually cruise around this part of the world from Japan to Singapore through Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. There is hardly a day without seeing one at Singapore cruise centre.

MICA

One of the icons of Singapore is the MICA building (Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts). Otherwise known as the Old Hill Street Police Station, it was erected in 1934 to house the Hill Street Police Station and Barracks on the orders of the British 'Colonial Secretary of the Straits Settlements'. It is now gazetted as a national monument and what attracts the eyes of any visitor to the Clarke Quay area is the array of rainbow colours the shutters display.

Spices

At Fort Canning there is this quiet and lovely walk called the spice trail. On top of being enjoyable it manages in being educational. Banners and signs detailing the culinary and cultural uses of the spices as well as other information are placed along the trail to make sure visitors get a thorough understanding of the herbs and spices. You can find anything from cinnamon to pepper (pictue above). A lovely respite from the buzz of the city really.

Record(s) of the week: Whatever We Want

Not one, not two, but three records of the week this time! They're all on the same label though, this is why I make a special package. Whatever We Want has become a very collectible and desirable eclectic label in the space of a couple of years. The roster is not too extensive, the records are usually issued on 7" or 12" vinyls limited to 700 copies and the quality is there. Map of Africa and Quiet Village are the best ambassadors to that label. This week sees the release of 80s influenced Italo Disco from Dr. Dunks, Balearic/electro/disco of Laughing Light of Plenty and the Crampsy-psychedelism of Bobbie Marie. All very different, all with a very strong identity, all impossible to categorise. Absolutely essential!

Click on the Artist names to access their MySpace pages and sample their music.

Don't Shoot!

The message is simple but effective. Anyone who has been staying in Singapore has definitely seen this sign somewhere. It is posted on the fences of many official, strategical and protected areas. Even though I have never heard of any 'shooting' case, I would not risk it. And this is exactly why it seems to work.

Happy NDP!

The National Day Parade. That's the biggest National event in Singapore. It has been taking place at the scenic Marina Bay for the past two years and will continue to be staged there until the new sports hub is completed in 2011. There have been quite a few interesting newspaper articles over the past week trying to define what is the Singaporean identity. Not an easy task! I am still unsure what truly makes one a Sinagporean. Is it the Singlish? Is it the love for Chicken rice?

The city also looks quite amazing with flags hanging from every balconies. For the history, Singapore celebrated its first National Day in 1966, one year after Singapore's independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. And this year is thus proclaimed as the 43rd anniversary of Singapore's independence. You can learn more at the ndp website here.

080808: 080808

I could not escape from it. Who could? In Asia they strongly believe in numbers. You might have heard it publicised everywhere today with the Games starting officially at 08h08min08sec on this 08.08.08... In Singapore there was a special Loto (called Toto) with 8 Millions to win. In contrast there are some banned numbers like the number 4. Where I live there are four buildings numbered 2, 6, 8 and 10. No number 4. Likewise in Indonesia I was always amazed how the lifts were skipping some numbers. The big tower I was staying in, in Jakarta, had no level 4, 13, 14, 24 & 34! What's your lucky number?

Singapore Arts Museum

I was reading in the newspaper today how the Arts events saw a huge jump of over 25% this year in Singapore. It is absolutely fantastic when more and more people can have an easy access to Culture. Actually, there are quite a few museums in the city with a great potential. They just lack big international exhibitions and many spaces remain underused but it is true that lots of effort are put in to attract the punters and there are many festivals highlighting the various cultural fields all year long (Many music, films, modern arts, multimedia, etc, events). There are also a non negligeable quantity of Art galleries concentrating on the local Asian Art scene, which is extremely vibrant (China and Indonesia being the two hottest things worldwide right now). Another important fact is the number of school groups you never fail to notice in the museums. In my opinion, that is the major factor to develop an awareness to Arts for the future generations.

Masjid Sultan

I noticed that I featured on a few occasions the Hindu or Buddhist Singapore but never the Christian nor Muslim side of it. I am repairing this today with a view of the Sultan Mosque which is located in the Arab quarter. It is built on the site of the original mosque that was erected in 1824 and the present building dates back from 1925. It is the oldest mosque in Singapore and is right in the heart of the Malay and Arab settlement of the Arab quarter known as Kampong Glam. Another interesting area to visit just next to Little India and not too far from Chinatown. That's what is great about Singapore... You can actually visit so many 'countries' in just a few hours.

Singapore Hornbill

I have been here for quite some months now but I never had the opportunity to see a hornbill in the wild until today. These are rare strange birds that usually depend on large living trees for nesting. As a result they can be seen on the nearby Ubin Island but are a rarity in Singapore mainland. Their trademark surely is their large long bill (which somehow looks like a second beak on top of the first one). It is made of a honeycomb bone which means that it is much lighter than it looks like. It is basically a black and white bird but still manages to be quite attractive. I understand they feed on fruits but also on small insects or even reptiles. They also fly very awkwardly.

Record of the Week: Calexico 'Carried To Dust'

I am not especially a big fan of american music, especially when it borders on countrymusic, but I have always been an admirer of some of its interesting songwriters / bands with a strong local flavour. American Music Club, Iron & Wine, Eels, Lambchop, Sea and Cake, Pedro the Lion, Pernice Brothers... and the Tucson-Arizona scene I was talking about elsewhere earlier in this blog. The new Calexico album might not be their best to date (or maybe I need a few more listens) but their sound remains richly atmospheric and still has this southwestern american identity and manages to fly well above the rest. This latest offering features guests like DougMcCombs from Tortoise but most importantly Sam Beam from Iron & Wine for my favourite track of the album so far 'House Of Valparaiso'.

Visit Calexico on their website here
Listen to and watch videos of Calexico on MySpace

Album out on 9 September 2008

Reflexology Foot Massage

The practice of massaging, squeezing, or pushing on parts of the feet with the goal of encouraging a beneficial effect on other parts of the body, or to improve general health. That's how Wikipedia describes reflexology. Whatever the case is and whatever the controversie brought by the GPs are, I can tell you that there is nothing better that a nice foot massage after a week-end spent walking up and down the city. I actually went for the first time this evening but I have no doubt I will go back. It can border on being painful at first but my feet felt so good and I felt so relaxed after such a session.

Bakkwa (肉乾)

Not sure if I have already covered this or not (am I too lazy to browse back?) but here is a picture taken today of one of the big Chinese pork specialties called Bakkwa. It is a salty-sweet dried meat product similar to jerky, made in the form of flat thin sheets. It probably is the nearest thing to our French charcuterie even though French people might find it a bit too 'caramelised' but I can tell you it is very addictive (and certainly not such a healthy food).

Aadi III Friday Ubayam and Aadi Amavasai

All the Hindu temples seem to be currently busy with a festival called Aadi. Actually there are so many festivals and gods and goddesses to pray for that I am always a bit confused with all those celebrations. Today I happened to branch through the Sri VeeramKaliamman Temple in Little India which was hugely crowded. The Aadi has something to do with the worshipping of water. The story tells me that at embankments on rivers, in olden days when dams were unknown, women from farming families prayed to the river to flow perennially to enable them raise three crops in the year. River mother, they prayed, on you depends our livelihood! Wearing new clothes and carrying chitranna - sweet pongal, tamarind rice, coconut rice, lemon rice, and a variety of side dishes including pappad, vadagam, chutney, and buttermilk - they went to riverbanks and worshipped the river waters with traditional offerings like coconut, plantain, betel leaf and areca nut. Hailing the flowing river as Mother Kaveri, they adorned her with ear ring and black beads.