Swiss in Singapore

It's been a good month for reunions.

Another good friend dropped by Singapore at the end of January. Rene Bommer and I were colleagues at PwC in Sydney and as newbies, we spent many happy weekends exploring all that New South Wales had to offer. Rene has since returned to Switzerland and now works in Zurich. He stopped over in Singapore on the way home from Australia and we grabbed the chance to catch up. I took a day off to visit Singapore tourist spots that I hadn't even been to myself after all these years. Thank God for foreign visitors! :-)

Enjoying the stunning views from the Singapore Flyer

First stop - the Singapore Flyer. We caught the last ride of the day and this giant observation wheel located at Marina Bay offered amazing views of the city - especially at night. Raffles Place, The Fullerton Hotel and Marina Sands provided a glittering backdrop to a delightful 20 minute ride. Thumbs up to this tourist attraction!

Singapore Zoo is not only for kids - we loved it too!

The next day, we made our way north to visit the "jungles" of Singapore. I've never really enjoyed zoos, finding them too hot and smelly but the Singapore Zoo is in a class of its own. Rene and I enjoyed wandering through the zoo with it's shady surroundings, clean enclosures and dangerous animals at a safe distance! I especially liked the penguins, hippos and giraffes. And the elephant show was definitely a plus.

We then made our way to Orchard Road for lunch, followed by a wander through all the new shopping malls. 313 Somerset, Mandarin Gallery and ION Orchard - definitely more familiar territory. We walked all the way to Tanglin before stopping for a drink at Harry's Bar. That gave us lots of time to catch up on all that had happened in the last 7 years since we bid farewell at Sydney airport.

Ozzie tucker

It's the weekend and I've finally found some time to organize the digital photos taken over the last 3 months. To my delight, I spotted some shots of delicious meals from my trip to Adelaide last October to attend my cousin's wedding. I have already blogged about the wedding & our visit to Barossa but haven't said anything about the food so here goes...

For a start, here I am at the Pancake House, with a yummy stack of strawberry pancakes topped with vanilla ice-cream. It looked and tasted awesome... which explains the strange smile on my face. And yes, the knife and fork was poised to fend off potential attacks from other diners :-)

The Original Pancake Kitchen is a 24-hour gem hidden in an alley just off the main strip in Adelaide. It's a huge favourite with uni students and locals alike and has a great country-style decor and friendly wait staff.

Breakfast spread at East Terrace Continental (ETC) bistro in Adelaide

On the morning of the wedding, Aaron (my cousin) brought us to his favourite breakkie spot called East Terrace Continental. My dad had the full English breakfast, while I had smoked salmon & asparagus on scrambled eggs. Aaaah....totally maxxed out on the satisfaction scale. This bistro certainly knows how to serve up breakfast, which explains the packed crowds.

Aunty Jo Jo and Uncle David having fun with the giant donut

After the church wedding, we decided to stop by Coles supermarket to pick up some stuff for afternoon tea. While Aunty Lai Sum wisely shopped for fruits for a salad, I happily trooped into an Italian bakery and discovered a mouthwatering new dessert that I'd never seen before. Italians call it a zepolla but this Chinese Malaysian xiao jie calls it a giant donut!! It tasted very good - even our 83 year grandma agreed.

Afternoon tea at Halia

I never thought I would say this:- My travel schedule is minimal and I'm LOVING it! It gives me a chance to settle into my new apartment, explore Singapore and strengthen my network of friends. Life is good...

Last Saturday, Four Fantastic Ladies reunited at the Botanical Gardens for English afternoon tea to celebrate Corrine's triumphant return to Singapore!

Joanna, Corrine, Stef & Kon reunited at the Singapore Botanical Gardens

Can you think of anything more delightful than sipping a cup of Earl Grey tea in the tranquil setting of a lush tropical garden with four of your best friends? Restaurant Halia's interpretation of afternoon tea is spot on - salmon sandwiches, chicken pie, raisin scones and o yes....the ginger orange marmalade is to die for!

We had a wonderful time exchanging presents and stories of our lives in the last 6 months. There have been so many changes to our homes, jobs, families and physical locations, it was a treat to catch up on the latest goss. It was no wonder that every one of us woke up the next morning with a smile on our face!

Corrine & Aunty Jo Jo with their English mem-sahib impersonations

Katong capers

Ever since I started calling Singapore home, there's a little enclave that I find myself gravitating to on many weekends. It's called Katong and it's colourful well-preserved Peranakan architecture and delicious Nyonya food proves popular with many Singaporeans.

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of showing Katong off to a very special visitor. Grace Thomas has been my mentor for almost a decade and it was Grace who inspired me to start a career in HR when we were both at PwC Australia. Grace visits Singapore regulary which gives us a chance to catch up often.

Here's a glimpse of Aunty Jo Jo's personalised Katong tour, which features all my favourite foodie spots:

1) Chin Mee Chin is an authentic Hainanese coffee shop serving the perfect cup of local coffee and kaya toast. We got there so early that the front gates were still closed that we had to sneak in from the back entrance where we discovered the kitchen, ovens and toilets all co-existing happily side by side

2) Next stop was Puteri Mas , where I introduced Grace to the yummiest golden durian puffs in Singapore. The gloriously pungent flavours that explode in your mouth is something that can only be appreciated by true Malaysians...and Singaporeans!

3) And then it was off to Kim Choo, which produces the best Nyonya kuih ever...it even rivals my Amah's which is high praise indeed

4) Last but not least, we ended up at 328 Laksa where we happily slurped down our spicy rice noodles and coconut gravy which hit the spot perfectly...

....BURP....ooops...sorry :-)