Sunday, February 15, 2009

Singapore Getaway



Our 'home' for the next five days, at the corner of North Bridge Road and Coleman Street, Singapore.


Pak Abu and I are in good old Singapore. We flew in this afternoon and will be here for five days before returning home to Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

We were here last almost six years ago, in 2003, when The Royal Mint of Malaysia (where I was attached to at the time) participated in the Singapore International Money Fair.

As the Mint's head of corporate affairs, it was very much my baby to ensure our participation ran smoothly and our presence felt amongst the mints from all over the world.

I was fully occupied then. There was hardly any time for leisure. Event management has always been very stressful, anyway.

This time around, I am in Singapore as a spouse, just to keep Pak Abu company while he attends a workshop/seminar/training organised by his Singapore-based HQ.

So for the next five days I am going to be freer than free; don't know yet what to do to fill my time (apart from reading and blogging).

I don't really fancy shopping because things are rather expensive in Singapore and the exchange rate is not in our favour.

I have always found Singapore hard to fathom, and I can't even explain why. It's like visiting a rich distant aunt and spending a few nights as her house guest. You enjoy your host's hospitality but keep a respectful distance from the host herself.

On one hand, I like Singapore's obsession with cleanliness, which is hardly surprising, considering the neat freak that I am. On the other, I am weary of the inconveniences, things I take for granted at home.

It's a bother looking for 'halal' food places and the fact that I can't indulge in my favourite fast foods because of the uncertainly about the 'kosherness' of the meat and poultry.

The concierge suggested Arab Street but we have to take a cab to get there when we would prefer places within walking distance from the hotel.

There is a shopping complex called Peninsular or something across the street; we checked it out just now and found a food court on the ground floor.

We had dinner at a 'halal' outlet called Fatimah Asian Gourmet. Pak Abu chose rice and some lauks while I opted for noodles, something called Mee Betawi. Delicious! Looks like Fatimah's going to be my makan place for the next few days.

The last time I followed Pak Abu on a similar trip, I ended up watching TV reruns to while away time.

This time around, I remembered to bring my books. And with the laptop, I hope I won't be bored for long....




23 comments:

Bijou said...

lahaiiiiii.... tak ajak i punnnnn...

melayudilondon said...

Salam kak
I just sent you an email. Fast foods (McD, BK, KFC, Pizza hut) in Singapore halal, kak. dah dijamin oleh Muis :)

kay_leeda said...

Kak Puteri,

Be sure not to miss the mega murtabak at the Zam Zam Restaurant, which is directly opposite Sultan Mosque.

Have fun and enjoy Singapura :)

Bijou said...

Give Sleeksy a call.. :D

Naz in Norway said...

Kak Puteri,
My bestfriend goes on and on and on about Mustapha Centre...I belum sampai that place lagi.
Have fun in Spore!

Kak Teh said...

kay, melayudilondon tu my adik adiksebelumdiapulang ke singapore. she's been back for some time now and must have checke dout all those eateries. aaah, yes, zam zam murtabak - i guess that's a must.

Fadhil said...

Salam Kama,

As mentioned by Naz, do check out Mustafa Centre at Serangoon Road if you have the time. There are some things that are cheaper there than in Malaysia, even after you have factored in the exchange rate.

Just take a cab from the hotel. It's not that far away, around 20-30 min drive, traffic permitting.

Enjoy your stay.

Zendra-Maria said...

Have a good getaway Kama. Enjoy your get-abouts. See you when you get back!

MrsNordin said...

Have a GOOD time in Singapore!

Pak Idrus said...

Singapore is a great place to be from time to time. There are great eating places if you know where to look. One that we visited recently is the Garuda Restaurant on Orchard road, try it ,it is worth the trip there.

BTW how do you define halal food, those eateries with the Halal logo [all fast foods have such logo] or those eateries that one assumed to be Halal without the Halal logo!!!.

Have a nice day.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Bijou - ajak mai rumah di KL pon bercinta nak datang.. inikan pulak pi spore..hehehe.. sure thing I'll call Sleeks..

MdL - TQ so much dear for the e-mail. Today I am going on a walkabout to familiarise myself with the surroundings.

Kay - Sounds sedap tuh, and I like murtabak..

Naz & Oldstock - I hv heard of this Mustapha Centre. Insyaallah akn pi jenguk..

Kak Teh - She (MdL) is so very kind, hantaq e-mail, contact and such. Such a sweet, friendly soul.

Zendra - Am just back from bfast. Now arming myself with a camera to go out again....

Anonymous said...

I find Singapore hard to fathom, too. They have 'Summer Sales' in Singapore. The last time I looked, countries in this region had only two seasons: Hot and - hotter :-)

There are no summers, however.

Have a good time, ma'am.

mamasita said...

Have a nice holiday! Murtabak kat Arab Street tu dah make my mouth watery! Yummy!

لف توف™ said...

I had a surprise the last time I went to Singapore (way back). The parking bay I drove my car into closed on me and there was definitely some movement. Thought it was my lucky day to experience an earthquake. It turned out to be an elevator car park.

(Perak macam rusa masuk bandaq. Maklum lah, memang tak pi Singapura selalu pun!!)

Please bring back that "Singapore Pau" for me :-)

talqin said...

Ma, snap more pics.. more pau's as well..LOL

Tumpang lalu ma..

Abg lap, after all these years, you now telling abt going obersi.. you said the most obersi's places you went was langkawi & tanjung in penang..now with car somemore.. what happen to your kapcai?

Oh no.. I hope this was only happened in your dreams.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Mrs N - Oh, I sooo look forward to having a rollin' good time.. :) :)

Pak Idrus - Usually I depend on others to tell me if a place is halal or not. Kalau ada the halal cert then I'd hv no qualm about eating at the place. Those days masa 'darurat' in Europe, I closed one eye and makan aja. Of course as much as possible we tried our level best to steer clear of prohibited items. Lepas tu tawakal ajalah..

Mat B - In the 1980s, even Shah Alam ada 4 seasons tau! heheheh.. can play baling2 snow sumore..

Mamasita - nanti I try and buat report kat sini..LOL

Laptop - At one time or another, we all mcm rusa masuk kampung, lap. Our driving experience in Spore lagi teruk. The second time we drove there, kena tahan kat their entry point and kena bayar saman! We didn't even know that the first time we drove in Spore, we had run foul of the traffic laws. But we did, they had everything to back it up. Bayar ajala.. more than 100 spore dollars. After that Pak Abu said No More Driving to Spore.

Talqin - I will snap more pixs. You don't be taken in by Lap's yarnlah.. Dia tu nephew Sultan.. dont you know?

Anonymous said...

Mustafa Centre opens 24 hours a day!

ray said...

Komen Pak Malim kucing ray yg alim.

Satu perkara yg saya suka tentang Singapura, kata Pak Malim yg suka pura2, ialah ianya sangat bersih, kata Pak Malim sambil memegang daun selasih. Kama, lain kali nak pi mana2, ajak lah saya, kata Pak Malim sambil menyapu kaya. Tapi saya nak naik First Class, boleh? kata Pak Malim sambil memegang koleh. Tak glamer nak kargo, kata kucing ray sambil menari ago go.

talqin said...

Since he is anak menakan Sultan, I now demand a trip to Singapore from Laptop, he must start by fetching Leen in Pendang, then Ciki in Telok Intan, before taking a stop in TTDI for Cage & Ash.

I believe this trip will be the most memorable one.. Huhuhu

I likeeee.

(I just don't want to think abt this)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for visiting us.

There are e few halal joints around your hotel. Take a short walk towards the old Capitol theatre along North Bridge Road. There's Siamese Kitchen, and around the same building fronting Stamford Road there's Magic Wok. All HALAL.

لف توف™ said...

"...dia tu nephew Sultan..."

Cage you made me tergelak besaq till I terpeed in the pants.

From now on the name is Tengku Ĺaptop™. hehehehe

Ida Hariati Hashim said...

Salam Kak Puteri,

Enjoy ur stay in Singapore..

Kama At-Tarawis said...

anon 2:20 - 24 hrs? wow, that's good! pak abu says we'll go mustapha centre thursday evening after his seminar is done.

ray - belum nampak lagi kucing di singapura, kata pak abu sambil tengok anak dara (heh! kesitu pulak dia!

talqin & laptop - the truth has to come out sometimes, kan, lap?

anon 6:58 - tq dear. kami dah checked out siamese kitchen. maybe esok/lusa go eat there.

ida - tq for the wishes.