Chinatown

Having just sat down for some lunch after an arduous few minutes buying all manner of Chinese New Year gifts for the nieces, nephews and God-children back home, I get a chance to do what I really enjoy and people watch. Chinatown is particularly good for this especially during the run up to CNY when it is busier than usual (although not the mayhem that will ensue this weekend, the last before CNY). The English couple in front if me have just been brought two large bottles of Tiger beer and are staring at them in astonishment (the bottles are 633ml each, more than a pint). The business of ordering lunch looks a hard task too. Menus are large, with a raft of unfamiliar looking food (although all printed in English with Chinese subtitles) and some of the items are apparently live.
'Euw, I couldn't eat anything living',
'It'll be dead by the time you eat it,' I interject, 'don't worry'.
They seemed to take this in the spirit it was meant although when the fish, still flapping in it's bag, was presented for their approval they did blanche slightly. The panic is starting to rise slightly I sense and a discussion ensues about the merits of ordering sweet and sour pork. The spring rolls arrive and much to their relief look 'just like the ones from the Chinese at home'.

Phew, the fries have also arrived. Just in time, it was all starting to look a bit 'Eastern' for my liking.
I must say the white faces and voices (mine amongst them of course), are quite prevalent today. Last Saturday the mayhem was very definitely in favour of the locals. We we're warned by one that it was a human traffic jam in there. He wasn't wrong. This was the evening for Singaporeans to do their CNY shopping. I found it quite enjoyable, however, I wasn't trying to shop.
So, remarkabley the beers have both been sunk and they've just asked for another. I think they're starting to get into the spirit of things. That's the thing about Singapore. It never takes long to relax into it if you give it a chance.

posted from Bloggeroid

The Chapman's Singapore Christmas

Christmas 2011, a set on Flickr.

So Christmas has been..... and gone just about. All-in-all it's been a real nice time and a lot more fun than last year's somewhat forced affair. This year we were lucky enough to have genuine friends and family here to celebrate with. Thirteen for lunch (including three under fives) and not a hitch, probably because I stayed out of the kitchen! Good food and good company. The dinner was a traditional turkey affair (and beef.... and ham) although there were suggestions (threats?) of salads from the antipodean faction (thankfully quashed). The food was great thanks the work of the girls (and a boy, not me) and we all sat down with paper hats on heads and proceeded to eat more than we should for any normal week. As is traditional, evening approached and the remaining survivors settled down with the Monopoly set (Singapore edition) which remained completely untouched as the 15 year old malt made an appearance and with that Christmas Day was slowly put to bed.
New Year's Eve now and getting ready to go to Marina Bay with the in-laws to watch the fireworks. That, of course, is on the assumption the our daughter gets rid of her 39C something temperature or it's going to be a quiet one at home!
We're finally getting some blue skies and sun after several weeks of rain, rain and more lightning and thunder. The in-laws have been stunned about the lack of sunlight. Granddad had visions of a sunny Christmas with BBQs, Aussies and beers. Well, he's had the beer part! Maybe we'll manage the BBQ and Aussie bit in the New Year before they depart for the UK.
Time for a G'n'T before the sun disappears I think!
In other news, I believe this is my 100th blog post. Seems it should be a milestone so, HURRAY!

Flash floods and BBQs in Singapore

Seems to be a regular occurrence over here, although I would suspect that the vast amount of building work doesn't help matters by diverting the natural flow of water. However, it's still not as bad as many countries and when a country has this much rain, some flooding is inevitable. Isn't it? Still makes a lot of people 'enraged' though! Those 'Stompers' just love to get angry about it!
Meanwhile, chez Chapman, we had a very nice afternoon whiling away the soggy day with some friends, a BBQ and beers. An Australian chef turned up to cook (well, he seemed to reckon he was) and we even enjoyed a star turn by a singing granddad and his guitar. Kids loved it (and so did most of the parents). The wheels on the bus surely do go round and round. That's the way to do it! 

Home at last

Well, here we are, finally ensconced in our new home on the East Coast. I believe we are now living in the area of Bedok and very nice it is too. We now have bone fide neighbours, not just people who live above and below us. The house on the end of the street has a swimming pool (note to self, befriend the be-pooled neighbours) and we have space. Lots and lots of space. I say home because actually that's how it feels already. Unlike out previous place which felt kinda temporary this feels right. Right place, right house, right neighbourhood. Having said that we've only been here two nights! Last night the folks at number two had a party (which we weren't invited too!) and the noise was fine. But I realised it was the first time since we've been here were we've had people noisily socialising. Felt kinda good. It also meant that we weren't going to be the first of the street to have a party. Depending on how it goes it could have created a bad first impression. We may still manage that although I think the kids excited 'freedom-to-roam' volume may have painted them a picture already. The kids are well, very, very excited. And I'm not sure if they think we're on holiday or whether we've actually moved here.
So, the move itself went without incident or anything to report which was, frankly, amazing. My opinion of customer service is not exactly, erm, well, I think it's rubbish! But on Thursday, everyone turned up on time or even in one case early (UNBELIEVABLE!), did the job we'd paid them to do and in double quick time too. Removals guys packed and unloaded without a gripe or murmur and in best of spirits. Furniture guys had just arrived at the house when I got there, a full five minutes before their earliest arrival time in the 'time slot' and proceed to get everything unpacked and put together before I knew what had happened. Even StarHub out-did themselves by doing what I asked them to and within hours we had TV and broadband set up. I was, to put it mildly, taken aback. Those of you who live in Singapore will know what a triumph it is to get a tradesman to your house within a couple of days of when they said they would be there. This time...... well, I could go on, but you get the picture. I was, in the vernacular, 'well chuffed'.
Bought the kids a paddling pool yesterday in lieu of having no swimming pool which is pretty much the only thing I think we're going to miss. However, Singapore does provide some exceptional public swimming pools at a great price. As some of you will know, I used to swim in the UK. I used to swim a lot! In a lot of pools. And the quality of facilities here in comparison to the UK leaves the Brits standing. Must be why Singapore is so strong at international swimming! So, the kids are happy with that although our water bills are going to be enormous!
Which leaves us to explore the area. Mostly food oriented as things tend to be in Singapore, but there's some good looking places catering to pretty much the whim of locals and expats alike. Reckon we could eat out every night for a year and still only cover a quarter of a mile of the road we live on. Quite fancy getting out and down to Joo Chiat later to see what's what. Food of course, but also the old shop-houses being used as originally intended. And actually places to shop. Speaking of which, we decided we quite like the idea of having a hawker style table on our front terrace just for general use (I'm sitting at it at the moment). Now, we had less than no idea where to find, especially as we'd just moved. So, of course, I Facebook'd the question. Almost instantly I got a reply from another blogger Leone Fabre who pointed us in the direction of the Kitchen Mart (read Leone's blog post) in Eunos. Now, bearing in mind she lives over on the West Coast (which in Singaporean terms is absolutely miles away from us), I have no idea how she knew this place existed. But I'm glad she did. It is the proverbial Aladdin's Cave of cookware! Value for money (a rarity in Sing) and stacked with all manor of good stuff. From the food centre style of crockery (i.e. orange) to the most gigantic cooking vats, you could fit in two small children to stew with room to spare, and the suitably massive masher with which to mash them with. I like to cook so it was a revelation to find (be directed to) this place. Sufficed to say we went in for a table and came out with quite a lot more. We will be back.
Right, away to Joo Chiat! I get the feeling my next post may be rather foodie oriented!

Dhal '0' for curry

Here it is! Well, here it goes. Couldn't stop long enough to take a photo so T took one for/of me! Just superb! Reckon I could eat it every day!

Chinese New Year - It's still going you know!

Well, if I'm honest, I'm feeling a bit lazy which means I really shouldn't be blogging right now. However, it has been quite an eventful, cultural week all-in-all. Starting with a very nice Chinese New Year's Eve meal with new friends. A good traditional Chinese meal starting with throwing (with aid of chopsticks), the food in the air. This is accompanied with some shouting but I cannot remember what (I'm sure someone will let me know The higher the throw, the better your prospects for the coming year. I don't know if this works for random Westerners too but it's worth a try! Now, at this point it's worth saying that my photos of proceedings were rubbish so I have taken the liberty of pinching some from Pam Ha (who we met that night, along with hubby Kevin, both from New Zealand). Thanks Pam! The food was beautifully prepared and presented and tasted

Before the toss!

After the toss!

gorgeous. All washed down with a glass of Champers and of course beer. Courses included the traditional full chicken (meaning prosperity and togetherness of family) along with hard boiled eggs (meaning fertility, not sure I'll be needing those, but they tasted very nice). There were some very tasty meatballs (which I believe represents reunion). And then the traditional chocolate cake. Well, I'm not sure it was traditional, but it tasted great! After all that it was great to just chat round the table and enjoy some new company. Aussies (our hosts), Brits and Kiwis all chatting like we'd known each other for ages and not a sporting quip in sight (well, I'm sure that last bit isn't true, but it's nice to think it could happen).
We left the party happy, full and hopefully more prosperous than we've ever been!
Next day (Chinese New Year's Day) was quiet. I think there were probably a few sore Far Eastern heads about. I decided to take D to the Chinese Gardens to see what was happening there. T and Z decided to chill out and hang at home. So me and D set off on the MRT on a beautifully sunny, warm day to see what we could see. Turned out to be a great idea. Only the second time I had ventured to the gardens and I hadn't appreciated quite how expansive they were the first time around. The first thing we see as we stepped of the train (rather unexpectedly bearing in mind where we were), was a whole posse of Indians playing cricket. It was kind of like seeing Hackney marshes in the UK with all the guys playing football on a Sunday. Although the thing with this lot was there was a certain amount of style and technique with which they bowled and batted.

Clean bowled

Clearly enjoying themselves I left them to venture into the Gardens themselves. Red. It was all red. And yellow. Quite an awful lot of yellow too. Lots of lucky colours. First stop was the towering pagoda as we entered the gardens. A lot of people standing around, photos being taken, laughs being had. And then I realised, much to my surprise, most of these people were Indian too. I still don't know why so many visitors were Indian, although I suspect that they lived close by. Having said that one group of guys had come down from Johor for the long weekend and were busy enjoying themselves (as well as trying to take photos of D, not a chance, he is not impressed with strangers taking photos any more. The general cry is of "NO, only daddy takes photos!". Good boy!). Anyway, D decided that climbing the seven stories up to the top of the pagoda was feasible so we did. Normally he wants to be carried but he was off like a flash, eschewing all attempts at photography along the way. The views from the were fantastic and it was actually one of the clearer days I had seen for a while (as well as one of the sunniest).

I would comment on the colours and the flags and the (fake, I'm afraid), blossom on the trees but I think the easiest and laziest way to let you know what it looked like is by posting some more photos! So here you are! The day was much like New Year's Eve with much humility and good wishes. We had a thoroughly nice time just wandering. Even D couldn't stay in his buggy with the promise of fish and turtles to be seen.

The deep red flags blew and flapped in a pleasant and refreshing breeze. Just what was needed to blow away the cobwebs from the night before. D and I ate the most enormous lumps of ice-cream for only a dollar each (D paying with his newly acquired Hong Bao money. Well chuffed he was). We passed on the 'live' tortoise and turtle museum (that by all accounts is quite a pull). It does makes you wonder about the fact that they make a point of calling it 'live'. I would imagine if the artefacts on show got much slower that you would indeed have trouble calling it 'live', but I suspect that the real reason is more to do with the penchant of people in this region to feast on these slow moving fellas and that live is a bit of a novelty.
To top it all we even managed to miss the rain by a whisker as we got back on the MRT bound for Dover station.

See more photos at Flickr

Time flies when you're having fun!

Where to start. It's been over a week since my last update (way over a week!). Our new home-help, nanny, cook, cleaner and general all-round housekeeper started with us nearly two weeks ago. From the Philippines, Mary's been in Singapore for twenty years and her experience shows! It's felt a little strange getting used to someone else living with us but its starting to feel a little more normal now. The kids have taken to her really well and she's very good with them. She's taken our lead on how to treat and although she appeared a little quiet to start with she's starting to open up a bit now. Her cooking is outstanding and I'm being spoilt rotten with two cooked meals a day. Fish for lunch today followed by beef rendang tonight. You can't argue with that can you? I've a sneaking suspicion that T is a bit jealous (maybe more than a bit!). For the first time today she took Z to the wet market to do the weekly shop. She reckons she can get the whole weekly shop in for around $50, about 50gbp. That is for all the fruit, veg and meat. Not bad. We just pay extra for the beer! Which contrary to popular belief is not that expensive. In the shops. In the bars it's extortionate! Anything from $15-$20 a pint (well 500ml). Not a had a glass of wine yet so I couldn't comment!
So, as Mary is our babysitter too (of course!), we've had a first bit of time to ourselves. A Saturday night out to Chijmes in the City which was very nice. We were invited out by a Kiwi we met at the pool. He asked if I liked rugby to which of course the answer was yes, so we met up with other friends to watch a match and drink a couple of beers. Topped off by some Thai food and it was all good.
I went out the following Thursday to take some night photos of the lanterns on Clarke Quay. It went OK but I still need to fathom out my new camera a bit and remember how to take decent shots (you can see some of them here). The night was topped off with some (an understatement as it turned out), beers with another expat from Glasgow. He's been here 4 months but has lived in various SE Asian countries along the way. And has a big entrepreneurial spirit about him (as well as a big interest in photography). Be interesting to meet up with him again now that the haze has disappeared from the morning after.
Anyway, off to buy the boy a little bike for his third birthday. Then I'm going to try and order a cake from our local Chinese bakery. Should be fun. Hope he likes it. First though, I have to pick up our tickets for the F1 this weekend. Should be a great experience!

More food...

Lovely weekend culminating in a visit to Law Pa Sat hawker centre. A giant circle of a food centre with a central drinks counter and the hawker stands radiating out from it like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. There are over a hundred to chose from. It was quite quiet on arrival as most of the stalls were closed. Never mind, we met up with the Silburns for a beer and mulled over what we might get to eat. Chris apparently had a top ten of foods that he wanted to try when he got here. One of those was boiled chicken and egg (a traditional dish). He got to try some too. And he won't be doing it again by the sounds of it! I had some very nice shrimp wanton soup and there was also various curries, spring rolls and other delights on table at one point or another. D decided that today was the day for naan bread, chapati and some daal. A few beers and several dishes from several countries later and we decided to call it a day. I must be starting to live here. I  slightly begrudged the fact that the chapatis were 30 cents more expensive than the day before in Little India.

Photo care of the NTU

As I sit and blog at 730 in the morning the kids are playing happily by themselves. A feature which has become more prominent over the last few days. And a welcome one. D playing and singing with his trains and Zoe studiously reading some random leaflets in her new cool egg Ikea chair.
Time for a cuppa I think.

A little bit of India, amongst other things.......

"Sarries, Sarries.....", that's what I can hear through my headphones as I start typing. The curtain raiser to the 2010-11 Aviva Premiership season. Saracens v London Irish. I'm listening online via BBC Three Counties Radio. Seems a little unlikely on a Saturday night, around 7000 miles from Twickenham, but there you go. I dare-say there will be updates throughout the blog update, apologies in advance!
I can't believe my previous update was last Monday, the time is starting to disappear quite rapidly all of a sudden. And that's a good thing. Nothing worse than it dragging, especially when you're living here. Plenty of things to report anyway. 
Firstly, the drilling (touching a large chunk of wood) seems to have ceased. We still have the chaps trawling up and down in the lifts with wheelbarrows full of goodness knows what! But they're nice guys and always say hello (to the kids) and are at pains to get out of the way (even when it's extremely inconvenient for them). But it would appear that the waterproofing of the roof on Tower B has hit a quiet phase, and long may it last.

The other day I decided, with some fortitude, that I was going to find postage stamps. I know that sounds a bit dramatic, but the fact is that a) we need stamps b) I have failed previously and c) we live here and we are going to need stamps. I don't know if I'm missing something obvious, but it ain't that easy! So, I know that I need either a Post Office (obviously) or a SAM. Given that there are no Post Offices on the horizon then the obvious choice is a SAM (you need to look at the previous link for what they are and do).  There are two close by (a 10-15 minute walk with buggy). No problem, take a walk, ask when I can't find it and hey presto! There it is. No problem. Type in what I need on the touch screen (two airmail, one local). $2.46 all told. How do I pay? Cash? No. OK. Debit card, of course. No. NETS only. A what? NETS (please look at this link too, I really can't be bothered to explain). OK, I don't have one of those, where can I get one? Now, at this point, my phone really earns it's stars. Type it all into Google. A list of outlets, none of which are anywhere near me, plus there are other indeterminate outlets that sell them (i.e. just guess). Right, I have a hunch that there might be a place in the MRT station at Buona Vista, a short hop away from where I am now. And it also has a SAM. How could I go wrong? Well, my hunch was right, I did find a shop selling a NET cashcard (plus sweeties for the kids who are now showing signs of incredulity at my single minded pursuit of stamps). I purchase one with the promise of stamps looming large. A SAM machine, as promised, as I exit the shop. Here we go. NET card doesn't go in, try again. Out of order. But of course. No matter, I know where the other one is, let's head back there. It's only a ten minute walk (when you aren't on the wrong side of the roadworks with no crossing in sight). Twenty minutes later I have it in my sights. Not only that but I have entered my postage needs and am at the checkout screen. Bang, it crashes. Wait a couple of minutes to reset. Bang, crash again! So, there you go, despite my best efforts (and one and a half hours of walking later), I am still stampless. "insert rude word here"
Half time - London Irish 6 Saracens 10. Couple of tries by Sarries but no Glen Jackson to convert so only 10 points and Irish are down to 14 men for ten minutes. C'mon Sarries, less of the silly pens.
Tuesday saw me meet up with a follower of my blog called Natasha. She is a proprietor of a rather fine site called www.natashabailie.com. She sells vintage clothing don't ya know and very nice it is too (I had never met nor spoken to Natasha before Tuesday except via email so that plug was entirely out of good will). It turns out that her other half was over in Singapore being interviewed for a job (yes, they paid flight, bed and board. Some kinda interview. Must remember to get one), and I thought she might like to meet up over a coffee to discuss the ins-and-outs of relocation (like I'm some sort of expert). Amazingly, she agreed to meet some random blogger (against her various friend's better judgement I'm sure). Coffee was pushing it to be honest, with two young children in tow, so we met in the already frequented Botanic Gardens to keep the little darlings entertained and under control. The fact that Claire, my teacher widow partner in crime, had also agreed to come along made the odds significantly better. Hurrah! This made it three adults to two children. Nothing could go wrong. And surprisingly nothing did! A very nice afternoon shared by all, albeit with some ice cream incentives (that the kids also enjoyed). Claire and Natasha found a shared interest in 50's clothing (I opted out of that conversation) and we whiled away the afternoon in a very convivial fashion. So it turns out that Natasha and hubby will, indeed, be moving to Singapore in the New Year. Congratulations and welcome! We look forward to our next meet up (New Years Eve sounds like an apt date).

Today, we ventured into Little India. It's a must see and I loved it. As did the kids and T. The smell of spices, beautiful garlands and Bhangra in the background was enough to make me feel at home right away. Indeed, it didn't take too long to immerse myself in a spice shop. Even D, notoriously fastidious about his food, couldn't resist the opportunity to smell touch and taste what was on offer. Not long afterwards, we found ourselves in the Tekka Food Centre, eating chicken curry with D scoffing a fresh chapati. After recent revelations about him eating my spicy noodles, I'm starting to suspect we were living in the wrong country altogether for his epicurean preferences. This was followed by the kids making friends with the locals, mostly by being a) Western b) and cute c) downright cheeky! We had a lovely chat with a Singaporean of Indian descent who as far as we could work out had six children, five grandchildren and an indeterminate amount of great-grandchildren. He was 78.... or 79 depending on which part of the conversation you had caught up with. Happy days!


BTW Sarries lost. Usual seasons start then!