Now that I have vented my frustration, on with my "subjective" semi-weekly posting 8-) I have been concentrating way too much on S'pore culture that I have totally neglected what's going on in the States. I don't know what the top movie this week is. I don't know who's on top of the music chart. Other than a few email exchanges, I am pretty well isolated from the "outside" world. Being a news junkie for the past few years, fed by at least 2 newspapers, WSJ, Newsweeks and CNN around the clock, I am showing all the symptoms of news withdrawl. S'pore is not a place to learn about the current American culture. A few months back, there was this Bee Gee imitation contest on the tube. I guess I will be American culture ignorant for the duration of my stay in S'pore, for better or for worse. Thirst for knowledge, or news for that matter, is a dangerous thing 8-)
Since I have been such an advocate of hawker center, let me offer a different perspective - fine dining in S'pore. Here is a disclaimer. I am not responsible for the opinions which I am about to give. Take them with a grain of salt 8-) There are few restaurants that offer a good view of S'pore. One is Pinnacle on top of the UOB building. The other is Compass Rose on top of Westin Stamford Hotel. Westin Stamford Hotel is supposedly the world's tallest hotel. Compass Rose, which is situated at the 70th floor of the hotel, offers a great view of S'pore and that's where the excitement ends. Our mistake was to go for dinner. If you go there for a drink or even high tea, it might be ok. The minimum charge is S$15. For dinner, it's another story. A plate of ordinary salad costs S$16. That's 10 US dollars! A little bowl of lobster bisque (who would ever put sausages in lobster bisque is beyond me) for S$10. These are just appetizers! The whole meal came to more than 100+ per person, ouch! I heard Pinnacle offers much better food, but I am not going to spend another 100+ to find out.
So you say I should avoid the big notorious roof-top restaurants. Well, I also went for an Italian restaurant at the ground floor of Westin Stamford Hotel. The food was average. I guess I can't compare the Italian food here with either Chicago or New York. But the desert was quite food, especially the fruit pizza. Avoid the supposedly "ice capuccino". Nothing beats a ice capuccino at Figuro at the Village in New York 8-)
Maybe you say Italian is not your cup of tea. How about a Spanish restaurant at Boat Quay? In case you haven't heard of Boat Quay, it's a restaurant row right next to the S'porean river. It's also a good place for young S'porean professionals to go bar or pub hopping since it's just next to the financial district. You get a fairly good selection of restaurants there, probably more than any other place in S'pore. So we picked this Spanish restaurant, a mistake. Other than the music and the menu, there is nothing Spanish about the place. Of course, Barcelona is mentioned everywhere on the menu. We had a set with fried cuttle fish, marinated chicken, regular beef steak, etc. Basically everything other than Spanish food. At about 20++, I guess it's better value per "performance" than the other two.
The final recommendation? Stick with the hawker center if you are a tourist. Newton Circus is a nice place to have your first meal in S'pore. Talok Ayer, Lau Basa or the old market has a fairly good mix of different type of Asian fast food. It's for tourists who prefer a little bit of flair. And you can always go to Clark Quay which was reviewed in one of the previous postings. There are still other places I need to try. Seafood at the east coast (the chili crabs, yummm... 8-) Another Italian restaurant at Hyatt. So many food places and so little time 8-)
My less than two months old Philips FW-41 mini stereo system just died. Why did I mention it? Well, it died on my 100th night in S'pore and I hope it's not a preview of things to come. The first hundred days is a big psychological barrier. Everything is going fine so far. I certainly hope the next few hundred days will be the same. Keeping my fingers crossed.
03/05/94
