Just got back from dim sum lunch at the Fullerton Hotel. I've written about the Fullerton before, as it is one of my favourite places in the whole of Singapore - a really classy hotel, with several fantastic restaurants, in a beautiful building, in a beautiful location right by the Singapore river. Sunday brunch at the Fullerton is a treat we save for when we have visitors (so I hope someone will come and visit us soon), but they also do a special dim sum lunch on Saturdays and Sundays.
Dim sum is the name for a Chinese cuisine which involves all sorts of small dishes, many of them little filled dumplings, steamed or fried - a sort of Chinese tapas if you will. They are usually served with Chinese tea, and the expression yum cha (literally "drinking tea") is the term used to describe the entire dining experience.
I've tried many dim sum eateries, as my sister can attest, not just in Singapore, but in the UK, Australia and in Hong Kong (the last was a really disappointing experience, interestingly) and I can honestly say that the Jade restaurant at the Fullerton represents the apotheosis of the dim sum chef's art. The room itself is beautiful, the service immaculate and if anyone ever really was prepared to die for the sake of a foodstuff, this would be it for me.
While some yum cha restuarants use carts to transport the various offerings from table to table and you can have a look see before you buy (thus making sure you do not choose the steamed chicken's feet by mistake), at the Fullerton you can order anything you like, as many times as you like, from an extensive menu, at the bargain price of 33 Singapore dollars per person. If it is possible to OD on seafood, I probably came perilously close with their wasabi prawns, a signature dish of the restaurant.
Perhaps this is the moment to say a word or two about the Fullerton,(http://www.fullertonhotel.com/) which is one of Singapore's institutions, and a much finer hotel in my view than the more famous Raffles. The hotel is beautifully situated, close to the mouth of the Singapore River, and even closer to my office - literally, a two minute walk away. The Fullerton building was constructed in the 1920s, and the name comes from Robert Fullerton, the first Governor of the Straits Settlements. It was originally an office building, was home to the General Post Office, as well as the very posh Singapore Club, was used as a hospital during WW2, before becoming the headquarters of the Japanese Military Administration in Singapore following the surrender by the British. Its conversion to a hotel was completed in late 2000. This is the only guise in which we have experienced the Fullerton, and in my view they made a damn fine job of it. Most of the original features have been retained or restored, and it is truly a special place. It would feel extremely decadent to spend the night there, given that we live in Singapore, but I think I might just magic up a special enough occasion to warrant it.
Chris is away at the moment, so the weekends are entirely my own. This means more wandering around places and going to movies than I normally indulge in when the lovely C is around, so last Saturday, I hopped on the MRT and went off to explore Little India, and also took in 3 movies over the course of 2 days. I almost managed to fit in another one, but then I would probably have missed the doggie 69 moment, more of which later.
Little India is just that, a microcosm of the subcontinent, full of the sights, sounds and smells of Bombay - sari shops, restaurants, henna tattooists and home to the Tekka market. The ground floor of Tekka is a "wet market", with food stalls, and on the first floor there there are all sorts of stalls selling clothes, jewellery and shoes, and tailors who will make you up a sari blouse in a jiffy, or possibly a few jiffies. There are a number of wet markets in Singapore, so-called, I think, because the floor is wet, as a result of the fresh fish on sale. A wet market sells all mannner of foodstuffs, not just fish and seafood. You will also find fruit, vegetables, herbs, spices and meat (there is a fine looking goat meat stall at Tekka) all at much cheaper prices than the supermarkets. Wet markets are, of course, rather wetter than a supermarket, and a darn sight smellier, but if you can get over those two things, they are a great place to shop.
Little India is also home to the Mustafa Centre, which I think I have probably written about before, but it's such an unusual place that it bears repeating. The Mustafa Centre is a shopping centre in Little India which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It sells pretty much everything (think of it as the Harrods of Singapore, sort of, but with much lower prices, far more customers and infinitely less style) and attracts pretty much everyone. Whenever my Indian colleagues come across to Singapore for a business trip, the first of the Singapore sights they hit is Mustafa. Bizarre, really.
But not as bizarre as doggie 69, you may be thinking. Of course this segment features Lola, who has a new best friend, a 4 month old Golden Retriever puppy called Jack. Jack lives in the same building and, doggie bladders being what they are, many of the dogs tend to go out for a pee at about the same time of day. Lola and I ran into Jack in the afternoon and they were all over each other, sniffing and canoodling away and finally ending up in the aforementioned poistion. I just hope he still respects her in the morning.....
And now, my movie going chums, if you have not seen the following films, then you have a missed a treat. First up is "UP", a lovely story and a love story to boot. Its the story of Carl, a grumpy old man, who decides to follow his dream. Doing so involves tying thousands of balloons to his house and flying off to the wilds of South America, where he Ellie, the love of his life, had always planned to visit. A slight spanner is thrown in the works when he discovers he has a stowaway in the (rather chubby) shape of Russell, an 8 year old boy scout. Look out for Doug, the dog. My favourite character.
My second recommendation is Julie and Julia. Of course, being someone who loves to cook, it's in my DNA to love this movie, but I have to comment on particularly Meryl Streep's performance. She always did have the ability to immerse herself in the character - to become them, almost - and she does it again in this film. Look out for her most extraordinary way of speaking (English, not French) , and Bon Appetit!
In fact, I think this movie deserves a haiku, so here goes:
France awakens her
lust for life. US houswives
reap the benefits.
Au revoir till the next post.
Isabelle
