Gone Home

I went home to Singapore for 3 weeks - no easy feat, for those who know this story - and decided that it was time to share the joy (and pictures). Disclaimer: I wouldn't read on or scroll down if you're remotely hungry or are prone to cravings from looking at food (I am).

Places to wander

Haji Lane

 

Haji Lane is fast becoming one of my favorite places in Singapore. In the historic Arab Street district, old shophouses are fast filling up with little cafes, restaurants, boutiques, record stores, vintage stores and other eclecticisms. I love the pretend-laid-back-but-actually-quite-chi-chi- feel of the small alleyways, the thrill of the treasure hunt, the random things they sell, etc. 

Dempsey Hill/Tanglin Village


I cannot resist going to Dempsey Road with each visit, and the little Tanglin Village has really grown! I went back to good ol' Barracks, now re-branded as House. I still love their industrial-meets-vintage design. Their truffle fries are awesome, and their newest thing is the Skinny Pizza. (ok, not so new, but I haven't been there for a while). A skinny pizza for those of us who see too-doughy crusts as an impediment to more pizza.

House/Barracks interior

Yummy Ahi-Tuna Skinny Pizza

Resorts World Sentosa

I've been meaning to check out the Integrated Resorts/Casinos, but never had a good reason to go. Until the Valentino retrospective came to Resorts World Sentosa. Ok, I did think I'd stop into the casino some day, but after looking at the Casino area at RWS, I was not impressed. Maybe I'll try the other one. 

 

I wasn't terribly impressed with RWS, but then again I wasn't very fair in expecting Vegas. This casino was obviously catered to a specific crowd/ethnic group and/or families. Bright colors everywhere, and a fair bit of cheese. 

Still the Valentino exhibition was very cool, and I got to see some famous dresses from the Valentino archives. Major respect. 

This is the back of the dress worn by Julia Roberts when she won the Oscar in 2001

  

Ok, enough stalling...  Food, Glorious Food!

Since it was Chinese New Year, the requisite raw fish salad (yu sheng) was called for -- and I had it about 5 times in total! For those uninitiated, it's basically carrots, radish, ummm other vegetables that I cannot identify thrown together. The idea is that each vegetable/garnish represents something lucky or desirable. For example, the wonton chips (bottom left corner of photo) represent gold. Honey, one of the dressings, represents sweetness. So as each garnish is carefully poured on top of the salad (before tossing), the garnisher recites some set phrases. In the case of the wonton chips, you say what translates to "gold strewn all over the floor". Makes more sense in Mandarin, but basically means you'll be rolling in dough. When the garnishes are in place, there is then The Great Toss, where there is a communal stirring of the salad with great aplomb. The higher you can raise your chopsticks, the more likely it is your wishes of gold or sweetness is likely to come true. Well, it makes more sense when you see it.

Yu Sheng #1 at Soup Kitchen

When I am home, I never miss an opportunity to hit the Old Airport Road Food Center. Delight is discovering the new Circle line MRT (Dakota Stop) takes your right there! And I trek all the way out for one thing in particular: Wan Ton Mee from this store.  All other food I get there is peripheral. This makes me cry. And hungry.

I got a major nostalgia blast when I discovered a bakery selling my favourite childhood treats/guaranteed sugar rush! This is our equivalent of the Oreo. Do you eat it whole, do you eat the biscuit first? Do you eat the icing first? There are whole societies built around how you eat these things. . As a kid, I, um, didn't believe the cookies were anything but a staging platform for sugar, and um, discarded the useless calories/biscuits. Don't tell my grandma, please.

A major dose of happiness. I ate 1/2 a kg of the stuff in 3 weeks. 

I stayed with a friend in the Redhill area, where there's the famous Redhill market. Tons of great food, but the one thing I could not resist was Duck Rice with the works. Yummmm. The lady who sold it to me raised an eyebrow at my American-sized appetite (extra innards, extra soy sauce egg), but I happily paid her the extravagant price of S$3.80 (about US$2.20) and sauntered off. I even got Sugarcane juice to go with it! Gasp! America, what have you done to me?

Whatever critics might say, I really enjoy being in Singapore. Maybe distance breeds fondness. I think being away helps you appreciate what you don't get everyday -- like a fantastic meal for under US$5. Ah, contentment. 

The Great Cheetah Experience (Part 3)

There were so many other animals at Cheetah Experience, and I think you need to meet as many of them as I did. 

Acinonyx and Amy

Acinonyx, 5 month old male white lion

Acinonyx, a.k.a Nonyx is a white lion that has been brought up in Cheetah Experience. He is the sweetest, most expressive, sad-faced white lion that you'll fall in love with instantly. White lions aren't common in the wild, and most of them are only found in captivity. They aren't albinos, but a genetic mutation from the regular gold/sand colored lion you see in Africa. The conventional wisdom is that white lions won't do well in the wild, because they aren't able to camouflage well in the sandy grasslands of Africa. However, at least one group is arguing that this isn't necessarily true because the white lions are native to the Timbavati region, where they were first discovered. The Timbavati region apparently has white, sandy river beds where these white lions are easily camouflaged. 

Nonyx loves playing with his Vicks ball

The name Acinonyx actually comes from the scientific name for the cheetah, acinonyx jubatus. And yes, there is another lion named Jubatus there at Cheetah Experience. 

Nonyx's Best Friend Forever is Amy, the caracal. 

Amy, a young female Caracal

Caracals are slightly larger than a regular domestic cat.  They are considered pests by farmer in South Africa because they would hunt sheep. They would kill multiple sheep and only eat one. They have fantastic hearing and are able to jump more than 4 feet vertically upward from a sitting position. But Amy is the caracal to defy that reputation. She warms your heart by playing around you and having the sweetest disposition. Nonyx and Amy are inseparable and when apart, you'll hear Nonyx frequently moaning for Amy in search of his BFF. 

Amy and Nonyx sleep in the house in the same room every night with a volunteer, and I had the privilege of spending a few nights with them during my stay. Every baby has its ritual, and Nonyx is no different. He likes to suck on fingers. Yes, fingers. It helps him fall asleep. 

And, yes he did! But a picture doesn't do it justice, so watch a video! Highlights: Amy watching as Nonyx does his thing; see what happens when he falls asleep and I try to pull my thumb out of his mouth. 

Jubatus and Achilles

Jubatus and Achilles are two male one-year old lions who spend a lot of their day hanging out in their little gazebo. They were brought up on Cheetah Experience, and keep a close relationship with the volunteers who helped raise them.

 The first thing that strikes you about these lions is how big they are. It's like meeting a cow, except with much sharper teeth, much more muscle and a whole lot of claws. At adulthood, these lions will weigh about 240 kg/530 lbs. These guys were about two-thirds of the way there.

Memphis and Moswell

Memphis and Moswell, 7 month old male lions

These two younger male lions were such fun, and a riot to have around. They were always up to some mischief, especially with Thato the Cheetah, with whom they shared a space.  

Apparently, lions have black tips on their ears and tail so that their pride can identify each other when they are stalking prey in the grasslands. Because they are hidden by the long grass, these tips are all that the pride members/mothers see of the little lions when they are out on the hunt. 

 As much fun as these guys were, I couldn't spend a lot of time with them because, frankly, they probably weighed as much as me, and were much stronger. They were affectionate little cats, but unlike the little babies, when they grab your jeans or your leg, you felt it! Towards the end of my stay though, I remember spending some time with them, and while Moswell (I think) jumped and pounced playfully/painfully on me, Memphis (I think) put his head on my lap and lay there while asking his brother to lay off so I would be able to sit still. So sweet. The bruises and scratches were worth it after all. 

Ava and Autumn

 Here's something you don't see everyday in Africa. Tigers are native to India, but some reserves in South Africa include tigers as well. We had these rambunctious 4-month olds. And boy, were they rowdy! There was never a dull moment with these energetic little ones.

 Tigers are the largest of the cat species, and they will grow up to weigh 340 kgs/750 lbs.  You could see it too, in these girls. They weren't very big, but they were strong, and their signature move was to pounce on you while your back was turned. Their jaws were also 3 times stronger than the lions, so every nip left a mark - quarter-sized bruises to be exact. Their paws were huge, especially given their age. The only way to thwart a playful/painful pounce was a good hard THWACK across their faces. It was hard for me to learn to do that, but trust me, a couple of bruises and rips later, I was hitting them as hard as I could bring myself to.

Ava and Autumn shared their home with Mischief, a young female leopard. They love playing with Mischief, except Mischief hates water, while these two tigers take to swimming and playing in water with great aplomb. 

Hope you enjoyed the triple-posting on Cheetah Experience. We will leave Cheetah Experience for now to a new topic in the next post!