Sayonara to Kyoto

Yasaka-no-to Pagoda - off Ninen-zaka 

Reflecting on this trip to Kyoto, it was indeed a peaceful and reasonably paced holiday, despite the uncertain beginning.  We experienced different aspects of Kyoto - both the city as well as the surroundings:

• the old, historical and cultural heart of Kyoto - the Temples of Ginkakuji and Kinkakuji; Nijo Castle, and the meandering around Gion and the geisha district (including the Ninen-zaka and Sannen-zaka pedestrian streets); the Ukiyo-e Museum;
• the vibrant beat of modern Japanese culture (albeit through the eyes of Yayoi Kusama and the manga artists and Writers)
• the serenity of the Japanese countryside and village life in Miyama;
• the charm of two different markets - Nishiki market and the Toji temple flea market.

As always, am ending off with a bit more information about our accommodation and foodie choices.  We stayed in Gion, near where I stayed on my last visit.  Really cosy little place, makes me feel so Japanese!  Let me say it again, I strongly recommend renting an apartment if you are staying any time in Japan.  It gives you much more room, allows you the comfort of having little meals in your own little living room, and there's a washing machine so you don't need to bring too many clothes.

Udon Sanshiki

As for food, my posts on my previous trips are here and here.  I've reached the stage where I'm going back to old favourites, like my favourite conveyor belt sushi at Kyoto station, Sushi no Musashi, and even the yudofu tofu place near Nanzen-ji, Goemon Chaya (again, I wanted to go to the famous restaurant but the wait list was just too long).  So this time round, I will just introduce three new places (plus one dessert surprise)

1.  Udon Sanshiki

This udon restaurant was near our apartment and we went there on the first day because (i) we like udon and (ii) there was a queue in front and like any normal Singaporean we associate queues with good food.  So we stood outside for maybe 10 minutes before they let us in.  We really enjoyed the chewy, smooth udon noodles!  Liked it so much we would come back for dinner on our last night in Kyoto.

2. Hanamakiya

The buckwheat mill in action

This was an unexpected find.  After visiting Kinkakuji we walked back to the main road in the
direction of the bus stop.  Looking down one side road, we saw yet another queue, and upon investigation realised that it was a group waiting for a restaurant to open.   We joined the queue and were thus one of the first few groups to enter, good thing too as it would fill up quickly behind us.  Hanamakiya is a small, unassuming restaurant which serves practically perfect soba (buckwheat noodles).  The soba is made on the premises (you can watch the buckwheat mill in operation).

I ate the Nishin soba, which is soba (buckwheat) noodles in soup with herring on top.  I understand that the herring is a Kyoto specialty and indeed I bought it in the Nishiki market a few days later.  I liked its nice flaky texture, and sweet and slightly smoky flavour.  It was served in a slightly sour soup of wild mountain vegetables.  All washed down with buckwheat tea (soba-cha).

3.  Maguro Factory

Maguro Factory's tasting tuna platter

Now if you know your Japanese you would know that "maguro" means tuna. And that tuna is like "the" fish for the Japanese (certainly not salmon).  So this is like a modern Japanese restaurant, serving tuna cooked all ways. We tried out this mini tuna tasting platter where the different cuts are nicely served on top of a little box (see photo).  You get to lightly sear the tuna pieces on a hot plate, dip them in a sauce and enjoy. 

We also ate tuna sashimi, tuna on top of rice and served with soup on the side (you pour the soup on the rice, for a tuna fish porridge, and top it with freshly grated wasabi).  The tofu squares were given as our appetiser and I believe I washed it all down with some beer. 

Souffle pancake at Hoshino Coffee

Dessert Surprise: Hoshino Coffee

And now for dessert!  We finished our meal at Sushi no Musashi and wanted to have something sweet to end.  So we found this nice coffee place near the sushi joint where they serve these hugely thick souffle pancakes, topped with chestnut puree. 

I got hooked on souffle pancakes after visiting Himeji Castle during my last visit to the Kansai area - we were tired after our visit, there was time before our return train and there was a convenient cafe.  There's no better time to eat one - or two, as the case may be.  Accompanied by a cup of mellow, smooth coffee.

So that's it for another year!  I must admit that I did not expect to visit Japan for so many years in a row and there is still so much to see and experience in this beautiful country.

Sayonara for now! 

Paris : Shopping and Eating

Galerie Vivienne

I always like to leave a free day at the end of a holiday to do a little shopping and also so that there is time to squeeze in that one last activity.  Then we can go back home with no regrets... But before we get to that, let’s first do the round up for food and shopping in Paris.

I have, even before my Konmari stint, stopped buying souvenirs on holiday and started buying specialty food.  But even so, it is possibly to have lots of fun shopping for food or even just cruising the shops.  So here are my highly personal shopping “to-Dos” in Paris:

1.  Walk through their covered passages.  I wanted to be a “flaneur” and walk around the elegant
covered galleries of Paris.  I forgot (silly me) that the French shopkeepers don’t work on Sundays and the galleries were closed. I did manage to find one (Galerie Vivienne)  which was open to people who just wanted to walk through, and it was full of charming old-fashioned shops which made me wish I could go in and explore further.  So try going there on a weekday, to get away from chain stores and discover something unique to bring home from Paris.

The queue outside Louis Vuitton, Galeries Lafayette

2. Look at the Louis Vuitton Queue at Galeries Lafayette, which spills out into the corridor...  .... I just went to the Galeries branch of Angelina, where I enjoyed a glass of their famous chocolate (I got it cold, which is probably a crime but it was a warm afternoon).  I had a hot chocolate at Café de Flores on another day, which is another must-do.

3. Visit Shakespeare & Co.  I just said that I don't buy souvenirs but there is always the exception that proves the rule.  For me, it is that one book from Shakespeare & Co (see earlier post), so I can get it stamped with the bookshop logo.  

4. Gawk at Le Bon Marche - Le Grand Epicerie.  
I loved the huge food hall where there are so many exotic foodstuffs on offer, from all over the world.  I bought some biscuits and other edibles to take back to the office. There are also a few counters where you can sample the fresh seafood (cooked on the spot for you), or get a quick sandwich (we did this) and also an extensive boulangerie section.  .

5. Have it all at G. Detou - ah, the owner’s boast is true they do indeed have everything (j’ai de

J'ai de tout

tout) an aspiring baker could ask for, all packed within the two little shop units which make up this old-fashioned shop. As Clothilde from C&Z says, it’s magic!  Like her, I got pearl sugar, about 1 kg worth...  that's going to be a lot of choquettes.  But that's one item you can't get anywhere in Singapore.

There are many other kitchen equipment shops in the vicinity of Les Halles, as documented here.  In particular E. Dehillerin, which like G. Detou, is an old fashioned little shop with wooden shelves going up to the ceiling, all filled with amazing copper pots and pans.

6. Buy a baguette! The French buy a baguette every day.  You had better do it too.  There is a great boulangerie just below my sister's apartment, so that is where we got our daily bread.

7. Buy cheese at the airport!  ‘Cos then you can be assured that it is packed for air travel and won’t stink up your luggage.  I got a slab of Comte, and a little round of Camembert.

We had a nice time eating in little bistros and restaurants around Paris, including Breton buckwheat crepes at a creperie in the St Michel area, steak frites (steak with fries, another classic meal) and a simple salade Nicoise at a small cafe on the same road as G. Detou.

But I thought I would mention a few in particular, in case you are looking for a (moderately priced) place to go to after you've finished a morning's sight-seeing:

Whimsical decor at La Fourmi Ailee

1.  After a visit to Notre Dame, when visiting the Latin Quarter, try La Fourmi Ailee, at 8, rue du Fouarre, Saint Michel. It is a charming little place, where the walls are covered with paintings including one of a tortoise and a series of Chinese characters.

I had a yummy fresh pasta dish with tomatoes and black olives.  Warm, hearty fare at reasonable prices.  There were only a few diners when we got there but the place filled up swiftly thereafter.

Mona Lisa as painted
by the computer

2.  Near the Louvre, you can find the Cafe de la Regence, 167 rue St Honore.  It is an elegant brasserie, with bookshelves and paintings lining the walls.  It was a little strange however to see a pixelated Mona Lisa on the wall just beside our table.

When in France, embrace French food.  So I ordered a duck confit (duck cooked in its own fat) and a bowl of French onion soup topped with a crust of bread and cheese - it's as traditional and French as you can get.  The duck drumstick was tender and tasty, and it was accompanied by the most marvellous tiny new potatoes!    The onion soup is such a French classic but it is so filling that it could be a whole meal in itself.  I was glad that we shared it.

Beef bourguignon

3. After visiting the Sacre Couer, or when wandering around Montmartre: Try L’Anvers du Decor, 32bis Rue D’Orsel.  This is definitely not in the super-crowded area just next to Sacre Coeur, so the serving staff had time to go through the menu with us.  

It is supposed to be famous for its beef dishes so I had the beef bourguignon with French beans on the side - lovely and tender meat, hearty, rich stock.  And of course this is another French classic meal.  My sister had a pot of mussels though.

Les Nympheas

Moving outside Paris, we had a lovely outdoor lunch in Les Nympheas in Giverny, just outside Monet's house.  The name translates to "water lilies" in English and is obviously a reference to Monet's iconic work.  The little restaurant is surrounded by a veritable sea of flowers and so we were happy to sit outdoors for once, where we were able to enjoy the sunshine and the beautiful blooms around us.  Go early, to beat the crowds and visit the garden after lunch.

I had a quiche for lunch but my mother and brother-in-law tackled the rabbit dish.  It looked rather yummy but the quiche was really very good so I have no regrets.

Quiche at 3 Rue Pichet

In Chartres, we had lunch at 3 Rue Pichet.  This is another small unpretentious, charming restaurant where the waitress brings the menu for the day on a little chalkboard.   I ordered a salmon and potato dish - well cooked and tasty but it was a little light, even for me.

My mother took the quiche and my sister the duck served in a broth with carrots, potatoes and bacon (!) with a crust of bread on the side.

So we had lots of tasty meals but I have to give praise where it is due, so  lots of kudos go to our favourite Chef, my dear Brother-in-law who would whip up something yummy most evenings so we could have home-cooked, value-for-money food rather than go out to eat.  He did a great steak frites, prepared a salad of buffalo mozzarella and after a day of sightseeing we got back to a dinner of asparagus, his famous roast potatoes, savoury sausages and a baked vegetable dish (I can't remember what vegetable exactly). And that was really eating like the French :-)

Dinner en famille

More photos will be put on Flickr, when I get round to it.

Last but not least... we did go for that one last activity in Paris ... a totally touristy activity, a boat cruise down the River Seine!  And so I end off this series of posts on Paris with a photo of the Eiffel Tower:

Au Revoir Paris!

Food for Good

Last Saturday, I read an article on small shops/entrepreneurs who were able to reach out to niche markets.  One was a bookshop carrying rare books.  Another was this cafe cum social enterprise, Food for Thought.  Couldn't really remember where I read it but subsequently found a similar article here. 

Since I happened to be in the Queen Street area later that day, decided to try it out. Indeed, it is a pleasant restaurant, modern and bright.  Its social mission is prominently displayed, on the placemats and the walls.  There's a display shelf in the middle of the restaurant floor, selling merchandise to promote their causes: Eradicating poverty and ignorance, inspiring kind acts and providing food for the hungry and clean water for all.  I liked their clever, snappy one-liners summarising each cause, eg "Teach them All", "Make Poverty History"
I ordered the red velvet cake - not the best I've eaten  (slightly soggy), but pretty decent.  The lemon curd cheesecake had a nice texture, but the base too seemed a little damp.  What seemed to be really popular, however, were the breakfasts - the next table seemed to be enjoying theirs, at 2.30pm!  Something to try, next time around.

The success of this little cafe shows that Singaporeans do believe in supporting social causes, including those abroad.  It also shows that corporate profitability lies not (solely) on rampant cutting of corners but can come together with doing good.  I particularly liked this quote from the BT article, describing their corporate philosophy:

"Growth in our company is led by what we find meaningful, enjoyable and inspiring rather than what is merely profitable. We do not maximise profit but we do not compromise it either."

So go and have some Food for Thought too.

A Michelin Meal

Some people come to France just to collect Michelin stars, i.e. eat at Michelin-starred restaurants. I had only one such meal - at Christian Etienne in Avignon, a one-star Michelin restaurant. Probably that makes the meal all the more memorable for me.

By now, of course, we had eaten a number of good dinners in nice restaurants. But dining in a Michelin-starred restaurant is different. It is not just about the food - it is definitely about the service, too. The receptionist took my coat at the door, and we were given little stands to put our handbags on (we took some time to figure out why they had put these little iron things next to our chairs) and so on. And yes, they do take the time to explain the menu in English, and when dishes are brought to you they 'introduce' them to you. There were quite a number of service staff too - the maitre'd, his frenzied waiters and waitresses, all rushing around. The chef himself makes the rounds of the tables, greeting his guests. He definitely is not in the kitchen preparing your meal. But guess that is what being an executive chef is all about.

We started off with our aperitifs, bite-sized, tasty morsels. I had ordered tuna ceviche as a starter (essentially sashimi), lamb and asparagus as my main course and an orange and carrot macaron for dessert. I enjoyed the tuna sashimi - quite a substantial portion - but was less keen on the dried avocado which accompanied the dish as the rich, creamy texture of the avocado was completely lost. The lamb, on the other hand, was perfectly cooked, as were the asparagus accompanying the dish.


We had a little pineapple sorbet next, to cleanse the palate before dessert. I had a really interesting orange and carrot macaron with some almond sorbet. The carrot was raw, grated carrot sticking out of the middle of the macaron. Interesting, but somehow it worked. Our meal ended with coffee and a row of petit fours - we could not finish ours. It was definitely a very memorable meal. If you want to see all the food photos (not just the dishes) click here.


I've basically come to the conclusion that French food in general can be divided into a few categories:

a) traditional basic: your baguettes and pastries and the like, which are typically very good and tasty, likewise the patiesseries
b) fine dining: obviously very fine indeed (anything from 70Euros per person and up)
c) tourist food: generally not very good though quite cheap.
d) mid-price, good value meals: hard for tourists to find. (20-30Euros per person)

My sense is that unlike Italy, which does pretty good deals with their mid-range menus even in tourist joints (at least the tourist joints I haunted), the French tourist menu is just not that great. I recall having this lovely salad with beautiful fresh ingredients in Florence. But here in France, somehow if you go to a cafe by the Seine, for example, you know the quiche will be a little eggy and wet, the crepes will be covered with nutella and the salad will consist of a few soggy leaves and maybe a slice of tomato or two. But buy a baguette with some ham, or chicken, and you eat a good meal for about 4 Euros or so.

Sadly, I only discovered the website "Chocolate and Zucchini" nearer the end of my stay in Paris. The blogger, Clotilde Dusoulier, is a young Frenchwoman who went to the US to work and started cooking there. She came back to France, continued to cook and started a blog about her cooking, eating etc. She wrote in English, so as to keep on using the language and it became a big hit. One book deal followed, and then another. Clotilde is now a full time writer. Her latest book is "Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris" and it gives little tips on her favourite eateries in Paris. I managed to spot this on the shelves of "Shakespeare & Company", our last full day in Paris.

So for those intending to go to France in the near future, check out her site. And also, print out her French-English food glossary. I found that my little phrase book was most put to use in restaurants. Whilst I soon memorised "agneau" for lamb and "canard" for duck, there're a lot of of little phrases which I just can't remember.

Bon Appetit!

From Paris to Avignon

Today, we left Paris for Avignon. We had spent much of the previous night packing up. So, we spent the morning taking our last look at Paris.

First, coffee in a small specialist coffee shop and then we walked to the Pompidou area and then to Les Halles. It was all very ordinary and then I had two firsts! First, I saw my first McDonald’s in France. It was near Les Halles and aside from a small unobtrusive sign above the entrance, the Golden Arches were not in sight. Guess McDonald’s has finally learnt about French subtlety. Then, I walked a little further and spotted my first cat! However, it swiftly dashed away from me into a fenced area where I could not follow. We wandered around till it was time to go to the train station.

We were taking the TGV from Gare de Lyon to Avignon Central. It was a fairly smooth journey and I was able to update my journal, look at my photos and do the accounts along the way. We picked up a taxi at Avignon Central and he took us to our B&B, La Banesterie. The taxi driver drove rather rapidly around the walls of Avignon till he reached the entrance gate nearest our B&B (near the Palais des Papes, or Palace of the Popes). Then he made his way through a maze of little streets before stopping in front of an ancient building with a statue of Mary above the door. I was delighted.

We were holding up traffic (this was a narrow, cobblestoned street which allows only one car through at a time) so we quickly disembarked and entered the house. The first thing which I noticed was the smell of chocolate, lingering in the air. Our host was a tall Frenchman with a curly mop of hair. He took us to our room and then sat down with us and a map of Avignon to mark his recommended restaurants on our map.

Wandering around the B&B only confirmed our impressions. It is a really charming old place with low timbered ceilings, uneven floors, small narrow staircases (of course our room is on the third floor, thank goodness the ceilings are low), lovely old furniture etc etc. There are also signature chains of “glowing roses” in each room. Our room also had a little plate of chocolates and a lavendar pouch on the bed. Details, details.

We took a walk out to see the sights that evening and wandered around Avignon. The Palais des Papes, the Place de l’Horloge, the Rue de la Republique where the high street shops were and the small little boutiques in the pedestrianised area and along Rue Joseph Vernet. We found many closed (many shops close on Mondays and typically close on weekdays at 7pm) so there was a certain amount of window shopping. Finally, however, it was 8pm when restaurants started to open (here they keep Paris time!) and we went to La Compagnie des Comptoirs for dinner. It was a new trendy restaurant in an old convent with the swankiest toilet I saw in France. (I did not realize until I checked out the weblink that it was originally opened by a pair of celebrated Michelin-starred chefs who were identical twins - Jacques and Laurent Pourcel). It was serving fusion-ish food. I had sashimi with a sort of cream cheese layer on it for starters. Then, a huge serving of this pork dish which was like kong bak with lots of honey involved – yummy, but I had a problem here because I don’t really want to eat all the fat but of course that is the nice part of the dish, so ended up removing the fat on two out of the three huge pieces of kong bak and eating only the last one in its entirety. That piece was truly delectable. The dessert was a spiced poached pear with chocolate and ice cream. It was nice but the table next to us was celebrating a birthday and the birthday cake featured not a candle but a sparkler! I just hoped that the rest of our stay in Avignon would sparkle too. The weather report is not good.

Photos here.

Spirit and Structure

Today was our last full day in Paris – how time has flown.

We went for mass in Notre Dame – we’d checked out the mass times when we were there previously. It was an interesting mass. The previous day, the cathedral had hosted “La ceremonie d’adoubement des nouveaux Chevalier et d’investiture des ecclesiastiques et dames de l’Ordre equestre du Saint-Sepulcre de Jerusalem”, which I presume means the investiture of the new knights and dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. I looked the name of the order up subsequently; at the time I read the notice I thought it was the “Order of Saint Sepulchre” and was thinking how strange it was to have a saint with such a name… pardon my (lack of) French indeed. Anyway, the mass appeared to be a celebratory mass for the new knights and dames, who filed in procession down the aisle to their reserved seats in the front of the church. The celebrant was Cardinal John Patrick Foley (a US Cardinal), the Grand Master of the Order.

The other unique feature of the mass was that it was sung in Gregorian chant, so the Gloria, Kyrie, Agnus Dei etc were in Latin. I remember thinking how pleased my dear mother would be – she’d know all the words and probably could sing along quite comfortably.

After mass, I had wanted to see St Chapelle – but was confronted by a fairly long queue. So we had lunch instead at a café on the Left Bank, opposite the Notre Dame. It was a pleasant little seat, with a good view of the river, and the buildings on the Ile de la Cité so although the restaurant was pretty pricey for the rather average food we got, we were nonetheless fairly happy.
I realized from scrutinizing my guidebook that we were only a block or two away from the Shakespeare and Co bookshop. So as soon as I’d downed my “Belle Epoque” crepe (bananas, chocolates, almonds, and four huge globs of Chantilly cream) I popped off to see the bookshop whilst my friend went off to another flea market. I’d read about the bookshop in my guidebooks and I must say I wasn’t disappointed. First, it was open - in Paris on a Sunday - and pretty crowded too! There was a quiet buzz about the place, people standing about the door looking at the Seine and the Notre Dame - a pleasant place to be.


Shakespeare & Co is an antiquarian bookshop, and indeed it reminded me of the old second hand bookshops down Charing Cross Road in London. But there are new books too, and a good section just inside which features books about France (all in English of course). The very thing I was looking for! So I bought a book (mentioned in an earlier post; now you know that I did edit my posts before putting them up) entitled “Sixty Million Frenchmen can’t be Wrong” by Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow, an attempt to explain “what makes the French so French”. We all know the French Paradox – they drink lots of wine, cheese and other fatty foods and yet have low obesity and few heart problems. Likewise, although the French seem to have high taxes, restrictive labour laws, large public sector etc etc – the economy still seems to be doing pretty well (in relative terms), with high labour productivity. The authors’ theory is that the reason why France works is the harmony between the “spirit” of the French and the structures they have given themselves, and the book spells this out in greater detail. I could have bought more books if I’d wanted to, but time was short and the weight of my baggage a weighty issue indeed. I was rather pleased, though that the book bears a “Shakespeare and Co” stamp on it.

The rest of the day was spent museum visiting, to maximize my museum pass (especially since I couldn’t go into Ste-Chapelle). Started off at the Louvre, where I’d decided to look more at the French paintings and early European paintings. There was another contemporary art exhibition going on at the time by Jan Fabre and the exhibits were scattered throughout the Louvre – so when I went into this huge room of old European paintings to see a coffin with a peacock head and tail sticking out.


I was running late after rushing through the French painters, but I could not resist and just before I left, went to take a peek at the Leonardo paintings – the Madonna of the Rocks, Virgin & St Anne and the one and only Mona Lisa. There were some “da Vinci Code” moments, I must admit. I checked out the weight of the Madonna on the Rocks and speculated whether it would be indeed possible for an elderly man with a bullet wound to insert a secret message behind it. As for the Mona Lisa, the best picture I got was of the crowd around her. (Note: After coming back to Singapore I discovered that the Louvre actually has a thematic trail on the “Da Vinci Code” which includes their comments on the factual elements in the book.)
I had planned to meet my friend at the Rodin Museum and so I rushed there. By this time, I was pretty exhausted, having rushed from place to place and wandering around the Louvre without many opportunities to take the weight off my feet. The Rodin Museum, like the Picasso museum, is in a huge old mansion. But the difference is that this was not being renovated and there was a great difference indeed. It was a pleasure to walk through the beautiful rose garden to the statue of The Thinker in the middle. The museum was closing soon so I had only a few minutes to rush through the rooms (it said that it was closing at 5.45pm but in reality they chased us out with about 10 minutes to spare).

We went that night for dinner at Restaurant 404, recommended by Eric as one of the best North African restaurants in Paris. It had a great atmosphere indeed and we were fortunate to get in there by 8.05pm. We were seated together with a couple who had not made a reservation (I have not sat with another group at a restaurant since my student days in London). But it was easy to see why they did that – the place had many reserved seats and it filled up pretty fast. By seating us together it was more likely that we would be served and leave at the same time, so there would be a whole table of 4 released, giving them more flexibility. I enjoyed the dinner – had a tagine of duck and apple which I rather enjoyed. We had dessert and also some mint tea, which I’ve not drunk since I was in Dubai (really must remember to do it here in Singapore, especially as I have a pot of fresh mint just outside the door!).

But we could not stay and soak up the atmosphere. Back to the apartment to pack!

Incidentally, for the whole of our stay in Paris, I never did manage to get online. Most of these posts were written off notes done during our stay there and then posted once we got back to Singapore.

P.S. Ok, I admit it! I also had to see the spot where the big inverted glass pyramid and the small little pyramid almost touched. Here it is.

p.p.s. I am also not unaware that the "Grand Master" phrase has Da Vinci Code echoes.

The Food Post

I must say that the eating scene in Boston is not too bad. It is quite varied, with American pizza restaurants and cafes, Italian restaurants and (surprisingly) a fair number of Asian restaurants – Thai, Indian, Vietnamese (Pho Pasteur was mentioned in an earlier post), Chinese (guess what- haven't stepped in a Chinese restaurant yet!).

There is also “Penang” in Chinatown and its sister restaurant “Rendang” just a stone’s throw away from KSG. These Asian restaurants offer good lunch deals. Rendang, for example, gives soup, appetizer, main course for US$7.50 (a little more than S$10). I had such a large serving of pork ribs today at lunch that I got a doggie back to take some back for dinner! (BTW, Rendang does quite nice chicken satay, even though the rendang flavour doesn’t quite come out of the beef rendang.).

Opposite KSG is a Thai Café, “Smile”. We went there together with the Singaporeans in the Mason Fellows programme to get to know each other. It is the same set lunch type of package. Had the chicken with cashews which could be a little more spicy, but still the good stuff.

One thing to look out for in the US is that for groups beyond a certain size, the service charge is automatically imposed (no tip) and it is a pretty hefty one too. In such instances no tip is expected, unless of course you don’t realize and tip anyway. We were caught once in NY and the Masons Fellow who paid by credit card in Smile got caught too. So it was a more expensive lunch than we expected.

I should add that we have been eating American food. The big local restaurant chain is Legal Seafood (mentioned in an earlier post). It provides the clam chowder soup for Presidential Inaugurations. The seafood is fresh (scallops were very good!) and the servings are generous. They are also trying to do a little “fusion” food. For example, they have a “Rasam Seafood Soup” which does act have the cumin seeds in it. Yum.

Finally, supermarkets. I go to Star Market, which is pretty big. There are also a number of smaller organic markets (Harvest, Whole Food). There is also a Farmer's Market next to KSG every Friday. They sell huge bunches of herbs for fairly good prices (far less than the supermarkets) - basil for US$2, cilantro for US$1.50.

We have been inviting each other over for dinner on weekends, when there is no reception provided. Have had good Indian vegetarian food (including chapatis!) and adobo chicken (Philipino). What did I cook? Tomatoes with basil, olive oil and vinegar (Italian) and broccoli and carrots in oyster sauce (at least that is quite a Singaporean dish). I look forward to more international cooking nights :-)