SINGAPORE - WE

 WE       

 Arriving in a new city under the velvety cloak of dusk has its benefits. There’s nothing like the jet black background of night on which to view the carefully thought out skyline of Singapore. Padding around on foot, our random wandering takes us past through the old‐ish streets that are Seah Street and Purvis Street, and through the magnificent Raffles Hotel, and towards the City Hall district. It’s late, and we find ourselves emerging near a park – which we will later come to know as Esplanade Park – and staring at a gurgling Victorian fountain – which we will come to know as the Tan Kim Seng Fountain. The cast‐iron fountain, painted white and jarring Tiffany blue, was strangely mesmerizing not so much in a Trevi Fountain kind of way, but in a way that seems to call out to its new admirers in a poignant voice. Guarded by 12 reliefs – a quartet each of Grecian nymphs, water-spouting gargoyles and young lads – this classical piece of history is something of an anachronism.

Tan Kim Seng Fountain was crafted and erected in 1882 by the Municipal Commissioners to commemorate the philanthropy of its namesake Tan Kim Seng, a 19th century Chinese trader and businessman. In particular, his donation of $13,000 in 1857, then a king’s ransom or more, towards setting the foundation for Singapore’s first public waterworks. Rumour has it that this money was somewhat frittered away by the government engineer, who had made some wrongful judgements trying to make water run uphill through the water pipes. But as in a country to whom space is a scarcity, urban planning can be fickle, the poor fountain had suffered moves from Fullerton Square, its original home, to Battery Road in 1905, only to be kicked out to Esplanade Park, its present spot, in 1925.   Esplanade Park, the quintessential green lung in a concrete landscape, was conceived in 1943 and links a great number of historical landmarks. A great number for such a young country whose thirst for space has seen the need to demolish most historical buildings and markers. Which is why this gorgeous park, one of the oldest in the city, was the perfect backdrop for our impromptu picnic of Nasi Padang, a rijsttafel of spicy, rich, savoury dishes atop a bed of turmeric rice in a radio‐active yellow, all packed in a banana‐leaf‐lined brown paper wrap and eaten, at the insistence of C a
proponent of going all the way, with our hands and not the plastic spoon that the Malay hawker lady had packed with our meal. After a number of pathetic attempts, we mastered the art of boldly picking up a mixture of yellow rice and morsels of food between the tips of our thumb, index finger and middle finger, gingerly kneading the different components into a kind of delicious mush, and making that torrid journey from plate to mouth. A seemingly short travel time and space, but all manner of spills, spews and stains can happen to two finger‐utensil virgins on a bright sunny day, perched on the edge of an old fountain and eating from a banana leaf plate. As for the food, there could never be a more fitting metaphor for Singapore on a plate, a potpourri of different tastes, colours and textures living together. A number of different components, each more piquant than the next, seem to complement and stroke the tastebuds in harmony rather than clash with their audacious individuality. Between us, we had a smorgasbord of Malay dishes: a blackened, charcoal grilled chicken (ayam panggang), skewers of barbecued chicken bits (chicken sate), a curious cross between a tofu stack and an omelette (tahu telor) and a mild, milky vegetable stew (sayur lodeh) that was a rather close cousin of the conventional curry.  


The Arts House is an early nineteenth century building crafted in a Neo‐Palladian style. Short little history lesson here, which is completely necessary in setting the stage for how this venue is one of the most beautiful buildings in Singapore. Based on Venetian architect Andrea Palladio’s early 16th century style, Palladianism was styled on ancient Greek and Roman temple architecture.
Think villas and porticos and round columns like the Temple of Vesta, of the vestal virgins fame. The Palladio style of buildings found its vogue again amongst the British in the 17th and 18th century, and slowly found its way to this part of the woods, colonised by the British during the 1800s. The original  intention of the house was to be a personal dwelling of the Java‐based Scottish merchant John Argyle Maxwell. But plans went awry when Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore returned, only to find that now sat a fine little house on the grounds he had allocated for government use. In the end, Maxwell never lived in and enjoyed his fine home. The government moved in instead. But the whole point is that Singapore, with so little space to spare, in turn spares very few historic buildings in the wake of bulldozers. The Arts House was the site of the former parliament. Ministers and members of the government jury met here, and for many years, it was the most dignified building in the whole country. We’ve also got tickets for a jazz concert in this arts and entertainment venue. What’s different is that there are several concerts going on in tandem. The Living Room, for instance, has a grand piano tinkling out smooth jazz tunes, while The Parlour had a complete orchestra. There are several fine food and drink establishments at The Arts House. We took a walk through Earshot Café, which is not renowned for its culinary offerings, but for its culinary offerings but for its buffet of a different sort altogether. A slow stroll and browse through the airy establishment’s wooden shelves and we were sure we had stumbled upon Singapore’s treasure trove of local arts. And we were right. The waiter explains that Earshot stocks all manner of local creative works, from books to music to films. There’s a particular flavour to the music of local modern music in this city. Take Dick Lee, for instance. The boyish looking 50‐ish singer, songwriter and one‐time fashion designer is practically the veteran (and most say grande dame) of the local arts scene. His highly successful musical, Fried Rice Paradise, is one of the country’s most well‐known and well‐loved musicals of all time, and smacks of that unmistakable local acting style – exaggerated pronunciations, shrill laughter, ham acting and with the conscious use of Singlish (a hybrid of English, Malay, Mandarin and Chinese dialects that’s best described as the word on the streets).Some people like it. We cringed.

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Tonight, we go to Iggy’s. Named after the chef‐owner Ignatius Chan, Iggy’s has been
receiving accolades, and being recognised as one of the top 100 restaurants in the world, since it swung open its doors to a food‐curious local crowd in 2004. Now, remember that in 2004, the very thought of a nine‐course degustation was somewhat of a novelty. Singaporeans go in for the new fangled, the curious, the gimmicky. Fast forward six years to the present, adding into the mix a plethora of other new entrants to the fine dining degustation scene in Singapore, and Iggy’s has proven that it is far more than a dining gimmick. Foodie insiders still consider it the top restaurant in the country. For well over the price of our accommodation for the night, we are wooed, serenaded, satiated, then lulled by an intense gastronomic journey that can only be described as orgasmic.

Morsels of food came on plates, disguised as works of art. But with the complexity of the tastes, textures and aromas, it could very well have been the other way round. After all, if Iggy is a true master, surely his art lies first in the tastes and not the appearance of a dish? Since it’s inauguration, many other degustation options have opened up in the Lion City.
Many top restaurants will at one point in time offer a degustation menu, especially if they’re French,the French being known for their little bits of bourgeoisie morsels. Blu at Shangri‐la is a highly celebrated benchmark for elite dining, with dishes like the caviar waffles (a buckwheat waffle filled, tic‐tac‐toe style, with caviar, crème fraiche, chives and chopped boiled egg), sparkling grape (carbonated grape sorbet with creamy greek yoghurt) and dessert egg (a sweet concoction of coconut cream ‘egg white’ and globular passion fruit and mango yolk that tastes nothing like it looks) that are more novelty than substance. Hell, it even serves little balls of cotton candy perched on a tree stuck in chocolate rice soil and painted chocolate leaves. Another of a similar reputation is the Tippling Club, which, we were warned by a kind, well‐heeled local in a random conversation at the hotel lobby bar, could cost us a couple of air tickets to Bangkok.


OUR INDEX 

 
WE SEE

The Arts House, 1 Old Parliament Lane, tel: 6332 6900, www.theartshouse.com.sg
Nearest MRT: City Hall/Raffles Place
Originally designed by George D. Coleman, who was also involved in the town plan of Singapore with Raffles in 1822.  Almost two centuries later, it’s become the perfect place to chill with your significant other, over dinner and a performance.

Esplanade Park, along Connaught Drive, opposite Padang and City Hall; map 1 B3
Entrance: Free
Hours: 24‐7; lit between 7pm and 7am
Get there: Nearest MRT City Hall
Framed by the Singapore River, the Esplanade Park, because of its prime location right smack in the city centre, should in theory be packed with high‐flying office refugees at lunchtime. Thankfully, it’s not. Take a packed lunch here for some quiet time during the day.

Tan Kim Seng Fountain, Esplanade Park; map 1 B3.
Entrance: Free
Hours: 24‐7; lit between 7pm and 7am
Get there: Nearest MRT station City Hall
A slice of Victorian art amidst an utterly modern landscape. By all means sit here and snog the day away with your honey, but remember that La Dolce Vita‐esque behaviour will not be tolerated by the authorities.

WE EAT

Blu, Shangri‐La Hotel, Level 24, Tower Wing, 22 Orange Grove Road, reservations essential
Hours: Restaurant: Mon – Sat 6.30pm – 10.30pm; Bar: Mon – Thu 6pm – 2am, Fri, Sat and eve of
public holidays 6pm – 3am, Sun 6pm – 12am
Get there: Cab
More than a few gourmets feel that the Shangri‐la outlets – once, well…a shangri‐la of top notch dining experiences – has gone to the dogs. But Blu, with its progressive edibles and ultra‐classy surrounds, is still worth a visit, especially to mark a romantic milestone.

Iggy’s, The Regent Singapore, Level 3, 1 Cuscaden Road, Singapore 249715, www.iggys.com.sg,
reservations essential.
Hours: Daily lunch and dinner
Get there: Nearest MRT Orchard
No ala carte menu here, you’re at the mercy of Chef Ignatius Chan’s whim. But oh what a wonderful way to drown in culinary abandon. The cult favourite here is, surprisingly, the Sakura Ebi Cappellini, with its relatively humble ingredients.

The Tippling Club, 8D Dempsey Road, tel: 6475 2217, www.tipplingclub.com; reservations essential.
Hours: Lunch Thu‐Sat noon‐ 2.30pm; dinner Tue‐Sat, 6pm‐midnight.
Get there: Cab
Affiliated to the Melbourne Temperance Society, Oz’s primo temple of cocktails, The Tippling Club hosts regular masterclasses in cocktail mixology. Spend a pretty penny there and get cocktail pairings with your chi‐chi 6, 11 or 17 course degustations.