LazyDawg

A Postcard From “La-La” Land

April 21st, 2007 by Carlo

One of the nicest things about working for a multi-national country is that I get to travel abroad from time to time. In the past twelve months, I have visited Europe and Singapore twice - in fact, I am presently writing this post from my hotel room in Singapore as I wait for Uncle Bobby and Aunt Julie to pick me up for a day of eating, shopping and more eating!

My work with Hewlett-Packard allows me to travel to interesting destinations - okay, Houston is less than interesting (with the exception of our friends who live there) - and experience the local culture in a way most tourists don’t get to experience. So I’m indeed lucky - lucky that I can get around the world on the company’s dime for sure, but more than that, lucky to learn more about the wat things work outside our country.

“A Postcard from ‘La-La’ Land” seemed an apt title because in a lot of ways, Singapore really is “La-La” Land! Here’s an example of what I mean:

Cai: What is there to do in Singapore?
Colleague: Whe’ you ah in Singapore, la, you can go to Bo Key, la, (Boat Quay) and Clah Key, la, (Clarke Quay) or you can stay at Shangri-La, la. Wha’evah you wan, la, Singapore have, la!

Singaporeans add “la” to the end of their phrases when they are making a point. It’s just like the Canadian “eh” or the American “ya know”. Rhythmically, it just works and I find myself doing it too during meetings towards the end of the week. “Make it snappy, la!” for instance when I want to get a meeting over with quickly. Its not disrespect, it just rolls off the tongue naturally. And its kinda cute.

There are two national pastimes in Singapore - shopping and eating - and not ever in the same order of preference. Two of the most popular places to dine are the Boat Quay and the Clarke Quay (prounounced “key”, don’t ask me why). They sit side-by-side along the Singapore River and close to the harbor. The photo to the right was taken at sundown at Clarke Quay, where Sinaporeans like to stroll and hang out on the steps bordering the river before taking their dinner (or supper, to the Canadian clan). Clarke Quay is my favorite, as it is a little more modern and the hosts are less likely to hit you with the hard sell as you stroll through the Quay looking for places to eat.

Boat Quay, on the other hand, is like walking through a gauntlet of hockers - “Hey Sailor - five dollars, I love you long time!” Okay, its not that subject matter, but the cat calls to dinner are reminiscent of walking down Broadway in San Francisco and being offered just about everything imaginable. In this case, however, it is food and only food - Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Malay, and even a British pub. The view from Boat Quay restaurants is actually superior to Clarke Quay, as Boat Quay overlooks the Asian Civilisations Museum, Parliament and the majestic Fullerton Hotel. So its a tradeoff - Boat Quay for the views, Clarke Quay for the cuisine. I was never dissapointed with either.

My day usually started off with breakfast at the Raffles Plaza Market Cafe, where the breakfast buffet is included with your room. Pictured left are the two chefs who made me eggs or an omelet every day, a great way to start a usually intense and meeting-riddled day. Then it was off to work, and around noon-ish, it was time to grab lunch. The HP cafeteria is not that bad, and I would compare it to a hokker stand - a few Asian dishes served up in non-descript plastic plates with the aroma of fish sauce and kaffir lime in the air. I appreciated the fact that it is easy to eat light and relatively healthy in the cafeteria, which is a huge difference between Asia and Europe - in Grenoble, even the salads are fattening.

I lunched with my collegues a couple of times at the largest shopping mall in Singapore, Vivo City. All the shopping malls have a food court that blows away anything you would find in the U.S.! No S’barro, Hot Dog On A Stick or Happy Panda here, folks. All their food court restaurants are at least mid-tier affairs, with plenty of one-off places and a ton of culinary variety. It’s incredible! In fact, after work a couple of times, I had a simple meal at the food court at Raffles City mall, and did not ever feel like I was eating mall food. Man, all this talk of food is making me hungry! Hang on, I have to grab breakfast - be right back!

Okay, I’m back! Where was I…oh yeah, food! One of my absolute favorite things to eat when I’m here is an 80-cent pastry called the “Egg Tart” (or as locally pronounced, “A-Tahhh”). These golden gems are essentially egg custard in a flakey pastry shell and sweet, but not too sweet, so they go down easy and don’t leave a heavy taste on your tongue. I wish I could take some home so you can experience it, since I can’t find them in the U.S. Anyone know where I can find some good egg tart? Anyway, its usually the second or thrid thing Aunt Julie and Uncle Bobby and I hunt for on our shopping sprees.