Live music at IndoChine Orchard

What I’ll miss about Manila:

Having a Ministop convenience store right next to my building

Crossing the street whenever and wherever

Gorgeous narra and Philippine mahogany furniture

Vibrant crowds

The band Still Oz

What I adore about Singapore:

Having a Cold Storage supermarket within 15 minutes’ walk from our place

Crossing the street without fear of death or dismemberment

The one-stop convenience of IKEA

Safe streets late at night

The band inside IndoChine Aquadisiac at Wisma Atria (helping me fend off Still Oz withdrawal symptoms)

Dindo (band leader / keyboardist) gave us all a ride home after the IndoChine band finished up last Friday. Before dropping Sarah off at her apartment in Geylang, we stopped at Ho Kee Pau for a post-midnight snack. The chicken pau was delicious. Apparently Ho Kee Pau is famous and supplies numerous other restaurants with siopao – or "siew pau" as it’s known locally. The grass jelly was a little bland, but adding sugar syrup fixed it. The chicken feet are not for the faint of heart.

When and where to find the band

Boyz with Toys plays at Aquadisiac inside IndoChine Wisma Atria every evening from Monday to Saturday. First set starts at 10 pm. They play music from several different genres... all in the same set. Last Friday we had “She Will be Loved” by Maroon 5, immediately followed by Toto’s “Africa”, and then songs ranging from the jazzy to the almost-heavy-metal. Strange, but surprisingly it was ok. At least there’s something for everyone. Now, if only they would play Dave Matthews...

Take the MRT to Orchard Station and exit at Wisma Atria. You’ll know you’re in the right place when you see the huge aquarium with sharks and other marine denizens – except this month when the fish are away on Chinese New Year vacation.

There’s also an acoustic band that performs outdoors at Indochine.

Getting to Ho Kee Pau

Take the MRT to Aljunied or take bus 13 to Sims Avenue. Walk to Lorong 27 Geylang. According to the posted sign they close at 12:30, but we arrived just after that and thankfully were still served.

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Botero on Bras Basah

There’s an ongoing Fernando Botero exhibit at the Singapore Arts Museum on Bras Basah Road. I’d never even heard of Botero until a high school friend mentioned we should go see his work, and I’m glad we went. Watch out for the side effects though; now I can’t walk down Orchard without imagining everyone rendered as rotund Botero-style figures. The voluptuous, er, voluminous sculptures and Renaissance re-interpretations were my favorites.

We came for the paintings and sculpture but found a pleasant surprise: Russel Wong’s photographs of Asian and Western celebrities. One room showcased richly coloured shots he’d taken on the sets of Crouching Tiger, Hero, and House of Flying Daggers. I wanted to take one of the gorgeous red Zhang Ziyi prints home but settled for the version in the museum brochure.

My favorite was the marked-up set of pictures of Joan Chen, tongue-in-cheek work done for the Singapore Tyler Print Institute.

One of the TV screens showed Russel during his celebrity shoots. Imelda (Marcos, of course) never stopped talking throughout her entire portrait session.

We almost didn’t see the photos, actually. John had said, "Look, it’s Jackie Chan!" on our way to the Botero gallery, but I thought he was kidding. =)

Getting in: Entrance to the museum is $3 per person, and free on Fridays from 6 to 9 pm. It’s also free during the open houses held on selected public holidays, including Chinese New Year – unfortunately, the open house is today and not yesterday when we were there! One of the free ZoCard postcards on the rack in the lobby offers 1 for 1 on entrance: present the card at the front desk and bring in a friend for free. Of course, having come in the back entrance, we didn’t see the card until we walked out the front door.

Opening hours are 10:00 am to 7:00 pm daily, with extended hours on Fridays. Call the front desk at +65 6332 3222 so you don't miss out on museum promotions.

Getting there: The museum is at 71 Bras Basah Road. Check out Streetdirectory’s handy route finder for bus routes from your nearest landmark to the Singapore Art Museum. Don’t forget to check the route back to find your return bus stop, since Bras Basah is one-way.

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Clubbing at Clarke Quay

Kiko volunteered to show us around Singapore’s night life, so last night we all trooped over to Attica at Clarke Quay. According to our friend Cindy, this is the place to see and be seen. The waiting lounge by the river is a great place for sitting around and talking – we were almost tempted to stay there all night. It’s a place for privacy rather than people-watching since you’re screened from the queue by a green wall of plants.

There’s no drinks list and the waiter says they’ll offer to make whatever drink you order. In practice, this means you get to name any drink you like then watch the waiter look puzzled and head back into the club to consult with the bartender about whether they’ve got it. Regrettably, they’d never heard of Tequila Rose, so I had to settle for a frozen margarita. Maybe we should set up a liqueur importing business…

Inside Attica we spent a few minutes beside the dance floor waiting for our drinks. I’d forgotten what it was like to go to a bar where people smoked! With the fog machine running at full blast indoors, it was a pleasure to make it out to Attica’s open air courtyard. That’s the best place to stay – comfy wooden furniture with cushions, lots of people milling around, and just enough music (from inside the club) to keep things lively.

There’s not much dancing at Attica. For that you’ll have to head over to Gotham Penthouse around the corner.

How to get there: Attica is at Clarke Quay just beside Indochine. Best time to arrive is around 12:30 am. There’s a one drink cover charge when you enter, which for the five of us came to a total of S$56. This is in addition to any drinks you may have ordered at the waiting lounge.

Where to eat before your night on the town: Jumbo, beside Cafè Iguana at Clarke Quay. The waiting times can be long, but they’ll take down your mobile phone number and give you a call when your table’s ready.

We were hanging out at the riverfront while waiting for our table, near an interesting sculpture of four abstract people on a bench. A bunch of slightly drunk young Mexican men ambled by and asked Cindy to take their picture as a group, and then took turns having their picture taken with Cindy (may kasama pang akbay). One sat beside Steph pleading to have his picture taken with her but eventually backed down after she told him she wasn’t Chinese. Apparently, he was looking for a Singaporean Chinese girl to have his picture taken with – Steph is Filipino-Chinese but we weren’t about to explain the distinction.

Once you’ve got your table, try the chilli crab, fried prawns with cereal, and buns. Yummy! The waitress’s eyes nearly popped out of her head when the five of us ordered two buns each ("Ten? Are you sure?"), but that turned out to be just the right number.

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Sleepless in Singapore

As of this month, we've officially moved to Singapore. So I guess I should change the title of my blog...

What I'll miss about Manila:

fresh Philippine mangoes

no-smoking ordinances in bars

Tequila Rose

What I adore about Singapore:

fresh peaches in the supermarkets

labelled bus stops, and the MRT

chicken rice and yummy Indian food wherever you turn

And we picked a good time to move, too. Chinese New Year is just around the corner. I bought a few Japanese handmade sweets at Taka's basement, to give away at work - they were in the shape of little oranges, which were perfect for new year's.

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