Life: A Doublebill

Last night I went to see Life: A Doublebill at the Drama Centre Black Box. Both plays, Implosion and Just Late, were good - funny scripts and good delivery. This was the first play I've seen in Singapore that didn't have a Q&A session at the end!

I'm looking forward to seeing more plays by the same creative teams: Lionel Chok (director) and Suzanne Choo (writer) from Implosion, and Christina Sergeant (director) and Dora Tan (writer) from Just Late. I enjoyed watching Shem Teo's portrayal of a Tourette's sufferer and Jasmine Yong's filling in as Anita. She was so funny - and to think she stepped into the role at the last minute because the original actress was ill. And Dick did well too, of course, as the doctor with a slight obsessive-compulsive bent himself.

It's always great meeting more people who like going to the theater. Anna and I were there with Ash, who was there with her friends because of Dick, who was acting in Implosion. It was complicated trying to explain to Ash's friends how I'd met her!

Anna, Ash, and I have common friends who all play in the same band. When we say that, people always ask, "So, do you play any instruments?" It's funny. As if hanging out with someone who's musically inclined means some of their talent rubs off on on us. :)

Ash and friends are going to catch Lord of the Flies in December, hope I can free up enough time to join them.

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GV Gold Class Cinemas

GV's Gold Class cinema may be expensive, but it was worth every cent. We went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at the Gold Class Cinema at VivoCity last week. The plush red La-Z-Boy-style seats recline to just the right angle, and the blankets are perfect for keeping warm in the cold theater.

Since we were watching during off-peak times, we paid just S$25 for each ticket instead of the regular S$30. Our Gold Class experience started downstairs at the Golden Village ticket counter, where a separate area is roped off (complete with red carpet) for Gold Class viewers. We were handed our tickets in a glossy Gold Class envelope, and then directed to the lounge upstairs to wait for our screening to start.

The lounge is essentially a bar and cafe just outside the Gold Class theaters. The lounge staff welcomed us, then handed us a menu and a glossy little envelope containing feedback cards. While waiting in the lounge, you can watch TV, flip through a stack of Vanity Fair issues and other magazines, and pore over the menu. You can pre-order food to be served inside the theater. The set dinner looked yummy and was reasonably priced - S$25 for an appetizer, a main course, dessert, and coffee or tea. We'd already had dinner so we decided to go straight to dessert, but in any case I imagine it must be difficult eating an entire meal inside a dark theater. Plus, the cinema tables are a tad small for a full meal. So you may be better off having your appetizer and main course in the lounge, and then asking them to serve your dessert during the movie (as we did!).

We pre-ordered the warm chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream, a couple of drinks, and a bucket of popcorn, then settled in with a couple of film magazines until the movie was ready to start. They handed us our credit card slip and receipt in yet another glossy envelope - by now we were accumulating quite a stack of them.

Once inside, we had fun playing with the motorized reclining seats and finding just the right viewing angle as trailers flashed on the screen. As usual, we booked late and ended up with center seats in the very first row! That would normally be a painful, neck-stiffening experience in any other theater, but at Gold Class it was made bearable by reclining our seats almost all the way down. The whole experience was a bit like being on an airline - complete with a little concierge button to call someone over in case you want to order more food.

The theaters are pretty cozy, with maximum capacity ranging from 24 to 48 seats. Seats are arranged in groups of two, which makes it a bit awkward if you're a family of five or a group of three friends - I guess Golden Village is primarily catering to the couple crowd. Spacious aisles and low seating capacity eliminate the mad rush to the exit that happens at the end of each screening in regular theaters.

The sound quality wasn't so great in the particular theater we tried (GV Gold Class 3 at Vivocity), but picture quality was excellent. I wonder if the sound would have been better if we'd sat a little further back.

Overall, the extremely comfortable seats and blanket more than made up for any hiccups in the experience. While I don't think we can afford to catch films at Gold Class every week, we will definitely be back.

Contact Information and More Details

• Golden Village's website is at www.gv.com.sg - you can check showtimes, reserve seats, and buy tickets online.
  
• Gold Class cinemas are available at GV VivoCity (Harbourfront MRT) and at GV Grand (Great World City, 1 Kim Seng Promenade)
  
• Ticket prices for Gold Class films generally range from S$25 for weekday and off-peak screenings to S$30 for weekends.
  

What others are blogging about GV Gold Class cinemas

• "So comfortable and accommodating" - Momo Land
  
• "I even took off my shoes and snuggled up" - MiCHEING iN ACTioN
  
• "Made me almost fall asleep" - Jaschocolate
  

Did you like this post? Check out my other posts about our adventures in Singapore.

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Chocolate Tasting

A small box of Laurent Bernard chocolates was waiting for me at the office when I returned from Ko Phi Phi - a token of appreciation for a good quarter.

I liked the chocolates at Laurent Bernard's Chocolate Factory when it opened (although the service was another story), and this box was as good as the first one.

My home's nowhere near a good chocolatier, so I have to ration my goodies carefully - which is tough when there's two of you raiding the fridge! The orange-and-marzipan Alhambra nearly seduced me into eating the whole box at one go, but the strong cinnamon flavor of the Balthazar choc abruptly restored my self-discipline. Call me uncultured, but I like my cinnamon in hints - not heaps.

Speaking of chocolate, the National Museum is holding a Know Your Chocolate lecture on September 15, 2007:

Can you tell the difference between a good chocolate bar and a great one? Does having a higher percentage of cocoa in a chocolate bar necessarily translate into a superior taste experience? Is single estate chocolate merely a marketing ploy?

This lecture traces the origins of our favourite deep, dark indulgence and teaches you how to tell the difference between different kinds of chocolates. As part of this sinfully rich course, participants will be treated to a chocolate tasting.

The lecture starts at 3 pm at the National Museum, and admission is S$35 per person.

The Food and Culture series runs from July to December and includes talks on local herbs and spices, the art of the high tea, and classic cocktails. Participants can book online at the National Museum web site.

I'm still a little skeptical about this one - I'd rather spend my S$35 on chocolate - but will think about going with some chocoholic friends.

What others are blogging about the Food and Culture lecture series

• "A really fun project that S has been spearheading is the development of a new series of public programmes for the National Museum of Singapore." - Chubby Hubby
  
  
• "despite of what i said about the NM in an earlier entry, i am actually a fan of it after its revamp!" - faizis
  

Liked this post? Read my other food stories!

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Loving Ko Phi Phi's Low Season

With tourism bringing crowds to ever more remote places, low season is today's version of 'the less traveled road'. And it’s a blessing to the cash-strapped - if you don’t mind a little rain now and then, you can enjoy many beautiful parts of the world at very reasonable prices, with no crowds.


May through October marks low season on the Andaman coast. At Ko Phi Phi, we stayed at Phi Phi Erawan Palms resort, which offered double rooms for 1,800 baht (when booked through Sawadee.com) – this goes up to a whopping 4,500 baht at the height of peak season.

We had the beaches at Laem Tong and Ao Loh Ba-Kao all to ourselves.


Hin Klang Reef, Bamboo Island, and Mosquito Island were pretty much deserted when we got there – it was just us, dozens of parrotfish, and a small but menacing community of black sea urchins. Our sole human contact, other than with our boatman, was with a family of three Americans who briefly gushed "beautiful reef, beautiful fish!" before setting off... once again leaving us to the silence of the Andaman sea.

The wind was blowing too strongly for us to see Ao Maya, a magnet for day-trippers from Phuket anxious to see where The Beach was filmed. Ah, the sacrifices one must make to enjoy the low season. We swam for a while in the lagoon at Ao Pileh before distant lightning strikes and arriving day-trippers prompted us to scramble out of the water.


After crossing the inter-island swells in a tiny longtail boat, the ominous grey clouds on the horizon were enough to make us flee to our favorite rainy-day pastimes: eating and shopping. Note to self: low season water travel requires a strong stomach!

Ton Sai was backpacker central even in the off season; I can just imagine how packed it must be during peak. I stood for ten minutes on the main alley and watched wave after wave of Caucasian shoppers and backpackers walk by, with few Thais or even other Asian tourists in the mix. While cheap rooms were available in Ton Sai for a fraction of what we were paying at Erawan Palms, the hustle and bustle of "downtown" just didn't fit with our idea of a relaxing vacation.


Back at Laem Tong, we scouted around for evening activities. Even at low season prices, I can’t afford to stay at luxury resorts like Zeavola, with rates ranging from 5,500 to 11,000 baht a night. But for the price of a cold cocktail, we were able to indulge ourselves, lounging on cushioned beach beds that would otherwise go unused. Staff are at their friendliest when there’s no one else waiting to be served, and instead of rushing us at dinner they cheerfully brought us a second serving of their delicious octopus ink bread and let us soak in the relaxed ambience of their romantic beachfront restaurant. If we weren’t so perplexed by the bread’s color, I would never have guessed its ingredients included anything more exotic than toasted cheese.

The other benefit of low season is discounts on the ultimate in pampering – spa treatments. At Wana Spa at Phi Phi Island Village, we booked a two-and-a-half hour package that included a milky jacuzzi soak, a scented body scrub, and a relaxing aromatherapy massage for about 2,700 baht per person. Okay, so it was an indulgence that was over ten times more expensive than the humble Thai massage we got in Krabi town for 250 baht, but I consoled myself with the thought that the same spa package in Singapore would probably set me back at least 6,000 baht, if not more.

Tourism authorities all over the world are doing their darnedest to market rainy season tourism, quoting euphemisms like "fruit season" or "green season" to dress up the cold, wet truth. I’m half-hoping they’re unsuccessful, so that we can keep low season the exclusive province of knowing travelers with a penchant for cut-rate trips.

Low season optimists know that weather forecasts that predict a 50% chance of rain can be flipped around and read as a 50% chance of, well, no rain. Here’s hoping we continue to stay lucky.

Contact information and more details

• Sawadee.com hotel reviews and bookings - www.sawadee.com
  
• Phi Phi Erawan Palms resort - www.pperawanpalms.com
  
• Phi Phi Island Village resort - www.ppisland.com
  
• Zeavola resort - www.zeavola.com
  
• Longtail boats can be booked by trip or by the hour with the Chao Ley (sea gypsy) cooperative, which sets standard fees. You can also book through resorts at a slightly higher rate.

Read more about Ko Phi Phi

• "swam for 45 minutes with three 15-20ft manta rays swooping around us" - Schiavoni Files
  
• "tonnes of farangs running around but somehow, the whole place doesn't seem as shamelessly touristy as say Patong" - unkster
  
• Rock climbing at Ton Sai tower: "At the top of the routes, you overlook Ao Ton Sai and Ao Lo Dalam, which are the two bays in the skinny part of Ko Phi Phi." - All Thai-ed Up
  
• Post-tsunami cleanup report by Project Aware

Read the previous entry or check out the rest of this Krabi and Ko Phi Phi trip series.

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Singapore to Krabi for 20 SGD

Where would we be without budget airlines? Stuck at home, probably. Last Saturday, we flew Tiger Airways to Krabi for a round-trip fare of about 20 SGD, not much more than the cost of a taxi to Changi airport. Plus airport taxes and various fees, of course, of about 100 SGD – still cheap.

Having just spent the last eight weeks working days, nights, and weekends, Steph and I were sorely in need of a break. The call of Tiger’s low-cost fares proved irresistible. John carved a few days’ vacation out of his busy schedule and we booked the night flight to Krabi.

Fares below ten dollars are usually only available if you book several weeks to three months in advance, but because it’s low season we were able to snag cheap flights just five days ahead of time.

Tiger’s stopped doing free-for-all seating. They now offer seat selection (for 5 SGD) or automatically selected seats. They also offer exit row seats with more leg room (for 25 SGD), extra baggage allowance (for a fee), and special arrangements for oversized sports equipment (you guessed it, for a fee).

Passengers are not allowed to bring their own food. Tiger Airways claims this primarily is out of concern for the delicate sensibilities of passengers who may not be thrilled about durian or curry scents wafting about in an enclosed space, but at least they’re honest about pushing up revenues from chips and cup noodles ("Please don’t deprive our cabin crew of commissions..."). Rebel that I am, I discreetly snacked on my barbeque-flavored Pringles while leafing through the in-flight magazine (which is still free – so far).

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong flew Tiger Airways back from Hanoi last November. I wonder how much he paid for his fare, if he ordered any of those cup noodles, and whether he paid to request more leg room. Not that he would have had to worry about depleting government funds by opting for an exit row seat - Temasek Holdings, the Singapore Government’s investment arm, owns 11% of Tiger Airways.

Tiger travelers may pay humble fares, but we’re in prestigious company.

Information and Contact Details

• Tiger Airways is at www.tigerairways.com
  
• Phone: +65 653-TIGER (9 am to 9 pm daily)
  
• Partner Octopus Travel offers special hotel rates for Tiger passengers
  
• Hostelworld.com does the same for hostel bookings

What others are blogging about Tiger Airways

• The Tiger Airways Australia blog at Wordpress is tracking Tiger’s progress towards launching Australian domestic flights in December 2007. I’m looking forward to seeing those 119.99 SGD one-way flights to Melbourne.
  
• Don’t expect Changi’s regular conveniences, as there's "nothing much you can do inside the budget terminal" - Life Snapshot
  
• "Yes, you do pay less than half the normal fare... but no food????!!!!" - wagg
  

Check out the rest of this Krabi and Ko Phi Phi trip series.

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Chinese New Year Lo Hei in Singapore

Tonight is the last night of Chinese New Year, which started on February 18. You've got to love a culture that celebrates New Year for two weeks!

This year I did my first lo hei - in fact, three lo heis in the space of four days, ranging from a casual get-together with Ash's friends to a huge ballroom affair sponsored by Microsoft. By the last one I was a certified expert at tossing raw salmon salad with a pair of chopsticks.

Lo Hei, pronounced "lo hey", is a focal point of Chinese New Year celebrations in Singapore and Malaysia. A salad made of julienned vegetables, prawn crackers, chopped peanuts, plum sauce, and strips of raw fish, is placed on a plate in the center of the table. Everyone gathers round and then uses their chopsticks to toss the salad as high as they can for good luck... while yelling out wishes for the new year. I have to say, don't wish for a new job at your company's lo hei or you might find your wish granted sooner than you'd like.

The salad itself is called yu sheng or yusheng, which literally means "raw fish". It symbolizes prosperity - like many other Chinese New Year customs. Top-quality yu sheng tastes pretty good, even though I'm generally not a fan of either raw carrots, raw salmon, or plum sauce when taken individually.

Funnily enough, most of my Singaporean friends describe lo hei as an imported custom from Hong Kong and mainland China, while my Hong Kong friends look at the salmon-tossing in amazement and say they've never done anything like it. According to Wikipedia, yu sheng salad in its current form was popularized by a Singaporean chef in 1964.

I'm told Singapore Airlines has served yu sheng on board its flights and I was briefly taken aback by the thought of hundreds of airline passengers tossing julienned carrots over their airline trays and yelling "Good luck! Big bonus!". No, my traveller friend clarified quickly, they didn't do any of the tossing - just served the salad neatly on the usual airline plate.

My vote for the best yu sheng I had this year goes to... Pan Pacific hotel.

Read more about Chinese New Year in Singapore:

• Lo hei off the tabletop - Kitchen Crazy Daffy
  
• Modern-day yu sheng originated at Lai Wah restaurant, where it's "definitely worth the $20 price tag!" - Foodie Paradise
  
• Can't stand messy strips of raw fish? Try Lo Mein Lo Hei instead - The Feast Crusade

Check out other food experiences I've had in Singapore, or posts about
Singapore life in general.

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Strawberry Ice at Rakuzen

We decided on a Japanese dinner for Valentine's, which in hindsight was a great choice because it's hard to eat steak with a broken arm!

You can usually count on Japanese set meals to be beautifully arranged, and Rakuzen's were no exception. Their sushi and sashimi sets looked tantalizing. We opted to keep it simple, though - I ordered the tencha set (tempura on rice with soup poured over it), John ordered several yakitori dishes, and we both had maguro sushi and tekka maki as appetizers.

The sushi was good, although the yakitori was bland.

My favorite part of the meal is... dessert. We ordered Strawberry Ice, which is a trio of frozen strawberries filled with something that tasted like vanilla-marshmallow pudding.

We chose Rakuzen because it's at Millenia Walk, about 15 minutes from City Hall MRT. Getting a cab is a nightmare on Valentine's day, so John and I met at the MRT station. He surprised me by showing up in his barong - an amazing feat for a guy in a cast. I was very impressed.

Information and Contact Details

• Address: Millenia Walk #01-14, 9 Raffles Boulevard, (S) 039596
  
• Phone: +65 6333 1171
  
• It's said to be affiliated with Sushi Tei

What others are saying about Rakuzen

• "Rakuzen flies in fresh fish from Japan every Tuesday and Friday" - AsiaOne
  
• "The best endamame (sic) I have tasted" - Singapore food choices, Lah!
  
• A poor review at Makansutra's Food! Food! Food! forum

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A Broken Arm

John broke his arm! Or, more specifically, he fractured a little bone somewhere at or near his elbow. He got taken down while going for a header. At least he got the ball... his soccer team went on to win 4-2.

We got yet another taste of Singapore's famous efficiency at Tan Tock Seng hospital's emergency room... to save time, the ER asks you to line up and pay while waiting to see the doctor. :)

I had to present my identity card (or a work permit) to register as a visitor. I guess they're afraid patients will get undocumented guests? The screener stuck a blue paper bracelet around my wrist, marking me as a visitor so I wouldn't get accidentally treated. Or, more likely, so I wouldn't get accidentally charged ER fees.

Kidding aside, Tan Tock Seng really is efficient. John arrived alone while I was at capoeira class, so by the time I got there he was already somewhere in the maze of treatment rooms and patient waiting areas. In Manila I would have had to wander around describing John to nurses and peeking under partition curtains to see if I could identify his running shoes anywhere. Here, I gave his name to the friendly Filipina nurse at the registration counter, and she looked him up in the system to check his current status.

"Oh, he's in consultation," she told me. "Room 8."

I sat and waited while he went through x-ray and got a cast, and then we walked over to Novena Square for a nice hot meal.

Things we've learned you can't do with a broken arm:

• Tie shoelaces
  
• Play Xbox
  
• Peel shrimp

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Filipino Food in Singapore

We held a Pinoy Potluck farewell dinner for a friend last Friday. As cooking has never been one of my strengths, the only way to survive hosting a dinner party was to order food from a nearby restaurant.

This involved a quick trip over to Lucky Plaza, shopping mecca for all things Filipino. Most of the Filipino food places at Lucky Plaza aren't impressive; Kabayan and others are more cafeteria-style karinderias than anything else. So I opted for GP Asian Restaurant on the fourth floor, a pricier Filipino place that also serves Thai cuisine. The P&G expatriate Filipino community hires GP to cater for unofficial functions, so I'd tried some of their food before.

The best part is, they deliver. The food arrived hot and about fifteen minutes early.

GP was a good choice. Their lumpiang shanghai got good reviews from Jill and Karen. As usual, I ordered too much food and guests brought even more, so we had lots of crispy pata and lechon manok left over for everyone to bring home.

We made sure to save plenty of space for dessert... Donna's delicious home-made turon and Mina's yummy flourless almond chocolate cake.

I don't often go out for Filipino food in Singapore, preferring to eat chicken rice, wonton noodles, or chilli crab (when in Rome...). But the next time any of us gets a craving for bagoong or daing, we're going to GP.

Information and Contact Details

• GP Asian Restaurant is at 304 Orchard Road, #04-50/51 Lucky Plaza
  
• Delivery charge was S$10 for an S$85 order.
  
• Phone: +65 6733 2723
  
• Fax: +65 6733 6947

What other people are saying about the Filipino food at GP...

• Pictures of GP's sisig, crispy pata, and sinigang - picturing_food
  
• "I've eaten here many times previously, and I can testify for the awesometitude." - Raymond Angelo, having halo-halo
  
• "the best crispy pata hereabouts..." - Jet David

Find out more about Filipino food

• Names and descriptions of common Filipino dishes at WikiTravel
  
• See what lechon and other dishes look like at the Pinoy Food Photoblog
  
• Filipino recipes at www.filipinofoods.info
  
• Filipino delicacies at pinoycook.net
  

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Taka Roda Revisited

Last night's street roda and capoeira demonstration at Takashimaya was a lot of fun, drawing a crowd of 50 to 60 spectators and brimming with axé. One grandfather got carried away and was energetically clapping to the atabaque's beat the entire time.

This month's roda coincided with Singapore Sports Council's Women's Day Out, bringing a party feel to the whole area.

Bruno and Cabeça showed off with aerials, back handsprings, and back flips, so I happily entered the roda with a round-off of my own. It'll be a long while before I can follow that through with a back handspring on concrete, and somehow I can't see myself lugging gymnastics mats to Orchard road just so I can do a few flips.

With all these stunts going on, at least I didn't have to watch out for a cabeçada (headbutt) to the stomach as I did my cartwheels!

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