Singapore living is ok

Rather over-priced afternoon tea at the lovely Paisely & Cream

I officially got over my wanderlust (see previous post) this weekend with two very Singaporean activities, shopping and eating.

D and I went to Central, one of Singapore's newest malls by Clarke Quay, and ironically, where my office will be relocating to come end of year. Tried out a lovely but rather over-priced cafe called Paisley and Cream - five stars for creative menu that played on literary and musical references. My favourite, a brunch dish with eggs I think named after Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises (coincidentally my favourite of his works). But it's the sort of place that charges $3.80 for very normal green tea and doesn't give you a glass of water automatically. Ah well.

But the real highlight was when I found a fantastic store in Central called Grand Parfums which stocks all kinds of scents at greatly discounted prices. I found my one true scent - I first stumbled on it at Duty Free on the way to Hanoi but didn't get it as the whopping price of S$160 for a tiny bottle was beyond me. It's Un Jardin Sur Le Nil by Hermes, a scent that celebrates the River Nile, and describes itself on the box as:

A perfume of life and light, sparkling and generous, where the scents of green mango, lotus flowers and aromatic rushes mingle with incense and sycamore.


Erk! How not to fall in love with it? Anyway, once I sprayed it on my skin, it was just a perfect fit y'know? And I immediately knew I'd found the one true scent for me. So very happy. Anyway, I managed to get the scent for almost half the price at Grand Parfums - HIGHLY recommend the store. And the staff know their stuff too.

Then D and I rounded off our very Singapore day with a picnic dinner by the Singapore River - a happy mix of fish and chips, calamari, and caesar salad. We then rushed home to watch The Godfather (D has been pressuring me for years to watch this and I finally did last night and it is FANTASTIC!).



But I think the most precious nugget of insight was gained this morning at our regular walk at the Botanical Gardens. This time, S (who managed to rouse herself before noon, bless her soul!), F and her kids joined us.

As we walked around and then off to Orchard Rd after that, I realised we were getting a few curious looks. It didn't quite hit me until we all walked into a jewellery store. The smiley salesman looked at our eclectic group and asked without batting an eyelid, "Are you all here together? Family ah?"

F and kids, with "Uncle Dolphin" D.

And we all replied spontaneously, "Yah, family!" No connotations to The Godfather here, but I realised then that I could be happy here in Singapore, and for that matter, anywhere in the world, as long as I have such a wonderful group of friends, who are family.