Dining With The Jews

Singapore is a cosmopolitan city with a wide array of food for various community. I've lived in this melting pot of cultures all of my life.

The more common food that you can find in nearly all food courts are Chinese chicken rice and fried kuey teow, the Malay nasi lemak and mee rebus, the Indian roti prata and murtabak. You might also find Japanese bento set and asian-ised version of the speghetti.

But what I've not tried all my life until recently was kosher food. So what is kosher? Well, it's food prepared in a traditional Jewish way according to the biblical old testament. Meat such as pork and pigeon will never find their way on the dining table. Also, seafood that do not have scales and fins are not to be consumed.

So when I made my way to Awalfi, Singapore's only Kosher restaurant, I was filled with excitement over the thought of having a kosher meal.

Located at 24 Waterloo Street,within the Jacob Ballas Centre, this restaurant is totally out of view of the general public. First, you have to go through a secure-looking gate. Then you have to take a lift up to the seventh storey before you arriveat this small but amply decorated restaurant. They seem to keep everything under a veil as they don't even publicise about their restaurant online.

Well, the food that they serve is a spread of asian, greek, middle eastern and even western.

Pita bread, humus (ground chickpea spread), falafel (deep fried mashed chickpea), together with a variety of fried appetisers really got me going for more.

I ordered fried fish with rice and thought that it would be served differently, but lo and behold, the fish looked like what any fried fish and chips would look like. Now I understand that it's the way they cook their food, and not that it'll taste anything different. Also, don't expect the waiters to be Jews. The one that waited upon us was a Sikh, while those in the kitchen looked either middle eastern or indians.

As for the food, it does not cost you a bomb to have a taste of a kosher meal (About S$16-$30 depending on what you are having). But for me, it's priceless to have a meal among the practising Jews and Rabbis.

Address:
24, Waterloo Street

Tel:
6336 5166

Changi Prison Museum: Lest We Forget

It was a phrase used by the Australian and New Zealand (ANZAC) as a remembrance to the soldiers who were felled during the war, and there were truly many brave fighters who took on the Japanese during World War II.

The British, Australians, New Zealanders, Chinese, Indians, Malays and Eurasians all fought side by side but was no match to the Imperial Japanese troops. Singapore fell on 14 February 1942.

The pain has not totally healed for these defeated soldiers, but many still come to this Museum to seek solace. It was a useless war that brought pain and suffering to all parties involved in this episode of life. Many lives were lost in this prison, and from here, many were sent to meet their deaths while building the Death Railway in Burma.

Though located in Changi - East of Singapore - it is still a museum worth visiting if you want to understand the hardship of what the 1942 populace had gone through during the Japanese Occupation.

My paternal grandad, being educated in English, was executed as he was a civil servant and was deemed to be in collaboration with the British. While my maternal grandad escaped the Japanese tyranny by hiding in a drain and only returning home after three days. He then made peak caps for the Japanese just to get that little bit of food supply to keep the family from starving.

More than 60 years have past and all of my grandparents have passed on, and this little museum holds the history to that era of suffering. Lest We Forget.


Address:
1000, Upper Changi Road North, Singapore 507707

Operating Hours:
9:30am - 5:00pm daily; last admission at 4.30pm

Admission: Free

Website:
http://www.changimuseum.com/Home.aspx

For direction, please visit http://www.changimuseum.com/contact.htm

Oil Sheikhs and Words About Subsidies

The dependence on oil is taking a toll in the South East Asian region and beyond. The prices of fuel has skyrocketed by about 50% since last year and the only people benefitting from this phenomenal rise in oil prices are the oil sheikhs and shareholders of oil companies.

Singapore had never banked much on our natural resources. Palm and rubber trees provided us with some revenue, but in this little island, scarcity of land is an issue and thus, much of this land are now used for commerce with tall towers and skyscrapers peppering the island.

Ok, back to the fuel issue. The government has not given any subsidies but how they are helping is by keeping the value of the Singapore currency high, thus offsetting inflation. So, yes the prices of fuel has increased, but in the first place, fuel has always been used to power luxury vehicles, so the owners of these vehicles should be able to afford it. Prices of diesel has gone north too, and that has impacted taxi and lorry drivers. But still I believe the increase is manageable.

So if you plan to drive in Singapore, do not expect fuel prices to be cheap. Currently we are paying about S$2.10/ litre.

Travel with Tiger Airways

Planning a visit to other asian countries or even to Australia? Well, you can travel on shoe-string budget with Singapore's own Tiger Airways. Exotic routes include Haikou in China and Chennai in India.

There are times where the airline would release rock-bottom prices for their tickets. For example, during the school holidays period, one-way flight to Thailand might cost you only S$9.99. This price does not include airport tax and fuel surcharges. With a return ticket and after forking out for all the taxes, you might be able to save between S$40-S$80 versus if you travel with an international carrier.

http://www.tigerairways.com.sg/

Time For Kids To Get Wet!

Wild, Wild Wet

"Ding, Ding, Ding", sounds the bell as the big overhead container starts to pour it content down onto the eager crowd below. Squealing kids mixed with the thunderous sound of gushing water floods the air.

Opened in 2004, the Wild Wild Wet is probably the only water-themed park in Singapore. Filled with water rides, the park is made for all ages. The bigger kids can go hitch a ride on the slides, while the younger children are able to enjoy themselves in areas where water level is only 10 centimetres high.

So if you're an expatriate staying in Singapore, take a little breather and lug your children along for a good family time.

Address:

Downtown East, Pasir Ris Close

Admission Fee:

S$13.80 for adults, S$9.40 for children, Free for children under 3 years of age

Website:

http://www.wildwildwet.com

If I Only Had One Day In Singapore...

Then I'd say that the stay is just too short! But really, if you only have one day in Singapore, what should you be doing? Well, it really depends on what you're after. But if you're a compulsive shopper, then you're in for a treat. You might want to consider planting yourself in the heart of all the shopping malls - Orchard Road.

Let's use the MRT stations as a movement guide.

At Orchard MRT train station, you can pop by Shaw House where you can shop at Isetan. You can even catch a movie on the fly. But if you're only visiting for a day, I guess we'll have to skip the movies and continue thronging the malls. Around this shopping mall are Tangs, Wisma Atria and Wheelock Place.

Taking a train to the next MRT station at Somerset MRT Station. Shopping malls that you should visit include Orchard Cineleisure, Centrepoint and Heeren.

Next stop, Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station. There is only one big mall here - Plaza Singapura.

Finally, City Hall MRT Station. Right above the MRT station is Raffles City Shopping Mall and if you really can't get enough, talk a stroll towards Marina Square and Suntec City.

If you managed to visit all the malls in a day, congratulations! You're not a compulsive shopper. If you really are, it would take you two weeks to complete the entire shopping trip. Make sure you've asked your credit card company to up your limit, ok?

Nice Restaurant on Mount Faber

Faber Rock

Once in awhile, one has to pamper oneself, and that was what I did. Set on top of Mount Faber, the Faber Rock not only offer great food, it also provides diners with one of the most fascinating view that you'll ever find in Singapore.

The portion offered was tremendous and the spaghetti and the seafood were mindblowingly delicious. It's a little pricey though with one serving costing about S$30. Another thing is that Al Fresco dining can turn out to be a pretty warm because there was not much of a breeze.

To find out more about the resturant, do check out this website http://www.altivo.com.sg/faberrock.html.