Pastimes for the Rich: Golfing in Singapore

The husband just got a new set of golf clubs. A friend taveling to Singapore bought them in the states which meant that instead of $3,000 they cost only $1,000 which still seems to me like a pretty hefty outlay for a sport but I’m told he got a good deal. I’m not a golfer. I’ve taken a few swings at a driving range before but it feels so awkward that I’ve never been tempted to explore the sport further. That decision is a happy one considering that is so expensive to play in Singapore.

Courses range from about $50 for 9 holes (at the cow pasture like golf course called Green Fairways over in Bukit Timah) to around $120++ (7% GST, 10% Service charge, and 3% admin fee!!) for 9 holes at the much more plush and centrally located Marina Bay Golf Course – of course if you don’t have your own clubs – you have to rent them (more $$), if you don’t have proper golfing shoes – you have to rent them (more $$), and they also seem to need a monthly swing test (more $$) to ensure you know what you’re doing. So all in all it’s quite an expensive affair. Seemingly this doesn’t weigh very heavily on most of the golf-playing population of Singapore but there is a more economical option. The driving range is comparatively a super good deal. The driving range at Marina Bay Golf Course costs only the price of the balls you want to hit which, depending on timing, ranges from 4 to 7 cents per ball. So even at the peak time it’s only $3.50  to hit 50 balls. The range also seems more fun to me (though clearly I don’t have the golfing mentality) since you get to drive balls at a variety of targets in front of you without the frustration of trying to get the ball into some frickin’ hole – just saying.

So all of this golf talk interests me very little but having accompanied my hubby to the range the other night to cheer him and his expensive habit on, he introduced me to the Canopy Bar at the Marina Bay Golf Course. This place is a find! They serve pitchers of Tiger for $19 bucks (and a mix of decent but not very exciting food) and they have quite possibly the best view in Singapore. Their open air tables overlook the Singapore Flyer, Marina Bay Sands and all of downtown, just beyond the greens of the golf course in front of you. It’s really very pretty – especially at dusk. The Canopy bar has a pretty basic interior with plastic tables and chairs and totally lacks pretension which I find refreshing with all the many hopped up rooftop bars in Singapore promising a view. It’s a great place to enjoy a relaxing beer and enjoy the famous Singapore skyline. I think it will be added to the visitor playbook going forward because the view is that good and it’s just down the road from us!

The photo doesn’t do the view justice – you really need to experience it in person =)

Best Dinner Buffet in Singapore!

Singapore loves food and there are certainly no shortage of buffets to choose from. Western, Asian, dessert buffets, high tea buffets, shabu shabu, there’s no limit to the options…. but I find that most buffets offer such an overwhelming assortment of food that I inevitably over do it and leave feeling uncomfortably full. Then I head straight home and lay on the couch complaining about how I shouldn’t have eaten so much, that I shouldn’t have had a whole plate of cheese, etc. etc. (Yes – I am this much fun). But I feel compulsed to TRY EVERYTHING and so if there weren’t so many darn things to eat, I might be able to control myself.

This is a big reason why I think that the Oasis restaurant, poolside at the Hyatt Hotel is so great, but certainly far from the only one. Their restraint in keeping from overwhelming you options is coupled with quality execution of the options they provide. It’s like being at someone’s BBQ but with waiters graciously refilling your glass and no need for anyone to do dishes afterwards. And like a BBQ it’s open air so not that great for a rainy day and you certainly won’t need a sweater.

The BBQ is only on Friday and Saturday nights from 6:30pm to 9:30pm and it pays to make a reservation well in advance because they only have about 20 tables. They serve steak, shrimp/prawns, lamb chops, salmon, chicken, lamb patties, sausage, (and probably more I’m forgetting) all coming straight off the grill. There were a number of sides including corn on the cob and an assortment of really delicious salads (potato salad, greens, squash and feta cheese, walnuts, rocket leaves and parmesan, tomato salad, olives, etc.).  There’s also soft-serve ice cream and few local Singaporean dessert options. AND there’s bottomless margaritas (not that great), red or white wine, and Tiger beer. All for the price of S$75++ which is one heck of a deal for Singapore.

It’s a great way to start your Friday or Saturday night and since it’s not full of heavy foods it doesn’t make you feel like you’re ready for a nap. Instead, it makes you feel like you’re ready to rock out at Brix….but I’ll save that for another post =)

WANDER LUST: TAIWAN

All I do is Lin, Lin, Lin

My friend Maureen is currently living in Taipei, Taiwan but will be moving to good old Singers over the summer. Before she moves, it was absolutely imperative that Rob and I get over there to visit her and check out the scene. Thank goodness we did; it was freaking fantastic.

I spent a year living in Shanghai and I love all things Chinese (the FOOD!, the language, the customs, the markets/bargaining, etc.), so it was sort of odd that I never put much thought into traveling to Taiwan until I sensed the ticking clock on my free place to stay! I also know there’s a serious political division between China and Taiwan (it’s actually fascinatingly complicated) and it’s not reasonable to blindly lump the 2 into one category but there’s also enough cultural similarity that it would be a struggle not to at least compare them.

Knowing how much I LOVE to travel, this could easily become long-winded so I’m going to give you the highlight reel of our adventure, Letterman style:

10. Smells like…I haven’t been back to China in over 5 years and so maybe this has changed but I remember a lot of smog and a general, inexplicable stink being pretty pervasive (no, I’m not talking about the stinky tofu). Taiwan is nowhere near as clean as Singapore, and has a bit of a run-down appearance in many places but the air is pretty clear.

9. Infrastructure – Again, Singapore takes the cake on this but after traveling by bus, MRT, taxi and car, it was very easy, clean and orderly. I was impressed.

8. People! Almost everyone in Taiwan we met was very nice, friendly even, and smiley! Like woah.

7. Price! Compared to China, Taiwan isn’t very cheap. Compared to Singapore, Taiwan is amazingly inexpensive. **Sigh** Also, as an American, I can get a free visa on arrival to Taiwan. China thinks I should pay $200 for a single entry – utter nonsense.

6. Language! I speak very poor Mandarin – the kind that works in taxis, at markets, in restaurants and occasionally for short bouts of small talk. In Singapore, no one even bothers to try to converse with me. Maybe no one understands me with all the local dialects and my angmo accent but either out of necessity or effort, they understand me in Taiwan (mostly) =)

5. Shopping! I love the markets; the hunting, the haggling, the oddities around every bend. We saw an old lady dance troupe in Yi Lan, Giant Snakes in Snake Alley, and I bought lots of things that felt like they were free compared to pricing in Singapore.

4. Nature! Taiwan has some sweet nature. We drove along the cliffs and saw the (cold) beautiful water and very green rolling hills. We hiked in Taroko Gorge and enjoyed some natural hot springs. It was great and only a long-ish drive from Taipei.

3. Din Tai Fung! Everyone knows the chain which does a very good business in Singapore but the ORIGINAL is in Taipei and it puts the others to shame! It’s an experience in itself – crowded at all hours and a stack of floors connected by narrow staircases slinging Xiao Long Bao among other delights. It was DELICIOUS.

2. The Food! Man, I love Chinese food. In Singapore it’s hard to find some of my favorite mainland Chinese dishes – like Grandmother’s Tofu, Egg and Tomatoes, and dumplings – but you can get them. But I’ve NEVER had a Bao zi done right in Singapore. Bao zi are steamed bread-like buns generally with a flavorful pork meatball in the center. Done Right, they are amazing but here they seem to be too sweet – maybe Cantonese styled? They do them MORE than right in Taiwan – we even tried a baked variety and a lamb curry one. I was blown away. I thought about trying to bring 100 back and freezing them but I thought better of it…

1. My friend Maureen! It was great to catch up and see her. Maybe I’ll convince her to Guest Blog one day =)

Holy Bao zi! (This wasn't posed at all)

BEST HAPPY HOUR IN SINGAPORE EVER.

I mean it. The Morton’s Steakhouse happy hour is as good as it gets, especially in Singapore. There are $13 martinis – real martinis, not mini-tinis and they come in 5 different varieties. Classic (Gin or vodka), Lychee (pretty good – not too sweet), Apple (a bit tart with a cinnamon rim), Cosmo (pretty standard & pink!), and Chocolate (looks like a dessert but I didn’t try it). My drink of choice is the classic vodka, extra dirty with olives – they even have blue cheese stufffed olives!! Man, I love olives. But these are serious drinks and you start to feel it pretty quickly so that’s where the steak sandwiches come in. The waitstaff walk around with platters of free, delicious, beautifully medium rare steak sandwiches. It’s divine. The sandwiches are seriously good and considering the cheapest steak you can get at Morton’s if you order off the menu is about $90 bucks, FREE is a screaming good deal.

It’s also conveniently located in the Mandarin Oriental hotel on the 4th floor which happens to be about a 10 minute cab ride from our place. So if anyone knows of a better happy hour, I’m all ears!

WARNING: I’ve made it to 4 martinis in one sitting and the outcome isn’t pretty….

Coriander Leaf Birthday Dinner

Rob and I had a very full weekend but the most noteworthy part was a birthday dinner for our friends Becca and Mark. Becca and Mark are engaged Americans who’ve been here in Singapore about as long as I have – 2 years or so and both are celebrating a milestone birthday this year…. let’s just leave it at that as age can be sensitive!

They decided to celebrate together in style and planned a lovely dinner at the Coriander Leafdown in Clarke Quay. I’d never been before and I have to say I was very impressed – first because a space that classy could thrive amidst the debauchery that is Clarke Quay on a weekend night and second because the food was really good. The restaurant is up on the second floor and is very open and mellow. They also have an open kitchen where apparently they do cooking classes – Becca and Mark have done 2 and say they’re great – guess I’ll have to try for myself  one of these days…

The food was really good but alas I took no photos so you’ll just have to take my word for it. We had 3 samplers that pretty much toured us around asian cuisines…in place of photos I offer the menu:

ASEAN Sampler

Tom Yam Soup

Crab Cakes w/ homemade tomato chutney

Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls w/Shrimp w/ peanut dipping sauce

Salt & Pepper Tempura Calamari w/ arugula . roasted garlic & chilli sauce

Smoked Duck, Mango & Pomelo Salad w/ chilli, coriander & lemongrass dressing

Miso Cod .vegetable kakiage . miso emulsion

Mezze Sampler

Spicy Lentil Soup

Labne (yoghurt dip)

Muhammara (roasted red pepper & walnut dip)

Waraq Inab Bil Zeit (Dolmades) – rice & tomato w/parsley wrapped in vine leaves

Fattoush Salad

Bursa Kebab (marinated beef brochettes . spicy tomato sauce .yoghurt cream)

South Asian Sampler

Tomato Soup scented w/ cumin

Spinach Patties w/roasted tomato salsa

Curried Chickpeas in Mini Puris w/ tamarind chutney

Potato Cutlets . tomato chutney

Lentil Dumplings in Spiced Yoghurt sauce

w/ mint & tamarind chutney

Lamb Kebabs w/ coriander raita

Dessert Sampler

New York Cheesecake w/ orange caramel sauce

Mango Mousse in Chinese spoon

Mini Valrhona Chocolate Fudge Cake

Coffee & Tea

Make you hungry?? It was GOOD. My top picks would have to be 1) Labne and pita (drooling a bit just thinking about it…), 2) Miso Cod, 3) and the Tomato soup but everything was pretty good even the smoked duck with mango which seems like a very odd combo and I’m not the biggest fan of duck.

Beyond the food, our table of 14 had a private room and included Becca’s parents who were visiting and got pretty rowdy but they were very good fun (Mom joked about dancing on the table and gave a drunken, singing toast and Dad was channeling his inner 21 year old =)). It was a great chance to celebrate with our friends and we rolled through quite a few pre, during and after dinner drinks…Cheers to Becca and Mark!

WOAH! Clarke Quay all lit up 🙂

Some of the classy surrounds of Clarke Quay.