Friday in Singapore

Spent all of Friday attending a training course in Changi. So when I finished, called everyone who was coming to dinner that night to see if anyone was keen on going for a drink first. Only Beng was game and free. We decided to check out the joints around An Siang Hill. Haven't been there in such a long time, so it was amazing to see all the restaurants and bars that have mushroomed in the area.

While we were trying to decide on which one to try, we ran into Beng's landscape artist friend who invited us to join his gang who were enjoying happy hour at Union Bar.

Turned out to be a really cool place. Open concept allowed you to see right through to the back of the bar. There was a skylight over the area where we sat which let in some natural light and gave a glimpse of what the exterior of what these shophouses was like.

Beng had objected to some of the places we had passed on the way because of the choices of beer on offer. But no problems here. They had Hoegaarden on tap here, so we ordered a pint each. Hoegaarden tradition states that the first Hoegaarden of the day must be finished in three gulps. The amount taken-in during the first and second gulp is of no concern as long as the third gulp completes the pint. I didn't know that at the time... not that I would have done that even if I had.

A couple of his friends were already waiting there, one of whom Beng knew, and they all had something or other to do with N Parks. So of course the topic of conservation the graves came up, since Beng is one of the sisters championing that cause. It is extremely admirable the kind of conviction with which she is pursuing this. Makes some of us appear so apathetic and aimless.

It was then time to head out to the New Majestic for our dinner that evening. We walked throught Keong Siak and Neil and finally arrived 10 minutes late. All except Boon were already there. We had been given a private room, which was nice as the main restaurant looked overcrowded and the tables were set so close to each other that there couldn't have been much privacy.

We decided on the set menu, which was like a sampler. However, we all managed to make some changes to the set as there was always one dietary exception or another. Mag didn't take seafood, Beng and I didn't want any shark's fin, Hweeb wanted to swop to the goose and foie gras for one of the courses and Su didn't want any wasabi in something. Even Edmund, who did not change the menu, wanted to order something extra.

Boon arrived shortly after, bearing the bottle of moutai which he had been given. Edmund had ordered a bottle of Riesling to start. Hweeb and Mag had brought something and guava flavoured wines they had carried back from Hawaii. It was going to be an interesting evening.

The food was uniformly excellent. Hweeb has some great pictures of them in her blog. I think we were all in agreement that the fried durian ice cream finished off the meal superbly.

Boon had found some interesting tidbit about the moutai on the internet which was quite amusing.

"53%(V/V) Moutai Liquor
[Masculine Beauty]
Gathering the essence of mountains, Generating the cream of the sun and moon,
Setting precedent for sauce liquor, Cultivating the model of liquor. Outstanding sauce, elegant, delicate, pure, long-lasting aftertaste, sustaining fragrance with the empty cup. It has been appraised as the National Liquor in national wine appraisals."

How can one not be impressed? Alas, it turned out none of us were fans of moutai after all. After taking the trouble to warm it up, the comments ranged from formalin with the corpse still in it to bubbling fart through it. And that was before anyone had even tasted it. It was way too strong for us, and the burning sensation lingered. Of course none of us finished our small cup's serving; few even attempted a second sip. Boon decided to leave it behind in the restaurant when we left. Someone else will probably appreciate it a lot more than we did.

Beng had to leave to attend a student's farewell; and Su and Boon also decided to call it a night after the dinner. The rest of us decided to adjourn to Balcony at the Heeren. It was interesting how they had converted what must have been some useless space into this little club. The theme was supposed to be nouveau Morocco, so I wasn't really sure what the jacuzzi was doing in the middle of the room. It did add a focal point and it was probably quite fun to sit around and float your drinks in the tub itself.

We had a rather rowdy group next to us who were playing some truth or dare game. The place was a little small and you couldn't really escape from the ruckus. Nevertheless, I could imagine that the ambience would be pretty good on a weekday. We had one drink and decided that we've had enough excitement for one evening.