Singapore - the rest of the trip

On Tuesday I started the day off early with a trip to the office on the MRT (subway). For lunch I went out with Calvin Chin who is one of the few people out here in Asia who has been with the company for a few years. I have known him for some time and find him to be great. We went to a local little joint and he suggested I order the Mee Goreng which in Malay means fried noodle (like chao mian in Mandarin - which is where we get Chow Mein). It was fantastic. It was very spicy (love that) and so good that I actually went back there by myself the next day for lunch for the same dish. At this place you actually pay for your meal before you eat which is also common at some of the food courts in Hong Kong.

That evening Cal promised to take me to see the "real" Singapore and to try some of their famous Chili Crab and Pepper Crab. So after work we took a taxi to a local place called "No Signboard" restaurant (the no "signboard" is a play that it really doesn't have a name). Here we tried the chili crab which is famous in Singapore. We actually had the chili lobster as the crab is very messy and we were dressed up and Cal didn't want us to get stains on our clothes. We also had an appetizer that was like deep-fried squid with a sweet sauce on them. They were tiny squid (about the size of a grasshopper) and were very crunchy. I loved them. The chili crab was also very spicy and fantastic. Cal also ordered the White Pepper Crab for our main dish and it was amazing. I absolutely loved it. It was quite messy as we had to break up the crab and fish out the meat, but the taste was spectacular. We ate all this with a yummy coconut where we sipped the coconut water out of the coconut.

The restaurant was in an the red light district of Singapore. Most tourists don't know much about this area nor even realize they have a red light district. This comes from the history of its place in military strategy as many military people came to Singapore for shore leave and would look for a good time. The government eventually took control of the situation and now the places are registered by the government and they try to keep control of the industry. In this area they also serve durian, which is known as the king of all fruits. It is also highly known as being "stinky" and tasting awful. I remember watching a show on the discovery channel where a guy goes around tasting "odd" things and when he tasted the durian (after nearly throwing up from the smell) he couldn't really finish it. At our office in Hong Kong - where they also have a milder durian - the people in the office won't even get around it let alone eat it. It is banned on all planes and many hotels. So when Cal suggested we try some durian I was excited. We found a little shop (that you could smell long before you could see it) and we picked out a durian. They were surprising expensive - which could also be due to the fact that they were out of season. It was about $10 USD for a medium sized one. Cal picked one which they opened. He touched the fleshy yellow interior and decided it wasn't ripe and asked for another. They took another and after touching this one Cal thought it was perfect. We then headed across the street where they have tables set up with stools and a garbage can to toss in the seeds. It was like a little durian cafe. And there were several people there already sharing their durians. By this time the smell no longer bothered me. I had been given many different adjectives to describe the taste, so I was ready for anything. I took one of the fleshy yellow pods and it felt like slimy mud. It was very slippery and messy. I took a bite and to me it tasted fairly mild and a little like custard. It certainly was a different taste. I wouldn't say I loved it, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I at my entire seed - or at least the flesh on the seed. I didn't try another one. Cal ate the other three or so. He loves durian. I can say that the taste lingered all night. Even the next morning I could taste it after having brushed my teeth a few times. That night my stomach was a little weaker than usual and rumbled somewhat. I'm not sure if this was from the durian or my lunch or from traveling, but my mind certainly attributed it to the durian since that was mostly what I could taste.

The rest of my trip went fairly normal with trips to clients and reading my book. Thursday afternoon I got on the 747 to go back to Hong Kong. I sat next to a fairly rude couple and tried to ignore them by reading and watching movies. I started Live Free or Die Hard but was unable to finish as we landed. It was actually really good and I look forward to finish watching it at some point. I got home very late and was happy to see Tevia. Once again I loved my visit to Singapore. I'm not sure it is a place I would ever go as a tourist, so I am even more grateful to have been able to go these two times. It is a unique place and has a great feeling about it.