Text 2130, 119 rader
Skriven 2008-02-10 09:23:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: travelogue 831
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Off to the Hilton to meet Greg the Justice Department
lawyer who does tax stuff and various others for a
jaunt to the Orchid Garden. Meeting time came and went,
and so Lori, Greg, and I just took a cab on to the
Botanic Gardens and took a leisurely walk through the
grounds, the Ginger Garden, and then the Orchid Garden.
encountering our Lithuanian buddy Aime on the way. Thanks
to the miracle of modern communications technology, it was
determined that Karen Kay and her friend (not that kind of
friend) Syd had been waiting at the Inter-Continental for us!
but were on their way; we met up at the top of the hill and
soon picked up Sean and his lady. A good walk, and the orchids
were in full, gorgeous array,

A few of us went on to the Battle Box at Fort Canning. We
paid S$8 a head for a rather inexpert guide and an audio tour
that in addition to being not very informative didn't
work very well (Karen Kay's headset didn't work at all).
Laughable animatronics, proof positive that Singapore is not
(contrary to popular notion) Disney East. Still, it was
worthwhile to commemorate a sad part of 20th century history.

It was lunchtime, and after a suggestion of the Victoria
Street hawker centre was quashed as Lori was hungry in an
immediate way, we decided to cross through Dhoby Ghaut and
go to the Kopitiam next to the Rendezvous Hotel. But in the
process of threading our way to Dhoby Ghaut, we went past
Park Mall, which we decided to investigate, as it just had
to have a food court. Turns out there was one in the
basement, and we decided to patronize the place with the
longest line. The food was good, the setting chaotic, and
the prices very very favorable - with food and various
soft drinks, none of us spent S$10. Karen Kay and I got
"sesame oil claypot chicken," a nice deep dark brown
gravy with chopped-up bits of chicken wing in it (S$3);
she got a side of rice, I got a side of fried wontons
(also $3). Lori and Syd sprang for the somewhat more
costly but quite a bit more festive special noodles, which
included various meats and vegetables. Oh, yes, we were
rescued from the madding crowd by a young restaurant
employee who pounced on a table, took our order, and was
in general helpful. Afterward, we gave him a tip, which
he duly presented to the cashier. We went our separate
ways afterward, which for me meant indexing a chapter,
doing e-mail, and having an hour nap.

=

Our evening meal was at a homely but good place next
door to where Steve used to have an office, back in the
day when Keong Saik Road was known for its sub rosa
activities. Steve had us in stitches with a story about
how he used to taxi to his office, telling the driver that
he was about to pick up two young ladies (omitting to the
driver the fact that the ladies were his employees, not the
employees of the brothel right down the way).

Kok Sen Coffee House is quite unprepossessing but clearly
well known, as it was very busy when we arrived, and they
had to set up a table in the back alley for us. Over the
course of the evening several such tables were set up and
occupied. What we had:

Tofu, eggplant, and green pepper stuffed with fish paste -
an enjoyable dish, quite plebeian but festive at the same
time, as the preparation was pretty standard and with cheap
ingredients, but there were three different kinds of, er,
taste experiences in one dish. Unfortunately, eggplant is
my favorite vegetable, and I didn't get any of it, as it
seems other people preferred it to tofu and the peppers,
which had been burned black and looked like strange
creatures floating in the sauce.

Sweet-sour fish filets are an old favorite of Steve's,
and the piece I got was excellent, the sweet and sour and
fishy and fruity all in balance.

Black pepper beef was a bit more problematic, as it appeared
they'd emptied a tin of pepper into one serving. It was of a
blow-your-brains-out level of unsubtlety, but I liked it,
being an unsubtle type of guy.

Stinky tofu marinated fried chicken didn't seem to have many
adherents except for Steve and myself. Interestingly,
the last time we'd eaten at NSB Geylang the fried chicken
had been treated this way, though a bit more delicately, and
everyone liked it.

Bok choy was fresh as fresh and crisp-tender and yummy.

Aime doesn't eat red meat, so we got an extra veggie dish,
spicy ong choy, but it turns out that along with fish and
hot pepper, the dish as done here also has bits of crisp-
fried ground pork. I acted as taster and gave him the sad news.

Tiger beer for Lori and myself, chrysanthemum tea for
everyone else. Total tab: S$15 a head.

We walked up through Chinatown, the New Year lights just
having been lit this weekend, and then peeled off in various
directions, Aime and Lori to the Night Safari (which had
been Sean's idea, only he ended up with other things
to do), the rest of us to Boat Quay or our hotels.

Again the oldsters didn't do the late party thing.

I got to my bed and found a red New Year money envelope.
Opened it to find a two-dollar bill (the standard gift)
and a note: "With best wishes from the tooth fairy!"
Steve found me howling with laughter. Then off to the
land of nod.

At some point I fielded a call from one of the youngsters,
about raiding minibars. I begged off, saying that we'd been
asleep (we were) as we had early plans for the next day.

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