the national gallery Exterior

 

an upclimb

I haven't been here in a very, very long time.

The last time I actually climbed up these steps, I was still wearing my dorky glasses and sporting short, short hair. *thanks, no thanks, school rules* There was never an opportunity for me to go in. See, to get past its doors you needed a purpose, and since I never got one, I never went in. And because I never went in, I never bothered to ascend the steps either.

Except for one time.

We were on a group excursion, all of us, kids 7 to 18 years old. I was one of the older ones. We were here because we wanted to see the City and because some of the younger ones didn't seem to get out of their own neighborhoods much. We didn't pass through those doors either back then but it didn't matter. Kids weren't allowed in anyway. What we did was to take a picture so somewhere there's a photograph of us kids standing and sitting on the steps smiling at the camera.

Today, the doors are open wide. Today anybody can enter. You no longer need to be of age. And even if you're of age, you no longer need a certain criteria to pass through those doors. There's no more need to be part of an exclusive clique to enter. 

I'm glad for the societal progression.

I'm gladder still that the façade looks the same.

Because whilst many a structure in this area has been torn down and nearly forgotten, with this structure, they took great pains to renovate it from inside out, so much so that at one time, standing at The Adelphi, I was able to look past the outside walls, perceive the cavernous space of its interior and even stare at the sky right through a hole in the roof made specially for the industrial crane.

There're the same windows, the same balconies, the same pillars, the same sculptures up on the roof. Here, right now, I'm feeling like time has stood still, whilst I'm also being very much aware that time has passed. It is like I'm drifting between two different eras, being here yet not being here. 

Very surreal, very magical, one that I can't well describe.
 

lines reflections lines

But it's there.

In the shadows that whisper so softly on the floors and the walls. In the geometric shapes that create patterns on the walls and shuttered windows.

Or maybe in the very fact that this Structure stands as a Symbol on her own, a monument of timelessness, a representation of international trade and global movement, a visible, tangible object of times past- in Europe, America and Singapore.  

You could place your hand on the stone and realize that the same type of stone could be in New York City or San Francisco. You could look up at the awnings and realize that you've seen it somewhere in the streets of New York City before. And it doesn't matter whether you're wearing a leather brogue or a casual flip flop.

It is still the same floor. It is still the same door. It is still the same stone.

 

the tiny opening at the end

 

sushiiiii Supermarket

wasabi and soy sauce so good

So we had just four dollars between us and that was all we had for dinner. And because we had to stick to the diet for the day, fried noodles and economic mixed rice and wanton noodles were out of the menu.

So we popped over to Cold Storage and bought sushi because it was already past eight and prices get slashed by more than half by that time just so they can push out the remaining stock and still earn and not get slapped with a food safety thingy whatever.  

There's still plenty of variety available at that time. There were hand rolls and onigiri and umami and lobster salad and corn and tuna salad and loads of salmon stuff. We wanted the salmon, but they were either $6 or $8 and we had only $4, so we stared really hard at the counter, trying to make the most out of the two $2 dollar notes in hand, and we whittled down our choices to cucumber, umami, tuna, crabstick and tamago.

Tamago and umami won.

12 on 12 @ Ah Hoi

fooooood

To put it as plainly as possible, this is basically twelve dishes on your dining table. Twelve dishes for Twelve dollars, starting from Twelve noon. It's a popular, if not quiet, offering.

 

They've been serving this at Ah Hoi's at Hotel Jen Tanglin- it's seasonal- and so we've gotten ourselves there whenever time and meeting locations permit.

Having a meal here is a little outdoorsy, a little alfresco, a little formal, a little casual all at once. It's a place where polo tees and knee-length shorts with belts would sit most comfortably. It's a place for hats and sundresses and sandals. It's also a place for maxi dresses thrown over your bikini. You don't get the chirpy, cheery, office party one gets at the buffets. (They've got J65 for that) Here, it's an ambience that borders between half-relaxed, half-formal that generates conversation, discussions and everything else. It's a place to appreciate a staff, meet a prospect, have a small-team gathering. It's a nice place for an afternoon date, a rendezvous, a space-out, if one might say, in the middle of a hectic day.

I think of it as a plantation house. You know, that sort where there're verandahs with cane chairs and ferns and foilage and bougainvillea flowers.

 

I think of it too as a very big hut on stilts standing over the shallow waters of the seashore, like how seafood restaurants are in this part of the world, and where you don't know what the catch of the day is until they tell you, and where sunrises and sunsets are breathtaking and you get all-round breezes from the sea around you.

 

Except that at Ah Hoi's, you get more than seafood.

 

Even for their 12 on 12. 

 

You get pork, chicken, fish and beef. You get soup and rice and vegetables. But you also get a menu that's kept afresh. One day you might get stewed pork with egg. Another day you might get steamed pork with salted vegetables. One day there might be pig's trotters bubbling in a clay pot. Another day there would be pork slices with spring onions. There're little surprises. One day you could get chicken drumlets stewed in some sort of herbal brew but the next day you could be presented with fried chicken in sambal sauce. One day you could get a whole chunk of sardine fish. Another day you could get fish slices. It's the same for the vegetables. One day you could have stir fried cabbage but cai xin and kangkong on the next.

Yet it's all very charming. 

Especially if you're someone who loves variety, and if you want to get to know your fellow diners better. Personal preferences speak plenty for one who prefers sambal fish balls over kung po chicken, or someone who will dig around the little dish for long beans but eschew the stewed cabbage.

And when you have fruit infused water on the side with vegetable crackers (a particular favorite of mine) for the taking, when you have fans whirring above your head and you're seated on lovely cushioned garden chairs with the sparkling surface of the swimming pool in sight, it is a great lunch indeed.