Val Day Friends!

VALENTINE’S DAY IN SINGY!!! We made it to our day of LOVEEEEEE here abroad.

TT’s work friend Anthony and his friend Liz were in town on their layover back from Phuket to NYC. They dropped their suitcases at luggage storage in the airport and came out to meet us for dinner. As we had already taken them to a hawker center and our favorite restaurant when they had their layover on the way to Phuket last week, we decided to take them to the Tiong Bahru shopping centre food court for a change of pace and ambiance.

Probably as common and well frequented as hawker centres, shopping mall food courts have an extremely large presence here in Singy. A bit more expensive than the hawkers, but much less expensive than an actual restaurant, the food courts provide more dining options in a very lovely air conditioned environment – can’t argue that perk.

I am truly amazed by how much food there is here. It seems that every place – hawker, food court, or resto – is full and bustling at all times. There is a constant stream of people eating, queuing to eat, or wandering around deciding what to eat. We are usually all too ready and willing to take part in the fun.

Tiong Bahru is known as the fun, hip, younger area of SG. Much like Brooklyn. There are lots of restaurants and bars and it has an enormous outdoor market that we haven’t explored yet but is definitely on the list. Tiong Bahru is just one stop away from our apartment – about a 12 min bike ride.

Anthony and Liz met us at the station. Unfortunately (for them) they were still full from a big lunch they had enjoyed a few hours earlier so dinner was more of a babels affair. We opted for a sushi spot called Ichiban Boshi. We picked out some sushi, hand rolls, and a few hot items to share and got to work.

Anthony and Liz still had a few hours to kill after dinner so we walked around Tiong Bahru for a bit before settling in at Chapter 55 for dessert and coffee. I mean, it WAS Valentine’s Day! I couldn’t live through the day without having SOME chocolate lava cake! I think that is totally rational. SINUS.

Anthony’s quote of the night was “Every day is Valentine’s Day for you two living here.” And it’s true! So far it has all felt like one big extended vacation. What’s not to love?