Singapore

A few days before arriving in Singapore, we face the double whammy of bad news that the air quality has deteriorated because of forest fire in the neighboring island of Sumatra and the number of Zika cases is increasing. Now I have to worry about those in addition to not chewing gum in public? (Actually the gum thing is somewhat confusing as the law just applies to not selling gum other than for health reasons, but there is no question the "gum control" has been extremely effective here.) 
Other half-amusing punishable offenses include connecting to another person's wifi, not flushing a public toilet, and "expelling mucus from the nose." Although I don't agree with all the banned items, I am willing to comply if it promotes civic mindedness (as Lee Kwan Yew envisioned), or at least to avoid flogging (actually I am fortunately over the age limit for caning!)

Luckily for us, it had just rained before our arrival and the weather is cooler and air quality better than expected. So we take a short walk from the hotel to Chinatown Complex Market and Food Centre to check out hawker stalls, and one in particular that has achieved instant global recognition when the Michelin star ratings were announced in Singapore for the first time in July.

Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle: What, no line? Wait, no one around? Turns out the entire complex is closed for cleaning that's scheduled every three months. (Their chicken rice still costs only two Singapore dollars, or about US $1.50, which unquestionably makes this place the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world.)  So Plan B.

Out of Chinatown Complex toward Maxwell Food Centre a few blocks away, we pass by Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. The name refers Buddha's left fourth canine tooth enshrined here. For sure.

Plan B is in trouble also. The line at Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice is relatively short but the euphoria doesn't last long, as they announce being done for the day. We don't get to try the rice that Anthony Bourdain gushed over. So Plan C: three stalls down is Ah Tai, operated by a former chef at Tian Tian who left after dispute. But alas, it is the day of their normal weekly closure.

Plan D: Go to a random open place selling chicken rice. The dish from Maxwell Hainanese Chicken Rice is definitely good enough to the un-discerning palate and I can see why Hainanese Chicken Rice is considered Singapore's national dish.

Right across the hall, a picture of Bourdain on the window of this stall catches my eye (lower left corner). A page from his book describes him strolling down the hall and being curious about a lady who's been doing this one thing for 35 years. Well, I am equally curious. The crisp oyster pancake is quite good. Our first foray into the hawker food scene in Singapore is declared a success!

It's getting dark so we head to Marina Bay to catch night time light shows. We take MRT, which is not a dyslexic cousin of Hong Kong's MTR, but an efficient enough system in its own right. Inside the subway car, next to the Subway ad for chicken tandoori is a list of forbidden items: no eating or drinking, no smoking, no flammable goods, and... no durians!

Marina Bay Sands: a ginormous structure reminiscent of some of the behemoth resorts in Las Vegas

Marina Bay: getting ready for the light show "Wonder Full." We get ready by slapping mosquito-repellent stickers on our clothes, which may or may not work.

Marina Bay: light show

Marina Bay: lights reflecting on Louis Vuitton "Island Maison" and the lotus-leaf shaped ArtScience Museum

Marina Bay: light show

Marina Bay: enthusiastic audience but the crowd size very manageable

Marina Bay: the finale of "Wonder Full" to the tune of, what else, Louis Armstrong's "What a wonderful world."

Marina Bay Sands: this monstrous building grows on you. Traversing it to reach a viewing point for Gardens in the Bay.

Gardens in the Bay: these "Supertrees" are built to perform environmental functions but they serve an aesthetic role as well, especially when coming alive at night.

Gardens in the Bay: the colors change rapidly during the nightly synchronized light and music show "Rhapsody" 

My lunch at Andre, not my dinner with Andre, but as memorable and refreshingly unique as the scenes from the Louis Malle classic. What a fantastic meal! From the moment you enter the colonial style house, the site of the first law firm in Singapore where LKY worked, to the time you finish the tour of the house and get out of the elevator, the multi-lingual staff cater to you professionally while making you very comfortable. The taste, creativity and presentation of the dishes are a testament to the incredible talents of the Taiwanese-born and French-trained chef Andre Chiang. It puts some of the hyped-up places like The French Laundry to shame.

Restaurant Andre: the beautiful amuse bouche is a harbinger of fascinating things to come.

Andre: the server describes this as a couple - a poor woman (butternut squash) and a rich man (foie gras soup).

Andre: looks like just a loaf of bread but inside is salt-baked Bresse chicken.

Andre: the chef chats with us while petit fours are brought out (the one on right looking like a macaroon is his interpretation of the Kaya toast, a Singporean breakfast treat). We are shown his handsome cookbook based on "Octaphilosophy." He says we should return for a full dinner. Who wouldn't want to! 

Raffles Hotel: a Singapore icon from the colonial era. I respect the sign limiting the entrance to hotel guests. Otherwise I might incur the wrath of the Sikh guard!

Long Bar, Raffles Hotel (a separate entrance, mind you): one of those things you do in Singapore because that's what people do - drink Singapore Sling where it was first concocted. Actually the Autumn Sling (behind it) is more tasty and refreshing. Obviously over paying, I throw down the shells from the peanuts (unlimited supply from the bag) to the floor with glee like you are supposed to.

OK, pampering over. We are on our own now. We take MRT and get off at Lavender a couple of stops away. We find our way to the other one of the two hawker stalls to receive a Michelin star in July. Surprisingly, the line isn't too bad,

Hill Street Pork Noodle and Soup: I am no expert on Bak Chor Mee (minced meat noodles, on left), but each ingredient is so well cooked and I can see why this place is so popular.

"Cloud Forest": visiting the two conservatories at Gardens by the Bay at dusk. The three columns of Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Sky Park on top are seen through the glass from this vantage point next to a man-made waterfall lit purple.

Gardens by the Bay: the light show "Rhapsody" is definitely more enjoyable up close.

Gardens by the Bay: Marina Bay Hotel again seen in the background - I am now getting quite impressed with this structure. It has won me over!

Botanical Gardens: an excellent place to stroll among exotic tropical plants and flowers. It does not feel crowded despite its UNESCO Heritage status.

Corner House: a nice table at a corner of the terrace of this colonial building, named not because it is in a corner within Botanical Gardens but after EJH Corner, a man largely credited for "greening" of Singapore. Who would have thought the world's most visited botanical gardens is in this corner of the globe. The Chef calls his cuisine Gastro-Botanica, a mouth-watering designation.

Ce La Vi: this bar atop Marina Bay Sands Hotel, which used to be called Ku De Ta (the revolutionary spirit gave way to a state of resignation?), is fortunately open despite intermittent rain to offer a great view.

Ce La Vi: admiring Sky Park from below which sits on top of the three columns of Marina Bay Sands Hotel, I had to come up here. To our left (not shown) lies the famous infinity pool.

View of Marina Bay from Ce La Vi, as the sky gets darker

Les Amis: dinner at this respected restaurant is nice enough (their signature angel hair pasta dish above), especially the desserts by the well-known pastry chef (the take-home medeleine in an elegant tin box is a nice touch), but I keep thinking that our last meal in Singapore could have been at another hawker stall at a fraction of the cost. Early such dinner also would have allowed us to linger longer at the al fresco bar in Skypark to look down on light shows. I also regret not having enough time to visit the ethnic neighborhoods in this unique city-state where Chinese, Indian and Malay coexist without much political rhetoric.

Hong Kong 1

These days, I often feel like Baby Dory - "I suffer from short term remember-y loss." But I remember exactly when my previous visit was - spring break 1997. It was just a few months before the historic "handover" to China, and we wanted to see Hong Kong before it might change forever. Fortunately, despite some political turmoil, unbridled capitalism is alive and well by all accounts, and I am here to check it out first hand.

What better way to start exploring Hong Kong than to "yum cha"? Via the ever efficient Mass Transit Railway (MTR), we arrive at the dim sum place of my choice Fook Lam Moon in Wan Chai. The menu does not seem super-extensive and we tick off the familiar items including Har Gow, Siu Mai, Lo Mai Gai, Cheong Fun, Ma Lai Goh, etc on the order sheet. Preparations are exquisite but no unusual items or tastes to leave a strong impression. I guess you wouldn't travel half around the world and pay 2 to 3 times the cost back in the U.S. just for this.

Fuk Lam Moon: Arguably overpriced in a calm and elegant setting. Two sets of chopsticks for the proper dim sum etiquette. No celeb sighting today. No life-changing experience, but the shrimp Cheong Fun (rice noodle roll) and the Ma Lai Goh (steamed sponge cake) (not shown) are probably the best I ever had. 

The sky is overcast and it's 83 degrees with acceptable humidity, so a post-prandial walk is actually almost pleasant. We stroll to Hong Kong Park and continue past the Admiralty and Central MTR stations to do a one-hour walk in Wholesale District as recommended in the Lonely Planet guidebook. 
Passing by stores selling herbal medicine and those stacked with largely unrecognizable varieties of dried seafood, we reach Hollywood Road. This is where we bought some antiques on our previous visit but I have no such interest this time, as I feel like an antique myself these days. We then enter Man Mo Temple, the combination of the literary and the military, where the air is filled with incense smoke.

Hong Kong Park is a man-made urban oasis (complete with tacky mushrooms). The limited space is well utilized. I.M. Pei's Bank of China building in the backdrop.

Cat Street lined with souvenir stalls, paralleling Hollywood Road filled with antique stores.

Man Mo Temple: it appears as if these incense coils have continued to hang since our last visit, and they probably will far into the future. There are plenty of worshipers in addition to curious tourists. 

Hui Lau Shan provided Anthony Bourdain a welcome respite from the Hong Kong heat on his Layover episode. Finding a store near the Sheung Wan MTR station, we are happy to try one of their mango desserts. Later I find out that these branches are all over Hong Kong and there is one even in San Francisco!

After resting a bit back in our hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, we return to Hong Kong Island via the institution that is Starr Ferry. For dinner, we are meeting a local food expert Dennis and his friends who picked a traditional Cantonese restaurant, Luk Yu Tea House, the likes of which are perhaps a dying breed. What a treat it turns out to be. Uncommon dishes prepared in authentic old ways which taste great.

Star Ferry: Approaching Hong Kong Island. This boat aesthetically is no junk.

Luk Yu Tea House retains the vibes of old Hong Kong. I can only imagine the intrigue it has witnessed since it first opened in the 1930's. A murder here in 2002 is a relatively recent example. As the restaurant fills up, I am looking out for any suspicious characters.

Luk Yu Tea House: We leave it up to Dennis to pick the dishes from their bewildering Cantonese menu. Vegans, avert your eyes. Chicken filled with glutinous rice is superb. The bowls are soon filled with pig lung soup with almonds. Later a bird's nest with egg white and Chinese ham.

Luk Yu: the last item is baked bun filled with rich and thick   sesame paste, egg yolk and pig oil.

After dinner Dennis takes us on a walk through Central pointing out all the interesting restaurants concentrated in a relatively small area. The Star Ferry back reveals a spectacular light display on Hong Kong Island. Before returning to the hotel, there is one more thing to do - a night cap, more for the view than a drink.

Star Ferry pulls away from Hong Kong Island. A long walkway from International Finance Centre leads to the pier in Central which is new since our previous visit. Dennis points out that the harbor has gotten a bit narrower.

Starr Ferry: as the boat nears the Kowloon side, the spectacle seems over too quickly. The trip last 9 minutes. But it has to be the cheapest scenic boat ride around at less than 50 cents.

Whoa, did the ferry ascend up in the air? No, actually we are the ones who climb up to Ozone Bar, supposedly the highest bar in the world.

Ozone Bar: located on the 118th floor in Ritz Carlton Hotel, it's 1600 feet high (490 m). So high that you wonder if it actually might be punching the ozone layer! The clear view like we have tonight makes the overpriced cocktail more palatable.

Molecular Chinese cuisine may sound like an oxymoron, but that is what's on offer at Bo Innovation. I recognize chef-owner Alvin Leung from the TV shows, who is somewhat disheveled and nearly oblivious to clients streaming in as they open for lunch. Perhaps it is consistent with his irreverent culinary pioneer image. The chef's lunch menu, an abridged version of what's available at dinner, is extremely interesting as well as enjoyable.

Bo Innovation: spot prawn, rice vermicelli noodles with har mi oil and black "wok air" powder

Bo Innovation: "molecular xiao long bao" explodes in the mouth.

Bo Innovation: The Chinese hard liquor Mao Tai is combined with passion fruit and served in a royal court inspired vessel. "Please hold it with both hands, lift it up toward the heaven, put your head backward and drink like an emperor!"

The daughter has a friend who works for a snack shop just a block away. After sampling the unusual concoction of green tea topped with a cheese layer, we walk to Central. 
The public viewing area on the 42th floor of Bank of China is unfortunately no longer accessible. We move on to HSBC Headquarters, a building with interesting history. There are abundant architectural elements reflecting Feng Shui. Just across the street is Sevva, a stylish bar with a view where we kill some time before going up Victoria Peak.

HSBC Headquarters: a spacious atrium. The escalators represent dragon whiskers sucking wealth into the building. I find out that the ground floor, shown through the glass here, is declared public space. The mystery is solved regarding the scene I witnessed yesterday, which is in the next picture.

HSBC Headquarters: the ground floor is fully utilized by Filipinos migrant workers who have a social gathering here on their day off. 

Sevva: open, breezy, relaxing and offering a great view. The night view would be excellent here. I manage to find a healthy "super-anti-oxidant berry mocktail" from their cocktail list. 

Victoria Peak, or simply "the Peak" certainly piques the interest of visitors, as they want to take a peek at the Hong Kong vista from above, but it is to be avoided at peak times.
The tram ride up was not this painful on our previous visit. I remember even locals using it to get up and down the slope. Now, tourists are jamming the funicular and seem willing to wait an hour or longer in line. We even pay an extra few bucks to get into Sky 428 (yup, located that many meters above sea level), but this highest observation point is a mayhem after sunset.

The Peak: probably the most popular attraction in Hong Kong, but it is a struggle to take in a night time view.

Not counting breakfast, it is a fourth meal in a row at a Chinese restaurant, which I would never do at home. But they have been all different so my body and mind are not numbed.
Among the few named after a dynasty I settle on Tang Court. First, it is conveniently located at our hotel. Also I give it the benefit of the doubt, since in view of the full figured Tang ladies depicted in historic paintings, people probably ate very well in that era!

Tang Court: a nice semi-private space to enjoy high-end traditional Chinese cuisine.

Cape Cod. Boston. NYC

Chatham, Cape Cod: petal-strewn yard at a 150 year-old bank in this town ("CHAD-um") at the "elbow" of the Cape

Provincetown, Cape Cod: Race Point Beach is the northernmost point of the Cape (which I would call the third MCP joint, if Cape Cod is a bent arm and Provincetown is a fist.) Arriving too late to go up to Pilgrim's Tower and too early for the sunset.

Martha's Vineyard: the car ferry slots being sold out, a decision to take a guided tour was wise, but before the afternoon tour starts we spend way too much time in the not too interesting Vineyard Haven, where the ferry landed. 

Aquinnah, Martha's Vineyard: a sunset here would have been nice. The cliffs here spawned its former name, Gay Head.

Chilmark, Martha's Vineyard: a tribute to all Albanians! Conveniently located by the roadside to allow a quick drive-by but important enough to be included in our guide's narrative, somewhere between the movie setting of Jaws in Menemsha and the David McCullough house in West Tisbury.

Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard: a large collection of gingerbread houses here

Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard: a parting shot from the ferry. Hopefully this page will be protected from a virus, as I feature Mr. Norton's house (red one on right). Alas, we ran out of time and did not do justice to Edgartown, where we saw the stately homes just from the van window... I would have liked to take the short ferry to Chappaquidick and check out the site of Ted Kennedy's debacle...

Freedom Trail, Boston: an obligatory shot of Paul Revere with Old North Church in the background. Great weather for a self-guided walk on the easily navigable route. Earlier on the trail, another historic site, Old Corner Bookstore, is now a Chipotle!

Flour Bakery + Cafe: this Cambridge branch near MIT is kind of ordinary looking but the owner Joanne Chang won the 2016 James Beard Award for Outstanding Baker no less.

L'Espalier, Boston: a cheese course in this Back Bay restaurant. The food's OK, the service impeccable.

Harvard Commencement: at 6:30 AM, the lines to get in are already all the way around the Yard. Makes you wonder, "is this really worth it?"

Harvard Commencement: we do get decent seats. PhD candidates entering.

Hot and humid, but still preferable to rainy.

A Latin Salutatory keeps the audience quiet. Big screens are placed throughout the Tercentenary Theater in Harvard Yard.

Standing room only in front of Widener Library. Not sure what the band members are up to.

School of Design candidates

It's law school's turn and students rise with scary enthusiasm.

Go ahead, toss those caps, JDs. We are tossing away the 70K-a-year obligation, too.

The afternoon exercise speaker, Steven Spielberg: "We are a nation of immigrants... at least for now," drawing a big applause from the audience.

Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare, New York: a great start to the holiday weekend in the city. Photography was not allowed during the meal, disappointing but understandable.

Exceeded my expectations. In the C-shaped 18-seat counter, we sat right next to the kitchen area. Chef Cesar Ramirez talked with us the ENTIRE time. Maybe because of our name dropping or our obvious admiration of his skills, it seemed he spent 70% of his time between preparations just chatting with us - explaining most dishes, describing his kids, and even sarcastically alluding to the seemingly frivolous lawsuit he's had to defend against.

Discrimination against Asians? C'mon. His entire cooking philosophy is based on Japanese cuisine, manifest in his dishes from a version of Chawanmushi with foie gras and Australian black truffle to the inventive matcha financier. Many others were memorable as well, including the yellow trout roe tartlet to a cooked vegetable dish containing no less than 30 items.  "I look for the best ingredients. It doesn't matter where in the world.": Hokkaido uni, of course, and also Langostino from Scotland and wild strawberries from Malaga. One of the best meals I have ever had.

Jungsik, NYC: presented as banchan, but obviously more like amuse bouche. In fact, the closest thing to Korean here is the name. A valiant attempt at creative fusion, but in the category of refined Korean-inspired cuisine, I definitely prefer Mingles in Seoul.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC: always a delight to come here. The massive column from Sardis during the Hellenistic period is part of the permanent collection, I believe. There also happens to be a special exhibition, "Pergamon and Hellenistic Kingdoms," going on.

This large Athena statue is part of that special exhibition. Most of the items are from Pergamon Museum in Berlin, which I had a pleasure of visiting to see the Grand Altar some years ago.

A stunning gold myrtle Macedonian wreath from 4th Century, B.C.