Mom and Dad Visiting Singapore
This morning Carly and I dropped mom and dad off to the airport (courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Maxi-Cab). We had a really great 2 1/2 weeks or so with them. The theme of our time seemed to be eat and relax, which is not surprising, as most of our vacation times seem to center around these things.
Mom and dad settled in quite nice, chilling out in the living room together.
We had an unusual amount of rain while they were here. In a way it was nice because it kept the temperature nice and cool (and by cool we mean 25-27 degrees Celsius, not including the humidex). Unfortunately the day after the parents arrived, Dad came extremely ill (food poisoning the suspected culprit - from the plane ride over) - and was down and out for about 2 days. He managed to spring back into shape - and the 2 days of not eating were more than made up for.
We had a nice walk up Bukit Timah Hill - the highest peak in Singapore, a massive 163 meters.
It took a bit of convincing the troops, but I also managed to reel them in for a game of Settlers of Catan. I seem to enjoy trading wheat and ore a whole lot more than my family counterparts. I think they pretended to enjoy it for my sake. Carly destroyed all of us in this game, with a decisive victory. Unfortunately, it didn't increase her love for the game.
On New Years Eve we made it out to Chijmes for dinner, specifically to Capella restaurant.
Carly had some cod for dinner, which seemed to start a horrific bout of food poisoning (we suppose it also could have been some sort of virus or stomach flu - but at the time she was sure that she'd never touch cod again). We certainly didn't seem to be having any luck on the "staying healthy" front.
After Carly being down and out for a couple days - it was really time to start recovering our missed eating time, posthaste. We started this evening off right with a trip to the Long Bar and Raffles Hotel for our token Singapore Sling. Carly and I had never been before, so this was a great "first experience" to share with the parents.
At first we weren't sure if we were dressed "classy" enough for Raffles - but then we noticed that this was a "throw your peanut shells on the floor" kind of joint - so we were all good.
Cost of a Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel: S$18.00+++, lucky for us the peanuts were free.
A visit to Singapore isn't complete without at least one visit to Clarke Quay. We were down there at least two or three times, enjoying food at Cafe Iguana followed by Brewerkz a couple days later. The food at both of these places is fantastic, not to mention the pitchers of lime margarita and fresh beer.
After a nice meal at Brewerkz, we needed to kill some time before sunset, so we decided to stop at the Fullerton Hotel for some dessert as we were walking toward Merlion Park. Dad and I both had some awesome Creme Brulee, Mom had the best NY Cheesecake I've ever tasted, and Carly found herself a rather excellent Tiramisu.
Mom and dad outside the Fullerton after dessert, starting to get dark by this time, which is great for a trip over to see Mr. Merlion.
Mr. Merlion with the Fullerton Hotel in the background.
At some point during the trip - it's all a wonderful food-filled blur at this point, Carly took mom to Holland Village for a pedicure. They had a great time together, and the end result of their 'labor' is as follows:
Thankfully, pretty toes aren't the only thing that came out of this trip to Holland Village. Dad and I met the girls down there for pizza and, um, beer. Wala Wala in Holland Village has what is probably the best Hawaiian Pizza any of us have ever eaten. Carly and I find ourselves back here on a regular basis.
Mom and Dad enjoyed some good old times wandering through the city on their own as well. Mom managed to find herself a huge pile of smelly durian.
We spent as much time at the pool as we possibly could, a few nice breakfasts and we also managed a BBQ.
We took a trip to the Japanese Gardens, Chinese Gardens and Bonsai Gardens as well.
Carly had a couple of mini-kimono-type-house-coat things made while we were in Hoi An in Vietnam, one was a gift for mom. Here they are modeling them for us.
Last Sunday, after church, just in case you thought we hadn't eaten enough yet, we made some reservations at the Rose Veranda in the Shagri-La for high tea. This is probably Carly and I's favorite place for high tea in Singapore. A great buffet of international food, awesome fruits and desserts, along with a menu of 101 different tea's from around the world. Eat and drink your fill.
I'm not really sure when this was, either, but at some point we made it to Corduroy and Finch for some great dessert as well. Handsome strawberries, hand-made chocolate truffles and more creme brulee for dad.
At some point one of our neighbors down by the pool was telling us of a German restaurant on Bukit Timah road. I haven't had myself a good German meal in a long while, and this is food that all of us enjoy, so we hunted the place down. Stammtisch Restaurant (a Swiss/German place) is famous for their Crispy Pork Knuckle. I had never actually had pork knuckle before, so I was game. Carly's mom ordered the same, and we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. There was a TON of meat on this thing, and it was some of the most tender, delicious pork I had ever eaten. The Paulaner Hefe Weissen went down pretty nice, too.
This is mom devouring her yummy pork knuckle. Complete with delicious sauerkraut and potatoes. YUM!!!
Carly chilling out after a "rough day at the office". 
On Friday night, for our last dinner out, we had a heck of a time trying to decide where to go. I tried to make reservations at Ember, a restaurant that is quickly gaining popularity here in Singapore, but the place was fully booked, and we were fourth on the waiting list. I made some reservations at Morton's instead (yah, there really is a Morton's of Chicago in Singapore). Friday morning though, we got a call from Ember and they had found us a table, so we were stoked.
Prior to Friday, my only "favorite restaurant" in Singapore was Jaggi's (a North Indian place on Race Course Road). After dining at Ember I've decided to add a second.
Carly and Mom at Ember.
The food was great. Everything from Bread, Scallops, Pork Knuckle Terrine, Citrus Salad and Crab Cake for appetizers to Lobster Pasta, Lamb, Steak, and Braised Beef Cheek for mains was outstanding. Dessert was 2 Chocolate Cakes for Dad and I and 2 Home Made Apple Tart things for the girls. The desserts were also absolutely outstanding. We'll definitely be heading back here sometime.
On Saturday (yesterday - day before mom and dad left), Carly and I took them to a movie at the GV theater at Vivo City. We'd never been to the Gold Class (which from now until forever shall be known as COLD Class). You have got to check this action out:
Those are HUGE puffy individual recliners, complete with automatic up-down buttons to adjust your reclining angle to perfection. Along with a call button so at any time during the flick you can order pizza, wine, popcorn, hot dogs or any other fare you might desire. The only slight problem was that no one told us that they kept these Gold Class theaters at sub-zero temperatures (I think they might have meat hanging back behind the screen somewhere). Any of you who read this who know me know that I, generally speaking, do NOT get cold. I'm the "T-Shirt in Snow" type guy. I was freezing. I had a blanket wrapped around my entire body, and did not want to take my hands out to get a bite of popcorn. Carly had pants, a shawl and two blankets and she was freezing, too. Next time, we'll follow the boy scout motto: Be Prepared (to Freeze).
This was a shot at breakfast yesterday morning. A nice little breakfast with home made muffins to start the day off right.
Mom and Dad are probably just leaving Narita now and starting the last leg of their flight back to Vancouver, and Carly and I are doing laundry, blogging, baking, listening to tunes, and getting ready to watch episode one of the fourth season of 24 on DVD. Go Jack Bauer!
