Brews And Bourbons

Day 3:

It was Day 3 and Will had to attend his conference, the main reason of this trip. I was alone at hotel in a dilemma between shopping or visiting Universal Studios, Singapore. I chose the latter. I was excited, got ready, smeared loads of sunscreen, hired a cab and after 15 minutes of cab ride, Viola!, I was standing in front of Sentosa Resorts where Universal Studios, Singapore is located.

This better be a guide to solo visitors who are visiting Universal Studios, Singapore (USS). Make sure to avoid USS on weekends and public holidays because crowd could be huge and you don't want to miss any ride. USS opens at 10 AM and I was there waiting in line for tickets. The best part about going solo is, there is a separate queue for solo riders and mostly it is empty and you can just storm to the front.

The tickets cost $76 per adult which includes all the rides. There are some websites offering discounts on the tickets such as Klook and Sentosa's official website.

So after checking in, I enter this happy world, no exaggeration. People are happy, laughter everywhere, you are greeted by big structures of Hello Kitty and  Minion, bubbles flying in the air coming from nowhere, colourful carts on the road, Jurassic Park theme playing at the background, sound of those roller coasters, etc. I was excited.

• Begin the day early.
• Wear comfortable clothes, shoes or flip-flops. If possible, carry another set of clothes.
• Smear lots of sunscreen.
• Tie your hair into a tight bun or ponytail.
• Wear hat. A MUST.
• Carry water bottles to save money. There are water-booths everywhere so you can re-fill and rather not spend $2 for half-litre of water.
• Plan your rides well. Try rides first, then sovereign shops, and then you get enough time to take pictures.

Hey guys,

What's up?

Why have I been MIA, which is very bad? I got very busy with my work? Nope. I was lack of inspiration to write. I didn't want to write anything random just for the sake of it, because it would be visible in the post and I can't afford to do that to my small set of readers, yes, You.

So last week, I went to Singapore for a 5-day trip with William. Actually, it was his work trip and I tagged along coupling the weekend for the trip.

Before the trip:

We made a huge shopping list mentioning their Indian price converted to SG dollars.
Prepared a Must-Visit in SG list with some guidance from Matt's travel tips vlog.

Day 1:

So we landed at Changi International Airport at 6.30 AM and it was such a beautiful, enormous terminal with cafés to chill and relax with free WiFi. We hired cab to our hotel and it was around 25 minutes travel. We checked in, relaxed in our room and headed to breakfast lounge. Oh my God, I should mention that the breakfast buffet was huge and the spread included mostly continental and Singaporean cuisine. I started looking forward to breakfast for the remaining 4 days. It was so good.

After breakfast, we took nap and got ready to go out for lunch. Will's friends were meeting him. We headed to this beautiful hill called Dempsey Hill for lunch. So this hill is basically a food village, a village full of restaurants, pubs and cafés serving all authentic cuisines ranging Chinese, Italian, English, Indian, Singaporean, etc. The place is colourful, vibrant at the same time, cheerful and calm. We had lunch at Muthu's Curry, an Indian restaurant, with vast outdoor setting.

~ Dempsey Hill fountain ~

~ Muthu's Curry ~

After lunch, we headed to Suntec city in Marina Centre. The place has a huge fountain in the middle of it, surrounded by malls. We didn't find anything to shop in the mall since everything was pricey. We just went to the top of the mall for the view and the city was getting ready for F1 race the next day.

~ Fountain of wealth at Suntec City ~

~ Suntec City Mall ~

After the boring Suntec experience, we went to Arab street. The place sells Indian cloths, Arabic drapes, etc. The Haji lane in Arab street is filled with colourful, pinterest-y cafés. The bright walls, the colourful lane would contribute to your Instagram feed. Next time you are in SG, make sure to visit Haji lane and have coffee at one of their cafés. Singapore's coffee culture (Kopi) is strong and they have many varieties of coffees and shakes.

~ Kopi ~

~ Haji Lane ~

From Haji lane, we walked to Bugis junction. This place is for the ultimate shopper in you. It has almost all brands catering in all price range. We strolled around for a bit and spotted Innisfree store. Since I am well versed with their prices in India, I found their prices to be much lower. We shopped our skin care goodies. Its Skin, Laneige, Tony Moly are all located at Bugis Junction. Bugis village, next to Bugis Junction has interesting line of small shops selling dresses, makeups, sovereigns, foods at throwaway rates.

~ Bugis Street ~

It was dinner time and we went to Le Noir at Clarke Quay. Since it was weekend, the place was very crowded as is the Quay itself, thanks to live bands and loud music. Clarke Quay place is very touristy and has lots of international restaurants. It was buzzing with tourists and F1 enthusiasts and there were interesting events being conducted by F1 sponsors.

~ Clarke Quay Central ~

Day 2:

Day 2, we had breakfast at hotel and went to Dempsey hill again for lunch. This time we went to P.S. Café at Harding Road. The café is very cute and filled with colourful flowers. I have a thing for quaint cafés and I was busy admiring the beauty of the café. The cute tables, the hanging lights............ I loved the ambience. We walked to Jones, the Grocer for desserts. This place sells age old wines, exotic noodles, bread spreads, etc. The ambience was bit laid-back, so was their service. But their sticky date pudding was to die for.

~ P.S. Cafe ~

~ P.S. Cafe ~

~ Death by Chocolate at Jones the Grocer ~

After Dempsey Hill trip, Will and his friends got ready to go to F1 while I retired at the hotel.

Day 3, 4  and 5 were the most happening for me since I explored the city all alone and totally loved the experience.
Stay tuned for that!

Hey y'all,

Breakfast for me is always Dosa and occasionally semiya/sevai/upma. And very rarely do I take cornflakes/chia seeds pudding/maggi. It has been so very long that I wanted to go out for breakfast on a Sunday. But I have to get back home after church before the closing of  my favorite mutton stall. Last time when I went out for breakfast was in Darjeeling at the legendary Keventers. There are many cafes in Kolkata, which provide scrumptious breakfast - The Whistling Kettle, Soul cafe, Eat me good and it would be a sin if I miss the legendary Flury's. There is even a book about this tearoom.


So this week our Sunday started on a crispy note, as we were getting ready to go to St. Paul's Cathedral after almost 2-3 weeks. After finishing our mass, we headed to Flury's for breakfast (Mutton was taken care of!). Coming to this cafe, this cafe was started around 1930's by the Britishers and this place still has a vintage aura around it.

I have been to this cafe thrice in the last 2 years, once with William, once with my mom and once alone. But every time I go, it feels like visiting the British era all new, thanks to those big round pillars, black and white chequered marbles, the glass walls overlooking the street, the chandeliers,etc. The place serves you authentic English breakfast with Ham and Cheese stuffed omelette and beans on toast as their Heritage favorites.

What we ordered:
Will ordered English breakfast and Assam tea for him and I ordered French Toast with watermelon juice for me. Coming to the menu, English breakfast has 2 toasts with butter and jam, 2 eggs - sunny side up, 1 roasted tomato, 2 hash browns, 2 bacon rashes and 2 sausages. The rashes are long, medium-rare and juicy pieces. The sausages are one of the best I have ever had. They don't taste like old frozen cuts, instead they taste fresh and tender and very soft. I would have loved mashed potatoes with this but hash browns filled the spot.
My French toast had 2 long egg battered cinnamon cakes with some fruits and maple syrup. When I saw what was on my plate, I was so sure it would not be a filling one. Alas, when I finished my first toast, it was almost filling! I had to share the next one with Will.



Experience:
The experience was not that great mainly because of the waiting time. After being used to 20 mins waiting time at Flury's, 40 minutes was exhausting. You read that right, 40 bloody minutes!! You might want to argue about the vibe of the place but enjoying the vibe for 40 minutes is little too much. There were many angry customers who left the place after waiting for a ridiculously long time. So this time my experience was not pleasant, but very irritating. The careless waiters don't seem to notice even if you wave at them. I already started dreaming about my soon-to-be lunch Mutton Biryani :( When I started getting this irritated stares from William, even I wanted to get out of the place but thankfully the meal came before that.

If paying the bill could be counted as an 'experience', let me warn you about burning hole in your pocket. The prices are insanely expensive. English breakfast was for Rs. 580 and French toast was for Rs. 450. After GST, it felt like having the breakfast with Mr. Modi and Ms. Didi.

Overall, it was good food if the experience is ignored. Once in a while, there is nothing wrong in treating yourself at this tearoom. Flury's as a bakery is top notch and no body in this city can compete with the pastries of Flury's, but, as a restaurant, Flury's should not sit back relaxed and enjoy the legacy. There are other vintage cafes catching up with better hospitality and cheaper price. Whistling Kettle serves you authentic English breakfast all the way from Darjeeling's Keventers. Serafina offers you original Italian breakfast with great hospitality. The Country House Cafe doesn't burn a hole in your pocket. Milee Droog cafe and Bistro offers are good. So Flury's should keep this in mind and serve their customers with a happy grin :) :) Would love to visit this place again but not in the near future.

Much love,
Sindhura.

the actual space

my hack!!!

But wait, the driver brakes the bus and before you realize this, your head bangs on the handle bar and you slide zuuuuing to the front with your bum hitting the front seat after your cheeks. So let's stick to being the one who is kind enough to offer the aisle seat.