Author: CMR.sg

Lunch yesterday with Krist was at this restaurant called Jin Ting Wan.

I had told her that I would host lunch and this place was her suggestion. It’s on the 55th floor of the hotel at MBS.

I have known Krist for some 15 years at least. She was a fellow councillor at NWCDC and she then was helping out in our corporate communications committee.

We had dim sum and it was alright. Not fantastic. Slightly pricey.

But what surprised me was their tea menu. They had a separate tea menu which starts off by stating that they have a tea master. And then it goes for about 10 pages with tea options for 10g priced at between $150 to $800. This was the price for 10 g. I thought they were mad. I probably have better tea. Now I need to find a way to sell them my tea!

The conversation was interesting . She is more optimistic about the economic prospects for Singapore companies with AI. She thinks AI adoption by companies here is fairly decent and that the unemployment situation is under control. I was more pessimistic.

Anyway it is nice to catch up with her. She has an official view of things which is good to hear.

Last night was our usual get together dinner and this time it was my turn to host it.

I picked Candlenut at Dempsey because the food is decent and they have a set dinner menu. Also they could give me their private dining room.

Everyone was punctual and we started at 7. The food was good and more than enough for the 6 of us since Benson could not make it. Everyone was happy with the food and so as the host, that was good. They all ate so much that we ended up being there till 930 pm, which is one of the latest before we have called it a night.

Conversation as always was varied and fun. Always good to catch up!

Unfortunately they charged me corkage, which was a ridiculous sum of $65 for opening a single bottle.

I just happened to be watching FB yesterday morning when I saw a feed showing Trump’s arrival in KL. He had just disembarked on the tarmac from AF 1 and was being greeted by PM Anwar.

I have to say that he really turned on the charm at the tarmac. He was greeting everyone in a very friendly manner, smiling and even dancing to the beat of the Malay drums. He looked happy.

And then he invited the Malaysian PM to ride with him in the Beast.

Anwar was also appeared to be personable and friendly with him and it was very clear that both of them connected.

I am happy for Anwar. From having been thrown under the bus and into jail by Dr M, he has risen to the top to take center stage at the highest levels. He even joked about it in his speech.

And when I look at Trump and Anwar, I see a warmth, humanness and spontaneity they have as politicians that I do not see in many other politicians. They can go off script without worrying about the consequences and it shows their human side.

Good for Malaysia and Anwar.

After my lunch at Shangri la on Thursday, I had suggested to Kesa to have our Friday lunch here as well.

So we did our lunch here yesterday. Kesa came with his wife and Harish was there as well, since it was to be a birthday lunch for him.

I think they all enjoyed the food, especially the Indian street food, but more importantly the get together was great. Roshni is so animated. I told them about the MPO. Kesa was interested in the January Amadeus concert. Let’s see..our next catch up may be in KL?

Last night I watched a wonderful performance of Beethoven’s 5th piano concerto, the Emperor Concerto, by the celebrated Austrian pianist Rudolf Buchbinder.

I know this piece well but cannot recall if I have seen this performed live. I must have but somehow watching a live performance just doesn’t ring a bell. But what a lovely performance last night.

The pianist is 78 and he walked slowly onto the stage and to the piano but when he sat down to play, it was a brilliant performance. The playing was well paced and there was a beautiful coordination between the piano and the SSO and just so entertaining. He played flawlessly and he had a great command of the piano. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and the encore he played after a few standing ovations.

Memorable performance and I am so glad I watched this.

Today I hosted a lunch for the Indian High Commissioner and my friend Prasoon at the Shangri la.

The Shang is having a 2 week Indian street food promotion buffet and so it was an appropriate venue for lunch.

The food was good but unfortunately because we were talking so much, I didn’t manage to eat much of the food

But the conversation was good. We spoke about Indian and Singapore economies and politics and the state of the world generally. I am glad to note that the relations between both our countries is good and the relationship between the 2 PMs is cordial. There is much that Singapore and India can do together in today’s uncertain world but important to make a start. We ended being there till 3pm, well after everyone else had left.

Am sitting in a plane waiting to return to Singapore.

Started the day with a coffee and almond cream with bird’s nest. Thereafter lunch was at Yue Hin restaurant, which is a top rated Cantonese restaurant in Nicolo hotel. Very good food. 5 dishes which cost me $48.

I had great weather whilst I was here and always there was great service. Nice and helpful people. Food is good, not salty and the desserts are not that sweet. Prices for all items I saw were cheaper than Singapore.

I shall come again.

Finally got to try their pastries. They are supposed to be one of the top bakeries in Chengdu and they now have outlets overseas, including Dubai.

It was so good . Not sweet at all and all freshly out of the oven. They keep making announcements to tell you to eat their pastries the same day.

Highly recommended.

I will certainly come here again.

I am spending my Deepavali this year in Chengdu. And my mother who was supposed to be in India is in Singapore.

Was an overcast day and I can feel it getting cooler everyday.

I started the day with a coffee from M Stand. Lovely coffee.

Visited a nearby bakery which I have not visited before. The bakes looked so yummy but I couldn’t eat anything at that time. So I shall visit this place again.

Thereafter I came across this restaurant at Tai Ko Li. A Szechuan Chinese restaurant which was the first Szechuan Michelin restaurant. So good!

Then I came across the Adidas flagship store in Chengdu, which is one of 2 stores in China that carries the latest collections. They had the latest Edison Chen Clot silver leather shoe, which was so good that I had to buy it. Now to find an occasion to wear it. Also got the green leather Shanghai old street limited edition shoes.

Started off the day with 2 coffees. Chengdu is great for coffee, in particular, at the M Stand. Excellent coffee and service. And they do not charge extra for alternative milks.

Walked around Tai Ko Ki and then had lunch at the Fujian restaurant. Good food as always. Slight drizzle but still many people out and about with mass exercise classes conducted every hourly.

Then I discovered another restaurant at about 5pm, called Gaga Forest. Excellent salads and unique juices.

Thereafter I was at IFS walking in the basement looking at the supermarket when I came across this wonderful bird’s nest restaurant with so many different types of bird’s nest desserts and with all of them having a no sugar option, which means they are not prepared in advanced. They confirmed that they only prepare the desserts after an order is made. So good!