Singapore Suitcases: Week 24 - Of magical Mumbai, playing Holi after a decade & a storyteller Father-in-Law!

1. The In-laws flew out Monday evening. We followed suit on Tuesday evening.
Changi Airport seemed thrilled to see us, relieved that this time we were here with our suitcases. In the last couple of months, it had seen us here often, but only to pick-up our house guests. This time, we were flying out ourselves, after a long break of 10 or more weeks. So there was much glee in the air and a spring in our step.
Flying with the little one after this long span of 10 weeks, brought to the fore new realizations. For example - for a while now her stroller has been redundant. Yet it still cannot be rendered completely obsolete, since there are times she's better off being chained (Oops did I just say that?) strapped I mean, to prevent her from speeding through the airport, as if she's in a 5K race or something. Also, flight after flight, she's becoming more of a seasoned traveler herself. Enough to know the path of circulation within an airport, that is associated with taking a flight. Now if only something could be done, to have her willingly sit strapped in her aircraft seat, every time we fly, life would be a tad bit more breezier for sure...

2. Aah that magical, multi-dimensional, multi-cultural Mumbai city of mine! Each time I land there, it's like a straight-up shot of adrenaline into the entire system.
We landed at CSIA (Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport) late Tuesday night. The airport - my baby and my dream project, seems to be coming along nicely. It appears that it will be open later this year, if all goes as per schedule. Cant wait to see my team's work up and ready, being used by the city and hopefully liked by them too.

3. Since we had landed the night before Holi, we passed many a 'Holika' fires enroute to the In-laws place. I was in the city after over a decade, during Holi and was certainly looking forward to celebrating this one with the Hubster and more importantly introducing the festival to the daughter.
Maharashtra has faced a drought this year and on account of the water shortage, this was to be a Dry Holi - the kinds that is usually played abroad. All of us (Hubster's side of the family, since mine was out of town) went to our local club in Bandra, for the Holi party. Here, amidst blaringly loud Bollywood Holi songs, much dancing, other club members and some 'Thandaai' and snacks, we brought in our 20 month old's first real Holi - played Mumbai style. Quite a neat freak this one, she didn't care much for the colours and even glared at us at times, for dirtying her white clothes with various shades of colour. Since she is quite the water-baby, we thought perhaps water would have made her more comfortable. She did enjoy the music though, amusing everyone around, with her dance moves and shimmying shoulders. I hope the next Holi might prove more enjoyable for her, as she will have a better understanding of the festival and hopefully be OK with the "mess". The 'neat freak' in me may have brushed off too strongly on her, I think. Gulp!

4. Re-connecting and meeting with friends, old and new in Mumbai is always something I look forward to, each time I return to the city. Inspite of this one being only a 3-day visit to the city, we spent most of our days out and about - doing dinners, drinks and lunches with friends, while we ran errands/ shopped and pampered ourselves on the side.
A special mention must be made for the all-girls brunch I had, with one of my bestie's and her sweet little 7 year old at Yellow Tree Cafe. I had heard good things about this quaint little Bandra spot, which seemed alright until the crostini's arrived on the table. They looked and tasted like mini-pizzettes!! Seriously? These are the moments that make me think, Mumbai has only partially arrived on the international food scene. I mean I understand the adaptation to suit the desi palate and all, but in my books it is sacrilege to try to pas off a crostini which is treated like a pizza! Naturally I sent them back to the kitchen, asking to speak to the chef, clearly letting him know that I was looking for Crostini's, not mini-pizzas. Whew!

5. While in Bandra, we also met up with two other friends who've moved to Mumbai from NYC a few years ago, at another restaurant called Basilico. Here I related to them, my crostini mishap from the afternoon at Yellow Tree Cafe and we figured we'd do a 'Bread Test' at Basilico. So strangely enough, we ordered Focaccia bread along with our drinks, much to the waiter's surprise. The intention was to taste the bread to see if it stands up to international standards. It did OK and we were left agreeing with our friends, that in general Mumbai needs to step up it's act on the authenticity of the international cuisine it serves.
Post drinks, our friends took us to their newly set up swanky office space in a site that I found oddly appealing on account of it's incompleteness. Situated bang in the middle of town, in Bandra's Pali Village, their office (They call themselves deCODE Architects) sits within a semi-demolished/ derelict building structure, that houses just one other home, other than their office, on the site. Only in Mumbai, can architectural opportunities such as this reveal themselves. Both our friends are now working on interesting projects and have big ideas conceptualized for their dynamic office space. We are super thrilled at their new pad and wish them luck in all their upcoming projects and ventures.

6. Mandatory must-do's on the list included dinner at the bestie's place where her 7 year old and our 20 month old bonded over random dances, snacks and senseless graffiti, thankfully only on paper. Ira, the smartest 7 year old I know, has written a beautiful poem for Zoe, ever since Zoe was born. Every time these girls meet, Ira sings the poem out aloud to L'ill Z who just blinks around wondering what it means. This time I was happy to catch the recitation on video and am sure this one is a keeper for life.
We also celebrated the bestie's upcoming new gig, as part of which she gets to travel the world in the near future. Naturally, an entire bottle of Chianti was downed within a few hours. I am elated that she will be coming to Singapore in a few weeks!

7. The SIL & BIL took us out to dinner to the classic Mumbai Mughlai establishment - Copper Chimney at Worli. We were celebrating their new home and their new ride. The food was exemplary and the service divine, as one usually expects in such high-end, landmark eating establishments in Mumbai. To add to the experience, the little one decided to be well-behaved at the restaurant too, which in hindsight we figured, wasn't really required. For in most restaurants in Mumbai, one tends to overlook misbehaved toddlers simply because there are so many of them. I know, I know I have a lot to be thankful for since mine is considered 'better-behaved' than most according to other parents, but still. There's no harm in aiming higher now, is there?

8. One night Hubster and I took off for a quiet walk around his home. I had never really seen Shivaji Park up close and personal so we decided we would take a walk around the park, so Hubster could show me around. Hubster has been a Bandra boy all his life, since it is there that he really grew up. His parents moved to Shivaji Park only a year or so after he moved to the US. Yet he knew more about this neighborhood than I did.
We treated ourselves to Tibb's frankie's and roadside grilled sandwiches, before we set out to the Natural's ice cream parlour nearby to sample the fresh fruit ice creams that they have always been famous for. After digging into their Mango and Chikku flavours, we walked under a full moon, hand-in-hand, circling the periphery of the park. To the urbanist in me, this was the ideal social space that a city can give back to it's people. To the sporty Hubster, this was where some of his heroes played cricket before they became the Star Cricketers they are today. Both of us had our own individual associations with this large urban expanse of open space and we agreed this was indeed a great space to grow up around and have access to, in this part of the city.

9. The FIL decided he'd take me on a food tour of some of Mumbai's classic restaurants to continue our foodie-adventure that we embarked upon with him and MIL in Singapore. So one morning he led all of us to Sharda Bhavan in Matunga, especially because I cherish a good South Indian fare for breakfast. Sweetest gesture ever!
In this establishments old world charm, we devoured Idlis, Vadai's, Dosai's, Uttapam's and filter coffee. It was nice to see an old Mumbai food house maintain it's menu, quality and level of service even in today's day and age. It's fan following was evident, in that it was completely packed, by regulars who eat here every day, for the last number of years of their lives. A classic case of a good, much-loved, simple and reasonably priced restaurant, running successfully even today.
The next afternoon FIL took us to Gypsy Chinese - another iconic Chinese restaurant in Dadar, a short walk from Hubster's home. Here we stuffed our faces with fried rice, Chicken Manchurian and Schezuan noodles until we could have no more.
In Singapore, I had casually mentioned to the FIL, that I wanted to eat Parsi food in Mumbai, this time. Hats off to him for trying to arrange the best possible Parsi culinary experience for me, in Mumbai. He called his foodie friends to confirm which of the three Parsi restaurants that he knew of, were personally tried and tested by them. He even got them to tell him their personal favourites from the menu of each of those places, so we could pick accordingly. Unfortunately, we did not have time to go relish Parsi cuisine this time around, so that one will have to wait until the next time we visit the city. That and our absolute must-have which we did without, on this trip to Mumbai - the Vada Pav, that too from Kirti College. The next trip will start with the above two for sure!
Eating out with the FIL especially in Mumbai, is like a 'lunch & learn' all by itself. He recounts stories on the history and politics of Mumbai, shares knowledge acquired from books and their writers themselves. I can already tell he's going to make for a great storyteller for Zoe with his immense knowledge of every aspect of Mumbai city, from it's history, geography, sociology to it's myths, eating places, players and leaders and his animated, voice-modulated expression of it all. In him, we have our own in-house go-to guy for anything and everything Mumbai-related for sure.

10. We bid Mumbai adieu to head to Delhi for the remainder of our India trip. Pops (my dad) was joining Hubster, Zoe and I on this flight there. Mom was already in Delhi - in Greater Noida more appropriately as we found out later, at my Aunt's place. We were going to have a mini family reunion (and yet another gastronomic excursion of the city) the next couple of days there.

Zoe's a lucky girl as she's had the opportunity to hang out with both her Grandparents, Great grandparents, a few Aunts and Uncles and a few friends, one after the other, almost all through this month, that too in three cities. This is sort of a microcosm of what the big picture of her life looks like right now! She'll hardly remember this phase of her life when she grows up, although with my extensive written and photographic documentation, that might be impossible. Yet I do hope, that if and when she does understand how the first few years of her life were spent, she will be thrilled about it. And most importantly, will be happy to know that of all the suitcases we traveled around with, the most treasured was the one which had her in it!

On that mushy note, that's it for this week. The next week begins in Delhi & Greater Noida and ends in Singapore. So stay tuned!
Love,
Shweyta

Singapore Suitcases: Week 23 - Of 'Maccha' happy hours in public, 'food tourism' with the In-laws & 'P is for Photographer!

1. It's strange that Singapore, a country otherwise so stringent with it's law system, should not have a law against drinking in public! One can often see people drinking here out in the open. No, I don't mean sitting out in the park, with a blanket spread on the lawn, sipping on a lovely glass of red while gazing at the stars kinda drinking-in-the-open scene. I mean sitting out in the park, with a blanket spread on the lawn, drinking a quarter of vodka/ rum or even cheap alcohol complete with 'chakna' as it is popularly termed in India (snacks such as masala peanuts, spiced cashews etc that are consumed while drinking) kinda drinking-in-the-open scene. Not that there's anything wrong with that, except of course the after-effects that it has on some drinkers.
I go back again, to one of my pet topics here in Singapore - the 'macchas' that one finds in plenty in Little India, especially on the weekends. As I wrote in my last week's update about the 'maids' at Lucky Plaza, this is yet another parallel weekend phenomenon - the 'maccha' gatherings in Little India.
Dozens of buses bring 'macchas' in hordes to Little India, not just from all areas of Singapore but even from Malaysia to spend the weekend here. To cater to their 'happy hour diets' one can find the enterprising 'desi' mom-and-pop grocery stores in the area, selling mini quarts of hard liquor accompanied with small packets of 'chakna' food, the likes of which I've described above. The large maidan-like green lawns in Little India provide for a natural open-air setting for these gatherings, where 'macchas' and their mats spread themselves, to enjoy their weekends.
What irks me most though about this drunken revelry is that because of this 'maccha happy hour' phenomena, girls hanging out in the area, often tend to get looked up and down by some of these men that get drunk and thus lose their senses. A friend once even analogised this 'maccha' happy hour phenomenon in Little India, over the weekend, to a sausage fest! Ahem!

2. The In-laws took off to Malaysia for half of this week. FIL wanted to sight-see around KL for a bit and visit the rain forest on the outskirts of the city. On their return, we found ourselves continuing our 'food tour' of the city with them.
Zsofis Tapas Bar was an impromptu find, for tapas and sangria sampling. Hidden in the heart of Little India, this gem of a tapas bar, surprised us with it's open rooftop that takes one back to Europe or NYC momentarily. A homely feel was lent to the venue by it's small terrace that easily accommodated 10 tables and a separate area that had a private party going on in it. One look at the area and Hubster and I stepped back into our NYC days, discussing how this would have lent itself beautifully to one of the many parties we hosted there. The rooted, down-to-earth and homely atmosphere served as a beautiful venue for the In-laws, Hubster and I, as we drank our hearts away, feasting on some yummy tapas that came along with pitchers of sangria.
Run by two friends who were inspired to set this up, from their backpacking trip to Granada, Spain, this rooftop restaurant is a delightful break from the otherwise high-end, posh and expensive restaurant culture in Singapore. Based on their experience of throwing parties on a rooftop during their time in Granada, the friends/ owners of this place, decided that Singapore needed one such place, where people could walk-in and order drinks accompanied by free tapas to go along with it.
Their vision has given this city-state a much needed oasis of a true European style restaurant. Zsofis ranks way high-up on my list of must-do restaurants in this city-state!

3. It was the In-laws wedding anniversary this week, which we brought in at Mustard, another restaurant that guarantees a delicious Indian fare - both Punjabi & Bengali. After having had our Diwali dinner here, we made a mental note to return for yet another celebration. (It's that kinda place that befits celebrations and not regular weekend eat-outs somehow). The In-Laws anniversary offered us just that opportunity.
The daughter had perhaps gauged, that this was a special occasion since we were all dressed up, so decided to be at her best restaurant behaviour, in a while. That means, she sat on her high chair for the entire time, co-operating happily with the rest of the group, only singing out aloud and jigging her shoulders at times, when the music called to do so. Yes she did have to be kept busy with her patent spoon-in-tumbler activity that I like to believe is a way of concocting new recipes, in her make-believe world. This place has left such an incredible culinary stamp on our hearts, that we can never get enough of it and now await the next set of guests that want to eat good Punjabi-Bong fare, so we can take them there. Until then, we are on a self-imposed restriction of no repeats; i.e going to a new place each time we eat out!

4. Hubster and I finally got our Malaysian visas this week, which means we are now free to buy air or train tickets and head there, whenever we like. Malaysia is the only country connected by road/ rail to Singapore directly. Hence the endeavour this time around will be to try to take a train ride there. I remember writing about this in  an earlier post, but now that we are much closer to doing it, it's even more exciting. So please bear with my repetition atleast this one time.

5. We took the In-laws to the  Botanical Gardens one afternoon. This was our first visit there too and we were partially impressed, as we subconsciously compared these gardens to our previous such experience - of the NY Botanical Gardens, where one rode around in an internal tram, on account of their large expanse. Singapore Botanical Gardens are spread out too, yet there is no tram here that facilitates internal circulation as much. The idea probably is to come experience the garden a multiple number of times, sort of like to use it as the city's Central Park. The somewhat proximity of these to our place, makes me happier as I see myself coming here more often than I had thought, yet I am left wishing they were right next door, so I could use them for daily runs whenever I like. For now the streets and the gym will have to suffice for those, I suppose!

6. Our last evening with the in-laws was spent at the very hip and high altitude bar - Ku De Ta - Singapore's iconic bar perched atop the Marina Bay Sands, with panoramic views of the city and even Malaysia in the distance. It's amazing how opulence just hits you in your face everywhere you go in this city-state. Yet here, thankfully it gets balanced out by the average visiting tourist who comes here just to take in the views from the huge outdoor deck. All in all a great place for the aerial Singapore 'darshan' for sure!

7. P.S Cafe is more my kind of place. It's Dempsey Hill location on a huge green landscaped property where kids can run around and play while their parents await their table reservations is fabulous. This is the kind of cafe one wishes one had back in NYC, (if not for space constraints, naturally) what with it's uber cool vibe coupled with an endless outdoor lawn to sprawl on for as long as one likes. Another addition to the go-back-to list.

8. Riders Cafe was another brunch spot we struck off our list with the in-laws. (Yes, you see I was serious when I said that this was going to be a 'food tour' of the city for them). Situated in Bukit Timah Saddle Club, one can often see riders training around here, while eating. This was yet another successful attempt at integrating the site and nature around it, to incorporate a restaurant within, making it into a great space by day or night.

9. Zoe's class culminated it's 'P' week by visiting a Photographer's Studio. It was adorable to see all the kids hold hands to leave school together and walk up to the photo studio, just a few floors away. Zoe could be found yelling out loudly "Hold Hand", each time someone left their friend's hand, as if she was in-charge.
Our little Ms. Pokes-her-nose-into-everyone's-business can get quite insistent especially when it comes to issues such as cleanliness and safety. (Try taking a cab ride with her and not holding the overhead handle by the window seat! This little disciplinarian will make sure she says "Hold" as many times as it takes to get you to grab that handle. You will eventually give in and grab the damn thing, just so you can shut this little nag up sometimes! Yeah I told you, we are bound to have a love-hate relationship; she and I. We are Mother-Daughter after all!)  
In the Photo Studio, they all huddled up with each other and waved "Hiiii" and "Cheeese" to the camera, posing in joy for multiple shots. A brief explanation followed by the teacher and the photographer about photos and cameras etc after which it was time to go home.

On that note of 'going home' it is indeed time to head home - to India, for a short visit next week. The In-laws fly back to Mumbai on Monday night and in a comical tit-for-tat sort of scenario of hosts-turning-guests and vice-versa, we land up at their place on Tuesday. Our good-bye's this time with them were casual as we all bid each other "See you tomorrow" before they left Singapore!
There's a lot to look forward to in this trip to India; the ever-magical, effervescent Mumbai, playing Holi after a decade in Mumbai for both Hubster and me & it being Zoe's first ever proper Holi, a mini family reunion in Delhi and meeting our lovely friends and family in both cities! Most importantly though, I was jubilant that after an 8 week hiatus our travel groove is back on!
Got to go pack!
Until next week, Thanks for reading!
Love,
Shweyta

Singapore Suitcases: Week 22 - Of aquatic sports, more house guests & the 'maid-maccha' madness!

1. Started the week on an aquatic note! Singapore's favourite building-ammenity is swimming pools. Our building has four of them. So I decided, while here, why not perfect my swim strokes? I've always been only a 'freestyle' swimmer. But now want to learn a few other strokes as well. So after a little back and forth with a swimming instructor, I was all in. His name is Iceman. Now now, don't go judging around already! He's a trained swimming coach/ life guard and drives a taxi for his day job. Interesting mix, I thought! Iceman (He insists that is his name) and I took some time to understand each other's accents. His, is a very broken, Singaporean/ Chinese English one and mine, is just another regular Indian-with-some-American-twangs-kinda one. Iceman thinks he'll have me 'frog-styling' in just 4 classes (each session is 45 min to an hour long). Spending the first hour of my day in the water, has literally 'refreshed' my first week. Looking forward to being the frog that complements my baby tadpole, in a few weeks from now!

2. The other activity I plan to pursue, while here in Singapore is Dragon Boating. It is not something one hears of much in the West, so again I thought, why not pursue it while here? Let's just say I am going all contextual even in leisure!
Dragon Boating takes a few hours of training and then one signs up with a team, to go practice thrice a week. While I hope to get some super deltoids and arms at the end of this, I also hope to make new friends in the team members that I boat with. For those of you relatively unaware of what this sport entails, think the Kerala boat races. If you still don't know what I am talking about, these images should help.
I first started out thinking of going kayaking here until I discovered Dragon Boating. The team I plan to join, has a race coming up at the end of the month, after which they start enrolling new members. So sometime in April, this fever should kick-off too. Can't wait!

3. Zoe's school is now focusing on the letter 'P' this week. As per their regular lessons, all week long, they have been going to school in 'Pink' or 'Purple' and even have a 'Pyjama party' planned next week. The 'P' letter lesson culminates in a tour to a "P for Photographer's" studio at the end of next week. Her class size has now expanded to accommodate 2 more children, making it into a full class of 6 little ones. Zoe is the youngest in her class, where the oldest child is 4 years old. Together they make for an energetic, jumpy handful of kids, all immensely fond of each other! It is an absolute pleasure to watch them interact with each other, especially at the 'tours' that the school arranges for them, in which parents are invited to tag along too. I do often wonder if Zoe will already sense a feeling of being 'uprooted' when we move out of Singapore? Time will tell...

4. Our regular lunch sessions, found Khyati (my other expat friend here in Singapore, aka cute little Varnika's mommy) and me at a Mediterranean spot, this week called The Original Sin. We were thrilled at the delicious and fresh fare served here, as we spent our afternoon catching-up and announcing to each other our future travel itineraries. In what has become a weekly affair, our lunches (strictly sans-babies as we like them to be) will now stop for a few weeks, until both of us are back from our travels. Can't wait for the next one!

5. The In-laws arrived Friday evening. Hubster and I went to receive them at Changi, while Zoe stayed home with 'Tita' (Janet, our helper is called 'Tita' by Zoe. 'Tita' is Tagalog for 'Aunt'). The weekend was spent taking them to some of our favourite local restaurants. Since they've been to Singapore before, there really is not much local tourism on their agenda. So we've decided to make it into a 'food tourism' kinda trip.
Saturday brunch was at the first place on our 'food tourism' check list - our usual hangout - The Murugan Idli Shop. It doesn't fail to impress with it's softest idli's and endless chutney and sambar, that keeps refurbishing itself out of nowhere, throughout the meal. That night we took them to The Lantern Rooftop Bar at the Fullerton Hotel, where over drinks and fare we chatted away, looking out at the spectacular night-kites in the sky (These kites are lit up and make for a visual delight when seen strewn across the night sky). Detailed plans got made for their stay here with us, which ranged from Mall-shopping to Malaysia. Looking forward to all the fun!

6. Zoe turned 20 month's old this week. Since all this monthly celebration business will stop after Zoe turns 2 on July 13th, this gives me just four more opportunities to bake desserts for the 13th of each month. So this week I decided to make my own ice-cream, for the very first time ever. Of course we don't have an ice-cream maker (No unnecessary clutter in my kitchen). So I needed to employ a 'sans-ice-cream maker recipe' this time. Worked out spectacularly and now instigates me to try out all the other flavours that I have in mind. I made a Cocoa ice cream this time. The In-law's, Hubster and Tita, all loved it. The daughter though very guardedly was given only two licks of it, for fear of a sugar-rush. I dread to think what a sugar rush would do to this already superlatively energetic bunny in our home!

7. On Sunday's, it appears as though the population in this city-state suddenly triples! Especially in the area we live, one can find hordes of 'helper and maid' population abound on Sunday's. It's out of nowhere, that this otherwise invisible population, that one doesn't encounter on a Monday-through-Saturday-basis, suddenly manifests itself in your face on Sunday afternoons. And like bees to honey, the 'maccha population' of construction workers flock around these maids. Some trying to pick up their catch for the day and others meeting their girlfriends.
There has been talk that some helpers/ maids do 'side jobs' on their days off, to make some extra money. Usually this money is enough to support their stylish lifestyles as well, often equal to or exceeding in some cases, what they make from their employers as full-time help. This 'maid-maccha madness' is profound near Lucky Plaza - a shopping mall with most Filipino businesses and restaurants, a few blocks away from our home, in the Orchard area. Walking through this area on Sunday's, that too with a stroller calls for much maneuvering around to avoid stepping on people's toes, quite literally.
On a similar note, the height of shopping in Singapore is perhaps reached, when one sees people shopping for people, on the street in some areas of this city-state. It's taking 'foot-path shopping' to a whole new level, when one walks by an area such as Orchard Towers, especially on Saturday nights to find what can be described at best as a collection of girls, strewn across the pavement, waiting to be picked up by interested clients. Mind you, this is Singapore, so there is nothing unsafe about strolling in this area by night. In fact, if anything, it's actually interesting to witness a 'pick-up' scene here, as it is stark, in-your-face unlike in some other areas, such as outside posh, high-end bars and clubs. While considered despicable and avoidable by some, this area often captures the intrigue of the voyeur in me, to further investigate this phenomenon to perhaps write in detail about it someday!

That's all for Week 22! Time to go hit the gym, this time with ma and pa-in-law to accompany me as well!
See you next week.
Love,
Shweyta

Singapore Suitcases: Week 21 - Of SingPost's efficiency, weekly lunch-dates & my "flower child's" school supermarket tour!

1. I found myself at a SingPost (short for Singapore Post Office), one afternoon, this week, sending off a package to NYC. After waiting for a good 10 minutes, when I walked up to a counter, I was politely alerted towards the "token dispensing" machine, that I had so nicely seen through at first. The systematic functioning of a post office was literally in my face, here. People waited punctually, like in a 'desi' bank and when their token number flashed on the screen, they went up to the respective counter. The staff was courteous, professional and warm even (This guy I was dealing with was patient enough to walk me through all the options I had, to send out mail to NYC, how much each one would cost, what would work better for me. He, finally even spoon-fed me how/ where to write the address of the sender and the 'addressee' If I hadn't been looking, he would've probably held my hand and helped me write the addresses as well!).
No, this was not my first time ever at a Post Office, but this staff person must definitely have thought otherwise, going by how 'extra nice' he was being towards me. I was left wondering where are these 'nice' Singaporeans when my daughter shouts her heart out greeting them in the mall only to get barely any response at times! All in all, my first experience at SingPost was surely a very pleasant one. Guess I can start sending out snail mail to all my friends soon!

2. Khyati - my new friend in Singapore, (aka Varnika's mom), and I went out on the first of many (hopefully) weekly lunch dates. We met at Takashimaya - a shopping mall in the Orchard Area and originally had plans to eat at a restaurant called Pique Nique. But this was a place that seemed to make no adjustments for vegetarian customers (Khyati is vegetarian). So we took our business and our hungry tummies to Beanstro - a cafe version of the otherwise popular CBTL chain (Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf). Here, over an open-faced shrimp and avocado sandwich (which took me back to my lunch days at Le Pain Quotidien on 19th between 5th and Broadway in Manhattan) and pasta, Khyati and I spent a delightful afternoon chatting each other up on various topics - from babies to Bombay, Manhattan to motherhood and work to wine. We've decided to make these lunches into a regular weekly affair for as long as possible (both of us have travel high-up on our agenda, so co-ordinating these might take some effort). 
I've always had this thing about lunch hours spent with friends. It was in NYC, where this concept walked into my life. Spending the lunch hour with someone, has always been my way of staying in touch with friends from all walks of life, especially those one doesn't often hang out with on weekends. Besides, weekday lunch breaks add so much pleasure into a regular weekday afternoon as well.
If you're reading this and have been one of my lunch buds in the city, know that you're being thought of right now :)

3. Janet's (our helper's) mother, who lives in a small village in The Philippines is unwell and has been hospitalized recently. Naturally Janet is worried as are we, when we see her otherwise sunny and bright face look a little forlorn, now and then. So we've decided to send her home to go see her ailing mother. As it turns out luckily for us, we are going to be in Mumbai and Delhi ourselves towards the end of this month. So timing wise it works well for Janet to leave then too. As is the case with the legality of the maid-issue in Singapore, as her employer, we had to take care of some paperwork and pay a 'home leave' allowance to the government to sanction her travel and time-off. Thankfully, all that got done with, in time and now with her tickets all set, good ol' Janet's smile is back on her happy face! She tells me she prays everyday that we get to stay in Singapore longer, so she can keep working with us. Umm..while I won't just as yet say 'Amen' to that I will definitely hope her prayers regarding her mother are heard soon!

4. I got so used to seeing 'calorie counts' of food items in cafe display windows in NYC, that I find it a little odd to not see that anymore now. I must have made Mayor Bloomberg very proud, when in NYC, I would order something to eat, only after glancing at it's total calorie count. In Singapore, naturally there is no such law, so the 'voice in the head' has to assume charge and take over, to refrain me from ordering that yummy looking fancy shmancy croissant-lookalike snack. Perhaps there's an app made that I can use, which by merely flashing my phone at a snack, can tell me it's calorie count right away?

5. Zoe's pre-school culminated their 'Chef's Week' with a rather fun educational tour of the Supermarket. I was delighted when they picked our neighborhood Japanese supermarket (my personal fave) - Isetan, for the tour. Zoe and her school buds along with Teacher's Grace and Sabrina, met me and a few other parents at the supermarket for the tour. Teacher Grace picked up strawberries, bananas, cabbage, onions, pumpkin etc to introduce their textures, English and Mandarin names and smells to each little one. As is usually the case with Zoe (and her mother too, now that I think of it) when around food, she finds it hard to not eat it. Her logic is simple - if it's food, it's got to be eaten right? So I had a hard time trying to say "No" to her each time she cried out "Opunnnn" or "Eat Eat" for the veggies and the fruits. We then thankfully moved on to the frozen food section, where she could make no such request thankfully. Here Teacher Grace picked up frozen fish, crab, tiger prawns etc to introduce the concept of 'big & small' and 'hard & soft' to the kids.
I have a feeling Zoe might grow up wanting to be vegetarian, going by the tremendous love and adulation that she shows for anything that moves or doesn't. (She went all "Awwww Fishyyy sleeping" at the Frozen fish who's sad eye was open) She surely is taking her 'flower child' title very literally, this one!

6. Everyone knows Singapore barely grows anything on it's own, so naturally all the food we eat here is imported from all over the world. I still remember the first time I made Pav Bhaji here in Singapore, I referred to it as Global Pav Bhaji as I had used Chinese Cauliflower, Aussie onions, Japanese potatoes, Dutch tomatoes & Californian carrots. All that to be eaten with 'desi' pav's. Actual melting pot - my pressure cooker was, that night for sure!
Cold Storage is one of the largest supermarket chains in Singapore. Their tag line reads - "Cold Storage - The fresh food people!" Always brings a smile and a smirk to my face, both at the same time somehow!

That's all for Week 21. Week 22 sees the In-laws visiting us - our second house guests here in Singapore. And then on, the doors are open for many other visitors who plan to come all through March & April.
Big Cheers to Travel - whether we are the one's doing it or it's bringing others to us - it never fails to make us happy!
Happy reading,
Shweyta

Singapore Suitcases: Week 20 - Of Writing in isolation, Giving in to the system & Zoe's second-ever play-date!

1. Sari - (Our visiting villager from NYC, who you might remember from Week 19's post) came back to see us on Monday afternoon, this week. Zoe had just got back from school, so she and Sari played together and bid each other their final farewells, since Sari was flying out the next day. The afternoon was fun - as the three of us, Sari, Zoe and I alternated between fooling around with each other and watching the Oscar's on TV. It was my first time ever watching the Oscar's while drinking coffee and eating oatmeal. It just didn't feel right. For the last decade the Oscar's have always been seen with a drink and some appetizers in hand, either at home or at a Oscar-viewing party somewhere. Before that decade, they were watched at home in Mumbai, very early in the mornings. This breakfast-date with the Award's show was certainly off!
Sari and I, left a napping Zoe at home, to grab some lunch downstairs. Our conversation over lunch hovered around the 'tipping' strategies all over the world, which had been a lurking topic in my head all along for my weekly columns on The Metrognome. Sari, with her experiences and titbits on the issue, got me all excited to go write about it right away. Thus, my post for this week's column evolved through a fun lunch discussion and was inspired by my visitor friend. Now if only she could keep coming back or sending more of the others, so I could get a good warm-up session for each week's post.

2. Talking about writing; It's almost what I do full-time these days and yes, it can get really hard. Even though writing comes easily to me, when one starts pursuing one's passion with a deadline, things don't seem as easy suddenly. For starters, I can't afford a Writer's Block anymore. And certainly not on Tuesday afternoons, since my weekly deadline is Tuesday evenings. While a context such as 'Outside In' can be wide enough to write a post about each week, it can get challenging at times trying to stay within it's realm. One cannot afford a lack of inspiration or have one of those days, when words don't just come to you.
The other thing about writing for so many hours in a week is - it largely alienates you from the world, yet ironically it is them you're really writing about. Sort of like a voyeur who sits by himself/ herself and observes.
In my case, I write best when I am sitting in a crowded place. Naturally cafes with free Wi-Fi are my haunts. Yet those work only until a point, after which one starts feeling odd - about having occupied a table and yet not ordered anything more than a tea or a muffin. Not that anyone comes trying to drive you away or anything. But I've realized a cafe can, at best hold me for only up to 4-5 hours in a day.
My own mini-office setup though, in my building's business centre works better. This area operates like one of those rent-a-desk spaces, except it's free and open 9 am to 10 pm everyday. I come and park myself here in the mornings, get some work/ reading done, leave my laptop/ bag etc here to go to lunch/ run errands during the day (maybe even take a dip in the pool outside if my brain goes blank at some point) and then back in the afternoons until late evenings to write before packing up for the day. All the concierges are friends by now which is super (they adjust the air-conditioning as soon as they see me walking over), the work environment is liberal with other neighbors working out of here as well and exchanging notes on their expat-isms and travels. There is a small library attached to this space and a printer-fax setup too, plus if I really want, I can come here in my pj's, so this is going well as you can tell!

3. Hubster left for India mid-week on work. His original plan was to go to Delhi to ensure the team he's managing is doing well there. The night before flying out he tells me he's off to Hyderabad instead. On asking he shamelessly replied - "I feel like eating Hyderabadi Biryani over Dilli ki chaat." I rolled my eyes and left the room, imagining the deliciousness of both.

4. Zoe and I went over to Little Varnika's place on Wednesday morning for a play date (This was probably my 2nd time ever play-dating around with Zoe). Khyati (Varnika's Mum) and I made friends at a local play-area where both our girls were playing. Naturally we hit it off the moment we learnt, that both our daughters were born in New York City. Since then, we've been in touch and hang out whenever possible.
The play-date was as much fun for the kids as it was for us mommies. Khyati being a gracious hostess brought out yummy treats and toys for the kids. Z and I left in a few hours, making sure we'd meet for a lunch date next week, without the little ones. Looking forward to that!

5. I finally succumbed to the system and got myself a Dependent Pass (DP). As is clear by it's name, it is the pass for the spouse/ family of a person who works here on an Employment Pass (EP). Having a two year long tourist visa, didn't really need me to get a DP, especially as I was in and out of the country every few weeks. But, the Malaysian consulate wouldn't let me apply for a multiple entry tourist visa for Malaysia, without being on a Singaporean visa first. So the DP had to be got!
On a tourist visa, an Indian is only allowed to stay in Singapore for 30 days from the date of arrival. Since we've officially crossed over that time limit this month, I would have to bite the bullet and get the DP. Funnily enough I learnt of this, only three days before I'd have to leave the country and re-enter.
Hubster's company, got all the paperwork done in good time. Singapore MOM (Ministry of Manpower) which is super-efficient in all visa processes, issued my visa and sent over a letter, requesting me to come collect the DP in person from their office, this week.
Only in Singapore perhaps, can a government system be this well-automated and quick! My appointment time was 2 :00 pm. I walked into the MOM office at 1:55 pm and took my token from a machine. I thought I would need to go in and wait until it was my turn to walk over to an officer's booth. At 1:56 pm as I walked into the office, token in hand, my name was already flashing across the bulletin board. At 1:58 pm I was finger-printed, photographed and all done, ready to leave the office. Never before have I ever had such a smooth, effortless experience with a government office and I don't really think I ever will, anywhere else in the world either.

6. Thursday night was the rare night when Hubster came home early - at 8:00 pm, from work. To celebrate his early arrival, Zoe and I decided to take him out to dinner, to a Mediterranean restaurant - Medz, close to home. The food-court-like set up of the restaurant was interesting - It had stalls from Morocco, Turkey, Italy, Greece among others, thus offering a great variety of cuisines under the same roof. A quaint wine-bar on the side looked promising for another time, when we would re-visit without the little one. We figured Thursday could be family eat-out night here on - the one night we could take Zoe with us too. We do miss taking her everywhere like we used to in NY!

7. An impromptu girls night plan on Saturday saw us few chicks, eating our hearts out at Piedra Negra in the Arab Street area of Singapore. (Sorry for that link, but restaurants in Singapore don't always have websites, as those in NYC). Conversation flowed from careless Chinese cab-drivers to careers to children. Wow, unknowingly that became quite the alliteration there!
Post-dinner, Hubster joined us to go watch "Me, Myself aur Main" - a ridiculous Hindi movie, that only seemed enjoyable on account of the audience's smart passes made throughout. As I always say, it's important to watch bad movies once in a while too, just to refresh your head for the next good release.

8. Sunday afternoon, we took Zoe to try out a new indoor play gym called Royce Kids. Khyati aka Varnika's mommy has been nice enough to share with me her own compilation of kiddie play areas around town and Royce was one of them. Hubster and I are by now infamous for always forgetting at least one thing, when we take Zoe out with us. In the past it's been her diapers, milk, food, blanket, car seat, change of clothes while going swimming...everything possible that an infant/ baby needs has been forgotten by us at some point. A friend once even jokingly asked if we had ever forgotten Zoe somewhere. That, fortunately for us, has never happened YET!
We had a great time at the indoor gym, although honestly after a point, Hubster and I were seen, conveniently pushing the responsibility of keeping an eye on her, on each other. The good thing about indoor gyms is that they are comprehensive and elaborately laid out in their planning. The bad thing about them is that they are indoors. I have yet to find a great outdoor kid's area here in Singapore, where Zoe can go every day, as she did while growing up in Newport. More than her, I miss that park, that so beautifully took over our lives, in the first year of her life - Newport Green.

That's it for Week 20. We've entered March already. This year has flown us by so quickly, while I've been busy typing away endlessly. And to think, I am still not done yet!

Thanks for reading. It's great to see the readership numbers go up and new countries emerge on my Blog's 'Audience Stats' section, with each week's post.
Love,
Shweyta