Chinatown & predeparture from Singapore.

Forgot to mention the High Tea we had at the Intercontinental yesterday afternoon. Was lovely! A 3 tiered platter of sweet and savoured started of with a truffle cottage pie. There were 2 different scones - both served with cream and jam - of fruit and lemon flavours; a bagette slice with smoked salmon, caramelised onion and hummus; bagette with sundries tomato, salami and olive; and a small pastry. The sweet tier consisted of a chocolate boat with berries in it; a raspberry cream pastry (mille feuallies? ?), a chocolate tiramisu square; a caramel slice and the most delicious macaron. All served with tea or coffee.

Today after recovering from last night, our first stop was the buffet breakfast at the hotel. Fair to say I gorged myself severely and have been full ever since. There were - most of which I sampled - 3 different dumplings, a pork bun, braised spicy pork ribs, a meaty stew type thing like a Chinese ragout, congee, rice, an assortment of mise en plais for a diy Asian soup, a full table of a man doing eggs any way you like them to order (including omelettes) a table of roast tomatoes, sausages, baked beans, potato rosti, bacon; another table with a chef preparing to order noodle soups with another array of seafood, meat and vegetables mise en plais; a table full of pain au chocolate, berry Danish, croissant and 5 different breads with a toaster, and 3 different muffins. Another table had a pile of waffles with a pick your own of 3 different compote, honey, maple syrup and whipped cream, followed but 7 different fresh fruit cut up, cereals, muesli and milk. Phew. Also tea and coffee by table service to order.

After the event that was breakfast we went opto China town. Caught the underground metro through the city and emerged on a bus sling street full of bolshy sales people, colours, trinkets, brands, perfumes, Taylors and food as far as the eye could see. Once through the first main street there was another and another and another. We settled on just some cold drinks after our breakfast and had lime juice and a mango pudding with frozen coconut ice. Very weird but very nice. Bought a few post cards and trinkets but nothing too exciting. Did however find a kind of sweet cured bbqed pork jerry. . Very weird but excellent. From Chinatown we came back to the city and our hotel to relax a little before our next outing: a sojern to a tapas bar that I pointed out on our arrival. Had wonderful food, really top notch: garlic oil sashimi with goats cheese, sumac veal pork balls in a potatoey puree, truffled parmesan fries; eggplant, dried tomato, basil and halloumi salad; fois gas parfait with brioche; alongside drinks: I had sangria yum yum yum. From Salt (the tapas bar) we crossed the road to the famous Raffles Hotel and the Long Bar where the Singapore sling was invented and peanuts are endless and available in shell in bags on the table and patrons are encouraged to through the shells on the floor: tradition, apparently.
After all of that, interspersed with various underground rides and checking out of our hotel, we have returned to the Intercontinentals pool to soak up the sun and heat before leaving for our flight to Zurich later tonight.
May post again from the airport but not sure. After Zurich is Athens, and a Island in Greece: our home for the next week.Read more