Day 7 Sing

Today we are completely on our own, Ming and I. We are actually enjoying each other's company. He tells me about the Warhammer book he's reading (in the cab, in the subway, walking...he who has never read more than 10 novels in his life), music, jokes, technical things and I try to listen. I think we both know we are completely dependent on each other now that Hub has gone home and F is busy with her work. He, for my money and me, for security and street direction. Hey, isn't it supposed to the the other way around?

We went to Vivo City, the biggest mall in Singapore I'm told. Now, how big can a 'biggest mall' in Singapore be, since the island state is only 42km x 14 km at the widest points, giving only 690 sq km ("Size of a booger" said the Taiwan foreign minister in 2004)? I'd say Vivo City is a waste of time (but remember, that's my opinion so don't get all heated up). It is quite a big mall, full of shops but nothing I'd want to buy.

We saw Sushi Tei, and hurried in. Now I've never liked sushi on trains but I was ready to be impressed so we sat at the train bar. Having missed out on toro at the Tzukiji Market in Japan, it's been my quest ever since to eat toro, something that Jerry Steingarten made to sound like a gastronomic climax. Since the waitress said we could order sushi items that were not on the train, that's what I did.


Ikura topped chawan mushi S$7/RM17/US$5.30.

While the egg custard was excellent--so soft yet held together and flavor just nice--the ikura was fishy. But what do I expect, it's salmon eggs.


Otoro sushi S$8/RM19/US$6, clam sushi S$4/RM9.60/US$3, belly salmon S$2.80/RM7/US$2 and soft shell crab maki S$6/RM14/US$4.50.

When I saw otoro sushi on the menu for S$8, I snickered. So cheap! But when it came looking more like faded maguro, I wasn't snickering anymore. Now it looks like I'm paying too much for an ordinary piece of tuna. Ok, maybe it was between maguro and chu toro. (Maguro 101: maguro is bluefin tuna, prized by the Japanese. When Jap eat sushi and sashimi, they prefer maguro and not sake or salmon like the rest of us. The reason why maguro tastes so bland in KK (I dare not include other Malaysian cities) is because ordinary tuna is used, not the bluefin! The belly meat of the maguro is called toro and is the most prized and expensive part of the fish because of the fat and the small portion available. The toro is divided into chu toro and otoro, the most expensive being otoro. Superior otoro is nearly white in color.) I ate my piece of otoro. The earth didn't shake. The sky didn't fall. It was like the maguro I usually eat in KK (which means bland), more soft than buttery. And it was fishy! Ming turned to me, not sure if it was an Emperor's New Clothes Moment, and said "Kinda fishy huh?"

We went on to the salmon belly (looking at my bill now, there may have been a mistake because S$2.80 seems too cheap for salmon belly). Another disappointment. Ok, so it wasn't sashimi, but still it was sliced so thin I couldn't quite taste any difference between it and the regular salmon. The clam was crunchy-chewy and good. The soft shell crab sushi was quite good. But you know, the most surprising thing about the sushi at Sushi Tei Vivo City is that the sushi rice was rather hard, not in the cooked-too-hard-way, but rather chilled or overnight-rice-way. Can't be so , can it?



Ming had the beef udon, which he said was very good because the udon was fresh and very el dente.



I had the pork ramen, which was quite good and the portion so big I couldn't finish it.

All that for S$56.73/RM136/US$42.50, which I thought was not cheap because I didn't get the toro I thought I would get.

Ming met up with his classmate Chong (who flew in with his dad for a couple of days) and they found a pet shop (my kids love pet shops) and the Japanese thrift shop Daiso, where everything is just S$2, on the top floor of Vivo. In the pet shop, I saw an ugly dog, a Japanese Chin. It had a strange, funny face with pop-out eyes like the chihuahuas (which I've always found quite ugly too), a scrawny body and a spaced-out expression that tickled me. You know the Chinese saying "One mountain higher than the other"? In the bottom cage I was shocked silent when this pug turned around. It was a French bulldog, with protruding eyes far apart above each of its ears, mouth and nose all scrunched together, big stand-up ears and short little legs. It looked pissed and it was the ugliest dog I've ever seen, so ugly it shut me up. I backed off to see the baby snauchzer, one of my favorite dogs.

From Vivo, we headed for Raffles Hotel where Rei said I could find a cake ingredients shop. Rei, I walked around the outside of the whole hotel, asked the bellboys (wish I had taken a pic of the Indian doorman who was dressed in a colonial uniform) and yet couldn't find such a shop. Still, it has been a long time since I last went to Raffles Hotel (where I couldn't afford to stay so I settled for a DKNY shirt and a pair of flats) and the hotel, despite looking out of place and small now, still has its charm and a regal historic air.