The dramatic Singapore F1

I just came back from a few days in Singapore, where I had my first experience with F1. I'm glad I finally got the chance to go see F1 live, as I had missed two previous opportunities to do so.

Funnily enough, those two chances were both in the same year - 2004. I missed the chance to go to Sepang with clients, as it was both the day of my housewarming party as well as the day of Taiwanese presidential elections. Later that year I missed the chance to go to the first Shanghai F1 - again on a free ticket - because I flew back to Singapore to pack up my household items for the move to Hong Kong.

Anyway. I had picked the seat that was right on the left edge of the Esplanade Waterfront Grandstand. I thought that I would have an unobstructed view of the cars coming toward me on Turn 16, plus a good view of the cars speeding away from me on Turn 17. It took me a while of being on the internet plus calling the ticketing office to get the seat I wanted.

When I walked around the track on Friday afternoon, I was horrified to find out that I couldn't see Turn 16 clearly. There was a steel structure that was part of the Esplanade that was in my way, and a tree next to it! So my strategy completely failed. So I decided to roam around looking for good shooting locations.

During the final practice session on Saturday, I stood on the stairs at the right edge of the Esplanade Waterfront Grandstand. This gave me a view of the cars coming into Turn 17, and speeding away in front of the Bay Grandstand and into Turn 18. I decided to put my 300mm f/2.8 on the monopod and practice my panning as the cars came by. Got some decent shots.

For the qualifying, I moved to the stairs at the left edge of the Bay Grandstand. This gave me a reasonable view of the cars coming into Turn 18 as they passed below the grandstand. I decided not to pan but simply freeze the action with a fast shutter speed.

I was definitely at the right place at the right time. Near the end of qualifying on Saturday, Alonso's engine failed and he came sputtering down the stretch, stopping right in front of where I stood. He got out of his car and held is head in his hands, as realization took over that he would be nowhere near the top for this race. In my rush to take pictures, I had unfortunately forgotten that I was on manual exposure, so most of my pictures didn't quite come out. Otherwise these would have been really priceless shots.

For the finals on Sunday, I went back to the right edge of the Esplanade Waterfront Grandstand. Once again this proved to be a great spot. Nelson Piquet's Renault spun out of control and crashed against the Bay Grandstand. I had a direct view of this, and added my 2X extender to get some close shots.

For some reason, a few drivers just can't seem to get control of their cars and insist on going straight past Turn 18. Later we would see Toyota's Timo Glock crash into Turn 18 and end his race here.

There was of course more drama elsewhere on the track. It just wasn't Ferrari's day (or night, actually). Who could ever forget the sight of Massa's Ferrari speeding off with the fuel hose still attached to his car? And the Ferrari pit crew chasing after the car, removing the hose and carrying it back to their station? I was laughing my head off when this happened, and wished that I had taken the hospitality package because I'd be sitting right in front of the Ferrari pit! Then with about 3 laps to go, Raikkonen lost control and crashed out. No points for Ferrari.

So who won the first Singapore GP in the end? No one would have guessed that it was going to be Alonso, not even himself. For someone starting at the back of the grid to win the race, it was simply unbelievable. But it happened, and I'm sure ING and Renault threw one hell of a party afterwards.

Another couple of good meals in Singapore

I'm eating my way through Singapore, making up for all the time that I've been away. Besides the usual street food and supper, I did have another couple of memorable meals after the great start I had on Friday.

On Sunday, I got together with some friends for brunch at Braise, with a beachfront location on Sentosa. This seemed like a great location for a relaxing Sunday brunch, as the weather was beautiful - for the most part. Turns out the food was pretty good as well.

We started with a whole selection of starters - which one can have seconds, thirds, or however much one desires! These were:

Caesar Salad - pretty decent I must say
Scallop wrapped in Parma Ham with Rocket Salad, Honey Balsamic Dressing - the only dish I did not have, but the crowd liked it enough to get seconds
Pan Seared Foie Gras with Caramelized Banana - actually done pretty well and the banana was a nice touch
Poultry Consomme - this came with a foie gras ravioli and I definitely had seconds
King Prawn Cocktail Salad - pretty large and sweet prawns
Sundried Tomato and Spinach Olive and Parma Ham Escargot with Herb Crust - nice to nibble on
Pan Fried Crab Cake with Curry Aioli - really cute and delish

Next was the egg course, and I had mine done Benedict-style over an English muffin, with sausages. Not bad. While the ladies chose not to have a main course, I decided to have


Cod Fish and Chips. The batter was pretty good, and the cod was pretty tender and juicy, but I must say that the fish was a little bland. It could definitely use some more salt. The chips were thin wafers of taro, potato and sweet potato chips, very different from what I was expecting.

My friend who had the Angel Hair Pasta with Lobster Oil and Sauteed French Crevettes seemed to have enjoyed it, and it really did look delicious with those tiny shrimps.

For dessert, I had the Cheese Platter with a combination of hard and soft cheeses. Pretty good stuff.

While we could drink all the juices we wanted, I wanted to drink a bottle of the 2005 Cloudy Bay Te Koko. The price charged by the restaurant was only a slight premium to what the wine sells for retail in Hong Kong, so it was a no-brainer for me. The wine was delicious as I remembered, with notes of muscat grapes, green apples, honey and minerals. I really loved this wine, and it's such a different expression of the Sauvignon Blanc grape.

The restaurant has an excellent wine list, including a couple of vintages of Le Pin... which you would not expect from a restaurant with this location.

We spent about 4 hours just eating, chatting and generally enjoying ourselves. I thought the price was very reasonable for the quality as well as the quantity of the food. I think I would go back for another visit if given the chance.

For Monday night, I went for a totally different experience. I had tried the very yummy crab bee hoon (米粉) from Sin Huat Eating House some time ago (thanks again, Tony Bourdain), although the dishes were so expensive that my friends and I never went back. Three of us spent around SGD 300 for dinner, and at this at an open-air hawker stall establishment in Geylang!

Anyway, there have been recommendations floating around the net for a similar restaurant nearby, where the dish to order was crab tang hoon (冬粉), and apparently for much cheaper. So the original crew set off to find Ya Kwang (亞光), just down the road from Sin Huat in Geylang.

We started with kway chap (粿汁), flat noodles in sauce with a plate of braised pig intenstines, duck meat, tofu and egg. This was OK but not especially outstanding.

Next came a nice plate of Penang fried kway teow (炒粿條), which was full of flavor and, at a mere SGD 4, the best value of the evening.

The sambal sotong (calamari) was not as spicy as I expected, and it was OK.

The chicken wings were just finger food, but could have used a bit more marinating as it was a bit bland.

So what about the crab tang hoon? Well, it was pretty good. We had two Sri Lankan crabs which were big enough but not huge. The crabs were sweet tasting and good. There wasn't a whole lot of tang hoon, but since one of us decided not to partake too much of the dish, there was plenty to go around. Chef Jason does still use the Korean version of the tang hoon (used in chap chae) which were thicker and as a result less soggy. However, initially the tang hoon wasn't able to absorb a lot of the flavor from the crab, and it was only towards the end that I tasted the full flavor in the tang hoon. So the lesson here is to eat the crab first, and do the tang hoon later.

One thing that marred the experience was actually at the end, when we asked Chef Jason for the bill. I had read over the internet that the crab tang hoon costs SGD 25 and came with "two small crabs". A sign at the restaurant also confirmed that the dish cost either SGD 25 or 28, so I didn't bother asking for the price of the dish. When the bill came, the dish came to SGD 60.

Admittedly, this was still a bargain considering we just had two nice Sri Lankan crabs. But we decided to make an offhand remark (in jest) that while the food was delicious, it was a little expensive. If you want to see how fast you can piss off the chef, this would be the exact comment you would want to make. The mood changed instantly, and Jason said "You're kidding, right? You can complain that my food doesn't taste good, but don't tell me that I'm expensive!" He walked off, and was pissed enough to send someone after us to give us back the change/tip that we left on the table. I guess he really wasn't amused, and didn't exactly have a sense of humor...A word of warning to future potential diners...

A great start to the trip

I'm in Singapore for the first F1 race... It's been a while since I was in town last, and there are a number of restaurants that I've been wanting to try. I hit two of them today, and both have turned out to be great meals.

For lunch, my friends and I went to Forlino, a new Italian place with a killer location that is at the end of One Fullerton. The restaurant has views of Marina Square, and given the current F1 setup, the bar directly overlooks Turn 13 of the course. The decor of the restaurant is a bit funky, with some Philippe Starck elements that are at once both traditional and modern. The large windows ensure there is plenty of natural light.

I ordered a la carte, and started with cured cod and potato mousse. This was really yummy, and reminded of my trip to Spain and Portugal two years ago. Three scoops of shredded bacalhau and mashed potato, each with a thin sliver of baguette wedged in. The bacalhau was pretty flavorful, and of course the combination with potato was classic.

I tried a bite of my friend's deep-fried zucchini flower (in batter) stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies. The flavors of the anchovies blended well with the cheese and the batter, and this was pretty yummy too.

For main course I had the veal ravioli with truffles. The homemade ravioli stuffed with tender veal was pretty delicious, and although the black summer truffles weren't as fragrant as I would have liked, it was still pretty nice.

I ordered a half bottle of 2005 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Cuvee St. Catherine, made from the grapes of Clos des Capucins. The nose immediately signaled a higher-than-normal alcohol content, which was fair given that this was the ultra-ripe 2005 vintage. Nose of orange flowers, apricots and some minerals were very pleasant, and only a hint of sweetness on the palate.

My friends and I all enjoyed the meal very much, especially the SGD 45 set lunch which my friends ordered. I think we would all be back again...

For dinner, I booked a table at Goto (後藤), a Japanese kaiseki restaurant near Club Street. I had read about both Goto and Forlino from Chubby Hubby, and it sounded like a place I must try. As I am in between jobs and technically not earning any income for a few weeks, I ordered the SGD 180 set instead of the SGD 280 set that I normally would have gone for.

We started with a sampler - very, very delicious tofu (made with rich, viscous soya milk); lotus root konnyaku with thin slivers of deep-fried lotus root on top; barracuda sushi (魳, hakozushi 箱寿司style); a type of clam called ivory shell; delicious marinated eggplant with a sprinkle of yuzu; and marinated red pepper from Kyoto topped with bonito (鰹) flakes. The tofu was really amazing - full of soya flavor and the consistency is so soft and tender, almost half liquid.

Next we have a simple soup with pike eel (鱧) and matsutake mushrooms (松茸). The eel was really soft and tender, and the dab of plum sauce made it very interesting.

The next course was 御作り, where we started with bonito （鰹たたき) in ponzu, and moved onto squid, pike eel, bartailed flathead (鯒), pacific saury (秋刀魚) and toro. Both the squid and the bartailed flathead were quite chewy, while the pike eel - again with a dollop of plum sauce on top and some yuzu - was really nice. The pacific saury had the usual blend of fatty oil and strong fishy taste which I love. All in all, a very good selection.

Next came a simple cup of steamed lotus root mash, pike eel, lily bulb and thin strands of black ear fungus. The flavors and textures seem to work well together.

For grilled fish, we had whole ayu/sweetfish (鮎) as well as scabbard fish (太刀魚). There was a sweet seaweed (のり) miso sauce on the ayu that made it very interesting

The tempura course was pretty creative. I loved the bunch of sweet corn, and the shishitou (しし唐) pepper stuffed with minced prawn. A roll of pike eel with seaweed wrapped around asparagus was decent, and we also had ginko nuts and yamaimo (山芋). The last piece - fig with yuzu miso - was a real surprise.

The wooden box came with sticky rice topped with salmon roe (いくら) and chestnut. Interesting blend of sweet and savory flavors.

The trio of desserts was really, really yummy. I started on the fruit, which were completely ripe examples of Japanese grapes, pear and white peach. The raspberry ice cream was very flavorful, with lots of seeds to add texture. Finally, the creme caramel was soooo milky I lapped up every ounce of it.

We had one final sweet konnyaku topped with black syrup and peanut powder, which went very well with the delicious matcha (抹茶).

I brought my own bottle of sake - hand-carried from Tokyo - which was Kaganoi Daiginjo (加賀の井大吟醸). Pretty sweet at +1 (日本酒度) and a very fine 40% seimaibuai (精米歩合). Nice and fragrant, with nose of banana and vanilla.

Apparently the chef ships in ingredients from Japan four times a week, including the wonderful tofu. I had a really enjoyable meal, and I'll try the more expensive set on my next visit.

Restaurant Magazine's Top List 2008

The list of "World's 50 Best Restaurants" have just been published yet again by UK's Restaurant Magazine. The updated list for 2008 remains unchanged at the top, and since I haven't made any visits to Europe and the US since 2006, I have only been to 4 out of the top 10.  I would certainly agree that El Bulli, French Laundry and per se all merit a place within the top 10. Not so sure about Arzak.  I have been to 18 of the top 100 restaurants listed.

Honestly, some of the restaurant rankings make me choke, and I question whether some of the people on the panel really know what they are talking about, particularly when it comes to Asian/Japanese food.

As Chubby Hubby has already mentioned in his blog, restaurants from Japan are glaringly missing - there are NONE among the top 100. The top restaurant in Asia continues to be Bukhara in New Delhi - at #55. While I have been to Bukhara and really enjoyed my dining experience there, I feel that there are many, many better restaurants across Asia. Can this be a result of the heavy British influence, where many of the Brits have visited India while travel less to Japan?

Other British/western influence end up with some glaringly ludicrous rankings. Hakkasan at #19? Puh-leeeze! Chinese food for Brits in a hip setting, only a step up from serving chop suey and General Tso's chicken... Nobu London, Nobu New York, Zuma London and Zuma Hong Kong?! These guys clearly have never had a good meal in Japan! Why does Zuma Hong Kong even deserve its #99 spot?!

I am happy, however, with the fact that Singapore's Iggy's has shown up at #77. I have always liked Iggy's and felt it was the best western restuarant in Singapore by a long shot. Pierre Gagnaire in Hong Kong has also made it at #88.

Let us hope that the list improves every year, in terms of having more people on the panel who actually know Asian cuisine...

Sold!

Last week I flew to Singapore for a company offsite, which was a good chance for me to catch up with friends and hang out in Singapore.

After I landed, I heard from my partner that someone had given us an offer for our unit at Sentosa Cove, above our original target price. We decided that this was the right time to sell as we have made enough profits to be satisfied, and I signed on the dotted line (well...there was actually no line) once I arrived at my friend's house. Closing and getting the cash will be in 12 weeks' time.

Since I was staying at the Sentosa Resort, we decided to take a quick detour to see the construction sites on Sentosa Cove. The superstructure was pretty much done at the Azure, and the Oceanfront was beginning to rise up. As for the Coast, they were still doing foundation work.

Even though we always expected to flip out of this property quickly, it was still a little sad to have sold it before completion. I guess in the back of my mind, I always thought it would be nice to be able to sit on the big balcony and face the ocean. Oh well...

My dream property on Sentosa...

...well not quite. But I did partner up with a friend and put in a bid on a large, 3-bedroom unit at this ocean front development on Sentosa Island in Singapore. We were lucky enough to secure a good unit during the pre-launch of the project, and quite pleased with the overall layout. This is the first time I'm actually putting money to work in properties, but I'm pretty excited as I think the market sentiment is good. Given that we were allocated an attractive unit (7th floor, just below the duplex penthouse) and got in early enough at a reasonable price, we should be sitting pretty on this investment.

Bitten by the property bug

It finally happened...after years of refusing to put any money in properties and being extremely risk-averse, I've finally started looking at buying a place of my own.

I was looking around for a place in HK, an older place which I can renovate into a nice place to live in, done just the way I like it. Unfortunately we are rather high up on the property cycle, and thanks to the Fed we now have rather high interest rates. Monthly mortgage payments look a bit frightening, so maybe this is not to time to get that dream apartment done.

Lots of people have been going to Shanghai, and it still looks like a market with significant upside. But recent government measures bring uncertainty to the market, so we'll need to revisit next year.

That leaves Singapore. Lots of friends, colleagues and hedge funds have jumped into this market recently, pushing up prices on new developments. I should have got into this market 2 years ago as I was living there, but the general view is that market cycle is unlikely to dip until after 2009-10. So maybe there's still some opportunity here for leveraged exposure... Anyway, going down next week to check things out and we'll see what happens.