Singapore
Rainy day lunch begain with at the Chinatown Complex hawker stalls. You Fu Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodle lives up to their reputation, as does Hawker Chan (formerly Michelin *1), plus more milk tea. Throw in some char kway teow, Hainan chicken, and more roast meats, and it was a delicious meal, not to mention good to catch up not only with Gerard and Kristina, but Erick and his mom.
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands were my next stop; the Christmas decor seemed to be the smallest in scale of recent years, which is to say they were confined to the still-substantial display inside the mall, just nothing big and temporary outside. The main atrium in particular, full of Christmas trees suspended from the ceiling, works very well with all the trees and nutcrackers at the inverted-waterfountain end of the mall. Somewhere in there was a return to the hotel, complete with a walk through the smaller Millenia Walk shopping mall, for a cup of the seasonal strawberry milk from Koi The, a popular local chain. Woobbee might be the hotter local milk tea place at the moment, but sadly I could not find a location without a line (of course).
Dinner that night was over at Suntec City, one mall over from Millenia Walk. Song Fa Bak Kut Teh has expanded in recent years, and their expansion locations, including Suntec City Mall, still retain the quality of the original. Pork rib soup and pork intestine are both highlights, and the quick walk across the sky bridge to South Beach Towers and Bugis Junction area was welcome, both to take in the skyscrapers as well as walk off a bit of dinner on the way to catch Gerard for dessert.
Yat Ka Yan Dessert remains a very busy dessert place, arguably better than the more traditionally-vibed Ah Chew a short distance away, and they are quite tasty. The long line actually goes quick, and while they do let you sit down to enjoy your meal inside, they also don't let you linger too long. Which to be fair worked out, as it had been a series of very long days.