We stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel. We had a pretty nice view from our window, but coming from lush paradisaical Bali to a hotel catered for seasoned business travelers, it was a little sterile by comparison. The festivities began the night before; the kids in my generation went to Eka Ria, a family favorite, for dinner. Some of them met Hubs for the first time. Once upon a time, we sat at the kids' table, told dirty jokes, ran around the restaurant wild and ate pop rocks for dessert... now we're with our respective spousal units, talking about life in Brisbane, the Bay Area, Hong Kong, and Midtown Manhattan, the state of the Asian economy from a first-hand perspective, how their kids are doing in school. Seeing them again, it was almost shocking to see how much they've grown to resemble their parents - I'm sure I look more like my mother every day too.
Wedding morning: 7/7/07. We packed into the coach and headed to the church. Full Catholic mass with choir and string ensemble. Box lunch for guests, then back to the hotel where everyone flocked to the spa and salon to prime themselves for the black tie reception. Formal tea ceremony, group pictures, staring at the 5-foot tall glossy canvas poster of the newlyweds... I had always pictured the reception in a big grand ballroom, but it was actually in the garden. Hanging vines and lights decked the ceiling (a la Babylon), and heavy clear curtain enclosed the space so it could be a cool air-conditioned garden haven. Buffet stations with dishes from Peking Duck to salmon en croute lined the perimeter, and the fountain was surrounded by banquet tables of fresh fruit. Fancy!
Some pictures:
Hubby in Batik!
Army of photographers and videographers
The reception area
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By the time we returned to Singapore, we only had a few days left. No time to waste; time to hit the food!
* My Humble House, Esplanade - We got a table by the window, and the view of the river and skyline was spectacular. Cool concept, great food!
* Gyu Kaku, CHIJMES - Had our fill of Wagyu steak and tongue. Yakiniku = love! For comparison, we also ordered American Black Angus beef... it didn't even come close.
Sizzling meat!
* LOTS of sushi. Here's a priceless moment at Ichiban Boshi in Esplanade:
E built the E-Towers Plaza 1 and 2 with our sushi lids. (I apologized to the waitress for my 5 yr old husband.) Before we left, he even built a mini showroom version for the conveyor belt. :)
Dinner at Ichiban Boshi was actually with hubby and the Ex. Long story, but he was in Singapore too. We went to the Top of the M for drinks after dinner, where the waitress tried to serve us "mo-cheetoh" (I swear it's true!). The drinks were pricey, of course, but I practically got a whole pot of lychee martini. Feeling munchy by midnight, we went to the Swensen's across the street, then shared a cab home. Between E's childhood friend (see previous post) and the Ex, walking around Singapore alongside two ang mohs was interesting; I got the most reaction from cab drivers, ranging from plain cold and unfriendly to one that tried too hard to speak fancy English, even when I put on the friendliest girl-next-door Singlish I could muster. Funny, feeling like a stranger in my own home.
On one of our last days there, we paid the National Museum a visit. It's been ages since I went, and now that it's redone, I looked forward to seeing it again. The inside is amazing! We spent a whole afternoon in the History Gallery and didn't have time for anything else. I'm so proud of how much information hubby gleaned from the visit.
It didn't take long for me to warm up to the new apartment. I realized that too when we moved from the house I grew up in to the last apartment - I guess it really is true that home is where the heart is. I already miss being right across the street from Toast Box!
Plans are shaping up for us to go back again in February. No side trips this time... just lots of shopping, eating, and mucking around at home. W00t!
