Back to the Conrad, where by now we'd been given a room and
our bags deposited in it. It wasn't my favorite room, being
foot or two shorter than what I'm accustomed to and facing
the other (apparently more prestigious though, as it has an
ocean view, if you peek out past the Pan Pacific and the
Mandarin) side. I am not sure, but I think that when I'm
alone I get a king room that feels slightly more spacious.
Afternoon tea with dim sum that just cannot compare, big
surprise; assorted sandwich fixings and salads; and sweets,
some of which are decent, especially the panna cotta. I
recommend the panna cotta.
Oh yeah, there's a Cabernet and a Shiraz-Cabernet. Get
the former. Remember to add the clearly enunciated word
Sauvignon. You won't be sorry.
We passed up the large FT gathering for a smaller one that
infoworks prearranged for a group of old friends at the Kok
Sen Coffeehouse, scene of our former triumphs before the Do
outgrew it.
A delicious Cantonese comfort-food meal washed down with
Tiger beers. I went light on the beers in anticipation of
the nocturnal nomadism to follow. Our dishes:
roast chicken - standard, nicely done with a soy-basted very
dark appetizing-looking skin; I ate more skin than meat, as
my tastes run different from most westerners';
beef with scallions - ditto, ordered for lili's benefit,
tame but good with the sambal provided on the side;
fried pomfret - this was absolutely delicious, the fish of
utmost freshness, fried crisp outside, tender and flaky
inside, in a soy-scallion-ginger sauce that I associate with
steamed fish; and for the veggie lovers,
gailan in garlic sauce and baby bok choy in the usual white
Cantonese sauce, both fresh and good.
Much hilarity amid a select group that have known each other
for over a decade. I sort of regret missing the big dinner
but sort of don't regret it, if you know what I mean.
At closing time we reluctantly said our goodbyes, and
infoworks accompanied me to Boat Quay, where the partygoers
were gathering at the fashionable nightspot Mogambo before
the traditional midnight hawker center event at Lau Pa Sat.
Beers here are four times what they were at Kok Sen, plus
they were warm. One does get to watch the long-legged young
girls and the young men who circle them like flies.
After a few beers the call was not to Lau Pa Sat but rather
Newton - which is more hopping at night and, importantly,
closer to the Hyatt and the Sheraton and the Marriott where
most of the people were staying. I had had my heart set on
Lau Pa Sat, though, but was told that all the stalls would
be closed anyway. I said tsai jien to everyone, and
infoworks and I walked northward, he to the IC, I back home.
It was a bit of an adventure to get there, though, as owing
to construction and the lateness of the hour, the route I
normally take was closed off in several spots, so instead of
the nice relaxing walk along the river to the Esplanade and
the heartwarming view of the lit-up Merlion, I was detoured
around through a closed parking garage, a construction site,
an operational parking garage, and finally to the hotel.