I had two more days of day-long meetings in Singapore. I would walk from the Ritz Carlton hotel where I stayed this time to our Suntec City offices through a labyrinth of shopping areas and malls, all interconnected to each other. Of shopping and food there are no dearth of options here; a variety of ethnic Asian cuisines jostle for space with Western ones in tidy food outlets clustered in and around the shopping malls.
Singapore has a fancy new stadium that opened earlier this year. Among some of the cool things the stadium has been designed for is its multiple ‘modes’. You can go from an Athletic mode to a Football mode by moving the lowest tier of the spectator seating that will hide the tracks! The other cool thing (literally!) is the blast of cool air that is pumped from under the seats to keep the spectators comfortable in this balmy city-state.
I have stayed at the W Hotel in San Francisco several time, but I had always ignored their restaurant Trace. Given all the great restaurants in downtown SF, I never gave it another thought. Turns out Trace can be a great place for a dinner, especially if you are in the hotel and don’t want to venture out. Like most trendy places in California that cater to the younger swish set, this one pairs fresh, local produce that is easy on the palate with smartly dressed, pretty waitstaff that are easy on the eye!
New York was remarkably warm and bright when I landed. If the weather here is so hospitable what else can possibly go wrong? Shortly after checking into my hotel, I decided to take a stroll in the welcoming outdoors and found myself looking up at the tall steel and glass buildings that make up the city’s familiar skyline; however, it was the older, darker building that caught my attention - the imposing facade of Grand Central Station.
Traditional Indian dining experiences have always been about tastes, flavors, even fragrance and tables laden with a variety of savory and sweet dishes. You almost always begin with an empty plate where food is served while at the table. This is true of even Bengali and South Indian festivals where multiple dishes are served at the beginning in quick succession and placed in very specific locations in and around your plate. Pre-plating is quite an alien concept to Indian cuisine.
Bombay has something for everybody. Whilst its days are crowded, dusty and sweltering, its nights are quite chilled out and fun. There is something for every taste: in food, drinks or in the right spot to soak in the vibe and energy that never seems to wane. With my wife's birthday just around the corner, we decided to do something a little different this time by spending a weekend hanging out together in this City of Dreams.
