Faking Lion wk 2

Second trip was all public transport and my trusty number elevens. Going around alone turns on my explore mode, covering shopping complexes Novena Square, Raffles City, Marina Square & Suntec City, prior to múm @ Esplanade. Yes, that dome-shaped building which Armani wanted to jump off in Royston Tan's ‘15’. The 7-man experimental Icelandic group was down for Mosaic, I was real excited only to find out pre-show that they ran out of merchandise -_- It was apparent from the moment the band set foot on stage, that 80% of the full house have not heard of múm. Singapore Fail #4. I was abit pissed off that the girls beside me started talking, good thing I can block off noise easily. Starting out with stuff from Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy, the combination of unconventional instruments and high-pitch voices was beautiful. When they started playing the old stuff which I love, I just chilled + zoned out to blissful land. I left super-satisfied when they played Smell Memory as their encore, my song of 2007. Still, many in the crowd left scratching their heads, and for that, Singapore Fail #5.

Upon Aaron’s recommendation, I took a bus to Holland Village for more sounds. Being jakun, I asked the bus uncle if he had change, at which he looked at me with horror hahaha. Shirlyn Tan & the Unxpecteds @ walawala totally blew me away. Playing covers from the Beatles and other old school bands, my jaw was already on the table when they executed Led Zep’s Black Dog to perfection, complete with that off-beat. They opened their third set with a medley from Floyd’s The Wall tracks 3-5, ending with Another Brick in the Wall pt.2. I’ve never seen or heard anything like it. An immediate convert, I bought her solo album Newfound Jealousy, and still loving the self-titled track. Walking around after that at 1am, I realized what impressed me most in Singapore – safety. I just felt safe walking around, no need to put on that awareness that I develop after midnight everytime I drive. That, and the prospect of having beer + pizza, while enjoying bands and friends, seemed really inviting.

Sarapan besok was toast & coffee @ Ya Kun, they might as well change their name to Yuc Ky. Singapore Fail #6. Imbi market still the best ever. From the financial district, I walked SW to Chinatown, back N to Clarke Quay, then E to the heritage museum & merlion. To satisfy my craze for ramen, I actually considered walking another 3km W, but due to time constraints I had to settle for Ajisen ramen, which wasn’t too bad. From Raffles area, I trekked to Ngee Ann, and eventually caught a LRT south to the train station back to Johor. Heh that was a pretty long walk.

All in all, the perfectionist in me has to applaud their systematic success stories, the public transport network, world-class universities, clean roads, promotion of local artistes and culture… Still, the people are very much stressful city folk who speed and throw rubbish on Malaysian highways, hence, they will always remain the Faking Lion.






Unxpected rockin' powerhouse @ walawala; gay singha for country symbol? FAIL

Faking Lion, wk 1

I have something against Singapore. Friends know that given a chance, I would vehemently attack the kiasu culture, the prim & proper people, the systematic lifestyle, the shitty water, and especially the copycat food. And so I surprise myself while visiting the island nation twice in two weeks, early March. Actually, Incubus and múm are valid reasons for doing so. What was surprising was how my views have changed, albeit slightly, about the Faking Lion.

First trip, ride down in a Mazda 3, stopping midway for Tangkak beef noodles. Driving in Singapore requires an autopass, I laud its effort to cut down on traffic. This brings up my biggest gripe with Kuala Lumpur – the lack of an efficient public transport system. For that weekend, I had the luxury of traveling around in cars/taxis only. Aaron was a most accommodating host, but as usual, we’ll be arguing half the time with me criticising every aspect of Singaporean life. Incubus @ Fort Canning was only OK, especially since I was at their 2004 performance @ Bukit Kiara Equestrian Park, which was so good a bootleg was released. The crowd was small and mostly kids, many of them well made up like going to clubs. Singaporean Fail #1. We powered through to the front, only to witness: middle of the muddy mosh pit shoving and slipping, this guy was holding his camera up with one hand, recording videos, while trying to maintain his balance!! Brainless hero. Most people seem to be preoccupied with taking pics & vids, then enjoying the music. CC’s hilariously loud insult to all camera holders didn’t deter them anyhow. Malaysian fans are probably the same, but what the heck, Singaporean Fail #2. Still, it is Incubus and they rock the stage, along with the 3 stunning models standing at the side. Most guys were looking that way, while girls were screaming their heads off at Brandon. Pistola played long in my head after the gig, and CC was Stellar-happy.

Saturday was spent entirely traversing Oxford Road, to the point where Aaron’s feet hurt. CC got Ted Baker shirts & a tasteful Tod’s wallet, and I was a paragon of shopping restraint, settling for a couple of Mexx shirts. Too tired for any nightlife, I caught a glimpse of Dempsey Road, a chill-out area with cool-looking wine bars. The price of wine is a bitch though. Then, I saw BEN & JERRY’S. The rapture compelled me to rekindle my love affair with Dublin Mudslide, tapau-ing home two tubs of it, with plenty of dry-ice. Walked to Sunday mass @ St. Joseph’s Bukit Timah, with serene Chinese-style paintings of Christ’s life. Visited the national museum, with an ongoing Greek Masterpieces from the Louvre expo. Whilst enjoying an esquisite 3rd century BC sculpture of Athena, I overheard the museum guide, “These head sculptures here are called ‘busts’…” explaining to a bunch of people, some sniggering. I nearly burst out in laughter, but I do applaud their government’s efforts to promote arts & culture recently. How many Malaysian’s would snigger when you refer to a marble head of Aeschylus as a “bust”? By this time, my disregard of Singapore has diminished – the promotion of art, the ridiculously long queues at Kinokuniya, the possibility of winding down car windows without choking on smoke, Ben & Jerry’s & Mexx… this place ain’t that bad after all.

Then there’s food. Looking at the “Uniquely Singapore”” travel portal, any Malaysian would scoff at the “Singaporean food" – curry laksa, chicken rice, satay, bak kut teh, rojak, char kuey teow?! Shameless people. The only good part of their food is pork & alcohol. Pre-concert fest of fish head beehoon w/ XO, fried chicken & cheong-fun was very delicious indeed. CC brought us to lunch - out-of-this-world fantastic ramen w/ charsiew outside Gallery Hotel. I’m found guilty of never sampling real ramen before, and am now a convert. Dinner was Mos Burger, which serves the best fast food burgers in the world. How can teriyaki chicken wrapped in letucces tastes so good? Can’t compare with Ramli lah, which probably has 300 calories more of junk, sos & mayo. The joke was when Aaron brought me to the “best prata”, a place where a taxi trip costs S$20 return. Normal prata fail, mushroom cheese prata fail, teh tarik was undrinkable, fried chicken ok la. Singaporean Fail #3.