It has been almost 8 months since L and I went on our getaway to Vietnam and its capital city of Hanoi up north. The last time I visited Vietnam must have been over twenty years ago, back when the dusty streets where thronged with an almost infinite number of scooters, a bewildering scene of organised chaos for a young me. Unfortunately, my memories of the country from back then seem to fail me, apart from its busy streets, rice-based cuisine and the labyrinth of Cu Chi tunnels – remnants of the days of the Vietnam War on Ho Chi Minh city. More importantly, this also marked our first leisure trip abroad together – I say leisure because we were both in Kuala Lumpur coincidentally on business earlier in the year.

On our boat cruising through Ha Long Bay

The trip left a strong impression in our minds and represented firsts for each of us in many respects. Before these memories vacate our minds, here are our top tips and must goes when visiting the vibrant Hanoi in the northern part of this S-shaped country. Note that we spent 8 days and 7 nights there.

1. Local travel agents are a god-send

L and I took great, albeit calculated, risks by embarking on our trip with no bookings made apart from our accommodation and activities in Hanoi. Before you write us off as careless travelers, you must know that we actually plan our trips very meticulously, with an excel template to track all activities (reservations, transportation, attractions, food options etc.). Our initial desktop research, coupled with input from friends led us to the conclusion that it would be more economical / value-for-money to make reservations for our trips out of Hanoi (principally Halong Bay and Sapa) with the travel agents when physically there, given the stronger bargaining power - that said, travel agents are the go-to contact for such trips given the pure amount of logistics involved, coupled with the language barrier.

Not resting on our laurels, we actually obtained detailed quotes from a number of reputable travel agents way in advance of our trip, with three principle objectives - to get pricing benchmarks, cross-check itineraries and to ensure that the travel agents could accommodate last minute requests (similar to what we would be doing when physically in Hanoi). This exercise provided us with a lot of comfort that all our shortlisted travel agents would be able to accommodate our proposed travel plans and we finalised the travel agent rankings in our shortlist and their respective locations / opening hours, so that we could make a beeline for them upon touchdown.

As an overview of our 8D7N travel plans:
- Days 1-2: Hanoi (with Day 1 arrival in the evening)
- Days 3-4: Halong Bay Cruise
- Days 4-6: Hiking in Sapa (Sleeper trains to and fro)
- Day 7: Day trip (Either to Perfume Pagoda / Hoa Lu and Tam Coc)
- Day 8: Hanoi

Living in the Old Quarters of Hanoi meant that we were immediately thrown in to the evening hustle and bustle of the city, just in time for when the streets are blocked off and the mayhem takes to the streets. Given our timing constraints, all our shortlisted travel agents were within a short walk from our hotel and our first stop was Adventure Indochina along Ma May Street, just round the bend from hotel.

The reason why Adventure Indochina came right top of our list was due to two friend recommendations, coupled with prompt responses and reasonable pricing based on our emailing exercise as described above - and we were not disappointed at all, in fact L and I remain incredibly impressed by their standard of service, which definitely made our trip in more ways than one.

Given the sheer amount of logistics involved, Kathy from Adventure Indochina was able to put us at ease and comprehended our intended itinerary entirely - we were pretty fixed in that we wanted sleeper train connections to and from Sapa, amongst other demands. With all the options laid out, we settled on an upgraded Halong Bay cruise, Sapa trek with a village homestay, and a day trip out to the old capital of Hoa Lu and Tam Coc. After some bargaining (and you should always try), and compared to our initial quotes, we got a great deal with a free airport transfer at thrown in at the end as well!

With the benefit of hindsight, the entire trip went well and without a hitch. Kathy even made sure to greet and meet-up with us everytime we were back in Hanoi, and even sent us off at the train station when we were headed up north to Sapa. You can see why they made our trip happen, literally! Hence no qualms from us recommending them sort your trips out when in Vietnam and they should be your first port of call when thinking of heading outside of Hanoi!

2. Where to stay?

Street hawkers peddling their wares in Hanoi

First time visitors to Hanoi will be spoilt for choice when coming to accommodation options - all of which provide for vastly different experiences catering to every budget. From Hoan Kiem (City centre), Ba Dinh and Tay Ho (west lake), the choice is relatively obvious, that being the Hoan Kiem district where the heart of the city lies.

Hoan Kiem lake at night

The Hoan Kiem district is obviously centered around the lake, also known as sword lake, and is divided into North and South. The North being the Old Quarters, characterised by the traditional tight streets and markets, and the French Quarters in the South, with its government buildings, embassies and luxury hotels. Hence this district caters for all budgets and immerses you right into the center of action.

We stayed at the perfectly located La Siesta along Ma May Street and as mentioned above, the streets are closed off to traffic on the weekends and turned into a walking street full of stalls and performers - a great way to immerse yourself in the thriving local atmosphere. Just round the corner from Hoan Kiem lake, we were never too far off from attractions in the district, but what topped it for us was the level of service provided, consistent across every staff of the hotel - incredibly accommodating to our travel plans and requests for shower facilities everytime we transited back in Hanoi from our day trips, by providing us access with their spa and suites on two separate occasions - we couldn't have asked for a better place to refresh ourselves after being on the road, particularly post our trek in Sapa.

3. Mobile plan

In my opinion, having a mobile data connection is of the essence when traversing Hanoi's busy streets without a local guide, in part also as a check against scam taxi companies which I will get to below. It is incredibly useful when roaming around the city such as finding restaurants, stores on side streets, and importantly the way back to hotel late at night.

The most convenient way would be to buy a sim card upon landing at the airport. You will be able to choose from various providers including Viettel and Vinaphone, and from various plans to suit your needs (based on 4G data and talk time requirements) - I had a work project going on during that period and hence needed flexibility on talk time. Worth noting that Vietnam is surprisingly not covered under SingTel's EasyData Roam packages and buying a local sim card would prevent you from racking up astronomical dataroaming charges.

However, do note that reception when outside of Hanoi, especially further out in Halong Bay and amongst the mountains in Sapa can get pretty patchy, but also a great way to get away from the technology and work!

4. Venturing outside of Hanoi

Every visitor to Hanoi would know that a large part of the attraction of Hanoi is actually in the activities one can do in its surrounding regions. Hanoi itself is not incredibly large, with most of its attractions located between the Hoan Kiem and Ba Ding districts, and can be easily covered off within 2 days. Northern Vietnam offers a number of alternatives within the wider region and given the length of our trip, we were sure to fit them into our itinerary - of which we were pretty certain that Ha Long Bay and Sapa were places we definitely wanted to visit.

Ha Long Bay

Approaching our boat in Ha Long Bay

Ha Long Bay is arguably the more famous and touristy of the two, and also a UNESCO protected site. A definite must-go and we would recommend a 2D1N trip, which would be more than sufficient to experience the beautiful landscapes in Ha Long Bay and its neighbouring Bai Tu Long Bay.

L posing on our boat infront of the beautiful sights Ha Long Bay

As mentioned in the above section, we chose to upgrade our tour to a bigger and better boat, and lucked out by being allocated to one of the largest boats available with on 6 other fellow passengers - an elderly European couple and a family of four. There were essentially as many crew members as passengers on this boat, and being the only "active" passengers, we had free reign to roam the massive boat and partake in the activities offered onboard - spring roll making, midnight karaoke, squid fishing and early morning yoga. A great way to take in the great outdoors in the comfort of a luxury liner, with the patchy mobile connection providing a good way to detach oneself from our increasingly technology-dependent lives.

Sapa

On board our sleeper train to Sapa

Sapa is located further up north, a mountainous region close to the border with China. An experience for the more outdoorsy and adventurous, we had heard many great reviews from our friends and were set on spending our time trekking the paddy fields of the region. Getting to Sapa itself is part of the experience - we opted for the overnight sleeper trains to and from Lao Cai which saw us spending the night in a 4-man cabin as we made the journey up north. We were then transferred to Sapa by bus and commenced our 2D1N trek through the picturesque countryside, amongst the rice terraces carved out of the hills.

Rice terraces of Sapa in Northern Vietnam

December is a relatively wet period, resulting in the paths being muddy and the views slightly misty, which was balanced off by the slightly chilly temperature which meant that the air was absolutely refreshing. Sliding around in mud just off the edge of a cliff can be a scary affair, and I would recommend those with small children to stick to the easier routes, but fortunately the helpful local ethnic ladies are always around to lend a helping hand if needed - of course in exchange for a small token / souvenir purchase at the end, I thought this was fair especially for the steeper routes. One word of advice would be to rely on these aunties sparingly as you can't always be purchasing items from every different group of them given the long trek involved - we must have trekked for close to 70km over the 1.5 days spent roaming the hills.

The carefree and friendly children we met while trekking through Sapa

Another wonderful experience to meet the ethnic minorities of Vietnam and take in the sights of the great outdoors on offer. The homestay in a local village provided insight into the daily lives / cuisines of these traditional folk and enabled deeper connections to be forged with our fellow travellers. Highly recommended for the more outdoor-focused and nature-loving travellers.

Others

Seen on our day trip out to Hoa Lu

We had another day to kill as part of itinerary and had initially provisioned for visiting the Perfume Pagoda as a day trip out of Hanoi - the travel agents generally have a number of options available for travellers. During our discussions and negotiations with Adventure Indochina, they convinced us to make our way down to Hoa Lu, the ancient capital of Vietnam, and Tam Coc. A leisurely tour which included a bicycle ride through the city, a human-powered boat trip, and general sightseeing. By no means a must, but could be considered if your itinerary permits.

5. Watch out for the infamous taxi scams

Vietnam is infamous for its taxi scams and that is probably top of the complaint list of tourists around the world. And through our research, we were well aware of these tricks before we embarked on our holiday and made sure to have our airport transfer booked in advance - especially when we were looking to visit the travel agents before they closed.

We were also advised by the hotel and the travel agents to only take taxis from reputable companies such as Taxi Group, to avoid being scammed by bogus fares and rigged meters.

However despite all our preparations and warnings, we unfortunately fell for this scam at the train station when returning from our Sapa trip. Following an overnight sleeper train, we arrived back in Hanoi in the wee hours of the morning, with the sky still dark and the train station thronging with taxi touts - the majority of whom we ignored. We had intended to hail a taxi from a reputable provider from the main road, but somehow we ended up speaking to a tout whose car had a Grabtaxi decal, which gave me some comfort that he would have been legitimate.

And boy were we wrong! Despite being able to cross-check the route on my mobile, we noticed that the taxi meter kept rising at an astronomical rate and soon it became absolutely clear that we were being scammed. So we demanded to alighted, paid part of the displayed fare and made our way back to the hotel on foot - a 20 minute walk from where we alighted. A small monetary loss, but ultimately a good lesson learnt first-hand - we were glad to be unscathed and back to the welcoming hospitality of our hotel. So always stay vigilant of scams at all times, err on the side of caution if ever in doubt!

6. Take a walking tour round Hanoi

The imposing Hanoi Opera House in the French Quarter

By experience, guided tours are the single best way to explore parts of any new city. As a result, walking tours are typically high up our agendas when planning our itineraries - given my positive experience of various walking tours in Europe, most notably from famous Sandemans walking tours proliferated across Europe.

Long queues of locals waiting to enter the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

Hanoi was no different and we lined up a private full day walking tour for the next day immediately following our evening arrival. What was unique to some of the tours available in Hanoi was that the tours are conducted by local university students, whose primary aim is to hone and practice their English skills. These tours are free of charge, with the students typically refusing any tips at the end the tours, and the only catch is that you will need to bear all expenses during the tours (entrance fees, taxi fares, meal costs etc. inclusive of that of the guides) - a small price to pay to a one-of-a-kind experience.

Entrance to the beautiful grounds of the Temple of Literature in Hanoi

It was a great experience interacting with the young Vietnamese, learning about the city through a different lens and egging our guide on to bring us to her favourite pho joints! A definite recommendation if its first time in the city and your itinerary permits. Worth noting that they are generally very flexible and can adapt the itinerary to your schedule and whatever you wish to focus on. However, be sure to make enquires and book way in advance of your trip as these tours are incredibly popular, with the small number of guides limiting supply especially during peak seasons. Do check out either of HanoiKids or Hanoi Free Tour Guides.

7. Visit bars

Hanoi has a thriving bar scene and offers multiple multi-sensory experiences that one should definitely indulge in! I would very broadly categorise into two categories:

Typical Western bar experience

Our drinks at The Summit, the rooftop bar of the Pan Pacific in Hanoi

L has a thing for rooftop bards and we made it a point to visit one of the most popular bars in Hanoi - The Summit at the Pan Pacific. Located in the Tay Ho district, it's definitely not as glitzy or bustling as compared to what we are used to in Bangkok (thinking Sky Bar and its many competitors) or here in Singapore (Spago, Ce La Vi, Equinox and the like). What we found was a quiet serene candlelit spot overlooking the West Lake and the city's skyline. Not a bad way to end off a day sipping on cocktails and reflecting on the trip thus far - don't go expecting a party though.

One place I have to mention though, would be Bamboo Bar at the Sofitel Legend Metropole - one of the best known luxury hotels in Hanoi. Located in the French Quarters, we arranged to have drinks with a couple of my Singaporean-university friends (who were coincidentally also visiting Hanoi during the same period) at the Bamboo Bar one evening. Open to non-guests of the hotel, the poolside bar to some extent reminded me of Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore - perhaps the French colonial take on a bar vs. the British one. By no means cheap, especially when compared to pricing in the rest of Hanoi, it felt like stepping into a different world from the chaos that is Hanoi and a definite place to go for an evening cocktail.

Local style

Hawker selling balloons along Bia Hoi (Beer Street)

Hop round to Bia Hoi corner in the Old Quarters, grab a stool and join the dozen others people watching (from the bar girls peddling their ware to street hawkers holding massive bunches of animated balloons) while sipping down the many variants of local beer on offer and nibbling on the local take of bar bites - we tried the local sausages and roasted pigeons, which were all incredibly tasty. A local way to watch the world go past.

8. Food glorious food

Bun Cha at Cau Go restaurant overlooking Hoan Kiem lake

We absolutely loved the street food of Hanoi and had the opportunity to try out the spectrum of dishes on offer. For first time visitors, the best way would be to visit on the many top rated restaurants which specialise in Vietnamese street food cuisine. This allows for the perennial favourites (and must tries) such as Bun Cha (grilled pork with vermicelli noodles), spring rolls, Banh Cuon (steamed pork wraps), and even pho (although for this I would hit the streets to specialised stores), to be ordered from a single kitchen. We loved Cau Go (which was our last meal before heading back home) and the upmarket and popular Madame Hien, so definitely check them out - Cau Go comes with a glorious view overlooking Hoan Kiem lake, while Madame Hien is set in a beautiful French colonial villa. We also tried the highly rated Quan An Ngon, but would defer to the other two without hesitation.

Fresh spring rolls at Cau Go

Hitting the streets may or may not sit well with your stomach, but with careful store selection it may yield some of the best dishes you will ever try. We had our best pho's, whether in the wet version or fried, from hole-in-the-wall stores recommended by our local tour guide. We also chanced across a store selling Mien Luon (crispy eel noodles) while roaming the streets! Always look out for the level of hygiene of the store and make sure that you are comfortable with the food handling and cleanliness standards before taking the plunge - long throngs of locals should also provide some form of comfort!

Mien Luon (Crispy Eel Noodles) that we chanced upon while roaming the streets

The French colonial days have not only left an impact on modern day Hanoi, not only in its architecture which is most prevalent in the French Quarter, but in the spattering of French restaurants dotted across the city. We made sure to place reservations for La Badienne, by celebrated French chef Benjamin Rascalou, for our first evening in Hanoi - again set in a quaint colonial villa, it was the perfect location for a celebration and kickstart out gastronomic adventures on the holiday.

Egg coffee at Cafe Giang

Finally, as L can't do without her coffee, she was incredibly excited to know that egg coffee was a Hanoi specialty. The famous local drip coffee mixed with a well-beaten raw egg yolk and condensed milk - the result a velvety smooth and creamy drink meant to be sipped. We visited the most popular one - Cafe Giang, right on the edge of the Old Quarters. A little too sweet for our liking though, but a must-try when in Hanoi regardless - after that, revert to the incredibly good drip coffees on offer across the city and don't forget to take home some of the delicious locally-made G7 instant coffee sachets.

Now, go ahead an eat and sip away!

Before L departed for her year-long placement in Poland, we decided to complement her final days in Singapore by spending some quality time together. Some of you may recall that we previously had a staycation at the Fairmont Hotel in Singapore, which we had a great time owing to impeccable service.

True to that, there were a couple more days to spare and hence L decided to book a night at the Fairmont Hotel again. This time round, she managed to use her free room upgrades in conjunction with the complimentary stay - funny because we were not allowed to utilise this the last time round, but we got the free upgrade regardless and the room was an absolute treat! However, this time the upgrade entitled us to a suite and we held great anticipation.

A photo of us in our last Fairmont Hotel staycation back in October 2016.

The day of the staycation came about quickly enough - and accordingly the day that L departs for Poland. We had previously requested for an early check-in and so we decided to head in pre-lunch in hope of obtaining access to our room and to drop off our bags before heading off for lunch at Vatos Urban Tacos, which L had previously raved to me a year back and re-ignited following our Valentine's Day meal at Super Loco.

L posing with her freshly-gifted stalk of rose.

Unfortunately, the room was not yet available but we nonetheless managed to leave our belongings with the concierge, and L was pleasantly surprised with a rose stalk from the friendly counter staff. Always nice to receive personalised service wherever we go! After which, we took a short stroll across the road to the new South Beach Quarters, a spanking new office tower which houses the likes of Facebook (for now) and McKinsey, built around a number of conserved military buildings, where Vatos Urban Tacos was located. Not before a scoop each of an ice cream and sorbet from Tom's Palette in Shaw Tower, being the greedy souls that we are.

Tucked away in the historical ground level of the historic armoury building, Vatos Urban Tacos is a Korean chain that really heated up the scene in Seoul with its Korean take on Mexican street cuisine. Restaurant was moderately packed for a Saturday afternoon but what struck me was the casual vibes that were being given off, although the place was rather dimly lit. That said, we very quickly decided on having tacos that afternoon and with the help of the friendly staff got right into things.

Our spread of lunch tacos. 

We started off with portions of the Korean Pork Belly tacos and the Baja Fish tacos. The pork bellies were where the Korean influences really came through – akin to having a bbq’ed marinated pork belly and paired with an onion / ginger garnish, this dish went down a treat! I was expecting the fish tacos to made up of grilled / pan-fried fish, so as to allow the fresh flavours to come through, however they came with a beer-battered crust instead. Despite that, I thought the dish held together relatively nicely flavor-wise, although I would defer to Superloco’s take on its Taco Pescado Snapper anyday.

Baja Fish tacos. 

Mid-way through the above two sets of tacos, our hungry tummies craved for more and we called for an extra serving of the Galbi Short Rib tacos which wasn't all that bad.

L posing with our Vatos Ritas - Margarita with an upturned bottle of craft beer. 

However, the highlight of lunch, in my opinion, was the signature Vatos Ritas, outsized margaritas served with an upturned bottle of craft beer. The simple contraption used to hold the upturned beer bottle set the scene for a revisit to physics lesson for L. I enjoyed testing out various physics theories as well - a throwback to engineering days. More importantly, the margarita was fantastic, with a great balance of sweetness and the flavours of the craft beer - definitely something worth going back for!

The Grand Piano in our Fairmont room, overlooking the living and dining room. 

We then proceeded back to Fairmont to check into our room and were pleasantly surprised by the multiple room upgrades applied - I guess we hit the ceiling of upgrades because the room assigned was the Penthouse Suite, the highest tier in the entire hotel! A full equipped room with a living and dining area, kitchen, bedroom, and an oversized bathroom with an in-built sauna. The icing on the cake was the grand piano in the corner of our living room which added that extra touch of classiness!

My selection of canapes paired with a glass of Moet & Chandon. 

I had planned for an evening of bar hopping to surprise L during our staycation, with the first port of call being a nearby rooftop bar which I used to frequent whenever I returned to Singapore for holidays - the Loof at Odeon Towers, given L's love for rooftop bars. However, due to the inclement weather, we decided to head for Fairmont's Executive lounge instead, where they were hosting a drinks and cocktail reception. The area was surprisingly crowded and the required dress code meant that everyone was relatively well dressed and looking dapper! We were welcomed by the friendly staff and took a corner seat with a view of the Marina Bay area, before proceeding to raid the spread of nibbles.

Our slightly boozed up selves at the Executive Lounge, overlooking the Marina Bay Area. 

I liked the scallops and prawn fritters that were served while L tried out the various cheeses on offer. We had a great time sipping on champagne while trying out an IOS game recommended by L - which saw us making a little fool of ourselves that evening. This meant that we were relatively boozed up by the time dinner came knocking.

Stay tuned tuned for a second post around our staycation.

To be continued...
D

2017 New Year's Countdown over drinks and live music in Snail Bar, Bangkok, Thailand 

With the passing of the new year and the lunar new year just round the corner, L and I thought it would be good to pen down some thoughts while 2017 was still fresh in our minds.

Looking back on 2016
2016 has been a fruitful year for the both of us. It marked a year which saw us begin building our shared experiences together, be it through travels or activities. The year saw us both exploring two Southeast Asian countries together, surviving through an extended period of being apart, and generally building that much needed understanding and respect for each other.

For L, on the work front, this was a year where she was exposed to new horizons. Spending an extended period of time in the Philippines working on a capital markets transaction gave her insight into new cultures and ways of life. This spurred that fervour in her to further put herself out there, and again she was rewarded by being selected for a 2017 placement in Europe. It is not every day that an opportunity like this comes knocking – as such, she will be off for this year long placement at the end of February, which she is extremely excited about.

On my end, 2016 was a generally smooth sailing year in both my personal life and career. It saw me stepping out of my usual social circle, reconnecting with previously lost acquaintances and meeting new people from all walks of life. As usual, work saw me constantly travelling to the usual suspects like Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, but also saw me venturing to Tokyo and Hong Kong which were refreshing breaths of new scenery. Being more senior at work also required me to take on new hats, mentoring and guiding the juniors and interns, along with maintaining and developing client relationships.

Looking ahead
2017 will be a year of excitement and challenges for us, both separately and as a couple. With L heading off to Europe in a month’s time, we will be reverting back to a long distance relationship state, this time more pronounced due to the time difference and for a more extended period of time. However, I trust that the foundations we have built and the understanding that we have established between ourselves, will prevail and even strengthen the bonds between us. On the flipside, it also offers the opportunity for me to again explore Europe when I eventually make the journey west to visit!

We will both be spending time developing our careers and related skillsets, at the same time each seeking out new experiences at our different sides of the globe whilst looking forward to our planned holidays together.

As tough as it may seem from a relationship standpoint to be apart for such an extended period, I have no doubt that the year will go by in a blink of an eye and that we will always look back on this period with fond memories.

Overview of our 2017 resolutions
D
Setting resolutions have never been a thing of habit for me. I don’t believe I have ever penned down resolutions ever! I guess there always is a first for everything and I honestly do not think that it is a bad thing afterall.

I have coincidentally and very nicely categorised what I would like to achieve musically – Do-Re-Mi(e)-Fa. Well “Fa” doesn’t quite work, but we shall give it some oversight and stick with the flow here. It may appear that these goals are rather difficult to quantify, but the end of the day and in my opinion, these are guidelines which I intend to stick to, to the extent reasonably possible. The real test would be looking back a year later to assess these goals for what they were initially conceptualised upon. So here goes:

Resolution 1: Do

First experience surfing at Wavehouse Sentosa in December 2016

Doing more through sports and participating in outdoor activities – L has been incredibly encouraging in this over the past few months and we have together explored many new and exciting activities together. With her departure to Europe imminent, I am rather determined to maintain the active lifestyle by taking part in sport clubs and exercising solo

Resolution 2: Re

Reading more and widely – L has a penchant for books and whilst she has been breezing through multiple titles over the past months, I have been languishing behind on the same philosophy book since October. Hence some impetus to accelerate my reading pace would be most welcome, as is the desire to be more well read in other aspects outside of my pre-existing interests 

Resolution 3: Me

Random jumpshot whilst relaxing on the beach in Vietnam

Meeting more people either through work or by expanding my social circle – my take on this is that there are always positives to take away from others, selectively, and you will never know where your paths will cross again in the future. To this, there is no harm in knowing more people given how small Singapore is in general 

Resolution 4: Fa

Beautiful scenery of Halong Bay from our cruise during our Vietnam trip

Explore more by trying new things as incorporated, in part, above. However, this point expands from simply outdoor activities – be it food, travel, work, I believe it is important to step out the box from time to time. From past experience, such situations are the ones which we would all approach with trepidation due to various forms of uncertainty. Very often, being able to achieve the desired results despite the great unknowns always give the greatest learning opportunities and sense of satisfaction, and this is what I am aiming for with this resolution

L
New year’s resolutions are a funny thing. You either set out on a high note, ambitious with what the new year and abundant time presents, or go into a new year without one and leave with no disappointments at the end of the year. I am a believer of the former and in fact, enjoy creating plans and seeing them materialize.

This year, my five resolutions are largely shaped by two aspects: (i) Longer term lifestyle goals that I had started in previous years, and (ii) The 1 year international assignment that I had chosen to take up in Poland, which will happen in approximately a month’s time.

Resolution 1: Explore Central Eastern Europe (CEE) through its cultures

Greece in August 2016

Travelling, for me, has been a major perk of adulthood. I do enjoy the excitement of exploring new places, especially since my mum is not a big fan of travelling. Hence, I had not visited many countries until I entered University. I had stepped into Europe only 1.5 years ago, and since visited Croatia, Greece and Spain. The CEE region is an underrated travel destination, as compared to its more developed Western European brothers. However, it is deeply enriched with historical war remnants, and this is one thing that I would love to learn more about.


Resolution 2: Attain ABRSM Grade 2 on the piano
Learning a musical instrument and being good at it had been a childhood dream. I recall watching in envy my primary school friends who could play the piano fluently in the school canteen. D had once sent me a video of him playing a beautiful jazz piece on the piano, and I could not stop replaying that. He is amazingly talented in the musical field, having learnt the piano at a young age and picking up the er-hu when he was in secondary school, which he attained a diploma in just a short span of three years - inspiration indeed. I had been exposed to the keyboard, recorder and violin in different phases of my education, but nothing really extended beyond one semester of learning that instrument as part of the school curriculum. The piano is an elegant instrument, and I feel this is something I can pursue for a long time and in my free time in Poland. Besides, Chopin came from Poland right?

Resolution 3: Run (or do a workout) 3 times a week (and work towards a sprint triathlon in 2018)

First major cycling event (OCBC cycle) which D enrolled both of us in last year

Sports have been a big part of my life since my teenage years. I enjoy trying out a variety of sports / workouts and have been playing tennis for more than half my life now. But a sport / workout that I really cannot live without is running. The thoughts of completing a triathlon first came up last year, and I should really start working towards it, with the aim of a sprint triathlon when I return to Singapore next year!

Resolution 4: Read a variety of books, ranging from fiction, work-related/investments and self-help

One of the major titles that I had read last year. A birthday gift from D.

I enjoy reading because it increases your perspective on things. It makes you reflect on issues that you normally would not have thought about. This year, the challenge would be to increase my perspective on issues but still retain the joy of reading. Hence, I will be picking my book read genres as follows: (i) Fiction, (ii) Work-related / Investments, (iii) Self Help. The plan would be to complete 1 book a month, which should allow me to go through four from each of the above genres by year end. Status Check: For the month of January, I have completed “Plain Truth” by Jodi Picoult and am currently halfway through “The Green and the Black – The Complete Story of the Shale Revolution, the Fight over Fracking, and the Future of Energy”. Looks like I am still in good shape to maintain this goal!


Resolution 5: Be happy and contented with what I have

This resolution was initially along the lines of “adopt a healthier lifestyle” or “learn to cook and eat healthier”. But considering how 24 hours a day, seven days a week is pretty limited time, and how much I want to achieve above, this final resolution for 2017 might do good for my overall well-being! This extends to working hard to achieving work related goals, and the above resolutions set out and being appreciative with what I have in tangibles and intangibles – building and maintaining relationships with people who matter and I hold dear to.

Now begs the question on how one should go about adhering to these resolutions. Typically set out early into a new year, we have all experiences or heard stories of how such aspirational goals then to fade away. In part this blog post serves as a yardstick for ourselves – a year later, we can both look back and ascertain how much we have achieved or the extent to which we have deviated from our goals. Beyond that, it serves as a constant reminder of what we set out for ourselves.

Here’s wishing a fruitful, healthy and peaceful 2017 to everyone from the both of us!

Love,
D & L

Steak has been a big part of my repertoire of comfort foods. It has always been shared together with the closest of friends and family, and my likeminded friends are on the constant lookout for newer and better steakhouses, not restricted to Singapore.



As part of celebrating L's return from her work stint in the Philippines, I decided to bring L to the highly raved Fat Cow for us to experience what they have on offer.



Despite hearing more about how their lunchtime wagyu dons are of great value, we decided to go for a steak dinner that is more befitting for this occasion.

We kickstarted dinner with a round of cocktails - an out-of-the-norm whiskey-based Fat Sour for L, and an aptly named Negroni-san for myself.

The sliced bream with black truffle was a great palate opening appetizer. The fresh bream sashimi was beautifully lightly seasoned, that left us in deep anticipation for the ensuing dishes.

OHMI Grade A4 Ribeye.

MIYAZAKI Grade A4 Striploin - This is labelled as the ‘champion cow’.

The highlights of our night were our medium rare cuts of A4 Ohmi ribeye and A4 Miyazaki striploin. Prepared before us in the central charcoal grill, interspersed with rising flames spurred by the drippings of fat, we savoured these simply with sea salt and the occasional dip in the accompanying yuzu sauce.



Both cuts were excellent and had that melt-in-your-mouth characteristics one would expect of steaks of this level, with the charcoal grill providing wonderful smokey overtones to the mix. However L and I both agreed that the Ohmi was the standout of the two, providing that fine balance between flavour and richness.



Couldn't resist pairing these steaks with Kinoko - sautéed Japanese mushrooms with sake, lime and butter, which added an extra dimension of creaminess to our meal.



We concluded our meal with some carbs in the form of a wagyu dashi chazuke, which is rice topped with mince, mixed in a clear Japanese broth - this came highly recommended by the staff. Surprisingly flavourful despite its clean disposition, and a nice touch to round off the flavours of the evening.



Definitely one of the best steaks we've had in Singapore. Highly recommended for couples seeking a little sanctuary in the heart of town for celebratory occasions.



D

Hong Kong has always held a special place with me. The territory has so many similarities with Singapore, but yet the differences are so stark. In part, it is because I have come across so many wonderful people from Hong Kong through my university days and my short professional life - many of whom I continue to hold dear to today. So much so that the annual family trip to Hong Kong is more a pilgrimage than anything else.

Coincidentally, I have ventured up north three times in the past year, each for entirely separate reasons - which in itself makes for distinct experiences. In May, I had the fortune of trying out the famed Kam's Roast Goose for lunch in Wan Chai with an old friend from my London days, just before rushing off, goose in tow, to catch my flight back to Singapore (and a near-connecting flight to Tokyo - a story for another day).

So when news hit that Kam's was making its first venture overseas to Singapore, I instantly raved to L about the country and all the wonderful experiences and places to visit. When L and I were wandering round Orchard last weekend, we were drawn to the crowds at Pacific Plaza and decided to give it a shot, at the expense of Tsuta next door.

The roast duck was definitely a worthy replacement for the traditional goose, though it didn't quite match that unique flavour you get with a goose. The fantastic plum sauce and wanton noodles, supposedly air flown daily, did somewhat make up for this shortfall.

The star of the show, in my opinion, was the toro pork. Albeit on the fatty side, the meat was oozing with melt-in-your-mouth goodness. As well, charred on the outside to give that extra boost of flavour. However, both L and I felt that the other meats we had, the soy chicken and roast pork, were rather standard.

Must say that the service staff made good effort in adding a personal touch, however their internal procedures remain far from being well-rehearsed. Though I am sure they will iron this out over time.

Hong Kong, we will be back.

D