me and you and everyone else
J and I have never celebrated Valentine's Day (beyond perhaps using it as an excuse to buy each other presents), making it a point especially to avoid restaurants with inflated set menu prices and lovey-dovey couples. Usually we cook or eat at some hawker place or in some other casual setting.
This year was memorably different, though.
Somehow we ended up at Pasir Ris park in the evening, hot and thirsty, so we headed for the nearest beach cafe, which was called Summer Breeze. We only wanted a couple of beers (the Bun enjoys the occasional sip of Hoegaarden) but it seemed like the entire place was geared up for Valentine's, with set menus and everything. We convinced the waitstaff we would only be staying for the beers, snagged a good table on the beach, and settled down for some people-watching. Some girls were obviously surprised by their date's chosen dinner location - they were decked out in cocktail-y dresses, heels (which immediately sunk into the sand) and too much makeup. There were also some first-date couples, distinctive because of the best behaviour they were on and the slightly awkward vibe they radiated. Then there were people like us, dressed in shorts and sloppy T-shirts, yawning through our beers amiably.
We left around 8pm (so much for a quick beer) and decided to head to Changi Village for some hawker food. Since some recent publicity in the papers, this once undiscovered neighbourhood has burgeoned with crowds and overfilled parking lots. It was 8pm and we'd take our chances that most people would be done with dinner, but NO. The two lanes leading towards the Village were completely jammed, the parking lots were swamped, and it was clear that it would be crazy for us to attempt to park and then fight our way through the crowds for dinner.
The apparent solution to the overcrowding and heat - the airport, only 10mins away. Parking at Terminal Two was easy but we congratulated ourselves too early. At 9pm the queues for all the eateries were endless. There weren't even seats at McDonald's. 9.30pm at Terminal Three - the same situation. By this time my hunger had ebbed away into surprise and amusement. J and I ended up having our Valentine's 'dinner' sitting at a fountain in T3, sharing some soy milk and buns (soon to be out of stock) from a bakery.
It seemed that the entire population had simultaneously decided to emerge from the woodwork en masse to descend upon the airport for dinner. Singaporeans tend to eat early, so it was surprising that so many people were still in line waiting for dinner tables at 9.30pm, or that the food court in T3 was so crowded that some stalls were completely sold out for the night. Rather amusing to watch were the bewildered tourists intent on grabbing a quick bite before their flight and surprised at the hordes of people in all the eateries. They would have a much better chance inside the transit area.
Soy milk and smiles at a random fountain in an airport - J and I did end up celebrating Valentine's after all, in our own way.
This year was memorably different, though.
Somehow we ended up at Pasir Ris park in the evening, hot and thirsty, so we headed for the nearest beach cafe, which was called Summer Breeze. We only wanted a couple of beers (the Bun enjoys the occasional sip of Hoegaarden) but it seemed like the entire place was geared up for Valentine's, with set menus and everything. We convinced the waitstaff we would only be staying for the beers, snagged a good table on the beach, and settled down for some people-watching. Some girls were obviously surprised by their date's chosen dinner location - they were decked out in cocktail-y dresses, heels (which immediately sunk into the sand) and too much makeup. There were also some first-date couples, distinctive because of the best behaviour they were on and the slightly awkward vibe they radiated. Then there were people like us, dressed in shorts and sloppy T-shirts, yawning through our beers amiably.
We left around 8pm (so much for a quick beer) and decided to head to Changi Village for some hawker food. Since some recent publicity in the papers, this once undiscovered neighbourhood has burgeoned with crowds and overfilled parking lots. It was 8pm and we'd take our chances that most people would be done with dinner, but NO. The two lanes leading towards the Village were completely jammed, the parking lots were swamped, and it was clear that it would be crazy for us to attempt to park and then fight our way through the crowds for dinner.
The apparent solution to the overcrowding and heat - the airport, only 10mins away. Parking at Terminal Two was easy but we congratulated ourselves too early. At 9pm the queues for all the eateries were endless. There weren't even seats at McDonald's. 9.30pm at Terminal Three - the same situation. By this time my hunger had ebbed away into surprise and amusement. J and I ended up having our Valentine's 'dinner' sitting at a fountain in T3, sharing some soy milk and buns (soon to be out of stock) from a bakery.
It seemed that the entire population had simultaneously decided to emerge from the woodwork en masse to descend upon the airport for dinner. Singaporeans tend to eat early, so it was surprising that so many people were still in line waiting for dinner tables at 9.30pm, or that the food court in T3 was so crowded that some stalls were completely sold out for the night. Rather amusing to watch were the bewildered tourists intent on grabbing a quick bite before their flight and surprised at the hordes of people in all the eateries. They would have a much better chance inside the transit area.
Soy milk and smiles at a random fountain in an airport - J and I did end up celebrating Valentine's after all, in our own way.