What can be done to help you if you have Allergies and Airline food

I had an excellent flight with Singapore Airlines. Charming staff. Great choice of films. Love the socks.
But one thing about food service offers you an opportunity for improvement.

The airline has dozens of choices of alternative menu - but nothing for allergies.

1) I am allergic to shellfish (crustaceans, such as prawns) and their meal choices do not allow the customer to specify allergies=  but they should allow passengers to choose tick boxes for allergies.

Allergies are very common. They can be life threatening. At their mildest they can cause severe non-stop vomiting for up to 24 hours, swelling of the eyes and mouth and throat, and lumpy bright red rashes which are itchy and unpleasant for the passenger suffering and alarming for others.

Legislation in the UK will shortly oblige restaurants to list allergens on menus. Meals which are sold in supermarkets packaged already specify allergens. If most restaurants worldwide can make meals free of allergens, your suppliers should be able to do so.

On the outward flight from London to Singapore main courses contained ingredients I could not eat. I was lucky to get the meal I needed. I was stressed on flights in both directions because shellfish was on both menus.

It's not nuts to have an allergy, but airline food drives me nuts. No, I'm not allergic to nuts. I'm allergic to shellfish. I used to be allergic to strawberries. (After over-eating one hot summer, I developed a strawberry allergy, which luckily disappeared about five years later.) Some people can't at grapefruit because it reacts with their medicine.

Why can't airlines find a catering service that can make food free of the commonest allergens? They can offer about 20 types of food.

On the return flight from Singapore to London I had no choice because shellfish was in the starter (prawn and lettuce) and I am allergic to shellfish. No alternative was offered by the crew.

1) In the old days airlines gave alternative starters and desserts. The lack of choice of starters and desserts is below the standard of a one star hotel or restaurant. On a previous flight I've had two flavours of ice cream. This time not even that option.

The airline could have offered me a 'doggie bag' from the airport lounge (either pre-packed by airline staff your choice of food, or simply the usual tiny starter box from the airline meal, empty, for me to fill with a vegetable /fish /meat /cheese of my choice) to provide an alternative starter.

On board, I thought the crew should have been able to offer me an alternative, even if it was only a piece of fruit from the snack selection. There must be many more options for providing an alternative. For example,

1 A piece of fruit.
2  A spare meal/main course.
3 Or extra leftover dessert from somebody who has not wanted any food.
4 Or a sandwich from the between meals snack selection.
5 A piece of fruit/vegetable/cheese from business or first class.
6 A glass of orange juice.
7 A chocolate bar at the end of the meal in case I was still hungry.
8 A glass of champagne/sparkling wine as consolation.
9 Extra nuts.
10 An apology.

I have just booked another flight. I am flying out to Singapore again in 2016 and expect to be taking many more flights on Singapore Airlines. I filled in a feedback form and hope staff will pass my comments on to their catering department and crew training department and find a way to help those passengers who have allergies.

Angela Lansbury BA Hons, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker.

French loan words in English

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_French_origin
Angela Lansbury, teacher of English and French

Photos to cure the blues of the haze - when you see blue skies take a photo. Do it now.

What can you do about the haze? I don't mean long-term and countrywide, which I have discussed in previous posts. I mean when you travel to a country with a haze and your photographs are grey and your sunny mood has gone?

The first thing you can do is take a photo of haze. To sell it, show your friends, and remind yourself which season to travel. In the haze, the distant hill, Bukit Timah, is hardly visible. Indoors is affected, too, by the lack of light creating shadows and gloom. In Singapore I found you need the lights on in the day time.

I could take a photo of the blue sky and frame it to cheer me on a hazy day. Isn't that the purpose of every blue sky postcard? Photos of blue skies are cheerful. They lift your mood. They remind you or summer, when it's winter, of holidays when you are working, of better times, in bad times.

I looked at photos which appeared in newspapers. Several pictures of well known landmarks in haze. Somebody had sent, or researched from stock photos, contrasting pictures of the same scene in sun and haze.

You need a before and after picture. A contrast. A picture of the place in sunshine might be unremarkable. I picture of a place in haze might be unremarkable. But the two pictures placed alongside are attention-getting.

When I arrive at a hotel I photograph the bedroom.
"What's the hurry?" say my companions. "You can do it later."

"No, I can't. On a dozen of occasions I've delayed and found obstructions everywhere spoiling the photo. I need to take photos before I've covered the beds and basins with clutter.

I photograph the view from the balcony, the entire hotel, with the enthusiasm of the first time visitor. Yes, I can do it tomorrow, but by tomorrow I may have distracting plans and urgent appointments.

My camera could be on low battery or lost or left behind. My companions could be saying 'No more photos!'

The weather could have changed. Every city in the world has rain which they haven't seen for fifteen years on the one day I'm taking a tour. I should sell my services as rain maker.

Back in London from the haze I see the sky with fresh eyes. Blue skies in London. Road with potholes repaired. Improved weather and repaired roads. They lift your mood and give you something positive to say.

Hatch End
In Singapore the haze affects outdoor eating. Every time a restaurant owner or waiter asked whether we wanted to sit outdoors or inside, we chose inside. Not just because of mosquitos. Because of the haze.

In London people say, "Go for a walk. Blows away the cobwebs. It's gorgeous out there."

Walking around Hatch End I saw the owners of Sea Pebbles fish and chip shop and restaurant, sitting in the sunshine at a table in front of their other restaurant, Mosfilo, which is Greek.

I commented on the lovely appearance of the repaired road. They said another benefit for travellers was that the traffic was quieter as it passed diners sitting at pavement tables outside their restaurants.

I should have taken a picture of them. 

A few minutes later I saw the blue skies as the sun came out. I remembered a table topic at Toastmasters in Singapore on: 'Do It Now'. So I took a picture of the blue sky. 

I remember a travel press trip to Nottingham. Our coach or minibus passed the statue of Robin Hood on the way to the hotel. Opportunity!

I asked the PR lady, "May I take a picture. I'll only be less than a minute." 

She replied, "You can do it later."

Later the sky was overcast. We took different routes through the city, avoiding traffic, going to other destinations. 

When we were on our way back to the station at the end of the trip, I said, "I never got my photo of the Robin Hood statue."

"You can do it now," she said. 

But drizzle started to drip ominously. I put my camera in my pocket to protect it. Rain was pouring with rain by the time we reached the statue. Besides, we were late for our train because of traffic. 

The moral is, when it comes to photography, always do it now.  When you see a blue sky, take the photo. Whether it's for your own entertainment, or others. Do it now.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, speaker.

The Moon Eclipse and Blood Moon Sept 27/8 2015 and Mooncakes For Travellers and Armchair Travellers

The BBC and other UK news sites have featured the red moon.

In Singapore and Hong Kong shops, restaurants, department stores and even ice cream parlours have been selling moon cakes for the autumn moon festival (dates varying year to year - using the lunar calendar).

I tried mooncakes at Toastmasters meetings. My favourite flavours include red bean, which is like dates. Shops were offering to sell boxes of four mooncakes and you could select four different colours, red, green, white, yellow.

You often get an elaborate box which puts up the cost. You can buy mooncakes on line at about £16 for a set of four. Actually it's no more expensive that cheesecake from a coffee shop, or a large cake from a supermarket. Mooncake is very filling. You cut them into four or eight, representing a quarter moon.

You could buy just one mooncake for under £5 but the postage is almost as much for one so buying four cuts the postage cost per cake. In a group it's fun to have a mixture of colours and allows you to compare. I was looking at the websites trying to be sure I would get a mixture of flavours, not four of one flavour.  The pictures showed a box of four different colours, but when you want to order the boxes were of one flavour.  So if you are travelling to a Chinese area, look for mooncakes and stock up. In Singapore ai was told they only sell mooncakes at festival time (like Xmas cake and chocolate easter eggs, get them when you can). I was wondering whether prices would come down at the end of the festival to sell off leftover stocks, but many shops make to order, so they won't have leftovers.

I looked at the postage on Ebay, and Amazon. Another way to cut postal costs is if you are already a member of Amazon Prime or combine with another order from your 'basket' or wishlist to qualify for free postage.

I took a look around this comparison site.
http://salecombo.co.uk/Chinese%20Mooncake?p=scb&gclid=CLXvo-3Ol8gCFevpwgodmDECngIt led me to moulds for stamping a design on top of DIY mooncakes for cooks.

For pictures of the moon around the world
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/must_see/34377524
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3251497/Blood-moon-paint-sky-red-Stargazers-world-look-heavens-witness-lunar-spectacle-time-33-years.html

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, photographer, speaker.

World Tourism Day 27 September

World Tourism Day 27 September was established by the United nations. it is on Sept 27 every year because that is the end of the holiday season in the northern hemisphere and the start of the season in the southern hemisphere.

So who benefits most? The southern hemisphere (spellcheck turns that into mis fire) with the holiday season ahead, or the north with the season over and therefore the need for a tourism  boost?

What happened to world tourism day? I was alerted to it by Vilnius, Lithuania, which emailed me a press release.

Full marks to their tourist board.

I marked the date in my calendar. I planned and scheduled a blog. But then the world went quiet. What a missed opportunity.

Slogan:
One billion tourists; one billion opportunities.

http://www.un.org/en/events/tourismday/

World tourism day was eclipsed by the eclipse of the moon.

However, after the event I learned that tourists got in to see the Taj Mahal in India for free.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/On-World-Tourism-Day-30000-tourists-to-see-Taj-for-free/articleshow/49121352.cms

Vilnius was famous for the Vilna Gaon or genius. Now tourists can enjoy self-guided tours listening to the city's 'talking statues'.

Vilnius Tourism and Convention Bureau
Vilnius g. 22
LT-0119
Vilnius
tel: +370 5 262 9660
www.vilnius-tourism.lt/en
www.vilnius-events.lt
You need the word en on the end to get the site in English.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Changing Your Watch Time - A beginner's guide

I buy watches which are water resistant to 50 metres. Then I don't have to worry about washing my hands, taking a shower, going for a swim in the pool or ocean, nor spray from rides on Duck boats and other sightseeing boats or even getting soaked in the rain, nor reaching down to retrieve a phone or item dropped in a basin.

A watch can have one, two, three or four buttons sticking out. Usually you press the buttons inwards.

Some watches have the four buttons labelled. When buying a watch, or printing instructions, look for a watch which has the buttons labelled.

 If your watch does not have the buttons labelled, you could print a copy of the instructions in large size. If necessary draw an arrow and write the name of the button larger. Then copy onto the picture which button is which.

The buttons will be:
Mode change - (time, alarm etc)
Time Set - time you want the watch to show
Alarm changer
Light on and off

The light, if you have one, is easiest to find. Normally you just push it in to turn on the light. Handy if you want to see the time in the middle of the night without waking yourself or a companion, whether sitting on the plane, or in bed.

Mode will have two or more settings. You want to change the time. Also any alarms if your watch has alarms.

Start with the time. Your watch should come with an instruction leaflet. If you are buying a watch online. you should check that the site promises an instruction leaflet, or has an instruction leaflet on the website. Unless you are fanatical about not wasting paper, print it out. If you prefer to be paperless, save the instructions on your computer or phone, and a backup elsewhere, or another family member's phone.

It's handy to have records of instructions for everything and give them to other members of the family or store them even if you don't need them now. I've been executor for my late mother, father, and uncle. Having instructions for watches is one less thing to worry about if you have the instructions for all appliances including watches. You want the instructions to use the watch, check it's still working, then when using it, giving it away, whether to family, to charity, or selling it second hand.

Most timers and clocks operate on variations of a simple system.
Press a button once to get from fixed to changeable time. Just like filling in the date for an online request for a credit card. Up comes a picture of two dots or lines. You must press something in or up to advance the time from 0 to 9. You have have 24 hours in the first column, or just numbers 0-9 in the first column and 0-9 in the second column.

You then press either once again to move onto the next activity, changing the minutes. (A few sophisticated watches also have seconds.)

You then have to press a button again to set the new time or return to normal time display.

If you go back to normal time display and you are not on the new time, you have missed out the last step which was click or press to say DONE/FINISHED/ENTER.

Don't burst into tears with disappointment that you still can't get things right. Don't stress your self in the slightest. You are doing well. You are one stop further up the ladder to success.

Go back and start again. This time it's easier and quicker. It's no longer a mystery. You know what you are doing. And by doing it twice you are telling your brain that it's not a fleeting incident to be forgotten, in the brain's waste bin department, but a repeated action so dear little brain has to file watch change instructions in the section of brain for I might need to remember this.

Changing the time on your watch - who to ask, how to remember

When travelling to a new time zone you need to change the time on your watch either on the plane before landing or as soon as you arrive. Nothing more annoying than being woken in the night by an alarm set for back home.

You also need to co-ordinate meetings on arrival. Yes, you can use the phone on your watch or kitchen clock at the destination if it re-sets itself to local time. But if not that message to see you in two hours time, leaves you puzzled when your watch said one time and the local clocks say another, so now you are so confused you can't remember the time you spoke.

Some people set the new time by the destination time on the screen in the aeroplane immediately on boarding. You can adjust your bedtime in the previous week by an hour a day (with afternoon naps lying down or catnaps sitting at your desk with your eyes closed. That could help re-set your body clock.

CHANGING YOUR WATCH
The next problem  to solve is re-setting your watch. It has four buttons to push. On my last trip I thought, surely any intelligent traveller sitting beside me or nearby will know what to do.

They didn't. I said, 'surely all watches are similar. Only four buttons.'

(I'd previously successfully changed a watch using the instructions I found on my kitchen-office pinboard at home. I had succeeded, even though the instructions were for a different watch.)

My tame statistician told me, 'No. You have four buttons, sixteen combinations, and three ways of pressing each button, once, twice or three times.

Fortunately my tame scientist found the answer on the internet from instructions for a similar watch.

The way to remember how your watch works is:

Ask the shop to change it when you buy it. Video the instructions from the shop assistant. Do it yourself to enforce the message. Try it a second time. Then explain it to two other people. Make a video of yourself explaining it.

Change it to your destination time and back every morning for a week until it's a habit and something you can do fast. Find a willing audience. Child, blog. That will be a subject for my later post. How to change the time on your watch.

if you can find the manufacture and model, bookmark that on line. You could also write the instructions in your diary for the first and last day of each trip if you keep a journal. Start a Facebook page for your device. Ask for or give instructions.

Keep a file of travel information for your destination, including the instructions for changing your watch time.

Angela Lansbury, BA, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker.
Author of How To Get Out Of The Mess You're In.

Clearing haze in the air, haze in thoughts about haze

As a tourist or traveler you need to watch what quality of air you get at the time of travel. This is important if you are young or old, or travelling with, or meeting, others who are. It affects photography and business. Entertainment could be cancelled, such as Formula I. As the haze impacts on everybody'd activities and health, everybody starts to look for solutions.

A aerial map of fires, seen from helicopters or satellites in the sky, reveals the scale of the problem. You are dealing with an island, but not the size of the Isle of Wight or Singapore, more like the size of Australia. It's not one fire, but dozens. You can send in your thousand trained troops (as done in Indonesia) or prisoners (as done in the USA) or regular firemen, to fight a fire on one side of the country. But more fires are the opposite side of the country.

Also I suspect it's like closing down restaurants in London. I read in the papers that a restaurant had been closed down. I went back when it reopened supposedly under new management.

I was greeted by the friendly waiters I remembered well from earlier years. They assured me that I would get the same tasty food and attentive service. A relative who had been in charge was no longer on the title deeds. Another member of the extended family had taken over.

I imagine what was done at a restaurant in London could easily be the case in other situations. A fire is put out. It starts up again a few days later in the same place, associated with different people. The cure is only temporary unless you tackle the motivation or profit. You need both to cure the problem and find the cause and prevent it happening again.

In Singapore at some community centres masks have been distributed. You can also buy masks at pharmacies. And if you have any ideas on preventing or curing the haze, please make your contribution to public forums.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Free things to do in Singapore, Changi airport, trains and airports worldwide

Changi Airport
If you are travelling on Singapore Airlines you can time your stopover at Changi airport to pick up the Singapore Airlines free bus tour of the city. You need to arrive at a time when the tour is running. Allow enough time to take the tour and get back to a connecting flight.

MRT
Free aerial view of Singapore if you have a train (MRT) ticket and take the Light Railway loops.
On the loop via Pending you pass a nearby tower block and the train windows turn white to stop you seeing the buildings windows. Apparently it's a one way block and the people living nearby can see you.

Singapore Airlines Passenger Lounge
Check if you have access to a lounge if you are a frequent flyer. (You might have access to an alternative lounge if your airline is part of an alliance and the airport does not have a lounge for your airline or your airline's lounge is shut for rebuilding.) If your companion (or an acquaintance you've befriended during many hours on the flight) is on another airline, you may be able to take them into your lounge as a guest, or they may be able to take you into their lounge.

The lounges may offer: free TV you can watch from a comfy chair, free wifi, use of terminal if your computer is at home or not charged, free food, free drink, free newspapers; in the higher class lounges free toiletries such as a comb, or disposable toothbrush.

DIY Guided tour
On the train and but the recorded announcement and signs tell you the next stop. So if you research your line in advance, you can look out of the window at each stop and know what you are passing.

With two travellers you can take turns at being the guide. One of you researches the stops at the first half of the line. The other person researches the second half of the line. Print or read on line a couple of sentences about each stop.

http://www.lashworldtour.com/2011/03/10-free-things-to-do-in-singapore.html

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker.

Translation Services - what rude words are we saying?

Four problems arise in translation.
1 You translate your words and your new friends/acquaintances/shopkeepers don't understand you.
2 They understand and reply - but you don't understand the answer.
3 They understand and laugh and you wonder what you said wrongly.
4 They mutter to each other or make hostile remarks and you wonder what they are saying about you.

I dutifully learned to say goodbye and thank you in Korean and happily waved goodbye as I left restaurants and hotels. My efforts were not greeted by polite, appreciative thanks, but by hilarity. The smiled incredulously and equaled with laughter into their handkerchiefs, tears of laughter streaming down their faces as I left.

When I returned to Singapore I found out why. I asked a Japanese lady friend if she knew any Korean. She knew a little. I asked if she could explain why my attempts to say goodbye and thank you were greeted with hysterical laughter.

She smiled knowingly. Ah so. Japanese, and, Korean sta-ca-to.  Eng -rish - ve-ry sing-song.

Ah - like the time a man from Cardiff tried to chat me up on the phone in a Welsh accent. When he said I was ve-ry pre-tea, instead of being pleased at the compliment, I could not stop laughing. I now know I could give a humorous speech in Korean or Japan and my accent alone would get them grinning.

So, what do I think of a live translation service as an alternative to the computer generated ones? As far as I'm concerned, the more the merrier.

Any problems? What about people who deliberately send rude translations, or insult you for your efforts?

If somebody says something to you, or about you, and it's rude, you might want to know what they are saying. The trick in translation is you translate from your language into another, then use another source to translate back.

I once tried to do French, Spanish and German translations for a beauty product including a nail file. In French the automatic translators came up with the kind of nail you hit with a hammer (chou - the translation hadn't a clue), followed by portmanteau, clearly a file for carrying papers.

You might well want to allow the enquirer to ask for a translation of something rude. The large dictionaries manage to translate lots of words and phrases. They say ... pejorative or .... (vulgar).
I might legitimately ask - somebody is talking about me - saying .... what does this mean?

Instead of blocking, the site could just add some neutral explanation (eg 'The speaker/taxi driver/seller/passer by is insulting you using an exaggerated compliment, terms referring to acts/body parts/the speaker thinks you are stupid/naive' .... ' 

"A non-confrontational reply would be: 
(I understand (language. 
No need to be rude. 
/Please don't make personal remarks. 
Thanks, I'll take another taxi. 
I don't expect personal remarks from the staff of ... ) 

You might want to know if your romantic interest who just swore undying love is telling his friends unromantic things about you. Or if the shopkeeper or hotel staff are not happy to oblige.

My former neighbour in Singapore was a young man studying to be a doctor who did National Service. He was taught all the terms for male and female body parts, both the technical terms and the 'street names' in assorted languages: English, Chinese (Mandarin), Cantonese, Malay, Tamil and more.

A male doctor in a clinic with pregnant women might want to know how to translate rude words for body parts or sexual activity into polite terms. The male patient at a clinic faced with a lady doctor might want to know the polite words to describe where he has the problem. As a translator, I might need another translator to help me translate new words in my own language. It could be quite educational!

More details of the site:
https://www.techinasia.com/linqapp-live-launch-real-time-human-translation/

Angela Lansbury B A, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker.

Haze problem and solutions

The haze seems to be getting worse each year. Indonesian fires in Sumatra affecting Malaysia and Singapore. Up from one month of pollution to three.

People I've spoken to have said they had turned down job offers in Shanghai and Beijing because of the pollution.

Is this problem unique to Asia? What about polluted air in America? First let's look at South America. We don't hear about pollution there. But in South America my neighbour's family had to leave Chile because their children were having breathing problems.

What about North America. Fires have erupted in 2015 in California, I was reminded about this by my neighbours in the UK who have family in the USA. My British neighbours blamed the fire in California on a year of drought. The Californian authorities are bringing in water from adjacent states to fight fires.

We See Sea Water
Why? California is a coastal state. in Indonesia, Sumatra is a giant area, but surrounded by sea. What lessons can the problems and solutions of one area teach us?

I asked why the Californians cannot use sea water? The answers seem to be:
1) Collecting sea water is more hazardous to helicopters because of tides and currents.
2) Salt water kills grass for years afterwards.
3) Salt water corrodes the fire fighting equipment.
4) Salt water is bad for fresh water fish.

So that's another idea that's been considered but doesn't work. However, we should take heart from the words of Edison, which are repeated in so many forms (probably based on variations of the original said by him at different times): I have not failed 1000 times. I have tested 1000 ways which will not work. I am now much nearer my goal.

Divide and Prevent
I was looking for news about the haze when I found a forum of discussion on haze after that article. The one new idea I noticed was to divide the country like a grid into squares and put different ministers in charge of preventing pollution in their area.

Carrots and Sticks for Success
Ministers who fail will lose their job. Those who succeed win honours. If all other methods have been tried and they have not worked, maybe this is the last one available.  It will also be the last 'cure', because if it succeeds, you won't need any more. The ministers who succeed in stopping the fires in their designated area will win the accolades.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-slams-indonesia-over-haze-response-schools-shut-040601893.html

Planning a trip in Singapore using the train and bus?

My favourite way to get around Singapore is using the MRT. Around the city centre most of it is underground. You are away from the haze which you would have to endure whilst waiting up to 15 minutes at a bus stop. Therefore, first thing to do in Singapore is buy yourself a laminated MRT card at one of the central or larger stations and get an MRT map.

MRT Card
You have to invest about S$5 for the card itself, plus the amount you put on the card. Having the card means you can race through the barrier, just as you do in London and many other major cities.

In theory you can pay for a single trip paper ticket if you are short of cash. You can buy these from machines at railway stations.

Bus Fares
You can also tell a bus driver your destination and ask the fare. Then feed cash into the cash ticket machine on the bus. On a bus you tap the card against the reader as you get on, again tap it as you get off.

Card Top-up
When you tap your card onto the reader the machine tells you how much money is left on the card.
I try to top up the card when I'm not in a hurry, especially on my outward journey. Some of the ticket offices close early evening. I don't want to run short late at night. Also if I leave a meeting with friends who race for a train I don't have to delay myself or them.

Route Planning
I often compare the bus only route, the bus and train route, and the MRT only route. The websites give you lots of options. I photograph the bus timetable at the bus stop. Some buses have bus maps just for that route at the Interchange or in a box inside the bus.

If you need to arrive somewhere at a specific time, you can use a website. When I am travelling to a meeting at Toastmasters where meetings start on time and time is critical, I check the destination with the organisers as well as the building. The larger stations have several exits.

Seats
Off-peak you have more chance of getting a seat. End seats near the door have signs saying that you should give up the seat for passengers who are pregnant, have walking sticks etc.

Stopping
If you are unsure where to alight, use the website before leaving home to check the number of stops. The MRT train map shows you where lines connect. The map has all sorts of useful information, such as walking times between the city centre stops.

A sign overhead on both buses and trains tells you the next station. On buses you will see the sign Bus Stopping if somebody has pressed the stop buzzer. The stop buzzer is on one of the vertical poles.

On the train you can watch the lights on the map showing how far you are along the line. A pleasant lady's voice announces the next stop.

Sometimes you will be told which side of the train to exit. There's even a station (Jurong) with a platform with exits on both sides; so you need to work out what the name of the end of the line is.

You can see the name and number of the station on the sign top left. In the middle is the train with exit doors both sides. To the right are the lines showing you how to stand both sides of the doors so people can exit unimpeded from the middle to speed up your travel.

If you are wondering how to pronounce the station names, listen to the recorded announcement and repeat the station name to yourself.

Clark Quay station

Clarke Quay station is by Speakers' Corner

If you have lots of time, or little time, you can plan a route around the city taking in famous or everyday sites which are near each other or on the same line. Central points could include Orchard, for Orchard Road shopping and the bustling centre. If it's raining, walk underground from Orchard station along Orchard towards Ngee Ann City towers housing Takashima department store and other shops and cafes.

For more ethnic shopping, you can take the MRT to Chinatown and/or Little India.

If it's sunny, or at least not raining, Clarke Quay station exits onto a green square with Speakers' Corner, a heritage history plaque and a building alongside covered in greenery.

I make notes on my map. I outline a regular journey. I write home or hotel next to my starting point. Then I outline the route in pencil. I circle the end of line station name so when I'm travelling up or down an escalator and hear that a train is about to arrive in two minutes I know what to do. I know whether to start running, or keep to the left (as instructed, stand on the left) as others race past.

Take the train and bus to Gardens By The Bay. You can walk around the outside looking at the trees which have labels and the plaques. (See next post on free things to do.)

Travel Websites
gothere.sg - fill in your nearest road and your destination and choose train or bus or car/taxi. You will get directions of times and train stations or bus stop numbers or roads.

transitlink.com.sg - this site tells you the cost of your journey and time taken. Just fill in the starting stations and destination station.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author speaker.

(Photos will be added shortly. Come back.)

X i n Wang Hong Kong Cafe, Yishun, Singapore - late night eating

Y i n  Y a n (g) or X i n  W a n g - you probably already recognise the F u n g  Sh w ai for dark and light or good and evil. That's the origin of this restaurant's name, pronounced the Cantonese way.
A group of Singaporeans went for supper after a meeting which finished at around 10 pm, when many restaurants are closing down. Several branches of this chain are open until 2 am, and more until 10 or 11.

The other main advantage of these outlets is the huge menu. The varied choice suits a large group of people with different food requirements. I don't know about the other branches, but this one is a vast hall, with long tables like the big canteen-style restaurants in Beijing and major Chinese cities.

I went to the branch in North Point, Yishun. The also have a branch in Changi airport.

The staff we spoke to were mainly Cantonese speaking but the manageress spoke Mandarin and Singlish. She was quick to step forward, translate and take our orders.

Kaya Toast
One of the diners ordered kaya toast, which looked like toast with butter and jam, and tasted like toast with butter and jam. However, I was assured that the 'butter' was coconut 'jam'.

Soup
Like Japanese restaurants, the dishes were shown in colour photos which made selecting easier. I picked out a reddish-purple soup labelled bors. I mistakenly thought it was a mis-spelling of borsht and would be beetroot soup.

The liquid tasted of tomatoes and contained vegetables. The closest similar soup would be Minestrone.

I thought it was expensive for what it was. The drinks came to more than the food. I opted for a fresh watermelon juice. I could have had just the soup and saved money. Or halved my bill

by sticking to the juice. The soup was S$4.90. Add on your GST (government sales tax) and service of 10%.

Angela Lansbury Travel writer and photographer.

Karu's Inexpensive Indian Banana Leaf Restaurant, Singapore

Karu's Indian Banana Leaf

Reasonably priced South Indian Meat, Fish and Vegetables Restaurant

What and Where?
On the upper Bukit Timah Road, in a row of unassuming shops.

Sotong (squid)

Masala crabs

Masala prawn

Karu’s Indian Banana Leaf Restaurant

I’d heard so many people praise it.

Chicken liver (3 varieties and three sizes of dish)

The menu says when available, so I was pleased I was lucky that it was available. When available is so much more positive. When it is off you are not disappointed because you were prepared. When it is available you don’t take it for granted but feel really pleased, like you’ve had a treat. Much better than being told ‘sorry it’s off’.

Decor

One large fish shape on the wall. Representing their signature dish. A bit basic. Not as glamorous as the restaurants such as the Apollo and others in Race Course Road near Mustapha’s 24 hour department store and Little India (Little India MRT or Farrer Park).  (Avoid Little India on Sunday when streets are crowded with Indians brought in by bus for their day off).

Karu's has long shared tables which is usual at many mid-price restaurants. You can cosy up to others if you want to chat or ask other customers for recommendations. Or leave a gap between you when it's not busy.

Toilets

Shared basin for men and women in back corridor outside. One ladies cubicle?

Fish head curry

The restaurant card announces above a tiny cartoon of a man carrying a fish head on a flat dish ‘I am the Fish Head King.

The fish head for us (party of four) was served in a deep bowl to hold the fish head and liquid.

Banana Leaf

Your meal is served on a large green banana leaf the size of a tray. The waiter comes around and ladles out rice and other dishes to everybody in turn.

Food

South Indian Food

Lunch - Dinner

10.30 am - 10 pm. 

Menu

Chicken Masala

Chicken Mysore

Pepper chicken

Fish sanbal

Fish roe

Fried Fish

Best Price

What’s best - the price. £7 each including rice, a fish dish, a chicken dish, a chicken liver dish, a potato-filled pancake (masala dosai) and a non-alcoholic drink for all four of us.

Drinks
Great choice and variety. Lassi, sweet, sour and mango. I'll have that next time. I tried a rose flavour drink which was a lurid pink but not much rose aroma. Not much rose taste.

The other lady diner chose a coconut drink which was served in what looked like a white coconut with the brown hairs shaved off. (The restaurant's chiller cabinet behind the bar showed the coconuts in plastic bags. Bought in?)

Lime juice, it said fresh lime juice, hard to tell. It did not have the ginger which is used to spice up drinks in Race Course Road.

The menu didn’t mention any desserts. The restaurant closes at 10 pm so we went home for coffee and our own dessert. 

Karu's indian Banana Leaf Restaurant

808/810 Upper Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 678145

Tel:6762 7284. Closed on Monday

www.karusindianrestaurant.com

karusmani@gmail.com

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker.

Sher, North Indian cuisine, Singapore

An Indian friend was given the task of finding an Indian restaurant in Singapore on a Sunday night, away from Little India which is crowded on Sundays, and away from the traffic jams or diversions caused by the FI race.

The place he selected was Sher. It's near the Night Safari on a bus route. Half a dozen small businesses are grouped together, including a DIU shop next door selling a long-handled broom and brush for about $5 (circa £2.50).

Corridor type layout is not my favourite but it has two advantages. The advantages are: passing waiters can be grabbed, privacy.

The moment we stepped in it was obvious the place was run by a husband and wife family team, very jolly, chatty and friendly.

What did I like most?
Drinks: Lime juice starter. Freshly made, fresh tasting, less common in the UK, and half the price of what would be my second choice. Alternative mango lassi. They also do sweet and sour lassi.

Food: Fish starter.
The tandoori grill looked nice but repeated the fish starter; also it included prawns, to which I am allergic.

Washbasin on the wall, Malay style, lets you wash your hands before or after eating with your hands, without occupying the toilet. Toilet: out the back door and in a short corridor alongside. Small. Plus points: Water shower to wash yourself, Malay style. And amusing philosophical/motivational sayings on the wall.

It's like Indian style restaurants in London, with the addition of the fish. Desserts: only two: warm gulf jamun. Divided views on this. One diner was diabetic and would have liked fruit (here and at restaurants all over Singapore and the world). Another thought the glum jamun was tasteless and so was the kulfi. But I was happy with my gulf jamun.

The name Sher means lion or tiger.

lutely the best part was the friendliness of the owners. We felt treated like family or long-lost friends from the minute we arrived, and the effect will double if we return. By the time you read this I shall have moved on from this area of Singapore. But our friend who lives in Singapore has already made plans to go back with his other friends.

Paul Welikande, proprietor.
Sher
Casual dining and bar
North Indian cuisine
 23 Sembawang Road, Singapore 779079
Tel:64553356.

Angela Lansbury BA, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker.

Changi Airport awards sign, Singapore

Award winning Changi airpot has a sign saying it has more than 490 awards.  You can see why from my other photos. The awards come from: Business Traveller, Best airport in the world, 27 consecutive years and more.

Palm trees and greenery create a hanging gardens of Babylon effect. High ceilings. Feeling of space. Restful colours. Wonderful lighting.

Constantly changing exhibitions relating to festivals and events.

See my previous post on Singapore's Changi airport.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Shopping in Singapore For Sushi makers, Cheap Gifts & Household Items

Is Singapore expensive? You can shop in Takashima, or in Daiso, or both!

Daiso, the Japanese store, is in several locations in Singapore, the USA, Australia - their website shows you where. Everywhere except Europe. (But in the UK we have Pound Shops and three other retailers selling items sourced from China and elsewhere, not to mention Charity shops in every High Street, including Oxfam, Cancer Research and many more.)

Their main site tells you their locations, and an amusing guide to less than half a dozen of their best selling novelty items.
In Singapore you can find the Japanese goods at Daiso in three locations including Plaza Singapura. It took me a while of searching on Google for a site showing a greater number of individual goods you can see online.
D a i s o (sorry about the surplus spaces, but spellchecker turns the word into daisy if I don't separate the letters) offers goods at various prices. If you want items for rolling sushi, this is the place.

http://www.daisojapan.com/c-3-dining.aspx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daiso

If shipping from the usa look at myus.com
myus.com

For fashion I found fashion71.net

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, photographer.

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Chinese words from maps for travellers

China - the exotic east, source of paper and gunpowder and lots of words you didn't realise you already know. A vast land where a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, although nowadays, with most tourists having more money than time, best not to travel the continent by foot, especially if you don't speak the language(s). You would be advised to take a ship or plane from a city such as Shanghai to Beijing. Here are some handy words and translations.

Beijing - north capital -
Shanghai - shang means above; hai is sea. If you look up meaning of shanghai in a cautionary online you find it is a verb meaning to force somebody onto a ship. Shanghai is a huge port.
Canton - Portuguese pronunciation of Guang-dong
Guang - vast/expanse (huge!)
dong - east
xi - west
Guangdong - literally expanse east, or as we would say in colloquial English, Eastern area

Frankly, I learned all these years ago but they never stuck in my mind. So I have to type them out again to remind myself and you.

If you type in translation you are given links to translation services. The word you need is etymology meaning origin of words.

Some gems I found on the internet:
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/04/24/beijings-subway-stops-literally-translated/

Angela Lansbury, travel writer.

Mooncake in Chinatowns, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, USA

Traditionally the Chinese sun festival was in spring and the moon festival is autumn. Mooncakes are my current favourite foods, served at most Toastmasters Clubs meetings and contests in September 2015 in Singapore.

I tasted mooncakes with fillings of red beancurd, durian and lotus. You can buy them in tins. They are like miniature cakes the size of the palm of your hand and you often buy a tin of four, each one a different flavour. You might have one red, one yellow and one green.

Each cake in a tin is often sold preserved in sealed plastic with a sliver of preservative (like the teeny packets you get inside some shoe boxes).

I thought at first it might be a sauce, like the packets of soy sauce you get with take away meals of rice from Chinese restaurants in the UK,  so I was disappointed to find it was not edible. However, I was quickly mollified by a taste of mooncake.

Moon cakes are often made with a lard pastry. Plus a highly sugared dense filling.

This is what they look like. The message on the top is Chinese characters.

You cut the cake into four. Then again into eight. Your hosts are not being mean. Those small pieces are very filling. Like chocolates, one, or two pieces (of mooncake), is quite enough.

Modern variations include an ice cream moon cake made in the USA.

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/mooncake/a/moonfestival.htm

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, photographer, speaker.

The secret of the sun and moon Goddess legend: leads to panda lotus mooncakes

This time of year you can buy mooncakes. What lovely aromas of baked sweet pastries assail you as you hurry to or from the railway station (MRT in Singapore) or the shopping mall. So tempting to stop and buy and break your diet.

But what is the origin of the moon cakes? Legend says that there were ten sons or suns (neat pun in English) who were brothers. But they made the earth so hot that an archer was sent to kill all but one. the surviving sun or son, fell in love with a lovely lady.

He was given the elixir of immortality, but warned that if he ate more than half of it he would be banished from earth. He left it at home with his lady love and told her not to eat it.

A robber called and tried to steal it. So she ate all of it.

She became immortal, but was banished to the moon. He stared longingly up at her and ate cakes the shape of the full moon in her honour.

The moon Goddess is depicted with her companion the rabbit, the symbol of the moon.

This green filling is panda lotus. Delicious. Must try.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker.

How to Pronounce English, French, Singapore Chinese and Malay Place Names

Singapore is the opposite of London. London's East End was the old poor side by the docks, whilst the West End was for richer people and more expensive property as the city spread west and the airport of Heathrow was built on the west.

In Singapore Changi airport is in the East. If you are looking to rent property, the further away from the airport towards the west, the better value, but the longer commute to the airport and the city centre.

In the old days the train service did not reach everywhere and the poorer people and property had to depend on buses. I prefer the MRT because you can get a map from most major train stations, a map which is small and light, and free. But the bus guide is a have book which costs money. You can use Gather on your smartphone to look up bus routes. Even so, some buses run only every 15 minutes. Trains are faster.

Many of the station names are not the majority language, Mandarin, but Malay. Malay is phonetic so easy to say. Mandarin words are pronounced with equal emphasis on each syllable. mandarin has rising and falling inflections.

Malay is called Bahasa Malay or language Malay - if you are in a bookshop looking for a dictionary. The inflections are all equal for all syllables. So thank you is ter-i-mah ka-si.

Mandarin speakers tend to speak English in a series of equal syllables with no clear indication of the start of one word and the end of it, so the effect is of listening to machine gun fire. You cannot hear where one sentence starts and the next begins.

English words usually emphasize the first syllable. Good MOR-ning.

English people call the capital of France, PA-ris. The French speak of Pa-REE. They drop the last consonant and emphasize the last syllable.

Learning Languages From Maps: England, bible names

Maps provide quick and easy ways to learn words.  You could learn one word today in ten languages. One useful word. (Plus a few useless words.)

Let's take some well known place names. They take us Geography and history.

English Place Names From England:

English and Oxford
If you visit London you will probably see the main shopping street, Oxford Street. Americans shorten and simplify spelling and language. Americans often drop the word street which can be a disaster for getting directions in London. At least one American has asked for Oxford and been sent on a journey to the university city of Oxford many miles away. The Oxford street presumably originally led in that direction.

English and Cambridge
The Cambridge is - a bridge over the river Cam. Cambridge is the city famous for students punting up and down the River Cam, little boats with a standing student pushing on a pole.

Oxford street. A ford over the river Ox.
Oxford and Cambridge have a boat race with several rowers which ends in London.

Israel and Jerusalem
Capital Jerusalem. J e r u - salem. Origin - salem or peace. The Hebrew for peace is Shalom. The Arabic is Salaam. The Hebrew greeting, equivalent of Hello or Hi, is shalom. The Arabic greeting worldwide is local or dialect variations on Salaam.

Israel and El
The two names for God in the bible, the old Hebrew bible or Old Testament, are El or Al and Yahweh. The name Jo-El combines both.

El or Al gives us the Arabic Allah.

Yahweh gives us the word Jehovah and Jehovah's witnesses.

From Jo we get Joseph, Josephine, Josie, Jo, Joe.

Aramaic, the language at the time of Jesus, is the origin of Arabic, and of Hebrew.  The written language originally had no vowels. Only the rich and famous and highly educated could read. Later dots and dashes were added above as guidelines. So the earliest parchments have no vowels and we have to guess the pronunciation.

The English pronunciation of El appears in many personal names. For example El-ijah, El-izabeth.

Beth or Beit is building or house. Bethlehem is house of bread. Beth - house - lehem - bread. Think of bakery, which also starts with the letter b, but house of bread enables you to remember each of the two words.

A quick way to learn a few words of a language is to look at the map. What are the words for the top ten cities, the mountain, the river, the square, the house, the church? The numbers one to ten also appear in names.

Numbers
Beersheba or Beersheba is a down in the south of Israel which in the original Aramaic would have been seven wells.  Sh-ev-a or She-b-a is seven.

Other common names are new and old. In England we have Newcastle, a city with a castle which is now quite old.

In London towards the old East End we have Old Street.

Looking at the train stations will also teach you history and Geography, although many names reflect past ages and landmarks which have vanished.

In London, Shepherds Bush will not have any shepherds nor bushes.

Orchard Road, Singapore's equivalent of London's Oxford Street, no longer has an orchard but is full of shopping malls.

On the other hand, looking at the map of England, it's easy to recall that Norfolk is north of Suffolk, because Norfolk was the land of the North folk, whilst Suffolk was the land of the South folk.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, photographer, author, speaker.

Haze news websites: BBC, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore

No shortage of news on the haze.
The sky over Singapore is white. Flights are being affected by delays. F1 could be cancelled.
How to find out what is going on? The trick is to compare news from various countries.

http://www.haze.gov.sg
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-34242311
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/indonesia-sends-troops-to/2127416.html
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/riau-declares-emergency-as-haze-worsens
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/haze-worsens-throughout-malaysia
http://time.com/4034382/indonesia-smog-haze-fire-forest-singapore/
http://www.nst.com.my (the New Straits Times - news from Malaysia)
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/09/15/spore-offers-help-indonesia-again-haze-condition-worsens.html (news from Indonesia)
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/09/15/haze-schools-close/ (from KL, Malaysia)

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, photographer, author, speaker.

Singapore and Malaysia haze - my friend says

A friend of mine just phoned about the haze. He said schools in Malaysia had shut (KL I think). At another property in Singapore an expat heard the alternating siren from defence which (according to an announcement interrupting the classical music channel Symphony 92.4) signals go to shelter. The continuous sound from the siren indicates it's safe to come out.

I presume this means the haze, not some kind of international attack, although you might think it amounts to almost the same thing. When your school are shut, your sports events and charity runs are cancelled ...

In Singapore you can see people on trains and buses wearing the white masks bought from pharmacies. Some employers distribute masks to their staff.

A neighbour in Singapore told me he is now waking in the morning having to clear his throat.

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/air-quality-in-singapore-remains-unhealthy-on-tuesday-24-hour-psi-at-8am-122

To get official updates go the local newspapers and government websites.
todayonline.com (Today newspaper, Singapore)
straitstimes.com (Straits Times newspaper, Singapore)

Sympathies to those in California suffering from the fires.

Glossary
PSI Pollutant Standards Index

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, photographer, 

Singapore's Haze and How to keep up with news from Asia

The haze is bad in Singapore, Monday 14 September 2015. The Today newspaper, which is found at the MRT stations and delivered in piles to the ground floors of blocks of flats, carries the headline on the front page "Schools ready for the worst, as PSI set to become 'very unhealthy'.

Their news report carries reports about the Formula 1 race and how drivers and audiences and promoters may be affected.

How does it affect travellers and tourists and residents in the region? You might find that sports events are cancelled, or that schoolchildren are having sports and PE lessons indoors instead of outdoors. You might buy a mask in a pharmacy and see others wearing masks when they set off shopping. You might consider whether you prefer the underground MRT as a form of transport, or a taxi or air conditioned bus, rather than a bicycle, motorbike or standing waiting at a bus stop.

See more in todayonline.com
straitstimes.com

One way to keep up with news from Asia if you are an expat spending some time in Singapore or Asian countries is to keep a news feed from an Asian newspaper coming onto your computer's or mobile phone's home page. You could pick the 'BBC - World' page, or a Singapore newspaper such as Todayonline.com

Angela Lansbury BA, travel writer, photographer, author, speaker.

When to visit Singapore and Asia: bargains, decorations, no haze and no rain

Good Time
Time to visit: any major event or festival (unless you hate crowds). My favourite time in Singapore is Christmas because every shopping mall is dramatically decorated with giant plays, sometimes animated. So are the major shopping streets such as Orchard Road. Sale time - Singapore sale. If you can't make the sale, go to Mohammed Mustafa department store. Part of it is open 24 hours.

Bad Time
Monsoon or rainy season. Roads are awash. Floods in major areas and highways. Rain not just an hour in the afternoon but for three days solid. Sandals shipping water. Photographs a waste of time. Boat trips cancelled. On the other hand, two major Singapore activities are still available. Food and shopping.

Tips For Shopping In The Rain
Any advantages to rainy season? This is when your hotels offer bargains. Great time if you are visiting family, indoor museums, restaurants and indoor shopping malls.  Think of what you have saved on hotels. More money to spend on shopping.

Trick to shopping indoors? Find basement malls which link one area to another. For example, half of Orchard Road is linked between Orchard MRT and ION along the south side of Orchard Road to Ngee Ann City towers. Two levels of shopping streets at Basement one and Basement two.

Hot or Not
If you are too hot, stay indoors. Indoor shopping malls. Indoor restaurants. Drink lots of iced water.

The locals drink warm water. Women are told that cold water gives you stomach cramps when you have your period and warm water helps relax your tummy. So Singaporean girls and women often ask for warm water. Your waiter will ask if you want warm water or iced water.

In India I was told that Indians like hot drinks such as tea because hot food and drink makes you perspire which cools you down.

Hay Fever, Pollution and Haze
If you suffer from hay fever, allergic reaction to pollen, in England or elsewhere, in spring, get away from it all in Singapore.

Singapore's haze is worst June to September. Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong suffer from polluted skies. Check weather reports. If the locals are wearing masks, either it's a flu or medical epidemic, or haze.

Haze - cause and effect
What causes the haze? Read the local papers and see what they say. Indonesia is blamed for forest fires started deliberately to clear forests to plant crops, eg for oil. At one point the Indonesians were claiming the cause was Singapore. At first it sounded a bizarre case of the pot calling the kettle black.

But I kept reading. One of the companies involved had its HQ in Singapore within sight of where I was then on holiday.

I wish the problem could be solved. Regardless of who is to blame, what can you do as a tourist?

Where can you buy a mask? At a pharmacy. But masks come in two qualities. The cheaper masks are only good for a few hours. You can buy a pack of three.

Will the haze affect you if you are only on holiday a short time? From a photographer's point of view, the sky is white instead of blue. Distant views of mountains are faded and blurred.

When the haze is at its worst, the schools and colleges shut. The staff at outdoor events have to be sent home. The elderly are told not to do strenuous exercise outdoors. Even indoor events are cancelled because the building cannot operate without staff working outside (cleaners, parking attendants, gate security etc).

Children cannot use outdoor playgrounds at school and outdoor walkways linking buildings nor outdoor food courts. Staff who don't have a maid, nanny or granny to take care of children have to go home to mind the children.

Hospitals are extra busy because of those who are ill. Also those who are old or sick must be checked as a precaution if they suddenly have breathing or other problems.

You might come down with a sore throat. No fun if you are speaking at an event.

When your Singaporean friends who are affluent or have family in Australia decide to leave Singapore for Australia, maybe it's time to shorten you outbound stopover at Singapore and plan to stay longer on the way back instead. Or maybe time to plan that Xmas trip. Flights are busy and often fully booked for major holidays such as Xmas and Chinese New Year. So check your calendar and plan the best time for your trip, taking into account budget, seasonal weather and festivities.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, author, speaker.

Rainbow Cake in Singapore, Rainbow Cocktails in London, or make your own cake and juices

Rainbow cake, Singapore.
More details of restaurant and recipe later. It's in the HillV2 complex ground floor.

This is a great treat for a holiday, birthday or special occasion. Also a centrepiece for a party.

I forgot the name of the restaurant where I saw this cake. Fortunately, as usual I had taken the photo of the food with a copy of the menu (or name card) as a reminder. Dean and Deluca, in HillV2, 4 Hillview Rise, Singapore.

Here's a guide to rainbow cakes all over Singapore, with the warning that some places sell out early in the day. (Don't they have a chef on site who makes another when the cake is three quarters sold out? Don't they have a second cake in the freezer which can be brought out?)

http://www.ladyironchef.com/2014/01/rainbow-cake-cafe-singapore/

Want to make it yourself?
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3028705/rainbow-cake

I am keen on natural colours and different flavours. Why would anybody recommend food colouring? The BBC's trouble-shooting or FAQ site warns cooks that natural colours might fade during cooking. But too much food colouring can give an unpleasant flavour. Back to natural ingredients. In summer with fresh fruits abundant and cheap, a good time to make juices and flavoured cakes.

English Summer Pudding - red fruit
In England in summer many restaurants will be offering summer pudding, encased in a simple white bread outside, contrasting with the most, succulent strongly flavoured centre filling of red summer fruits such as red currants, raspberries, strawberries and blackcurrants. You could make a two or three decker summer pudding with two or three contrasting colours, red fruits, green kiwi, and another.

Australian and New Zealand Pavlova - Rainbow effect
Australia and New Zealand have as their national dish the Pavlova, a meringue with a high bowl ending and mixed fruits in the centre. At home or for a party you could create a rainbow effect in the middle simply with contrasting colours of fruits, cut into circles or semicircles, laid in lines. If you want a hotel or catering company to do a summer dessert for a party or wedding, you could ask them to create a rainbow effect Pavlova.

Another version would have concentric circles, perhaps with strawberries around the outside of the meringue. At home, or for a charity event, even a small child could create the pattern, if an adult washed and cut the fruit, and ensured the child washed their hands!

Rainbow Cake
Singapore's rainbow cake is dense, not light like a Victoria sponge, because you want the layers to hold their shape.
Good. I've always been disappointed by sponge cakes which disappear in the mouth like Candy Floss (one of the great culinary disappointments of my childhood. I must admit to liking solid foods such as suet pudding).
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-make-our-rainbow-cake-frequently-asked-questions

Contrasting Colour Cocktails
In London you can get rainbow cocktails at a Chinese restaurant in Harrow. The price of the cocktail was as much as or more than our main dish, but the highlight of the meal.

I first saw these made at a French wedding (our au pair girl Caroline nee Jouy, married name Mention. I've hunted for her all over the net). The colours settle due to the different density but you simply have to pour them in the correct order.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Rainbow-Shots/

One recipe suggests 1/4 oz of each of
Creme de Cacao,
Creme de Violette,
Yellow Chartreuse,
Maraschino,
Benedictine,
Green Chartreuse and finally
Brandy.

Seven ingredients. If you have a well-stocked cabinet you probably have two or three already. If you don't have all the ingredients, you could make yourself a Christmas list and ask each member of the family to buy you one of the ingredients (or all buy a bottle for each other).

A simple sandwich drink of three contrasting colours could be equally amusing. (Nobody actually wants to drink all these different flavours. In my experience it's just a muddle and too much alcohol. You just want to see it.)

There's some simple scientific way of finding out which order to use the drinks you already have by looking up the number. Anybody in your family with a scientific or methodical mind could do it.
An alternative version

Rainbow Juices in Contrasting Colours
You don't like alcohol? You are driving? You want non-alcoholic drinks for health freaks or a children's party, or drivers early in the day?

You also find a mixed fruit juice will separate out into contrasting colours. This happened to my juices at The Tanglin club Tavern restaurant in Singapore.

Or just make a selection of teeny tumblers or throwaway plastic cups with juices of three different colours different colours. I saw this done at the Grove Hotel north of Watford for a Jaguar car test drive organised by Spire. Orange from oranges and carrots. Green from kiwi fruit. Red from watermelon or mixed red fruits.

Can't be bothered to make your own juices? Want a detox? Health food shops and internet suppliers can provide bottled juices. Here's just one of several I found on the net, from the USA.
http://www.rainbowjuices.com

If you are in Singapore, one of the delights is that most shopping malls in buildings with multi-storey shops have a food court in the basement or on the top storey, or both, with at least one juice bar serving juices.

Kiosks serving juices is also becoming a trend in shopping malls in London, England. You will find them in suburbs such as Harrow and Watford, as well as the big, famous malls. If you are planning a shopping trip, most shopping malls have websites so you can check the names of the restaurants and juice bars. Then check the outlet websites for their food, drinks and prices.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker.

Io Italian Osteria, Singapore's restaurant serving Sicilian cake

A friend recommended this Italian restaurant to my family. The name iO stands for Italian Osteria. Osteria (pronounced ost - er ee - er) is a word evoking hostelry and hospitality.

The location is the new HillV2 complex. Up an escalator. Jumping fountains in the middle of the area and restaurants surround you.

io is a large restaurant with wooden tables and chairs but the ceilings are so high it's not noisy. They have been busy all week and the evening I was there the restaurant had two sittings. The owner and her daughter are busy bustling about and the other staff are equally brisk. You only need to half raise a hand and somebody comes rushing over to take your order or answer a question.

These ladies are sitting on high on bar stools watching food being cooked in the open plan kitchen.

A member of my family had lunch there midweek and liked it so much he made a follow-up visit and ordered food for a party.

I was initially rather sceptical. The bronze effect cutlery stacked in help yourself sections on the table was two shades of gold and black.

The menu was handily printed on a paper placemat. Each section suggested see daily specials chalked on black boards.

I found a slightly sparkling white house wine which was OK, for price and style.

Aubergine
My starter was Malanzane alla parmigiana, aubergine or egg plant, in a parmesan cheese and tomato sauce. It is a classic dish. We shared my aubergine starter. So far so good.

My main course was meat and mashed potato, braised beef, which was copious and delicious, home cooking style.

We diners sat debating the difference between the traditional meet and two veg expected by the British diners of retirement age  - dating back to postwar Britain, where rationing continued until 1950 and restaurants advertised 'meat and two veg' which was the wartime standard requirement.

Nowadays the Californians and many Europeans serve a vegetable as a starter. I as a Brit am horrified that no greens appear with the main course unless you pay for and know to order extras.

My dining companions suggested that having vegetables first and none with the main course is an Italian tradition. I don't think it's a merely Italian custom. In Hatch End, Italian restaurants such as Fellini, Casa Mia and Dona Teresa will serve you a main course of chicken, fish, whatever, with a copious selection of cooked vegetables, potato and two vegetables.

Those of us watching our health and diet as well as our budget like to have two vegetables with the main course.

I had to admit I was quite full at Io Osteria, and I had had a vegetable starter.

But the piece de resistance was the desserts.

Having a shared started and shared dessert, only one glass of wine and no coffee, our meal cost the equivalent of about £20 each which we considered very reasonable. Shopping around the bakery section which had four kinds of tarts for desserts or for sale, plus the other displays of food for sale, created an interesting evening out.

Plates were different colours, brown, white or green. Desserts were colourful. My favourite was the Sicilian dessert cake. It contained chocolate and marzipan. If you've had cassata Siciliana, you will be familiar with the ice cream with lots of colourful titbits of different flavours. The Sicilian cake is similar in concept, a mixture of colours and flavours. A delight for the eye and tastebuds.

Alternative desserts were cheesecake, a chocolate and hazelnut cake, an almond cake, lemon meringue, and more.

The owner Anna, daughter Dalila, and staff are all cheerful and chatty.

Chef owner Anna wearing white and the restaurant logo

Anna's Daughter Dalila

You'll find more news of them on trip advisor, Hungrygowhere, yelp, Instagram and Facebook.
The toilets are across the public courtyard. (Which is why my hair is not combed in the picture.) After your meal it's a chance to glance at the colourful jumping fountains outside.

iO Italian Osteria
No 4 Hillview Rise
#02-01, HillV2 Singapore 667979
Phone:(65) 6710 7150
Open daily 10-10.
info@sicilia-mia.com
www.io-osteria.com

Sicilian dessert cake

Angela Lansbury, BA, author, writer, speaker.