Singapore: Exploring, Eating, and Enjoying!

Singapore is a city that is seriously meant for foodies or those who are creative/experimental eaters. You can also find authentic cuisine from all corners and nooks of the earth.
Craving Peruvian? They've got it.
Tex-Mex instead of true Mexican? Yep.
Norwegian seafood or Welsh rarebit? Straight from the source and cooked by a native from there.

We definitely did NOT obligate ourselves to a particular cuisine while exploring Singapore, nor did we stick with defined meals. For example: Indian for breakfast:

After a solid breakfast each morning, we set out to explore a different area of the city. The overall morning goal to make it to Hawker Center for lunch.

We enjoyed weaving through some of the more local, non-touristy, shops and looking at their wares.

We bonded with a fellow American and picked up a new friend

Meet Josh. We met him in a room of Scotch and quickly bonded over the expat life. He is a transplant from LA currently living in and working from Bali. We ended up connecting and heading to lunch together, as well as meeting up for other occasions during our time in Singapore.

The premise of the Hawker Centers is all things food and beverage, with a plethora of different stands/booths to choose from. Each stand has its "thing" that they are known for, so you visit a few of them to accumulate your total meal, piecing it all together. It is a great way to try EVERYTHING, and it is super cheap, so you don't feel bad if you were just a little too curious about something, it was disgusting, and you don't want to eat any more of it. We absolutely loved this concept. Though it can be a bit confusing and chaotic.

And finally, we settled on dumplings and soup (see below):

Shared between the 3 of us

Laksa, my hands-down FAVORITE thing

And some other intriguing dried bits that we had no interest in trying:

Singapore: Bring on the Food!

And on to Singapore.
Bali was about rest, relaxation, and quiet.
Singapore is about food. We love food.

Our awesome accommodations, booked through AirBnb

Lunch time!

Though we are experimental foodies, we did NOT eat here

Adam's Favorite Place: Swee Choon Restaurant
We went here twice.
We ate entirely too much both times.
This place is both a local and a tourist favorite, so unless you are queuing 30-45 minutes before opening (which we did the first time), expect to wait for a table. Don't worry, it is well worth the wait. Also, as we did the second time, you won't have to wait too long (more than 30 minutes), as the kitchen and staff is extraordinarily efficient and work to support rapid turn over without rushing you.
If you like dim sum, or don't know if you like dim sum and want to try a dozen different varieties, this is THE PLACE to come.
There will be many places that we will be talking about in the coming posts, but I truly believe that this is a "don't miss" food experience in this awesome city!

What did we order?!?!?

Soup dumplings: Literally soup wrapped up = ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!

Living in the Middle East, while having a plethora of benefits, does leave a beer loving soul aching for quality brews. So Singapore was about eating good food and drinking good alcohol.

Pasta spin on traditional laksa

So stay tuned for the food porn quality experiences that are about to come!

Bali: THE MONKEY FOREST!!!!

There is not enough CAPITALS, bold, colors, or !e!x!c!l!a!i!m!a!t!i!o!n! points to express how much I loved this!

It is amazing.
As long as monkeys don't terrify you.
If they do, even just a little bit, this is definitely NOT the place for you!
Oh God, it was SO awesome!

Information: Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary

It was cheap to get in, and you will EASILY spend 2 hours just walking around all of the paths, minus the time that you stop to watch the monkeys. Of note, they roam freely and you are in their space. They come and go as they please, and it is awesome. They will come right up to you, climb on you, try to raid your bags and pockets, and are easily bribed by bananas.

So close....yet, so far! My favorite picture of the day.

Adam made a new friend who also loved his beard.

A little too much beard love

<3 <3 <3 <3

Monkey see, monkey do!

Hahahahaha! 

Note: They can open zipper, button, ties, or anything else. They can and they will.

Can you find the sleepy monkey?

Baby love!

Grooming time; have to look good for the observers.

Ok, so not letting the monkey get in the bag was not the best idea = Monkey bite. At least no skin was broken.

If you come to Bali, you ABSOLUTELY MUST make the time to come here. Again, as long as monkeys don't terrify you.