PlanetEye

Many visitors to Singapore leave raving about the various types of food available across the island-state.

With a population mix of Chinese, Malay, Indian - and many other minor nationalities - it's hadly surprising that the resulting food offerings are almost endless.

What some ‘foodie' visitors like to do is take a quick cooking course while in town - be it an across-the-board all-types-of-fare arrangement or a specific cuisine type session...it's all available.

Below are a few Cooking School options.  All offer a hands-on approach to making your favourite dishes, allowing you to take the secret ingredients with you when you leave.

Shermay's Cooking School

Located in trendy Holland Village the School gives cookery classes in Nonya Cuisine (Chinese-Malay mix) as well as traditional Chinese dishes.

www.shermay.com/

Coriander Leaf Studio.

Offers half-day courses in South East Asian dishes...amongst others.   Clarke Quay location.  www.corainderleaf.com

Raffles Culinary School.

Located in the old hotel - worth going just to experience the ambiance! Two to four hour classes daily except Sunday and Monday. www.raffleshotel.com/culinaryacademy

Palate Sensations.

Offers courses in Traditional Chinese Medicine as well as The Art of Making Chinese Tea, Yoga Health Foods and Spa Cuisine (to be sampled when in the bath).

http://www.palatesensations.com/

Cookery Magic.

Home based cookery classes covering Malay, Indian, Chinese, Mediterranean and Vegetarian dishes.

http://www.cookerymagic.com/

All of which means that next time you are enjoying a great dining experience in Singapore and someone asks ‘What's that?', you can not only tell them, but cook it for them when you get back home.   

Cooking is the common denominator for the people of the world and in Singapore it all comes together rather nicely. It's food for the heart, prepared with loving care!

Be a part of it.

Singapore's MINT - Museum of Toys can be found in Seah Street, at the rear of Raffles Hotel....nearest MRT Station City Hall.

The name stands for Moment of Imagination and Nostalgia with Toys and the museum is claimed to be the world's first purpose-built Toy Museum.

Located in a converted shop-house the smart building is home to toys from over 25 countries covering four levels and displaying over 50,000 items.

Exhibits date back to the mid-19^th century and come from the likes of Japan, Germany, the US, Britain, Bulgaria and Singapore.

Each floor has its own Heading ... Level 5 is Outerspace: Level 4 is labelled Characters : Level 3 has the name Childhood Favourites : the Second Floor is titled Collectibles and the Ground Floor is home to the Mint Shop which offers souvenirs, vintage toys, memorabilia and other attractions.

There's even a MINT Café - Restaurant and Wine Bar on the lower basement level for those who work up a thirst or appetite while trawling through the displays.

The owner of MINT - Museum of Toys is a low-profile Singapore business identity who (some could say) is just a ‘big kid at heart' ... given the number of toys the gentleman has acquired over the years.

The desire to share the Collection with Singaporeans and visitors alike led to this charming attraction coming to life.

As they say within the property...MINT appeals to the child in both the children and the adults who enter.

Opening hours for the Museum and Shop are 0930-1830 daily ... with the MINT Café staying open until 2230 daily.

For something different that will bring out the child in you...get down to the MINT ... you'll soon be feeling young again.

Check out the toys and offers on   http://www.emint.com/

It may come as a surprise to many visitors but Singapore is one of only two cities in the world to have a dedicated rainforest within its boundaries.   Guess the other --- answer at the bottom of this story.

Just 12 kms from the city lies the lush 164 hectare Bukit Timah Nature Reserve containing more species of trees than the whole North American continent.

Nature lovers can trek through the jungle via 4 well-marked trails designed for leisurely walking. Here you can spot exotic birds, butterflies, monkeys (don't feed, it's against the law...you'll be fined if you do.) squirrels and flying lemurs.

The shortest route will take some 20 minutes to cover... and along every pathway are rest-spots to pause and catch your breath.

There are no shops in the Reserve so bring you own drinks and snacks -  sun-block and mozzie repellant would be wise additional items.

You can maybe hike up to the top of Bukit Timah Hill - the highest spot on the island at 164 metres above sea level. Composed mainly of granite the hill was an active quarry area in the mid-nineteen hundreds. One abandoned quarry has been turned into a park where one can take in the scenic beauty or try out adventure equipment.

The reserve opens at 8.30am and closes at 6.30pm. Admission is free...and a trek taking in much of what's on offer would take some 3 hours.

For those in need of a change from the concrete jungle the real jungle isn't that far away.  Nature, fresh air and loads of exotic birds and animals await.

So get your hiking boots on ...and answer the call of nature.

                        ==================================

Quiz Note: The other city with an inner-limits nature reserve is ...

                Rio de Janeiro. Ten points for a correct answer!

They say you can tell you're getting old when policemen start to look younger.

Not having been arrested lately, I can't really vouch for that, but admit that such a thought ran (staggered, at my age) through my head last week - twice actually!

Having been downtown I caught the Number 100 (nice number...almost my age...) bus outside Raffles Hotel back to the office.

The bus was packed and I slowly made my way towards the rear, where I stood day-dreaming the ride away.

After a while my sixth sense told me someone was looking at me. Casting my eyes to the right, though not making eye-contact in case they wanted a donation for a swiftly-revealed collection tin, I checked what my inner-voice was saying.

Right enough, this elderly fellow was indeed looking at me.

Carefully checking that my trousers were zipped, my socks were both the same colour and my wig in place --- joke, it's glued down, no problem --- I decided I had better look at him.

He smiled, stood up and said ‘Uncle, have a seat...' Singaporeans call old folk Uncle or Aunty...so I suppose it could have been worse.

Obviously he was a long-lost Chinese nephew, one with fading eyesight.

‘Young man,' I whispered ‘I know I've had a rough day but I will be running a half-marathon later, so thank you ...but no thanks'.  Shattered...

Then the next day on a full train an old lady sitting opposite to where I stood gave me a look, stood and offered me her seat.

Must need her eyes testing, I told myself ...and quickly swung from the overhead loops like a Chinese gold-medal winning gymnast.

Sadly I was considered too old for the event and immediately disqualified.

Time to check the passing of time perhaps...but then perhaps not...! 

For those seeking a change from the action around Orchard Road, and the City centre,  Singapore's East Coast offers seaside appeal with a great deal happening.

There are quite a few appealing hotels in the East...and East Coast Park offers low-cost chalets of certain attraction (very popular with locals - who always know a good deal when they see one) just by the beach.

The beach itself stretches from Changi all the way to Marina Bay some 15 kms away, with the area close to Parkway Parade Shopping Centre the most popular.

Here one can hire bikes, kangaroo-type bouncy shoes as well as skates...and join the locals (again!) in booking one of the many barbeque pits along the stretch ...and enjoy some burnt offerings (and a few beers perhaps) as the sun goes down : magic!

For the sporting there are tennis facilities, a golf driving range, a watersports centre, a jogging track, reflexology track, camp sites and the East Coast Sailing Centre...all aboard! 

You'll be fitter than ever after a few days down here on what is actually reclaimed land.

Restaurants and fast food outlets dot the landscape as do eye-catching flora and fauna : it's all a total delight in a relaxed atmosphere.

Check out the Playground at Big Splash where it's all happening in regard to new seafood outlets ... not forgetting the ever-popular East Coast Seafood Centre down the coast road ... in fact there is much to do everywhere you turn.

Feel the tropical sun on your face and on your back (when you jog back to your chalet - or seafood centre table ) and let yourself soak in the many delights of Singapore's East Coast Park ...where everything's coming up roses ... and orchids ... and frangipani ... and hibiscus.

OK flower?

The first Indian settlers arrived in Singapore with Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819 as soldiers and general assistants.

In the late 1800's many more Indian migrant workers arrived in search of employment - be it as labourers, builders or civil servants.

Today Little India is the focal point of Singapore's Indian community. Its spice-scented streets, restaurants, shops and people create a unique and lively part of the island-state.

For the tourist Little India is treasure chest of delight - from the bustling Tekka Centre and Little India Arcade to the smallest ‘mama' shop, everything under the Indian (and Singapore) sun awaits.

Pots, saris, shawls, jewellery, garlands, silks, spices and just about everything you could imagine can be found amongst this seemingly endless of offerings.

During Deepavali - the Indian Festival of Light -  in October or November, Little India is transformed into a fairyland as lights are everwhere and the sounds have to be heard to be believed. Bargains are better than ever and locals and visitors alike bustle about seeking that special well-hidden item.

The best way to see Little India is to take a walking tour.

The Dhobis, Saris and a Spot of Curry tour takes place every Wednesday at 9am. Meeting point for participants is the Little India MRT Station - outside Exit E (Buffalo Road.) The cost is SIN$25 per adult...children 12 and below SIN$15.

Check it all out on the websites ...

http://www.singaporewalks.com/ or http://www.littleindia.com.sin

Little India is close to the city centre. A mere ten minute taxi ride from Orchard Road ...or take the MRT North-east Line to Little India Station.

For the tourist Little India means big bargains and little option other than to get involved with all that this lively area offers. 

As prices for Singapore hotels continue to climb there is much activity in hotel and accommodation development.

While many property owners scramble to convert large buildings into hotels and well-known developers snap up land parcels to build new hotels on, a creative and innovative concept has recently been announced.

The island's first ‘Agri-tainment' resort is set to open in the northern agricultural belt of Lim Chu Kang this month. The nearest MRT station to the area is Kranji.

Described as providing an ‘unconventional' experience - certainly for Singapore where one imagines shops, shops and more shops as far as the eye can see -  guests will be shown how crops such as corn and coffee are grown. Some may even get to harvest their own vegetables - presumably the quick-growing versions as average length of stay is expected to be just a few nights.

The 5 hectare site will have 21 villas, a restaurant, beer garden and a spa. Prices will be around the SIN$200 a night mark.

Another Farmstay option will open in Kranji next month - this one the D'Kranji Farm Resort.

The operation will have some 19 chalets along with a wellness spa, seafood restaurant, fruit plantation and a herb garden.

The whole Lim Chu Kiang area is actually slated to provide numerous farmstay options, as well as views of Malaysia across the nearby Johor Strait.

People heading for the area are expected to take in a number of the farms around --- such as Bollywood Veggies, Max Koi Farm (shop for koi fish), Fire Flies Health Farm and Hay Dairies - a goat farm with a thousand goats of various breeds.

So for those seeking a ‘natural break' from the concrete jungle of Singapore a Farmstay option is the obvious answer. 

Go green - be seen, is the eco-cry!