Water, Water Everywhere And Not A Drop To Drink

Friday, 30 August

4:37 p.m.

Marmalade Toast. Orchard Road. Singapore.

I went to PS. Cafe for the coffee. Well, I went once this morning in Ann Siang Hill. For the coffee. But they weren’t open yet. So I called it a miss. Later, I decided to stop off in Orchard Road between the S.E.A. Aquarium (evidently, the world’s largest) and the National Orchid Garden, and I vaguely recalled that PS. had another location in the area. An area that, for the record, has been torture in my hangry, broke-ass state. Every store you could possibly wish to visit is probably here, including Christian Louboutin. And I’m painfully aware that having the desire to buy things in a store does not equate to having the means, which is one thing about Orchard Road that’s frustrating: The tease. 

Another thing is that there’s very little life on the actual road, as most of the boutiques, restaurants, etc. are housed in massive, immensely disorienting shopping malls with powerful-sounding names. Like Paragon. Which is where I found PS. number two. 

By the time I got there, I was famished and feeling in need of green stuff. (After many a hefty portion of noodles and rice.) I ordered the House Specialty Salad (or whatever it’s called). It was good… was it worth $18? Well, that’s debatable. I mean, can you really put a price on health? 

With a second glance at the menu, I decided that I couldn’t possibly justify spending near $7 for a flat white, which wasn’t even on the menu, or $10+ for a cake. Which is how I ended up at Marmalade Toast, on the recommendation of this lady. Half the price, just as tasty. (Tastier?) I undid the salad with a Bananarama cupcake, but that’s okay, because it was pretty good for morale. 

Earlier in the day, I couldn’t resist trying this $1-ice cream sandwich thing they were selling on the street. The vendors thought I was crazy for ordering the durian flavour. They handed it over, a bit reluctant, but pleased with my adventurous choice, I reckon, and said, “Smell strong, but taste okay.” Which was true. 

“Smell strong, but taste okay.”

–

From Orchard, I made my way to the Botanic Gardens. I basically spent the entire day trying to tick destinations off of a list written by a lovely local guy named Gus, who served me coffee on Wednesday morning and craft beer on Wednesday night. Anyway, my timing was impeccable and I finally got to the entrance of the Orchid Garden just after they sold the last ticket. Consequently, didn’t see too many orchids. I peaced out and had a Singapore Sling in Clarke Quay, which was not on the list, but was so necessary before leaving.