Only in Hong Kong…

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Signboards along road, Hong Kong.

Information overload along the streets of Mong Kok, Hong Kong.
Photo © Cheryl Marie Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010

Characteristic of Hong Kong is the information overload that greets you along its busy streets, not only from signboards that hang abovehead, but by all the minute happenings along the street and around every street corner. From the movement of goods from van to store, to the bargaining for the best prices and the rush for buses, taxis and the MTR, it’s tempting to want to observe everything when you’re there. For a first time visitor, it’s perhaps sometimes easier if you just ignored for the most part, the things that happen around you in order not to feel overwhelmed by it all, for Hong Kong like Singapore with a sliver of difference, seems also a city that hardly sleeps.

These pictures were taken mostly in Mong Kok, Hong Kong, with the wet market scenes most familiar and heartwarming to me.
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ICMIT 2010 and the changing face of Singapore

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From left to right Keynote speaker, Professor Philip Phan, Dr. Cheryl Marie Cordeiro and Keynote speaker, Professor Michael Song, ICMIT 2010 in Singapore
Photo: Courtesy of ICMIT 2010

Behind the short and cryptic ICMIT stands the full title of the IEEE International Conference on Management of Innovation and Technology 2-5 June 2010. Originally a Singaporean initiative, this conference was now held for its fifth time.

Since my academic interest revolves much around Knowledge Management, Communication and Information Technology, I was happy to find towards the end of last year that a paper I had submitted to this conference had been accepted, and not only that but I was also invited to take a more active role in the conference by being part of the scientific review committee and indeed, actually chairing one of the sessions.

Even if I have spent my last ten years in Sweden, I did grow up in Singapore and spent my postgraduate years at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore (NTU) respectively.

So this conference was a happy reunion of sorts since the organizers of this conference were mainly from NUS and NTU, so it gave me a chance to meet with several former professors, who were also my mentors. In particular a warm thank you goes to Dr. Chai Kah Hin (NUS) and Dr. Ravi Sharma (NTU) for a conference well organized, and to Dr. Chris Khoo Soo Guan (NTU) who besides a most impressive tour around the vast NTU campus also showed us the best new dessert and ice cream parlors in the area.

Conference themes
The main theme to this year’s ICMIT conference was Management of Innovation and Technology in its widest sense. My point and contribution was to discuss that technology when managed, packaged and sold as in whole industrial complexes for example, would fail if not accompanied by the tacit knowledge that is needed to make it work. My point was illustrated from the perspective of Swedish managers working in Swedish companies in Singapore.

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My paper was presented under Knowledge Management (1), 4/6/2010 13:30-15:00, Room: Jupiter, Chairs: Cheryl Marie Cordeiro and Ying Hsun Hung

As an example, a bicycle in a box however neatly packaged and sent somewhere, would still need someone to teach one how to use it, to be of any use at all. And how this tacit (implicit) knowledge transfer – by definition not possible to codify – could be investigated and assessed by the use of language.

When keeping up is not enough
What struck me when we circled down for landing in Singapore Airline’s (SIA) Boeing 777-212ER was how fast Singapore changes. Every time I come back, the landscape changes.

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The new ION shopping mall that opened July 2009 at Orchard Road, brings together “the world’s best brands’ flagship, concept and lifestyle stores within one development, with four levels above ground and four levels below – totaling 66,000 square meters of retail space.”

There is however, a price to pay for Singaporeans with these speedy changes. There are so many memory lanes that are just not there anymore to be walked and the financial and architectural development is done in such a rush, at such a breakneck speed, that it washes clean a sense of rootedness for Singaporeans to its land. Still, Singapore is indeed one of the major financial and administrative centers in South East Asia, a character trait that impresses upon visitors with the current architecture of the heart of the Central Business District. The goal of Singapore is to make it to the lead, and remain there.
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Entrecôte a la Suede

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My take on a Swedish meat classic, in Nordic summer’s evening light.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson for CMC 2010

Strangely enough the most common meat dinner in Sweden – at least in the mind of the Swedes themselves – would be a French slice of beef or an entrecôte, with fries on the side. But how did it come to be like this in the land of elks and the Midnight Sun?

Well contrary to Singapore, Sweden does not really have a tradition of eating out on a daily basis. In Singapore one would eat out three times in a day (and then some inbetween) without thinking about it, but in Sweden eating out has always been a little bit of an event where people are more likely than not to dress up a bit and expect something out of the ordinary. The up side of this is that this attitude from bygone days until now had helped create a ready market for gourmet cooking and fine dining, which in turn, had helped skyrocket Swedish culinary art to world fame. 

However in 1954 the ‘French Bistro’ was introduced into the Swedish food scene by Chef Yves Fitoussy at the newly opened restaurant Cassi in Stockholm. Here the open bar kitchen was introduced where steaks could be fried very quickly in front of the guests and served instantly over the counter, and with French Fries – also a novelty at the time – on the side. The impact was tremendous.
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Swedish Midsummer’s dessert

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Fresh strawberries and ice cream dessert, the ideal midsummers party dessert. No preparation time at all leaves plenty of time for your friends.

Fresh strawberries and ice cream dessert, the ideal Midsummer’s party dessert. No preparation time at all leaves plenty of time for your friends.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson for CMC 2010

The upcoming weekend is the traditional celebration in Sweden of the absolute longest day during the whole year and consequently the shortest night. Originally a pagan tradition, it is still celebrated with dancing around the midsummer’s pole – symbolizing fertilization of the soil – and in anticipation of bountiful harvest.

Nowadays the harvest is not so much the issue as a splendid opportunity to have a barbecue party in the garden and meet friends. With this in mind I would like to share one of the simplest ideas of the whole year as a perfect dessert – plain vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries.

The strawberries however, not travel well and should be had ideally directly from the field.

All things considered this might actually be on of the few occasions where Scandinavia have an advantage over tropical Singapore. They might not have ripe mango, rambutan or lychee but – they do have sun ripened strawberries.

La Braceria – an Italian home away from home, in Singapore

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Appetizer of parma ham at La Braceria, Singapore.

Slices of velvety smooth, salty-sweet Prosciutto – Italian ham – served as antipasti – before the main course, at La Braceria at 5 Greendale Avenue, Singapore.
Photo © Cheryl M. Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010

For the small community of Italians in Singapore, La Braceria is like a home away from home. Tucked away in a residential cove off 6th Ave, even the entrance of the restaurant is obscured by large, leafy potted plants, so that when you walk in, you feel as if you’re walking into a private garden of your very own.

Quiet and cozy, the interior is not large at all, though warmly lit. What immediately caught my eye was the brick pizza oven that features prominently behind the counter near the kitchen entrance, making it the sort of kitchen I would yearn to have at home.

At La Braceria IV, Singapore.

In the middle Fabio Iannone, with friends.

At La Braceria II, Singapore.

At La Braceria III, Singapore.

In good company.

The crowd at La Braceria is distinct, willfully understated and elegant. Dressed mostly in smart casual, they are people who enjoy good food and wine and take their time doing so. You can expect too, to meet an eclectic mix of Europeans and Singaporeans alike at the restaurant.
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Nurul’s Pandan Chiffon Cake

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Nurul's pandan chiffon cake, one of Singapore's favourite chiffon cakes.

Pandan chiffon cake, by Nurul.
Photo © Cheryl M. Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010

The Pandan Chiffon Cake is a staple on the Singapore culinary scene, hitting right at the heart of the kampong and its people, so to speak. I grew up eating it at breakfast, tea-time and possibly any other time of the day in between full meals. Because it’s so lightly textured, it’s not unusual for fans of these chiffon cakes to finish about half of a cake before noticing what has happened, guilty that they hadn’t shared more of it with other guests at the table.

This gorgeous looking, moist, light and spongey pandan chiffon cake featured here, is not mine. It was baked and given to us by a family friend of ours named, Nurul.
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Pickled herring – A Swedish midsummer tradition

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Boiled potatoes, ideally from this years harvest cooked and decorated with dill is a must.

Boiled potatoes, ideally from this year’s harvest
cooked and decorated with dill is a must.
Photo © JE Nilsson for CMC 2010

In mid June, Sweden arrives to an outdoor temperature and general climate we have more or less permanent in Singapore – warm, though less humid. To Swedes this but a short pleasure that lasts for a few summer months.

At this time of the year, the remarkably short nights slowly transform the warm evening sunlight to a warm dusk that after midnight eventually changes back into a Nordic lavender coloured morning. You can sit there and just look at it outdoors in your garden, cuddled up into a blanket, cupping your favourite hot beverage.

In the pot, boiled potatoes and dill for a Swedish Midsummer meal.

In the pot.

The long dusk-dawn period with its purple hues, apart from turning the entire Nordic region romantic, also begs for garden parties. It is the perfect time to chit-chat with friends about everything and nothing and eventually, you realize that you have stayed up all night and that the morning has broken into a new day.

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“See you at Raffles!”

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Cheryl Marie Cordeiro and Jan-Erik Nilsson, Raffles Hotel, Singapore with the Singapore Sling, outside East India Room.

Singapore Sling, the romantic signature drink of the Long Bar, at Raffles Hotel in Singapore.
Photo © Steven Grindrod, JE Nilsson and Cheryl M. Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010

The Raffles Hotel was established in the Late 19th century and rapidly became a meeting place for the rich adventure seeking class of western men of leisure, British colonial officers and businessmen seeking fame and fortune in the Far East, and to whom “See you at Raffles!” became the signature parting words.

To the general public, Raffles Hotel became famous through literature. Those who could not afford to travel but stayed home, read and dreamt, were swept away by the romantic writings of the greatest authors of their time, the most influential of which was probably Somerset Maugham who actually lived at the hotel and wrote some of his stores in the Palm Court.

In 1987 its importance was recognized by the Singapore authorities by naming it a National Monument, not a small thing in a city where anything older than last year could suddenly be torn down and replaced by something more modern.

Although it started out as something much more modest, the ambience inside the Hotel brings back echoes of colonial splendour with its unique blend of tropical gardens and classical colonial grandeur.

Stories and myths build romance and there are many such surrounding the Raffles Hotel.

Many of Maughams short stories deal with the lives of mostly British colonists in the Far East, and are typically concerned with the emotional toll exacted on the colonists by their isolation. For example one story entitled “Rain”, which charts the moral disintegration of a missionary attempting to convert a Pacific Island prostitute. Maugham himself maintained that many of his stories presented themselves to him in what he heard during his travels, which made him leave behind a long string of angry former hosts. Which, is probably why he eventually found himself writing at a hotel, abuzz with even more rumours from all faraway outposts of the British Empire.

As its literary fame eventually faded away in a world dominated by digital social media, Raffles Hotel remains famous as the place where the Singapore Sling was invented by the bartender Ngiam Tong Boon sometimes during the first decades of the 20th century.

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Muthu’s Curry along Race Course Road, Singapore

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Curried cabbage, Muthu's Curry in Singapore.

Cabbage and other dishes, served in individual dishes depending on your order.
Photo © JE Nilsson and Cheryl M. Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010

In this highly competitive culinary atmosphere that is Singapore and worse still, if the dishes in question belong to one of the country’s core ethnic groups of Chinese, Malay (even Nonya food), Indian or Eurasian, it isn’t easy to make it to the top recommendations list of places to eat of Singaporeans.

Muthu’s Curry along Race Course Road with its approximate 40 year long history came highly recommended as a place for good Indian food. What today is a restaurant chain, began in 1968 as a one-man hawker stall serving staple south Indian food on banana leaves. It was already famous during the 1970s for its full flavoured and generous servings of fish-head curry, and its signature dish has grown in popularity and reputation in its 40 years of development.

Just a quick tangent on Singapore eating…To get a feel for the local culinary scene, I would personally recommend that anyone visiting Singapore first hit a hawker center for their meals to try any, if not all authentic local food. Places such as the East Coast Hawker Center or the hawker center that is completely out of the city center that lies in the corner of Bedok in the East of Singapore (Bedok corner hawker center as I know it) serve pretty good inexpensive local fare. Other more familiar places that most visitors to Singapore might learn of from brochures obtained from their respective hotels or tour guides would be the East Coast beach (skip the seafood outlets, go for the hawker center), Chinatown for Chinese cuisine, Little India of Indian cuisine and Geylang for Malay cuisine that all have ethnic specific local cuisine.

Hawker centers are also known to charge a little less per dish / meal for no less tasty meals compared to their indoor air-conditioned counterparts of food courts and restaurants that you find along Orchard Road or in the heart of the city for example.

A naan basket, with a variety of naan types, Muthu's Curry, Singapore.

A basket filled with naan in a variety of flavours.

But alright, if you want out of the tropical heat after a long walkabout in Little India and you’ve heard about Indian food served on banana leaves, then Muthu’s Curry is a recommended experience for well-cooked authentic (mainly) south Indian food. The prices are mid-ranged, though definitely pricier than the coffeeshop and market stalls that you can find all around the area itself.
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CHIJMES, in the morning

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CHIJMES corridor, Singapore.

A cloister corridor featuring restored floors and a variation of Corinthian columns.
Photo © JE Nilsson and Cheryl M. Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010

Singapore’s night life is a vibrant one and CHIJMES, located in the heart of the city center that’s a short walk from the river banks of Boat Quay, is one of the coziest places to visit by night. The scene of people mingling, moving to the beat and generally having a good time is a familiar one.

But walking through the early 1900s built CHIJMES (now brilliantly restored) in the morning has a different feel than being there at night. The entire place alive with people, good food and music just the night before, is absolutely still of activity. You witness tables and chairs arranged in good effort after the spoils of the night before and the mynahs true to their Sanskrit etymology, bright and cheerful, hardly minding the disarrayed furniture, walk the lawns with you and bid you good morning as if welcoming you to their turf.

Outside of CHIJMES, Singapore.

Along Bras Basah Road.

CHIJMES Singapore.

A view of the Chapel.

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