Shops & Snacks of Paris

Photo of the Day: Adding a bit of light to the darkness as we get through the pandemic together. This series features travel photos from my archives, shared with you as we shelter in place. June 5th, 2020 We’re back to travel today, with a photo collage of shops and snacks in Paris. In addition to pâtisseries, the city has

Daily Dose of Beauty: To the Market

Daily Dose of Beauty: Adding a bit of light to the darkness as we get through the pandemic together. This series features travel photos and stories from my archives, shared with you as we shelter in place. April 26th, 2020 Today we’re visiting world markets! Going to the local market is a highlight of any trip abroad or at home,

Peranakan Slippers

I was recently exploring Arab Street with friends and wandered into a store called the Little Shophouse (43 Bussorah Street). I’ve been inside before, but on this day I noticed something particularly beautiful: slippers. These ain’t no ordinary slippers, and this ain’t no Cinderella story. These slippers are painstakingly crafted, highly treasured and worn for generations by women of the

Thanks Teyvika!

You may recall a blog entry I posted a few months ago about a great local tea shop called Teyvika. Shortly after I posted it, I was contacted by co-founder Yuchang Ho who thanked me for writing and invited me back to pick out a free bag of tea. How cool is that — a thankful and nice business owner

Catch of the Day

Every now and then you happen to be in the right place at the right time. Such was the case this morning during my first visit to the Kreta Ayer wet market in Singapore’s Chinatown. I was there checking out the action after reading this market is one of the top ten food markets in the world, according to CNN

Teyvika

Yes! More happiness… to see more great design and packaging in Singapore. I stopped for a sandwich at Teyvika in the Telok Ayer neighborhood. The color and graphics sucked me right in the door, proving what I already know — good design pays in countless ways: sales, happiness and unsolicited blog entries. Teyvika makes a good sandwich but the real

Steam Cakes

Are these not the most beautiful little things you’ve ever seen in your life? These are steam cakes — a minor obsession since I’ve been here. Most steam cakes are much larger (like the size of a fist), but today near Tanjong Pagar I happened to stumble across these bite-size poppers in a rainbow pack. As if that wasn’t perfect

Takashimaya

Gorgeous! Go here and go to the basement. There’s a well-kept hawker center with some great options (I had shredded chicken porridge and some roti pratha — a favorite with any meal), and an incredible food market with everything from civet coffee (google it) to fine chocolates to kueh (squishy glutinous rice dessert balls — not bad) to gelato (tried