Travel Possibility

Singapore has something to offer everyone, with a rich urban scene that’s always on the move, and always in the middle of becoming something else.  There are certainties as well as mysteries here, and this makes for a splendid mix that’s always pleasantly surprising.  One thing that’s no mystery, however, but only always wonderfully surprising, is the food.  There is a rich tradition for eating out in Singapore, and with the mix of cultures, there is an incredible mix of foods.  If you’re looking for anything here, you’re likely to find it, but if it’s a vegetarian restaurant, the options are really enormous.  With the mix of Malay, Indian, and Chinese culture here, there are vegetarian options in most places, but the ones that cater specifically to the vegetarian lifestyle are particularly delightful.

It’s entirely possible to eat only vegetarian food for weeks here without tasting the same thing twice, but it’s likely you’ll find your favorites soon enough, and want to come back for more.  The plethora of vegetarian cooking comes perhaps from the wide availability of ingredients from all over the world, and it’s particularly hospitable to those who don’t eat meat for any number of reasons.  Buddhist prohibitions against meat that are particularly prominent in Chinese and Japanese sects are somewhat common here.  Those who are looking for more on the Buddhist tradition here will be delightfully surprised when they stumble across Nie Xue Tang.

This is an art museum entirely devoted to Buddhist artifacts.  It’s run by W.S. Woon, who has been collecting Buddhist antiques since he was seven years old.  The museum itself is very humble in appearance, resting on the edge of the central business district in an old house.  The house was approved for museum operations by several Singapore authorities and organizations, and houses over 10,000 examples of Buddhist art from China, Tibet, Mongolia, Thailand, and all over.  It’s open daily, and is an excellent way to spend part of the afternoon, working up an appetite for a spectacular meal ahead.

The fishing industry has been operating solidly in the city of Baltimore for more than two hundred years.  It is no wonder that when looking for a great place to find seafood, you will not have a difficult time of it.  Just as with everything else in this city, the variety and the options seem endless.  From quaint, family owned restaurants in Baltimore’s different neighborhoods, to the larger fine dining establishments downtown, the seafood you will find will be some of the best that you have ever tasted.

Two very popular restaurants in the down town district are Phillips and L.P. Steamers.  Phillips is one of the oldest running restaurants in Baltimore, and is well known for the bright and energetic atmosphere as well as their every popular crab dishes.  L.P. Steamers is located close to Federal Hill,  and some will say that this restaurant offers more of an authentic Baltimore experience.  One of the favorites is Nick’s Fish House.  This is a restaurant located just at the waterfront and is appreciated for the relaxed and casual atmosphere.  They are located close to the Harborplace Center which makes this a convenient stop on your way down to the harbor for nightly entertainment or a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium.  The menu at Nick’s is varied with classics such as crab cakes and steamed crabs as well as various seafood salads, sandwiches, pastas and grilled steaks.

The Black Olive is an option for those who like to have their food prepared table side.  Kali’s Court, just a bit down the road from the Black Olive is also a favorite of the locals which serves a variety of prepared dishes in tasty sauces, as well as their famous, whole-grilled fish selections.  You can never really go wrong when looking for a great place for seafood, the city of Baltimore was built on it, and continues to thrive.  For the seafood lover, this is one of the best places to be.

Cape Town is a spectacular place to visit, offering many new opportunities to get in tune with the world.  For arts and culture, there is always something exciting going on.  Cape Town has a fabulously complicated history in terms of performance and music, and there are hundred of groups here making new works that speak to the extreme moment, and are also variously influenced by the legacies of the artists who worked here during the last generation’s time on the world stage.  Of course, generations overlap, and there’s room for the very young as well as the very old, in the complex social structures that make up the art community in South Africa.  When it comes to speaking and creating new work simultaneously, the spirit of improvisation can fill the air, and suddenly everything that was known and solid become open for new questions again.

There are plenty of things to do in an evening in Cape Town.  Fine dining should always be on the agenda, because there is so much fantastic food here.  The unique mix of cultures and traditions bring their own sensibilities for taste and style, and the easiest access into another world is through the cuisine.  There are also plenty of world-class chefs working here, trained locally or elsewhere, who have a host of traditions in their arsenal, and are ready and able to compete in the world marketplace of culinary delights.  A sensational evening here can begin with local flavors, and then go deeper into the local flavors in the night life.  The visual art scene here is also particularly spectacular, with amazingly creative people coming here all the time.  You may have the chance to see work by South Africa’s own Strijdom van der Merwe.

He’s worked and shown all over the world, but has a very particular attachment to this place.  To say that Cape Town specifically, and South Africa in general, has an influence on his work is a bit of an understatement.  He describes himself as a land artist, and there’s probably no other way to describe his enormously beautiful and astonishing works.  He works with the land, using the materials that are here, and creating large sculptures that spread out before your feet, like a visual reminder of the presence of ancestors in all things.  Some of the work is more ethereal than others, with forms made at the edges of a beach, where the next wave is on its way to take it all away, and some are more permanent, lending themselves to installation work, but all speak of a temporal beauty that registers a knowledge of the memory in the soil.

What happens the moment someone in your neighborhood lights up their grill?  You begin to notice your other neighbors coming out to their front porch, their heads held high in the air…they are smelling that smell that brings back memories of childhood family cookouts.  They too suddenly get the urge to pull their grill out from the garage.  One of the most intoxicating scents is that of a long barbecue, that of slow cooking ribs. It is these backyard recipes that have stoked the fire so to speak, of the entire country.

In all cities now, there are gourmet BBQ restaurants, which take these age old recipes and place them on fine china plates.  But there is not need to spend restaurant prices, when these recipes can be prepared at home on one of the many models of fire magic grills. What you will need is a grill with a cover, either propane for your gas grill or a bag of charcoal for your regular grill, a bit of vegetable oil, your own signature spices and sauce, some apple juice and some baby back ribs or beef cut ribs (fresh, not frozen).  The baby back’s will need about three hours of cooking time, while the beef ribs will take a few hours more.

Rinse the ribs then trim the fat.  Coat the ribs with a bit of vegetable oil as the spices and the flavors are oil soluble, and the flavors will soak into the meat and form a better and more flavorful crust.  Set up the grill, the perfect temperature for slow-cooking is 225 degrees Fahrenheit, keep a thermometer close at hand and try to keep this temperature consistent throughout the grilling.  If you are using a gas grill, place an aluminum tray with water on one of the grill racks as the steam will react with the combustion of the propane which will ensure the most tasty results.

For the charcoal grills, keep some wood chips on hand, you will add them periodically throughout the grilling for the smoky effects and flavors.  Place the ribs on the cooler sides of the grills, and sit back and relax.  After a few hours it is time to add the sauce to the top of the ribs, periodically brushing them for the rest of the cooking time.  This is a process that takes dedication and patience, but after your first experience of making BBQ ribs at home, this may turn into to a weekly event.