I haven't had a whole weekend off since we were in Shanghai. But Nigel's heading off on Sunday evening, and I was determined I wasn't going to spend the weekend sitting in front of a computer. So we made sure to pack in plenty of good stuff.

Friday evening: Headed off through the hot, hot early evening for our first visit to The Row, Jalan Doraisamy. This guy was totally unhelpful in terms of giving directions:



Checked out Bacchus. Excellent Chilean red, and very tasty tapas (tomato bruschetta, delicately flavoured with basil and garlic; chorizo with a dab of mustard; and an inspired dish consisting of a creamy poached egg atop pesto and cheese). They serve only two desserts, both good (creme brulee and brownie -- there are more on the way, according to friendly chef Angie). Walked home, guiding newly arrived Russian couple to their hotel on the way.



Saturday morning: We paid our second visit to FRIM. A little frustrating at times (Saturday-busy; one track closed; one open only to visitors accompanied by rangers; and one petering out -- but not before its entire population of leeches had set about Nigel's ankles). Lovely, however, to hear the birds, see the weird dragonflies whose wings are so diaphanous that their bodies look like sticks suspended in mid-air, smell the pandan, and drink in the green, green, green... (You can also drink in some limau ais at the cafe, while a Bollywood movie plays on the back wall.) And the various buildings that speckle the park are pretty picturesque, too.









Saturday afternoon: We finished watching Healer, our latest Korean drama. The reviews are very favourable, which doesn't surprise me at all. Despite its less than impressive first episode, it really blossoms into an excellent example of the action romance. And the characters are great. Min Ja -- the outwardly tough but inwardly soft-hearted ex-police hacker -- is possibly my favourite. But the lead couple (Healer and Young Shin) are very cute together. And Young Shin's ever-giving step-dad and his ex-con side-kick are adorable.

Saturday evening: Back to The Row to try Timbre. We'd just had a massive rainstorm, so it was cool enough to sit outside. An Argentine red (the second glass better than the first) accompanied by tiny, tasty mushroom toasties, and succulent grilled squid in a sauce that was good and spicy, yet somehow didn't kill the wine.



As they don't serve coffee, we headed a couple of doors down to Butter + Beans, another Row denizen. Too full for food, but my macchiato was great, as is the decor (love the cool bear) and the faintly Bladerunner night-time ambience.