Xiao Long Bao and Retail Therapy

Met up with a couple of frens for some window shopping and lunch at Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao at Scotts Road. Yeah, I know it’s a chain, but who cares? It was good chow!

Yum yum yum, now THAT’s a good beginning!
Look at those dumplings! That was our starter. Mmmmmm. The xiaolongbao were really good too!

Good xiaolongbao u dun have to go to Shanghai 2 have, cuz it’s cold there!
Usually xiaolongbao outside of Shanghai is pretty pathetic, especially in the US, but these were excellent! Just soupy enough inside but not that soupy so that it was soggy. If you eat xiaolongbao, you understand what I’m trying to describe. We had some fried eel and some other dishes.

It’s easy to take pictures of food. Not so easy to take pix of people. For one thing, food cooperates!
Since it was my fren’s day off, we partook in that peculiar Singapore sport, retail therapy. I mean, it IS the Xmas season, so I guess it was the thing to do…
We wound up going to Tang’s where we looked at dehydrators (huh?) and “sampled” expresso from fancy schmancy expresso machines (yeaaah!). Actually, they were making cups when you listened to their presentation. So we made like we were dense so the guy would make us expresso.
Then to Takashimiya for more of the same. Sounds pretty domestic lah! Of course, back home we have Williams-Sonoma to do this kind of shopping in. Did I just say too much about myself?
Then…
The shopping day ended when those two decided to head to Tiffany’s.
Guys are there for two reasons: either to look at the men’s stuff (watches, various accessories) which takes all of five minutes because there’s so little of it OR they are there to get baubles for their girlfriends/wives/mistresses/SOs. Big expensive baubles in a baby blue box.
My self preservation instinct kicked in and I made myself scarce until they were done. My fren’s husband didn’t come out with us today, claiming illness. I wonder if he knew this was in store…
Smart guy! =P