In two weeks, we’ll be in Singapore and Penang for 6 days. I am looking forward to hot weather and eating pork or anything in noodle or dumpling form. Some links I’ve collected from social media friends and the interweb. 

Part one of things I need to see in Singapore:

• If a half-lion, half-fish mascot wasn’t making me giddy enough, I’ll get to see the Merlion Hotel installation.
• More arty stuff to see at the Biennale: contraband stuff at the old airport.
• We’ll be staying at Hotel 1929, but I’m hoping to get a tour of the new Wanderlust, which looks adorable but a bit tiny for 2.5 people.
• The zoo is supposed to be aces, plus it has a baby orang, a new sun bear, and a baby sloth!
• The museum of toys has got to be weird and cool, right?
• Eat a “magical satay” at the Chinatown hawker complex.
• Mmm yakitori.
• $30S is a little steep, but the ArtScience museum is supposed to be sweet, plus husband is curious about the Marina Bay Sands’ terrifying swimming pool.
• Go to a crazy big electronics store (Turkey has many Apple resellers but no official store, and an iPad starts at $1k here) and try to think of reasons why we need an iPhone or iPad.
• Buy more pants that fit at Maternity Exchange (what an awesome concept, wish I lived there).
• Free museum hours! After 6pm at National Museum, Friday night 6-9pm at the Art Museum (thanks untraveledworld).
• Go to cheesy-but-potentially-fun Sentosa “beach” on the new monorail. 

Some foodie recs from the wonderful Eating Asia:

• Eat non-Turkish cheese at Jones the Grocer.
• Try all the weird Asian- and boozy-flavored ice cream at Udders. Repeat at Island Creamery.
• Have my one glass of wine per week with fancy views at Salt Grill & Sky Bar’s wine bar.
• Enjoy street food safe for preggos pretty much all over town.

On to Penang recs next.

So I’ve started watching the not-so-quality reality show America’s Next Top Great Restaurant purely because of the HEE-larious recaps on NYMag.com and AVClub.com (seriously, the first recap on Grub Street is the funniest thing I’ve read in ages). Also, it makes a good Monday morning watch-while-I-catch-up-on-the-rest-of-the-world until True Blood comes back (yes, another guilty pleasure). I’m not a big reality TV watcher and this is as dumb as any other show, but I find myself thinking oddly deeply about it after - What would concept would work all over the country? What logo would convey their vision? How could she define her flavor profile? Mostly, it makes me want Chipotle and bemoan the lack of Mexican food pretty much anywhere in Istanbul.

So my “fast casual” restaurant would have to involve dumplings. I will eat pretty much anything in a dumpling, and we are headed to Singapore and Malaysia in two weeks where I plan to eat MANY dumplings. So I’m thinking there are other people like myself who want to eat delicious pockets of food like Italian ravioli, Turkish manti, Russian pelmeni, Japanese gyoza, etc. We can’t really have some dumplings covered in sauce and others dipped, not to mention the need for forks and chopsticks, so perhaps we streamline and go all dipping sauce! I think Dr. Chipotle PhD would like the concept of a pork-filled Russian dumpling (veal too controversial) with a sour cream dip mixed with an Asian-inspired vegetable wonton with soy sauce. Now I just need a catchy name. Dunkin’ Dumplings? Dump(ling)s Like a Truck? Might require some fine tuning.

And now I want a dumpling.

Turkish snack obsessions: decent and cheap Cumartesi boxed wine (29 TL), Fıstıklı puffs (texture of Cheez Balls, flavor of peanuts, together at last!)