Root Beer floats

About 2 weeks ago, I had dinner with my 2 dear cousins and an acquaintance at Relish in Cluny Court. Responding to a sudden craving for ice cream in a soft drink, I was led to ordering a root beer float. It had cost around 7 dollars for a scoop of vanilla and a slim glass filled with root beer. I looked behind the counter and saw an ice cream freezer with nestle label. Can't expect much I guessed. I wielded the spoon and dug into the soft vanilla ice cream first because I didn't want it to totally melt. Within seconds, an ice cream lover turned a "float" into a mere root beer drink.

But it wasn't just any ordinary drink. It was root beer mixed with some vanilla cream. It was creamy joy to sip the drink bit by bit. I suppose the 7 dollars wasn't all too bad. But when I went down to Marble Slab creamery, I saw a tempting option of trying their root beer float as well. Too bad, I was filled by the eccentric beef burgers of Relish. Anyway, at this moment, I am sitting comfortably tucked in swivel seat in Marble Slab creamery, analysing the creaminess and pleasure of my root beer float. I daresay, IBC rootbeer fails to accentuate the creaminess of the vanilla ice cream. The ice cream is indeed one of the best vanilla ice creams that may possibly exist out there (as shown by its huge ribbon "Best ice cream in America").

The texture of the vanilla is smooth, flavour strong, not too thick and sufficiently creamy to give the desire for more. Its melted form improves the flavour of IBC root beer, however, the excessive gassiness of the bottled drink diminishes the entire package.

So, the verdict is that A&W root beer floats still reign supreme. The nostalgic and creamy A&W root beers are superior to any other root beers I've tried thus far. If we combined A&W root beers with marble slab vanilla ice cream, perhaps we might get the creamiest concoction. We'll try that one day.

A Night with Ono

1st May 1945

One by one, in groups and in pairs, the seats in the gargantuan theatre filled. People were fiddling with their phones only to realise there was no reception while others, chatted incessantly with much anticipation for the singer who'd take stage. I sat there without much expectation for this lady and spent my moments observing the layout of the entire layout. I haven't quite had the opportunity to step into the esplanade theatre and appreciate it for some time so occupying top the circle was the perfect fit for such a moment. The metal tube-like objects stuck on the ceiling, the multiple doors of entry, the woody and soft feel, the stage set with the grand piano, guitar, cello and drum set all culminate to a feast to one's eyes.

Wait, there's still the feast to the ears. After the celloist, pianist and drummer took their place to a gentle applause, Lisa ono sauntered out to an even louder applause. It's her 3rd time in singapore performing. And she was performing not just for me but also for the japanese and brazilian ambassadors to singapore so she had better put up a good show.

It begun slow, lisa ono warming up her voice for the 1st 2 songs. But 3rd was my favourite- garota de ipanema (girl from ipanema). Play her youtube video and you'd know. It followed with a string of bossa nova standards. I couldn't quite recognise some and singing in portugeuse made me a little bored as i didn't understand the pieces. The first half of the show made me feel a little dissatisfied as it was a tad too anaesthetic. She was a sweetheart to the audience despite her limited vocab as she sounded so earnest and innocent, especially, when she pleaded with everyone not to go home during the break.

After the 20 minute interval, ono entered in a different eye-catching red dress, i suppose it somewhat signified a change in the genre of music in the 2nd half. The songs arranged were fast paced and this time, she got out of her seat next to the grand piano and swayed with her music. I broke out of my semi-conscious state and was absorbed in the contents. Her mellow and mellifluous voice enchanted the crowd. It came out stronger and more solid in the second half. Her rendition of "moon river" was amazing. Plus, i give much credit to the pianist who made the songs jazzy with his instrumental bridges.

So, i wasn't too surprised when she came back for 2 encores. She surmised this acoustic treat with "what a wonderful world". How apt.