When we first moved to Singapore, I didn't expect to find a lot of American chains here besides Starbucks and McDonalds. Since then, I've been surprised by some of the things that I've found here. I thought some of you might find the observations interesting.
*KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken)- It's huge here. There are lots of billboards and tv commercials. You can get free delivery -- just call 6222-6111. There's a jingle for it: "6, triple 2, 6, triple 1." (I know you can't here the tune but I am humming it in my head as I type it.) There menu's not exactly the same (they don't have biscuits, for instance) but, for the most part, it's the same. Gander insists the chicken tastes better here but, to me, it tastes the same.
*McDelivery- I expected McDonalds but, this? Free delivery! Sure helps this worn out mom on busy nights when I just don't have any energy left. Thankfully, Gander has been very gracious about understanding when I take this route and, though he won't eat McD's, he is willing to eat some simple leftovers in the fridge for his dinner.
*Pizza Hut- It's pretty big here. The free delivery doesn't surprise me since that's normal in U.S. What surprises me is that they have actual Pizza Hut "restaurants" with a full menu - pizza, pasta, salad, etc.
*Coffee chains other than Starbucks- Gloria Jean's, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Spinelli- I'd never heard of Spinelli before coming here but it is a San Francisco based company. Unfortunately, I have become (nearly) addicted to their Mexican Wedding Cake cookies. While there is an abundance of US based coffee specialty shops, I've found the flip-side of that is... coffee from anywhere else (unless they use a cappuccino machine) is almost always instant coffee or this other different kind of coffee that I haven't figured out yet (made with powder different from instant granules, poured back and forth through a nylon-looking cloth). The other unfortunate part is, a regular cup of black coffee from any of these specialty shops costs roughly S$4, at least.
*Swensen's- I remember this from my childhood as an ice-cream parlor. At some point, they all disappeared... or so I thought. Apparently, they just moved out of the country. Here, Swensen's serves ice cream but also has a full menu. We ate there once but were very unimpressed so we haven't been back.
That's all I can think of for now but if I remember anything else, I'll be sure to write a Part 2 to this post.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
That's great that you have some places to go to that remind you of home. I love the McDelivery idea.
ReplyDeleteMonica
Starlene, did you get my email? I am so glad to hear from you! Where have you been? how are you?
ReplyDeletePleasse email and let me know how things are going and what you've been up to. Sue wanted me to let you know she is thinking of you/
BTW can you add the follow button to your blog so that I get instant updates? You just go to layout on your blog, click on gadgets, then add "follow" button. Bles you, Alida
Wow,you have been busy! Amazing. Paris, London. What an education for the girls!
ReplyDeleteI remember Swensen's from my childhood. we had one in Monterey and they did serve a full menu. We would order sandwiches and then sundaes. Do they have the Coit Tower there? So sorry to see them go. Sticky Chewy Chocolate was the best ice cream, ever.
Sounds like you all have settled in. What an amazing experience. Sorry about the price of Starbucks, though! Ack.
Tina
Tina - Sorry I took so long to reply to your comment. I'm not sure if they have the Coit Tower on the menu at Swensen's. I know for a fact, though, that they have the Sticky Chewy Chocolate because that was the flavor that I bought for Elly recently. And, lucky me, I ended up getting to eat most of it because her stomach started feeling yucky. I have to agree that it was YUMMY but I think my favorite ice cream will always be rocky road.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think we've settled in very nicely and I am very thankful for this adventure. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. It's been a while since we've "talked" (or at least commented back and forth).