RANDOM HEARTLAND EATS: MARGARET DRIVE HAWKER CENTRE

We're back at the Margaret Drive precinct, not at the gentrified Margaret Drive Marketplace but rather the Margaret Drive Hawker Centre. This very tall two-storey food complex replaces the famous Margaret Drive Food Centre which had long been demolished. This post-pandemic spanking new building (designated Block 38A) still retains the HDB vibe but is a very much sanitised version.

Coming on a Sunday evening, most of the stalls had already closed, both on the ground floor and second floor. There is a ghost town feel to the place. For some years, we had avoided this food centre, not just because the parking is somewhat inconvenient but also of rude and arrogant stall owners (particularly a Western food stall run by some grumpy old fart). Thankfully on this occasion, most stalls seemed happy that people are still coming.

Nutmeg and Hawthorn drinks.

This stall, run by a Vietnamese lady,
seems to have everything!

Vietnamese summer rolls,
$4 for three.

Seafood soup, with lots of umami.

A very savoury Pho Bo, for just $6. 

Given the evidence of the food, it won't be too long when we next return.

MARGARET DRIVE HAWKER CENTRE

Block 38A Margaret Drive

Singapore 142038

 

In case one needed reminding, Margaret Drive
was named after Princess Margaret,
who was glamourous but somewhat 
of an embarrassment to the royal family,
like Harry and Meghan are today. 

PRE-CONCERT EATS: BKK BISTRO & BAR @ NATIONAL LIBRARY BOARD

You need to eat before attending a concert at The Drama Centre or the Foyer at the National Library Board building. Right on the ground floor opposite the entrance is the excellent BKK Bistro & Bar. It's manned by Thai nationals and has Thai cooks, which is a guarantee of quality. 

The premises is al fresco and very airy, and you won't even miss the air con even if it's midday at NLB. Instead of the usual Pad Thai or Tom Yum Gung, I select the Khao Soi which is the Northern Thai curry noodle with chicken. Memories of the best Khao Soi ever in a market at Chiang Mai were certainly relived this meal. The flesh practically falls off the bone, which was why I had been told the dish needed some 15-20 minutes to prepare.

Washing it down with a big mug of Thai iced milk tea, it was like being in Chiang Mai once again. 

BKK BISTRO & BAR

@ NATIONAL LIBRARY BOARD

150 Victoria Street #01-03

Singapore 188064

Outlets — BKK Bistro & Bar

CD REVIEW: ANTON GARCIA ABRIL Orchestral Works (Marco Polo)

 

Viewing my CD collection in an
alphabetical order, Abril was the very first name.

ANTON GARCIA ABRIL

Orchestral Works

Madrid Symphony Orchestra

Enrique Garcia Asensio (Conductor)

Marco Polo 8.223849

I must have bought this disc during the height of Tower Records @ Pacific Place on Scotts Road during the mid-1990s, when almost every single recording was available under one roof. Oh, how I miss those halcyon days. And the joy of discovering musical rarities. Just the mere appearance of the words Piano Concerto on the cover must have caught my attention, and one by a Spanish composer unknown to me. And I wasn’t disappointed.

Anton Garcia Abril (1933-2021) was a well-regarded creator and Madrid-based pedagogue, whose music was largely conservative, so there is nothing here that sounds more radical than the Granados, de Falla or Turina which we love. The three orchestral works on this album were recorded live in concert in December 1994.

Soler was more than a Scarlatti imitator.

Three Sonatas for orchestra (1984) is a homage to Padre Antonio Soler, composer of short single-movement keyboard sonatas which rivalled those of Scarlatti. This Soleriana is short and pleasing, in the fast-slow-fast form. 

The far more ambitious Hemeroscopium (1969-1972) is a single-movement concerto for orchestra that plays for some 23 minutes. The title refers to a watch tower that presides over old towns and cities, and this rhapsodic work with Spanish idioms and rhythms does not overstay its welcome. The lush orchestration is reminiscent of Respighi’s or Villa-Lobos', which the orchestra masters with comfortable aplomb.

Guillermo Gonzalez is Spain's
best pianist not named Larrocha.

Finally the Piano Concerto (1966, revised 1994) is a half-hour three-movement enjoyable ride with many virtuoso flourishes for the keyboard. The flashy solo part is well realised by veteran pianist Guillermo Gonzalez, best known for his Albeniz Iberia recording on Naxos. Iberian rhythms rule in the festive opening Allegro and Allegro deciso finale, while the central Corale has the concerto’s most reflective and beautifully lyrical moments. Given its easy accessibility on the ears, there should be no excuse why this isn’t as popular as Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain or Albeniz’s Piano Concerto. Pianists with an adventurous streak can further widen their repertoire here.

SINGAPORE NATIONAL MUSEUM @ SINGAPORE NIGHT FESTIVAL 2026

It's been a long time since we've last visited the National Museum. The Singapore Night Festival 2026 provided the opportunity to do what we had missed over the years, and many people thought the same way too. A large throng of humanity surged into its wide chambers to attend two free exhibitions of Singapore history - Once Upon A Tide and Singapore Odyssea - A Journey Through Time. Both of dwelled on Singapore's maritime history and how that led to the development of a modern metropolis. 

How migrant workers lived in the old days.

1938 Map of Singapore

Lai Kui Fang's photo-realistic
oil painting of Singapore skyline in 1976.

Autistic savant Stephen Wiltshire's
impressive Singapore panorama of 2014
Small point: Where's Esplanade? 

Stephen Wiltshire's Singapore Panorama drawing

Artistic icons: Choo Hoey conducting
in Belgium in 1958.

Margaret Leng Tan's toy piano.

Singapore in history,
as viewed in the Glass Rontunda.

Frankly, I don't know what this was about!

The ubiquitous Yip Yew Chong
strikes again, under a staircase.

Once Upon a Tide: Singapore's Journey from Settlement to Global City

Singapore Odyssea: A Journey Through Time

SINGAPORE NIGHT FESTIVAL 2026: SOME PHOTOS FROM THE FIRST NIGHT

The Singapore Night Festival (SNF) is in its 17th edition, and shockingly, I've never attended any event or display until this year. It was the Light To Night Festival held earlier in the year which piqued my interest, especially the illuminations that grace our national monuments and public buildings. These are simply brilliant and never fail to capture the imagination.  

Our walk started outside Plaza Singapura.

Temasek Shophouse

SNF is even bigger and better, involving more precincts and content creators within Singapore's civic district. Only time and distance limited the extent of our wanderings. Having parked at Plaza Singapura, we managed to walk to The Cathay Building, Singapore Management University and the National Museum and back. That means another visit to the other buildings is imperative. The festival runs from 21 August to 5 September.

THE CATHAY:

MALAM PROJECTION

MAPPING COMPETITION

The art deco facade of The Cathay Building (completed in 1939) is formed by pillars, fins, bay windows and contours upon which illuminations can be smartly and snugly projected. That is the basis of Malam Projection Mapping Competition which has attracted 18 entries, mostly from Singapore and Indonesia. Each projection plays for half-a-minute and all are played in an extremely colourful and creative loop. Enjoy.

Moving on to the National Museum of Singapore, which was where the festival opening took place. Besides the illuminations, the main attraction was the Birdmen from Close-Act Theatre (Netherlands). These graceful stilt-walkers resembled a cross between pre-historic flightless birds, dinosaurs and pterodactyls, and their procession in the Bras Basah area were literally traffic and show-stoppers.

On Friday and Saturday evenings during the festival's run, National Museum is open till late for visitors to view the exhibits of Once Upon A Tide and Singapore Odyssea - A Journey Through Time (photos of which will come at a later post). This was the perfect opportunity to visit a national tourist attraction which I had not been for years. Afterwards, the illuminations projected on the museum main building were truly sights to behold.

TALES OF EARTH AND SEA

NATIONAL MUSEUM

Singapore Night Festival 2026