It has been said, that in the absence of any meaningful culture and as a proverbial crossroads between Oriental East Asia and Southern Asia, Singapore struggles to be anything other than itself.

Occupied by the Chinese and Europeans for such a long time, it is simply a fusion of cultures.

Something that is suggested to distinguish it from other places, and which is distinctively Singapore, is its cuisine.

Under a stay at home (SHN) it is hard to get access to all those Singaporean delicacies so you have to make do with what you are offered under the daily rations by the hotel.

Yesterday was a long day for me, early start in anticipation of breakfast and then a call with the East Coast of the US that had me only getting into bed just after midnight.

The advantage was of course that I managed to get a good night’s rest only awakening in response to the ding dong of the doorbell.

I would be remiss to ignore the fact that dinner yesterday was actually quite tasty labelled as Indian Lamb Curry with Basmati Rice, the rice was yellow rice, which I always associate with home cooked meals, all that was missing was sultanas!

The lamb was a delicious and generous portion and clearly there was a bit of coconut in there too! Mushroom soup and chocolate cake as accompaniments.

Breakfast was the usual, what the hotel labels assorted bakery platter, “healthy” yoghurt, juice of the day and fruit salad.

With mango juice today. The Apple juice from before is still lurking in the fridge with the skinny coke. I also found the butter today!

For lunch, pepper chicken with mashed potato. Tasty but a bit veggie starved.

The lemon ritz crackers were a novelty, I had never had those before and they were as predictable as lemon creams except the cracker was savoury. The pear, as it was yesterday was a firm green one.

The label writer for the room numbers has clearly given up on handwritten labels and now we have printed labels on the poly bags. I shall miss those distinctively European slashed sevens. There is clearly an evolution underway here as the hotel gets into its stride.