Clifford Pier

It's funny how some things sneak up on you... a sign that we're not young anymore? It really feels like 1 institution in Singapore after another is biting the dust.. first it was the monorail at Sentosa, and now I hear that Clifford Pier will be closing from 1 April 2006...

It's one of those places which hold a special place in my heart... From 2001 to 2004 when I was working in Raffles Place, I had lunch there once a week on average, at one of the following joints: (1) the kueh-charp nazi's store, which sells chicken rice, wonton noodles, kueh-charp (2) (not so often) the economical-rice / zzz-char noodles place and (3) the malay noodles / nasi padang shop...

My favourite, as with many of my friends (including 1x blogging friend, Ms. M&M even), was the malay food store... my fav was the mee soto, with 1 bergerdil and 1 dish of nasi goreng for the few of us to share... I remember LG loved hers with lotsa chilli and the vendor's eyes would light up at the sight of LG just piling the chilli on... not to mention the kick-ass lime tea, and low-quality goreng pisang... on the few occasions when I went running from the office to Benjamin Sheares bridge in the evenings, I saw them selling satay in the evenings, but never got round to trying them even once...

At night, the kueh-charp place transforms into a chinese nightclub of sorts... never been in it at night, but whilst we're having lunch, we can see the strips of paper with $200 for a Martell, $400 for a Royal Salute or whatever, and the photos of the dancers / hostesses who would be gracing the occasion that week... was just telling Ms. M&M that once, when LG / YT (can't remember which) and I were walking there after a particularly shitty day at work, we saw an old man seated on the steps outside the place, with a can of beer / stout beside him... he obviously couldn't afford / didn't want to go in, but was blissfully listening to the songstresses belt out the hokkein / old chinese numbers... it was both nice and heart-wrenching seeing him...

It was the safe haven that we ran to whenever we needed to hide or to talk... I remember some afternoons towards the end of pupillage when we just wanted to slack off... I left the office, went to Clifford Centre to buy fruits, and sat at the old-style stone seats munching the slices of watermelon...

It was also the same place LG or YT and I went to talk... for a while, we were allowed to sit at the steps of the jetty where boats came alongside, talking from when the tide was at a certain mark on the jetty steps till it was 3 or 4 steps higher / lower...

I miss those days...

As Ms. M&M said, Clifford Pier was also the border between (the traditional notions of) rich and poor, new and old... step eastwards out of Clifford Pier, and u get One Fullerton, with fancy joints like Pierside, (now-defunct) Centro, an 1 of those East-Coast seafood establishments... step a bit to the west and now u'll get a prestigious condominium... it's a wonder Clifford Pier lasted so long...

Too bad LG is in Hong Kong, and won't get to have her favourite mee soto one last time (though that's where we ate when she was back in December / CNY)... I'm gonna make plans to meet YT there for lunch tuesday or wednesday!

I really really will miss this place...