random thoughts – Day 1,734 – (Sunday) – pupu for two

With my eldest niece in town for the holidays, I hoped to spend some dedicated time with her, and today was the day. We made a plan for lunch, and over the course of a couple days tossed around some potential locations that are open on Sunday. Marcello, a new Italian-Greek restaurant in Fitchburg was a strong contender. Arisu, the Korean place I love is only open certain Sundays of the month and therefore out. Burgers and chain restaurants are available everywhere and were ruled out.

There was one question that helped us really zero in on a spot. I asked Niece what she can have here that she can’t get in Vegas. In addition to the fresh seafood we had at a family lunch last weekend, and decent takeout steak and cheese subs, one of the illuminating answers was Chinese food that isn’t from Panda Express. When I mentioned that Singapore Restaurant in Fitchburg has reopened, we knew where we wanted to go.

Pupu platter, lo mein, crab rangoon.

We arrived around noon, and once inside, started taking inventory of what felt the same with the new ownership and what seemed different. The vestibule felt familiar but different. The lounge looked similar with the heavy decorative columns at the bar, but with a fresh, new yellow vinyl tufted high back banquette running along a wall. The main dining room still has the carved wood ornamentation and felt familiar but slightly fresher. 

We ordered a pupu platter for two, pork lo mein, and crab rangoons, because crab rangoons weren’t mentioned on the list of items in the pupu platter description. When the platter arrived, instead of the old Singapore sectioned serving dish with a sterno flame in the middle, it was delivered on a boring, institutional metal tray. There were several crab rangoons included along with the shrimp, chicken fingers, chicken wings, boneless spare ribs, and teriyaki skewers. We sat there with a table full of memories and it tasted just like home. Between the platter and the side order, we had plenty of crab rangoons. Boxes of leftovers came away with us.

Low budget repair.

Before leaving Singapore, I visited the rest room, which felt very different. The walls were covered in gleaming tile. The first stall I tried to enter had a door that slammed into the wall. I headed for the larger accessible stall. That one had a latch that was attached with duct tape. It was definitely a low-budget, DIY solution. 

After lunch, we went to Ocean State Job Lot because I thought I had seen pajamas with microfleece bottoms and tee shirt knit tops advertised recently. If there had been any once, there were none left today, but the amazing abundance of socks offered up cashmere blend and merino blend which I love. I ended up with socks, nail polish, and the only box of Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Zinger tea we found in the aisle of teas. Neice found some Steve Madden sunglasses. For an unplanned side quest, we did pretty well. 

It was a great afternoon all around. We had conversation and dining in a room full of memories and flavors, followed by shopping with no stress and no particular objective. It was perfect.