Feeling British for a Morning

Dempsey Hill is a secluded area in Singapore that once held British army barracks. Now it is full of restaurants mostly featuring Western food. My sister and I ate at P. S. Café for brunch, and it was perfect. The restaurant is down a smaller tree-lined street in a bungalow-style home. We sat outside in a grassy area surrounded by trees. I almost forgot that I was in dense city. The place was filled with Europeans or Americans, mostly families with small children spending their Sunday morning eating overpriced eggs. We ordered a Croque Madame and a bread plate. The food was delicious, simple, and intentionally arranged. In the background floated old-time jazz sung in Chinese. The whole experience was special for my sister, who just flew in from the freezing Chicago tundra, where the grass is not green and the sun is not warm. So we relaxed, soaking in the breeze and munching on our pieces of bread and jam in between sips of coffee.

To be completely honest, it felt strangely colonial. It is when I’m sitting in cafés like these that I understand why Singapore is often considered one of the easiest countries to live in for many Western foreigners.