AP JP

First stop of the day for breakfast was the legendary Olympia Coffee House & Stores, a space operating since 1918. I sat down requesting a menu at a community table, and placed my order of butter bun, with some mutton kheema and pav maska and a bread slice. My order arrived swiftly and wonderfully flavoursome kheema was something that I indulged with the sliced and buttered pav and also the soft bread. The kheema was a fantastic, beautiful meaty flavour with green peas, and a hint of green chillies, it was a flavour bomb, and not too spicy for my liking, in a good way. They do have a spicy keema version, if you prefer one, but all are served with some fresh green chillies, lemon and pepper if you like to add some more spice to your life or the dish. I ordered a coffee, which was decent, but nothing beats a good filter coffee though. The staff were extremely friendly and very courteous, I paid the bill and left and just then I realised that I missed having their signature caramel custard, and mawa cake. so I had to rush back and ask for one, thankfully the custard was available, while the cake wasn't. The caramel custard was nicely bitter on top with a sweet creamy pudding to balance, it was pure decadence, and now I understand why the custard here is legendary, a must try. Olympia comes highly recommended for the fantastic food, the courteous service, and a fair bit of nostalgia.

On the way to Madame Tussauds we spotted a section of exotic birds, probably as a promotion to the bird park, and we had to stop and admire these loud macaws and parakeets in bright colours. This is the first time I am visiting a wax museum by Madame Tussauds. It was astonishing to see how life-like some of these wax replicas were, there was a heavy representation from the celebrities of Singapore, yet there was a good representation of Bollywood, as most tourists to Singapore are from India. There were also world leaders, and Hollywood celebrities and I loved having my picture taken with ET as much as I enjoyed a moment with Marylyn Monroe. Wifey had a quick tea photo moment with Audren Hepburn and also a quick handshake with the Queen. Parents loved to take pictures with some of the world leaders and we ended the tour with a quick ride that takes us and educates us around Singapore as a city historically and till now. It definitely was a great experience, but do book your tickets in advance and thankfully for us, there wasn't much crowd, we finished this off swiftly and headed out for a quick snack of curry puff that I thought I would miss eating on this trip to Singapore.

While I am familiar with the packets of Ganesh Bhel that are available in few stores in Whitefield, eating the freshly prepared bhel is something you enjoy. The salty peanut topping is something that was an over the top add-on, the bhel as such was an excellent version that I absolutely loved, sweet, savoury, sour and crunchy, it definitely is a play of flavours and textures that is very much a signature of Indian Chaat, especially in this part of Maharashtra.

Not my first time flying Singapore Airlines, but this time it was special and I was taking my parents for the first time to an International Destination and what better way to fly than to fly the national carrier of Singapore.

The ground experience was great, both from toward and return, the staff were very helpful, especially when we had a few odd sized items for carry on and asked them if it can be checked in, they wrapped it up for us and ensured it was delivered intact in the baggage claim. We inquired my mom's insulin and calcium injections in carryon and they recommended us to check-in.

The aircraft was extremely clean, smelling nice with a purple theme with staff welcoming and helping us with the carry on luggage stacking, and handing over of water throughout the flight.

The inflight entertainment was probably one of the best, with a wide range of regional and international content, for every age group. Parents caught up to tamil movies that they haven't caught up, and I managed to finish off a couple.

The staff were extremely courteous, always smiling, and took extra care towards the needs of my elderly parents travelling with me. The food was definitely the best part of the experience, both the Indian and International selections were excellent. I requested for tomato juice, like I usually do with most carrirs, which was not being offered, but they managed to get it from the stock (thankfully they had) and gave me, though a bit delayed.

The onward crew were extremely good, but the crew on the return flight was simply awesome, we literally felt that edge the return crew had in terms of service, being extra courteous, and offering that extra cup of masala chai that my mom loved the first time, without even asking, they definitely went that extra mile #apjprecommends Singapore Airlines

We bumped into the Chinese Palace in the Dubai mall food court almost by accident. Looking at the shiny, fresh items dished out on a platter we were tempted to order a vegetarian combo and share as an evening 4 PM mini meal.

We opted for vegetarian fried rice with veg ball manchurian gravy, which is served with sauteed veggies and a spring roll. The portions in the combo were huge, definitely a sharable portion. The vegetable ball manchurian was very nice, though we would have preferred a little more sauce for our deliciously flavoured fried rice. The sauteed veggies were crunchy, aptly cooked and very well seasoned. The spring roll was super crispy though it was an oil overload. Overall it was a fantastic value for money combo that we indulged in and promised to visit their outlet on our non-vegetarian day when we could try some of their delicious looking chicken and shrimp, hopefully soon.