we got to changi airport early, because nellicent had to buy a computer, and i had to buy a soft-serve soy milk ice cream. five or so weeks ago, in transit on the way between london and sydney, i had popped out into the non-business side of the painfully gleaming new terminal three, to have a crystal jade shanghai dinner with the olds. our post-dinner explorations unearthed, on basement two, a mr bean outlet, offering not just a range of traditional chinese soy milk products, but also new-fangled curiosities like roasted hickory-smoke-flavoured soy beans and soft-serve soy milk ice cream.

well!

i was extremely curious at the time, but had eaten too much dinner, and so with great regret i had to walk on by. but now, here we were, three hours before flight time, dinner long gone, in need of a quick sugar burst for a modest bout of duty-free shoping.

i must tell you that soft-serve soy milk ice cream is amazing! it is not that awful, chalky western soy milk, mind, but the light, refreshing and, above all, beany asian soy milk. you know tauhu fa? the wobbly pudding version of soy milk? this is the frozen version, in a wafer cone, with a topping of finely chopped peanuts or chocolate sprinkles, if you so desire. at SG$1.20, an absolute bargain, and immediately after fighting off the kid and finishing off the last, pointy bit of the cone (the ice cream went all the way to the bottom), i considered — quite seriously — getting another.

but i did not. so i was able, in the departure transit mall, to sample one of these ice cream mochis. at the mochi creamery stand, they were set out like jewels in the display case, a selection of pretty pastels in flavours like green tea, or chocolate-vanilla, or passionfruit. i picked azuki bean and warmed it in my hands for a few minutes before splitting it three ways with nellie and the kid. the mochi skin, evenly dusted, was soft and chewy, and not sweet; the ice cream within was. the dainty confection was perfect all ’round: small and pink, for starters, and grainy with red bean.

an hour earlier, the pure white soy milk ice cream had made me almost buy a shiny white computer at the duty free apple shop, although sanity and bank balance prevailed and i finally settled for a dazzling mighty mouse. kids, i am scrolling with my fingertip!

after relinquishing the last melty bit of pale pink mochi to the kid, on the way to the departure gate, i bought myself some fancy paul smith perfume, which smells of roses and green tea.

and then the beef pastrami croissant served up by the tardy flight crew at 2.30 in the morning, and the fitful slumber crammed into the economy class seat, and the rude old bags pushing their luggage trolleys into our persons… and once more we find ourselves in sydney.