Sage Cookson's Singapore Sensation by Sally Murphy and Celeste Hulme

Th e

Th e

N'S COOKSO

Cook On

SAGE

COOKSON'S

e r o p a Singsation Sen Sally Murphy1

Th e

NS COOKSO

Cook On

COOKSO

NS

Cook On

2

SAGE

COOKSON'S e r o p a Singsation Sen

To Julian, Liam and Conor, who explored Singapore with me.

First published in Australia 2017

by New Frontier Publishing Pty Ltd ABN 67 126 171 757 48 Ross Street, Glebe NSW 2037, Australia www.newfrontier.com.au Text copyright Š 2017 Sally Murphy Illustrations copyright Š 2017 New Frontier Publishing Illustrations by Celeste Hulme This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be addressed to the publishers.

All rights reserved.

A Cataloguing-in-Publication entry for this book is available from the National Library of Australia.

ISBN: 978-1-925059-96-0 Cover illustration and design by Celeste Hulme 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in China

SAGE

COOKSON'S e r o p a Singsation Sen

Sally Murphy

CHAPTER 1

‘C

ome on Sage! We’ll miss the plane.’

As if! My parents are used to

travelling. So am I, because I always

go with them. They know exactly what they need to do to get to the airport, check in and be on board in time.

‘Coming!’ I call, quickly finishing the text message to my best friend.

Off to the airport now. See you next week.

I hit send, put my phone in my pocket, and grab my backpack and suitcase.

1

I feel my phone buzz and know it will be a reply from my friend Lucy telling me to have fun.

Lucy and I are pretty lucky. Because she is my best friend, our parents agreed a while back that we could both have mobile phones to keep in touch whenever I’m away, which is pretty often. We had to agree not to overdo the texting and calling, and to keep up with our schoolwork. Then, after Lucy saved Mum, Dad and me when we were lost in the bush last year, and then saved me again when I was kind-of kidnapped and stuck in a storeroom, everyone agreed that the phones had proved to be truly useful.

In the car on the way to the airport I pull out my phone and check her message.

Have fun! Singapore sounds amazing.

Make sure you relax, and stay safe this time!

I smile, and send her a quick message 2

reassuring her.

I will. And I’ll bring you back a lion. I’ve been reading a lot about the famous Merlion – part lion and part fish – in Singapore.

‘Texting already, Sage?’ Dad catches my eye in the rear-view mirror. ‘Didn’t you just see Lucy yesterday?’

Mum, sitting next to him in the front, laughs. ‘And you think this is the first time they’ve texted each other since then?’

Dad laughs too. ‘Not a chance! They are so predictable!’

They are both right, of course. Lucy and I texted each other lots of times last night, knowing it was cheaper to do it while we were still in the same country.

As we move through the traffic, Dad, Mum and I chat about our plans for Singapore.

‘It’s so nice just to be having a break,’ says Mum. ‘Just a family holiday.’ She pats the 3

guidebook, with a photo of a huge ferris wheel called the Singapore Flyer on the front, which sits on her lap. ‘There is so much to do and see –’ ‘– and eat!’ Dad interrupts. ‘Satay, and dim sum and seafood and dumplings and …’

Mum turns to me and raises an eyebrow.

‘And he accuses you of being predictable!’

I giggle. Food is actually very important to both my parents – and to me, I guess.

Not only are we all named after foodstuffs – Mum is Ginger, Dad is Basil and, of course, I’m Sage – but Mum and Dad make a living from food. They are the Cooksons, hosts of the television show The Cookson’s Cook On, where they travel Australia – and, sometimes, the world – searching out great food, great cooks and great recipes.

Mum’s even just finished writing her first cookbook, The Spice of Life, which I’m pretty 4

excited about because I helped her try out some of the recipes. She wanted to know if someone who wasn’t a chef could follow the instructions. If I can make a custard éclair or a green chicken curry, anyone can.

After a busy year finalising the cookbook, and travelling – with a few adventures along the way – it’s time for a break.

But even though this is a family holiday, Mum and Dad have decided to squeeze in a little bit of filming for their show. Their assistants, Dave and Sheila, are already in Singapore preparing for a few hours of filming on our last day. I don’t mind at all.

We spend so much time with Dave and Sheila that sometimes it feels like they are part of our family.

At last we make it to the airport and, just as I expected, we are there in plenty of time.

As we line up at the departures gate, which 5

is always the most boring part of travelling, I catch sight of a lady in front of us with the most amazing haircut. The back of it is bobbed and straight, but when she turns around I can see the front is kind of zany and textured, with one bright pink streak running through it. I wonder if Mum and Dad would let me have a coloured stripe in my hair? She smiles when she sees me looking, then glances at Mum and Dad, who are busy checking their boarding passes.

I see a flash of her pink hair again at our boarding gate – she must be going to Singapore on our plane too. Then I forget about her in the bustle of boarding the plane. Next stop, Singapore!

6