The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

Readers of my previous post will be surprised to learn that we are still in Minneapolis, not in Singapore, not yet. We were just about to leave for the airport on Friday, when I discovered some fine print: Singapore won't allow visitors with passports less than six months from their expiration date. Carol's expires in June. Bummer, especially since we were flying on super-restricted use-it-or-lose-it winter cash-and-miles tickets. So we went to the airport anyhow, and threw ourselves at the mercy of the Northwest airlines staff, who graciously agreed to rebook us for Wednesday.

Shhh! Bali opened last Thursday on Eat Street - in the old Safari restaurant location at 1410 Nicollet - but don't tell anybody. It's supposed to be a "soft" opening, to give the staff a chance to work out the kinks before the crowds and the critics show up.

It's a busy week ahead for serious eaters:

Monday, 10/20: Moti-i, the new Japanese sake brewpub and Japanese street food restaurant opens today in the former Machu Picchu location at Lake and Lyndale. The menu looks promising - dried squid, steamed buns and dumplings, ramen, Singapore rice noodles and more.

There's always something happening on Eat Street.