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Photograph: Crane Cantina
Photograph: Crane Cantina

Find me a date: Sabrina and Ricardo

These city kids ditched Tinder and let us play matchmaker. Here’s a blow-by-blow account of their blind date...

Written by
Izza Sofia
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Why did Time Out match them together?

Aside from their similarities, we found the most common thing between them: they both just got out of a seven-year relationship. 

Photograph: Crane Cantina
Photograph: Crane Cantina

Sabrina

Occupation: HR

Why I am single: Not looking to rush into anything and have not been prioritising dating and getting to know new people.

Ideal date: Anywhere cosy and quiet, not a crowded restaurant/bar – an activity would be good like a cooking class or a picnic.

Ricardo 

Occupation: Senior IT Analyst

Why I am single: I simply chose to be single and to enjoy myself by doing things I like.

Ideal date: Simple, Sharing the same passion and hobby.

The date

Our daters had a meal at Crane Cantina at Arab Street.

First impressions

What did you first think about him?

Sabrina: Friendly & smiley person

Ricardo: She was nice, polite and cute.

Any part of his dressing or look did you like the most? 

Sabrina: N.A.

Ricardo: Not so much on the dressing, but I like her smile.

Best moments

Any sweet/funny moments during the date? 

Sabrina: When I asked about his occupation and he mentioned he was a programmer but added "but I'm not a nerd" at the end of it - even though that never came across my mind.

Ricardo: I think playing ping pong was fun yet challenging. Both of us put our best effort.

Awkward moments

Were there any moments during the date that made you go HMMMM?

Sabrina: None.

Ricardo: At first, the first 10 minutes was a bit awkward I guess.

Did any red flags/pet peeves get triggered?

Sabrina: Nothing in particular happened which made me feel awkward or triggered but I didn't feel we had much in common or shared interests.

Ricardo:  Nope, not on my end.

Second date

Would you go out with each other again? And why? 

Sabrina: No – there was no chemistry and nothing much in common

Ricardo: If there is an occasion, why not?

Did any of you make an effort to set the second date?

Sabrina: -

Ricardo: Nah, apparently as my job turned out to be super busy and I was down with Covid.

Did you guys hang out after the date? 

Sabrina: He did ask if I wanted to go to a bar but I wasn't too keen.

Ricardo:  I tried to invite her to Mr. Stork but she didn't have time.

Chemistry

What did you like most about each other? What did you not like? 

Sabrina: Just based on that one outing, I think he's a really polite, understanding guy

Ricardo: We were very awkward but eventually warmed up to each other, talked and shared a lot of stories.

Did you have a lot in common? What is it? 

Sabrina: Not really!

Ricardo: Both of us love watching drama – she loves American shows, I love Japanese TV and both of us love sports – but I do more on a regular basis.

Want to go on a blind date? Sign up here

  • Property
  • River Valley

“Apart from the food we had, the space manager at Crane showed us around the space and we got to play table tennis and the old school childhood eraser game.” - Sabrina

Located in Arab Street within the Kampong Glam district is Crane Cantina – serving up dishes in an intimate setting. It takes on an Asian Farm to Table concept with the aim to support local, practice minimal food wastage and keep it real without compromising on flavour. Dishes served at this restaurant are inspired by the chefs’ backgrounds, experiences and travels. In the evening, Crane has a Canary After Dark bar that pops up on the second floor. Here, you can sit back and enjoy wine, beer and in-house curated drinks. Because Crane prides itself as a platform that encourages people to grow and go on a journey of self-discovery, it instils the values of creativity and passion in its food and drinks.

Crane also has multiple outlets in Singapore like Joo Chiat and Robertson Quay

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The date Our daters had a meal at Bar Cicheti.  First impression Fiona: “The restaurant was dim so I thought I was on a date with a Malay guy. I was like 'oh, that's interesting'.” Jaden: “I didn't expect her to be an extrovert. But when I started talking to her, she was very willing to open up.” Chemistry Fiona: “He's nice and easy to talk to. We had things in common, so we talked about hiking and our school days. But there wasn't a spark.” Jaden: “It's quite hard to tell because we only spent a few hours together. I'll probably just go with the flow and let nature take its course.” Awkward Moment Fiona: “The conversation was easy so there wasn't an awkward moment. Maybe just short pauses when we were eating or checking our phones.” Jaden: “There wasn't much. We had an endless conversation, one topic would lead to another, so we didn't have any awkward silence.” Afterwards Fiona: “We exchanged numbers. We also went for drinks after dinner and took the train back together.” Jaden: “We went to a nearby pub to have a drink and we went home after that. We exchanged contacts and are still talking to each other.” Verdict Fiona: ♥♥♥♥ “It was a good night. The conversation was interesting and dinner was great. We can still be friends and see how things go.” Jaden: ♥♥♥♥ “We had a lot of common topics to talk about and we were both able to relate to one another.”

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