Day 1: Foodie hotspots
Given Singapore’s humid tropical rainforest climate, it’s important for visitors to stay well-fed and hydrated. Start the morning at one of the island’s most lauded hawker centres, Maxwell Food Centre, between Chinatown and the financial district.
Grab a teh C (silky black tea with evaporated milk, hot or cold) or kopi halia (coffee with ginger) at one of the drinks stalls, or a soya bean and grass jelly drink at Woong Kee Traditional Beancurd to accompany your meal. Once you’ve had your fill, take a short stroll down Maxwell Road to the Singapore City Gallery at the URA Centre. Most of the gallery is closed until early November for a major upgrade, but the highlight – a large model showing past, current and future development on the island – remains open.
A quick walk down Telok Ayer Street brings you to Free the Robot (open Tuesday to Saturday), a fun café with plenty of robot action figures and imagery, which serves burgers, salmon rice bowls, avocado toasties and unusual drinks including a signature coffee made with coconut oil. In the evening, the restaurant morphs into the suave craft cocktail bar Bitters & Love.
On the same road, Thian Hock Keng is the oldest Chinese temple in Singapore, built for a sea goddess in 1839 on what was then the waterfront, with traditional pavilions arranged around a central courtyard. Explore its interior before taking a short walk to Yixing Xuan Teahouse to sample and buy premium Chinese and Taiwanese teas, some of which are also stocked at the plush Six Senses Duxton nearby.
Opened earlier this year, and the first urban property for the hotel brand, these unified former 19th-century heritage shophouses celebrate their Chinatown location through bamboo screens, shiny lacquer work and large ceramic pots. Back in the hubbub of Chinatown, Eastern and Western tapas fill the evening menu at The Keep & Commune, with small plates such as spicy slow-cooked rendang meatballs and patatas bravas. Finally, round off the day with a night cap at the intimate and award-winning 28 HongKong Street (in the name of hydration, of course).
Day 2: Cultural immersion
The Hindu festival of Deepavali celebrates the triumph of good over evil. Here, the kaleidoscopic event is marked by a public holiday (6 November this year) and sees parts of the city festooned in pretty lights. After a leisurely breakfast at your hotel, head to Tekka Centre at the bottom end of Little India. This pastel building with shops and a hawker centre also houses one of the city’s best wet markets.
After this, head up Serangoon Road past the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple with its colourful entrance gopuram (tower). The temple is dedicated to the goddess Kali, the destroyer of evil, chosen by early Indian settlers to help them feel safe in their new homeland.
Have lunch at the nearby Ananda Bhavan – also open 24 hours – which specialises in South Indian idli (a savoury rice cake) and dosa. For a treat, walk over to Khana Basmati restaurant on Lembu Road for mishti doi, a Greek yoghurt-like Bengali delicacy made from milk and cane sugar.
Walk off all that food at the Indian Heritage Centre. The angular four-storey glass and concrete structure examines the heritage of the Indian diaspora, tracing its origins and influences through a series of thematic galleries. Little India’s sole cinema showing Indian films – Rex Cinema – sadly closed a few months ago, but if you do want to catch the latest Bollywood and South Indian blockbusters, you can take a quick cab ride to Carnival Cinemas in Shaw Tower or Golden Mile Tower.
After your flick, get a taxi back to Serangoon Road after dark to enjoy the festive lights strung above the 1.5km stretch of road (the lights will remain until 25 November). If you visit on or before 6 November, browse the festive markets at Campbell Lane and Hastings Road and on Serangoon Road.
For dinner, take another short cab ride to The Song of India, the only Michelin-starred Indian restaurant in Singapore. It presents refined modern Indian cuisine with dishes that explore the country’s spectrum of tastes and textures, from slow-cooked Kashmiri lamb to Chettinad prawn curry.
Day 3: On the water
In this island nation, seas and rivers are inescapable, offering novel ways to take in the sights of the city. The morning presents you with two options, depending on the kind of adventure that floats your boat. Your first choice is to wake up leisurely and take a 30-minute taxi ride to the River Safari, a wildlife park that focuses on river habitats and fauna, and has 7,500 animals that include 40 threatened species.
Alternatively, fuel up with coffee, pandan pancakes and more at the casual Tolido’s Espresso Nook. Suitably charged, head over to the Singapore Sports Hub water sports centre to rent a kayak and paddle around the Kallang Basin; certified kayakers can venture further down alongside Gardens by the Bay, affording views of the gardens’ glass domes and otherworldly Supertrees, with Marina Bay Sands and the business district beyond (everyone must bring photo identification for registration).
As a reward for your exertion (or exhaustion) order the chilli or white pepper crab for lunch at No Signboard Seafood at the Esplanade, the main specialities of a restaurant that has four outlets in the city. Then head back to the water during a one-hour trip with Singapore Duck Tours. Its remodelled amphibious World War II vehicles navigate the city’s roads and waterways, bringing visitors close to some of Singapore’s most famous landmarks. If you’ve timed the day right, you’ll have a moment to unwind with a twilight drink at Lantern, the rooftop bar at the Fullerton Bay Hotel, and catch the flickering glow of buildings slowly casting their reflections on the waters of Marina Bay.
Amble round the bay to watch The Great Moscow Circus under the Mighty Big Top tent on Bayfront Avenue (it ends its run on 18 November), or cab to the St Regis hotel for a spa treatment that proudly honours the day’s theme. Treatments at the hotel’s Remède Spa are designed around water, and patrons can look forward to eucalyptus-scented steam chambers, ice fountains and a hammam (Turkish bath), while signature treatments include a warm Vichy shower.
Feature image: Pete Burana/ Shutterstock.com
This article was originally published in the November 2018 issue of SilverKris magazine
