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Downtown: Orchard Road & Boat Quay "Uptown" (?): Suburbs
Gastronomic
adventure: Singaporean Gourmet
Something
uniquely us - 'Hawker centers'
Guide
for Budget Travellers FAQs
Mum's
traditional 'chicken rice' recipe
Singapore is not in China, contrary to popular belief. Far from it. Literally and culturally. A distance of at least 3500 km and 22% of the population being Malays, Indians and Eurasians hardly qualify Singapore for the most-favoured-nation status that China currently enjoys. However, do say that to any Singaporeans if you want to be met with snorts of indignance. Click here for other FAQs (silly or otherwise)
Orchard Road is the hub for tourists and locals. It is our equivalent to New York’s Manhattan or Paris’ Champ Elysées with its fair share of shopping multiplexes, tree-lined boulevards, gourmet restaurants and heavy traffic. On the last point, traffic (human and otherwise) is notorious on the weekends. Not unless you are an agoraphobic or you enjoy jabbing your elbows into the ribs of others, weekends can be spent somewhere else more relaxing.
Rather recently, several other places in town have sprouted up to give Orchard Road a run of its money. To name just one - Boat Quay. You are right if the name conjured up an image of a quay facing a river. (It’s obvious, isn’t it?) However, rather than labourers hoisting huge sacks of rice as was the sole activity in days yonder, tourists and locals are now dining and wining alfresco under stars and impressive skyscrapers from the financial district just a stone’s throw away. Here, one may sample a variety of cuisine from Indonesian to Italian. There are also several watering holes to see and to be seen in. For the teetotalers, there are no lack of cafes. Personally, I do find Boat Quay too noisy for a nice dinner after a stressful day at the office. It’s not the place for a quiet tete-a-tete if privacy is what you want because in all likelihood, your neighbouring diner would just be 2 feet away from you.
However, it could be pretty fun to take a walk through Boat Quay especially on Friday and Saturday nights. On a Friday, you would find ‘Valentino-ed’ or ‘Hugo Boss-ed’ executives and sun-baked Caucasians clinging to their mugs of ice cold beer outside one of the pubs. In contrast, on a Saturday night you would still find Caucasians with their beer mugs but the executives would have made way for a casually-dressed crowd and young punks.
You won’t find tour buses nor the tourist board for that matter recommending a visit to one of the suburbs. I wonder why. Quite frankly, for anyone interested in how an average Singaporean lives, the suburbs are the heartlands of Singapore.
To travel from the city center to any suburb is an easy affair. Just take any train. It’s that simple. The older thus more established estates would have more interesting stuff to see for example Toa Payoh (North) or Bedok (East). There is an abundance of hawker centers worth exploring as well as little 'mama' shops that sell all sorts of daily necessities such as canned foods, toiletries, snacks, magazines and even curry spices. 7-Eleven is thus not a new concept afterall.
80% of Singaporeans live in flats. This is because it is a land scarce country. In fact, it is one of the world’s most densely populated country: 4663 persons per sq. km compared to just 28 persons in the US!
Singapore Gourmet - in a nutshell
You haven't been around Singapore if you haven't tried its food. Dubbed loosely as a 'food paradise'. Food is never more available or affordable anywhere else in the world - if you know where to look for it. From high-brow dining at Orchard Road, yupp-ish (young urban professionals) hangouts in Boat Quay to the quintessential S’porean hawker centers. They offer a wide variety to satisfy every taste bud and budget.
For easy reference, I’ve catergorised by cost some of my favourite outlets for pig-outs. Tuck in!
| $$$$ (>S$40 pax) | ||
The place to be… |
… if you've a craving for… |
…what you can expect. |
| Lei Garden @ Chijmes | Cantonese | Try the "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" with
abalone, fish maw, sea cucumber, scallop and shark's fin! Executives entertaining on weekdays and well-heeled families on weekends. |
| Compass Rose @ Westin Hotel | Continental | A la carte menu in the evenings; hi-tea is available
on weekend afternoons. You get the top of the world feeling literally since it's at the top of the world's tallest hotel. If you are thinking of proposing to your significant other over a romantic candlelight dinner - its staff is well experienced to advise you how. |
| Alkaff Mansion @ Telok Blangah Hill | Western / Indonesian | Romantic candle-light dinner and delightful ambience set in a colonial bungalow. Take a stroll before dinner at the hill popular with bridal couples and their entourage of photographers. |
| $$$ (S$25 - 39) | ||
| Cafe Des Amis @ Specialist Center, Orchard Road | French / Western | OSE (Oysters, Salmon & Escargots) Freshest
oysters around. Very Reasonably priced wine at
S$30/bottle. Small and cosy restaurant with friendly proprietor and French chef. |
| East Coast Seafood Center @ East Coast Park | Seafood (Chinese) | Wide selection of seafood restaurants
offering indoor or alfresco dining. Fresh succulent
crabs, prawns, geoduck (not those that goes quack, but a
type of shellfish rather) and lobsters… You haven't been to Singapore if you haven't tried Chili crabs. Order a side dish of buns and dip them into the gravy. (Alternatively try Black Pepper crabs) This is not a dish where one can be dainty - get down to it with your fingers! |
| Chatterbox @ Mandarin Hotel | Local / Western | Hainanese Chicken rice is without doubt its most famous (and fastest selling) main course. But at S$20 a serving, it might be difficult to justify when the hawker centers / food courts dish it up for just S$3 - 5. |
| $$ (S$10 - 24) | ||
| Fische Gourmet @ 39 Kampong Bahru Road | Western | Deliciously fresh cold-water fish (Cod, Haddock,
Salmon...) poached or grilled to perfection & HUGE
oysters. Open from noon till 8pm, this tiny cafe that seats 14 has to turn away customers during lunch despite its location. Prices start at $9 for a main and $1.50 for cappuccino, here's value that's hard to beat. |
| Sanur @ Centrepoint, Orchard Rd. @ Suntec City |
Indonesian | Hot and spicy food that leaves you panting for more. A must-try is its house specialty "Tauhu Telur". Also, its thick creamy Avocado Juice sweetened with 'gula melaka' just slithers down your throat. |
| $ (< S$10) | ||
| Bedok North St Hawker Center | Chinese Porridge | Steaming, tasty porridge with
traditional varieties such as century egg or fish. I can
never get enough of them! No dress code required and it's a shoe-string traveller's dream come true. |
| Clarke Quay | Satay | Succulent meat skewered and grilled over charcoal
embers and eaten with ketupat (rice cake), cucumber,
onion and sweet peanut sauce. Simply out-of-this-world.. Just follow your nose and you will arrive at a street in Clarke Quay filled with little satay stalls and wooden tables. Alfresco dining. |
| Thasevi's Eating House @ 237 Jalan Kayu (take bus #59,103 or 163) |
Indian | Voted the Best 'roti prata' ~ light, flaky Indian
pastry eaten with chicken or mutton curry. Don't expect suave waiters or cosy ambiance. Just go there for its food. |
I love being a food critic. Should I quit my day job or what?
Fuss-free food at hawker centers is a vital dimension to the Singaporean’s gastronomic quest. In all my travels, I can never quite find a cuisine close to Singapore’s. It is not entirely Chinese as one may think. Nor is it exactly Malaysian, Thai or Indonesian. The ‘chow kuay teow’ (fried noodles in sweet sauce with Chinese sausages, eggs and cockles) and ‘chow tow kuay’ (fried carrot cake - not those with icing on top!) are simply insatiable cravings of any Singaporean expatriate or overseas student. To get to these hawker centers, ask any local to direct you to one along the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit a la subway or tube). Alternatively, a Food Court in any shopping center in town usually does the trick. Click here for Mum’s traditional ‘Chicken Rice’ recipe.
I digress. For the budget traveler, these hawker centers offer a haven of budget meals. An extremely filling meal of a main course, a soft-drink and dessert would cost only S$5.00 (US$3.50). Click here for budget travel.
I’ve to admit that staying in Singapore can be quite a rip-off. Probably, the cheapest place to stay within the city would be YMCA or the RELC. Both would still cost about S$100 each night. Another option could be Hotel 81. The only drawback is its location - Geylang, Singapore's red-light district. However, if you are not looking for a respectable address but basic accomodation in a colourful district, this is it. B&Bs are unfortunately non-existent here.
Nuggets of info with the aid of Yellow Pages and a few phone calls:
Check out Asia Travel Website where discounts off published rates could be had.
Public transport is extremely reliable and affordable. Bus routes can get pretty confusing at times so stick to the MRT lines if possible. However, if you are indeed lost just ask any locals for directions. Chances are, they would know where you would want to go.
Food. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Thus, get out of McDonald's or Burger King and head for the Hawker Centers!
Mum's traditional 'Chicken Rice' recipe
Ingredients:
How to cook the chicken
Voila* now you have your chicken stock. [Leave some aside as soup if desired. Add cubes of tofu and salt for taste.]
ps. Overcooking causes the chicken to taste like your rubber duckie ... yikes!
How to cook the rice
How to make the quintessential accoutrement to chicken rice: chili sauce
Grind 500gm fresh red chili with 100gm garlic and 50gm ginger. Lightly fry and add vinegar, salt and sugar to taste.
Bon Appétit !!!! :-P
Check out Robin's homepage offering the
perspective of a native Singaporean.
For the ‘official’ list on Singapore’s
attractions, shopping, eating out, entertainment and hotels. Check
this out!!!
For a listing of hotels
in Singapore on the Internet, click
here.
For a brief introduction to its history,
climate etc…
Visit one of Singapore’s most famous monument
touted as the "Grand ol’ Dame of the East"- Raffles
Hotel.
Founded since the last century, the Hotel has played host to famous authors and other luminaries such as Somerset Maugham, Rudyard Kipling, Ava Gardner and Charlie Chaplin.
Changi
Airport - World’s Best Airport
every year since 1988, The Business Traveler (UK) Survey.
For travelers in transit with 4 hours to spare, Changi even offers free city tours. For Singaporeans at least, Changi offers a quiet, cool and spacious respite away from the humdrum of claustrophobic city life. Don’t be surprised by the sight of students huddling in groups mugging away for their exams though.
Order the world's most exotic fruit - Durian, direct from Singapore. 
Your neighbours will
either love or hate you for the pungent odiferous aroma that you
have introduced to the neighbourhood for days.
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