Peace of My Mind: Flavours of Singapore Part 2

Continuing onto other tourist spots, these are places you shouldn't miss:

Little India

Closest MRT Stations - Little India and Farrer Park, but stick to Little India.

The beauty of Little India is that most of it is still relatively untouched, so you get the vibrancy in full colours. The hustle, bustle and the curries and all flavours and odours that associated with India.

The absolute time to avoid it is on Sunday nights from about 6 pm unless Caucasians want to play "Spot the white guy" game or if you are feeling adventurous. Since there are many Pakistani construction workers who only get a break on Sunday night, this is where they gather, and though they are all very nice and cordial, it might come as a culture shock to those who are uncomfortable with huge crowds and little physical distance between each other. Watch out for your comfort zone to be invaded in the nicest of ways.

Food: You must have the Roti Prata - an Indian pancake which can be eaten any time of the day and I mean it. You will see people eating it for breakfast (most common), lunch (lesser) or dinner (much lesser) or dessert (very common). The three varieties they have are Plain, Egg or Onions Special. You will dip them in the accompanying curry sauce and it is divine.

Their richer cousins, laced with either chicken or mutton (not lamb), is called the Mutarbak (Mu-Ta-Bark). This is the reason why Roti Prata is seldom had for lunch and dinner. This is where these richer fanfare feature more and I recommend the chicken version because it is delicious. You can also have the Nasi Briyani (yellow ginger rice) with Chicken or Mutton, Nasi Goreng (Malay Fried Rice) or Mee Goreng (Fried Noodles). I have to warn that these four varieties are rather spicy, so you may want to tell them to add less chilli if you're not up for the challenge. There are many other types which you may want to try and feel free to buy off the stalls on the street because Singapore has very strict health regulations for all food hawkers.

Bugis

Nearest MRT Station: Bugis and Little India

If you're within the vicinity of Little India, you will be rather close to "Bugis", which was was renowned internationally for its nightly gathering of transsexuals from the 1950s to the 1980s, making it one of Singapore's top tourist destinations during that period. If you are looking for cheap electronic goods, Sim Lim Square (a blue building) is just right around the corner from Bugis and Little India on Bencoolen Street.

There are good deals there and most Singaporeans will venture there to get their stock on new computers, cameras and other electronic gadgets. My advice is to venture upwards to the higher levels before just making your decision on the ground level. Opposite Sim Lim Square and not far away is the most famous Goddess of Mercy Temple in Bugis. Many Chinese flock there during the weekdays and especially so during the weekends, public hoildays, to pay respects, thank the gods or ask for good intervention. If it falls on special occasions like Vesak Day (Buddha's Birthday), then there will be little breathing space, so watch out! It is quite a beautiful temple, and a stone's throw-away, so it is worth venturing and having a look.

Not far away is Bugis Street shopping which is a market of shops resembling Chinatown. They are all situated in the market opposite Bugis Junction, where Bugis MRT Station is, and along the main streetway are many food stalls selling typical Chinese snacks. Don't bother looking for a muffin because you won't find any. You will find really delicious peanut, tapioca or coconut cakes, or a wide assortment of Chinese cakes, which we called "Kueh-kueh" (or Nonya Kueh which is the official term - look at this site for delicious photos and recipes) made mostly of coconut milk, tapioca, pandan leaves, flour and gelatine etc, but very delicious.

If you happen to pass by a food stall decked in white and yellow called "Old Chang Kee'" and mostly see many people queuing up, feel free to have a look at what's on offer. They are unfortunately, or luckily for some, all deep fried goodies on a stick like fishballs, fish cakes, calamari or squid as we call it, prawn cakes, and the devine curry puffs, which is what they originated with. My mouth waters at the thought of all these everyday delicacies of my 26 year stay in Singapore. Certainly beats any world best muffin any day for me.

Note I think I just received a verbal warning for using the word "delicious" too often, but you can't go on a diet when you're in Singapore. The food is an integral part of its culture, so be prepared!

Singapore Raffles Hotel and Swiss Hotel

Nearest MRT Station: Town Hall

From there, you can walk in the direction of the right (south) to the famous Singapore Raffles Hotel, which is old English fashioned beauty (Micheal Jackson stayed there for $10,000 a night during his first concert in Singapore in the 80s) and further south is Swisshotel, which used to be the tallest hotel in the World until the Twin Towers in KL tookover. If you go up to the New Asian Bar on Levels 71 and 72 at the Swisshotel during the night, which is cheaper than having a meal during the day (dress code: smart casual and no sneakers allowed), you will be able treated to a bird's eye view of the Singapore night lights. If you have their trademark Tower or Merlion drink, you will be able to bring a replica of the bottles that you drink out of. Killing two birds for the price of one. Priceless.

At the back of the hotel across from where you will see a great oval (Padang), is the Esplanade, the Performing Arts Centre of Singapore. Structured like two huge durians (thorny fruits which are also named the King of fruits). You can take the scenic walkway across the bridge from the Esplanade to the Merlion Park. You will be treated to a panaromic view of the Singapore Harbour and the CBD skyline. The Merlion is the first animal that the natives of Singapore reportedly saw when they first embarked on the island. The Singapore Harbour is also world famous and usually ranks amongst the top three busiest ports in the world. Singapore is also currently building its first Casino, so you might be able to see some construction works going on on the reclaimed land as well.

Boat Quay and Clarke Quay

Nearest MRT Station: Raffles Place and Clarke Quay

Not far across the Merlion Park is Raffles MRT Station, and if you use the underpass to get to the Station, you will see a stretch of old fashioned two storey townhouse restaurants along the famous Boat Quay, which is very popular with tourists and is very busy during the night. You can take the river taxi and go for a trip along the harbour, or proceed straight ahead further down to where Clarke Quay is. Clarke Quay has been refurbished since I was last there, so I can't tell you too much about it, but it's like an extension of Boat Quay with more restaurants and shops selling souvenirs and antiques, which is its main distinction from Boat Quay (see link above). It also tries to recreate the mood of Singapore in the 60s and 70s, and there are some performances there sometimes, so it should be interesting. It is also very popular with tourists and apparently a nice place to hang out at night where the action begins.

Chinatown

Nearest MRT Station: Chinatown and Outram Park

Not far away, but I may recommend that you take the MRT though it may only be one stop, is Chinatown. As the name suggests, it is where most Chinese congregated in the early days till they expanded to many other parts of the island. Chinese make up about 70% of Singapore's 4 million population, so it was a natural progression towards other parts of the island.

Being a country that many Mainland Chinese immigrated south from China (my paternal grandmother was one lucky girl), it is naturally much bigger than most Chinatowns in Western countries. Here, you will see many older Chinese still taking part in the forgotten trades of yesterday or going on in their idyllic lifestyles after retirement. You will also find plenty to eat and shop around here. Again no muffins or pancakes but almost all Chinese food is delicious. Please refrain from the usual fare that you are used to, and indulge in the exotic food of Singapore. You will also realise that no one, okay, rarely anyone has fried rice in Singapore, unless you are ordering to eat with a big group of people, because there is much else to try.

A plate of food in the less polished and non air conditioned hawker centres usually cost around S$3.50 (around A$2.50 or slightly more) but the serving is not big. The best thing about this is that you get to have two servings. Ha! Ha! The food served in the air conditioned food courts usually located in all shopping malls are more substantial and cost around $4 - $8 or more. I will stay away from anything that has pig intestines in them, but since all or 90% of Singaporeans speak English (or rather Singlish), you will not have any problems asking them what the ingredients are.

All the shopping malls, especially almost every single one along Orchard Road has a food court, and all of them are almost as good as the other. Notable mentions are Food Republic (food court) at Wisma Atria (the Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodles are divine), Indonesian restaurant "Resto Surabya" inside Lucky Plaza, a fantastic food court at Takashimaya on the lower ground level (or the lowest level), interesting food restaurants at Paragon and Plaza Singapura at the end of Orchard Road. If you happen to pass by any hawker centres (none air-conditioned food courts), please do not be put off by the less glamorous outlook and potentially higher temperatures, and have a meal there. More often than not, you will find that the food there equally delicious or more so.

Two of the more glamorous Hawker Centres are:

(a) Lau Pa Sat - translates into Old Market. It is very popular, is inexplicably located in the CBD where it is like a ghost town at night and is rather near Raffles MRT or Tanjong Pagar station.

(b) Newton Circus - very popular and opens till the wee hours of the morning. They used to be really good but I didn't find it too spectacular the last time I was there. I guess it is the reputation it garnered in its early days. Still worth a visit but not really near to many places of interest. Click on the link above for a good review and some sumptuous photos. Nearest MRT Station: Newton

The National Museum is near the YMCA, which is in between Plaza Singapura (at the end of Orchard Road) and the Swisshotel. So, I have brought you technically one full circle.

Finally, two other places that are popular with expats in Singapore are:

(c) Dempsey Road Enclave - a very new collection of exquisite restaurants and cafes. Not very Singaporean in flavour but a good escape for tourists or expats who are feeling a little homesick.

(d) Holland Village, an "older" cousin of Dempsey Road Enclave, but more accessible via public transport (only slightly), but more interesting probably of its nostalgic value to me.

Lastly, the tourist destination that is worth paying a visit is the Night Safari, which is the World' first to feature only nocturnal animals. My cousin's advice then was to go for a walk around the park on designated pathways first, and then take the tram ride at the very end with audio commentary. Great advice indeed!

My friends are only visiting Singapore for three days and I think I have written enough for them to spend a good five days there. I had a lovely time recollecting all these memories and this will help form a template for my other friends who might be interested in visiting Singapore some day. In the final segment, I will cover the true essence of Singapore, and that is food, food food.