03/16/23
Singapore
Sydney was short but sweet. Super convenient to take the train to the airport. We just missed the heat in Sydney as it was 23-28°C for our stay but went back up to mid to high 30°C plus humidity picked up on our final day.
We grabbed brunch at the airport at Mach2 by Machiavelli – I got the Halloumi Stack (21AUD).
Midday flight with Scoot to Singapore. 7hr25min flight and we went back 3 hours in timezones. We got a Pokemon themed plane but everything is an extra fee and there are no power outlets on the plane.
Bless the Canadian passport for bringing us through the automated lane. Make sure to have your SG Arrival card done before you arrive for easy and smooth customs.
We were greeted by our friend Roman and his partner Karen who have been living in Singapore for 3.5 years. After that much time in the air with no food included in the price of the flight, we hit Jewel – the mall attached to the airport and ate delicious food from the food court.
I got the Creamy Salted Egg Chicken rice (8.50SGD) from Yah Fu Mini wok. Karen bought us the charcoal chicken wings to share from Huat Huat BBQ chicken wing. And we finished off with Putu Piring – Gula Melaka (palm sugar & coconut) from Haig Road Putu Piring ($4SGD – 4pcs)
We stayed with them in Joo Chiat and were greeted by Anita (their dog’s helper) and Bao the dog.
03/17/23
Singapore
Low of 24°C and high of 36°C including humidity. It definitely was hot but I made Bev walk with me from Little India all the way to Chinatown in the sun and heat all day.
I explored the city by foot 14KM, bike 18KM, train & bus 7.5KM in just one day.
Started the morning off with a homemade omelette courtesy of Roman. He walked us to catch our first bus in Singapore. Transit is super cheap with a trip being $1 or max of $2.88. To refill your transit card, you need cash to top up at a convenience store.
The temperature & humidity are no joke. The lowest in temperature it’s been on record in past years for Singapore was 19°C. I sat outside on the balcony in the morning and already had a sheen going.
Our first two stops of the day were for coffee beans. First stop was Chye Seng Huat Hardware – a repurposed hardware store turned coffee shop – 20SGD for a bag of espresso beans. The OG of coffee shops in Singapore – Lam Yeo Coffee Powder Factory to grab some espresso beans. 10SGD.
We walked through Little India and saw the infamous Tan Teng Niah – the last standing historic villa constructed in 1900. Gazed at the Sultan Mosque facade & grabbed some perfume oils for a friend at Jamal Kazura Aromatics. They sell it in multiple sizes as tiny as 8ml bottles.
We grabbed ice cream at Three’s a Crowd. I got Ginger milk (tasted like tofu dessert w/Ginger syrup) & Pandan lime (8SGD).
So many stunningly vibrant buildings the entire walk and beautiful murals too.
Made it to Merlion Park with a few stops along the way for air conditioning including the Esplanade aka the Durian. Merlion Park gives you views of Marina Bay sand, ArtScience Museum, of course the Merlion, the ferris wheel, helix bridge and so much more.
Walked to Chinatown to check out our first Hawker Centre – Hong Lim Market. We tried the Michelin star Ah Heng’s Curry Chicken (small bowl 6SGD). Tried a Pandan egg tart (2.50SGD) at joy luck teahouse. Final stop for the day in Chinatown was Buddha Tooth Relic Temple – shoulders & knees need to be covered to go inside (they provide wraps).
All the fruit juices are so enticing. We got off the train and saw Holla Juice. I grabbed the apple, beetroot, carrot & orange (4SGD).
After the day we had, a cold shower was such a treat.
In the evening, Roman took me on a bike ride through the city. It’s a bike friendly city with dedicated pedestrian & biking paths. Bikes also share the road with cars too. We rode about 18KM from Katong-Joo Chiat to Marina Bay & back. I had to take 2 showers in a day but definitely worth it.
Karen ordered dinner in and it had a great selection of tasty items.
Some tidbits of Singapore:
-No drinking on public transit.
-No chewing gum.
-Spitting in public can get you caned.
-Drugs are 100% banned and can be a life sentence in prison.
-Plastic bags for everything including drinks.
-To save a table at the hawker markets or food courts, you can put a packet of napkins down to claim the spot
-To own a car like a Honda Civic would cost 130,000SGD.
-Those who own cars, also become shared car drivers to pay off the car
-Cars get license plates that signals which days of the week you are allowed to drive
-Public toilets have a fee to use them.
-Toilet paper is provided but napkins at meals are not so make sure to carry your own.
-The most you spend for transit in a day is 2.88SGD.
03/18/23
Singapore
We walked to the Peranakan houses in the Katong-Joo Chiat area. These homes are two-storey shop houses built using pre-war architecture. They are row houses that have ornate facades, intricate motifs and ceramic tiles. These specific ones are well maintained, vibrant and beautiful to admire.
In this area lies what we’ve been told is one of the best places in Singapore to get Prata Roti – Mr & Mrs Mohgan Super Crispy Roti Prata.
We ordered the Plain Prata x2 (1.30SGD) & Egg Prata (1.90SGD) with fish curry & mutton curry.
The wait was a little long but worth it as they are making them fresh at that moment and it is super crispy and delicious. There was a queue when we got there. The fishy curry had a little more tang to it. The mutton tasted a bit like beef stew.
We checked out Cat Socrates to check out some local designers and their cute little gifts and trinkets.
Went back home and met up with Roman and off we went to eat more food. We went to Old Airport Road Food Centre. Giant building with 2 floors (we didn’t even make it upstairs).
We got:
-Roast Paradise – double roast on rice (KL-style BBQ pork and roasted pork) (5.80SGD)
-Wang Wang Crispy Curry Puff – curry puff & black pepper puff (1.60SGD/1.80SGD ea)
-Hougang Otah – Squid Otah (fish cake in a leaf – Grilled or steamed)(1SGD)
-01-26 Hokkien Prawn Noodle (3SGD)
-Fresh Fruit Ice Blend QQ – Soursop Mango Juice (3.50SGD)
-Homemade Spring roll – Popiah (Teochew style fresh spring roll w/fresh, dried & cooked ingredients)(2SGD)
-Whampoa Soya Bean – Soya bean w/grass jelly (1.70SGD).
-fried & soup dumplings
-gai lan
-steamed buns
In the evening, we went to Holland Village market & food centre for Indian food. We met with Karen & Roman’s friends – Hannah, Mike & Dustin. They are originally from Toronto/San Francisco/New York. Turns out that after posting a Instagram story with a photo of us with our new friends, that I was actually friends with Hannah’s first cousins back in Toronto. Also, Dustin knows my friend in New York. What a small world.
We ordered family style and ordered so many items from Pepper Castle including Butter Chicken, cauliflower curry, garlic naan, deconstructed samosas, chicken tikka masala, a mushroom dish & mint charcoal chicken.
Once we finished dinner, we ended up hanging out at Hannah & Mike’s home for the rest of the evening where we played a more intense version of Big2 but with 3 decks of cards and it requires 6 players. Team work but also strategic. Dou Dizhu aka Landlord & Farmer.
03/19/23
Singapore
Our original plan was to hit up Sentosa beach for 7AM to play some beach volleyball but we stayed out too late last night that we gave up that idea.
Started our day with a Singaporean breakfast – Kaya toast at Chin Mee Chin. There was a queue outside the blue building so we waited in line.
While in line, we ended up sparking a conversation with the couple behind us. We ended up eating together with them, our new friends – Mai & Cedric. They’ve been married for 2 years and live in Singapore. We all got the Kaya Toast set w/a drink (5.50SGD) and we shared 4 pastries so we could all have a taste of something new. The cream puff was the only thing worth it for the pastries.
We met up with Karen afterwards and ate some Laksa at Katong Laksa (5SGD). We were craving bubble tea so off to the SingPost Centre we went. This area contains 3 malls within a short walking distance of one another and a large area for many people to hang out with their friends. Many pulled out picnic blankets.
We went to Chicha San Chen for Bubble Tea. They have these cool machines that brew the individual teas. We happened to stumble upon a performance from Drum Tao promoting their production – The Light celebrating their 30th anniversary. Taiko drumming mixed with martial arts and other influences such as Maori.
We walked back to Roman & Karen’s place but first stopping for drinks at Mr Coconut. Delicious.
After a little rest and waiting for the sun to start setting, we made our way to Garden by the Bay – Supertree Grove to watch the Super Tree light show accompanied by music. They have 2 shows a night (745 & 845PM). You lay on the ground or sit and just watch the light show with the accompanying music and it’s magical.
We walked through Marina Bay Sands hotel and the mall to walk along the waterfront. We skipped the Spectra water show on the other side of the marina.
For dinner, their friend Nick joined us (also from Toronto). We went to Lau Pa Sat. The highlight here are the satay skewers. Satay 7 & Satay 8 stalls are the ones you need to goto – we went with Set B from Satay 8. We had a good feast for a last meal after all of us went to grab a dish each to share. We got white radish omelettes, duck on rice, assorted meats on noodles, gai lan, spicy vegs to name a few.
To walk off the food and end of the night, we walked to Boat Quay which leads you to the colourful building that is Old Hill Street Police Station.
