When the shops have become too much, a quiet walk through the botanical gardens, culminating with a walk through the orchid gardens to see the national flower in its many different forms, is a tonic.
EATING
Hawker stands are the basic level of eating. The government monitors these stands for hygiene and awards owners with a grading system. The best receive an "A". Each stand must display their grading. If there is no grading, the stand may lack any standard, best to stick with graded stands and "B"s and "C"s are still fine to buy from. Try some of the desserts such as pineapple and coconut or mango and almond jelly. Many of the desserts come on finely crushed ice. These are delicious, especially in the humid heat or after a spicy curry.
Food halls offer a wonderful range of foods from the wider region, Malaysia, India, China, Taiwan, Thailand. The best food halls in my opinion are the Food Republic food halls. There is on Orchard Rd and I found one in Suntec that had a theme of an old library. It felt rather odd sitting amongst panels of old books while eating, but the food was excellent. I tried dumplings in the shape of goldfish… interesting.
Restaurants range from basic and cheap to very exquisite and expensive. To try some of the signature dishes of chili crab or pepper crab, my favourite, visit Newton Circus as the hawker stands there all specialize in seafood. Or if you have the chance, visit one of the huge eating conglomerates at East Coast. Crab is sold per 100gms, so this makes the dish a little on the pricey side, but well worth the expense.
The local water is safe to drink, therefore ice is a welcome addition to drinks. Food is an art in Singapore, and a way of life! Make the most of the different tastes. Forget trying to eat Western food, the local food is the highlight. Forget trying to find good coffee. Cafes are everywhere but good coffee in my hunt was not to be found. Much of the coffee comes from Malaysia and is a dark roast, often made worse by the preparation.
SINGLISH LAH?
Singaporeans converse using many slang words. Coffee is referred to as "kopi", if someone seems a little slow on understanding, they might be asked, "why you so blur?" Or when someone acts in a way that is questionable, a friend may say, "why you so like that?" Tenses can get a little mixed but are always understandable and at the end of almost every second sentence comes the expression that simply means, "you know?" or endorses a sentence or question, "lah". This is a very catchy phrase lah, you hear it everywhere in Singapore lah.
What a vibrant city. It gets better every twenty years. I must make a note to visit it a little sooner next time. And next time, I will remember to take an umbrella. Ask a local if the rain is going to clear during the day, the answer may be, “I don't know lah. It might. It might clear then rain again later lah. Never can tell what the weather might do isn't it?
Singapore. My tourist T shirt reads: Food shiok lah, everything fun to see lah, everything to see must buy lah!
