“The best start to a day in Singapore is enjoying breakfast at Chin Mei Chin, an old school bakery on the famous East Coast Road. Walking in feels like going back to the 1950s. It is steeped in tradition; my parents took me there as a child. My favourite breakfast is coconut kaya toast and butter with a steaming cup of traditional Singaporean coffee, brewed through cloth to infuse the intensity and aroma.
Although Singapore is small, it constantly surprises me. There are new experiences – and foods – to try every day. It’s cheaper to eat out than cook at home and we work long hours, so everyone goes out in the evening.
One of the best places to eat is at a hawker centre. There are more than 300 hawker centres (or food courts) in Singapore. They’re all different, but affordable, with a variety of dishes. One of my favourites is black carrot cake, a savoury dish made with radish and eggs, then fried with dark soya sauce.
All aboard the steamboat
Another favourite dish is the steamboat; families gather round a hot pot in the centre of the table and add their favourite raw ingredients to it. I love Nan Hwa Chong Fish Head Steamboat Corner on North Bridge Road. Or try sambal stingray for supper at a stall in Serangoon, a buzzy neighbourhood northeast of downtown. Sambal is a spicy chilli sauce homemade by the vendors and it tastes delicious with the soft stingray – a drizzle of lime and a bowl of white rice completes the meal.
If you want to get off the beaten track, Singapore is easy, safe and affordable to travel around using the bus network, or you can explore on foot. English is spoken everywhere and all the signs are in four languages, including English. I’d recommend taking a break from the busy city and visiting the farms in Lim Chu Kang. I enjoy eating a healthy lunch at Bollywood Veggies, packed with produce grown on the farm. You are surrounded by so much greenery, you’ll feel like you’re in another world.
The cuisine in Singapore is international and Tamashii, a new Japanese restaurant, was recommended to me by a friend. It’s a little hard to find, down a little alley and on the top floor, but it’s well worth discovering. There is a huge display of ingredients imported directly from Japan. You choose your favourites and the chef cooks them in front of you - or you can tell the chef what your budget is and he will create a dish of the finest ingredients within that range.
If you like to shop, head to Bugis, where you can pick up cheap clothes and accessories from the street market; or the Mustafa shopping centre in Little India is open 24 hours a day and sells everything you could imagine. Culture fans will appreciate the Singapore Art Museum and National Gallery Singapore, and Shuffle at Clarke Quay is my favourite place to listen to a mix of English and Chinese music by local bands.
I always take visitors to Chinatown, which has intriguing pockets of history and some of the oldest temples in Singapore. You can sip tea whilst listening to Chinese opera and, in the pharmacies, pick up fresh Chinese herbs to help with any ailment.
Another of my favourite places to take visitors is Katong. A residential area in the east, this is the home of the Peranakans. The Peranakans were early Chinese immigrants to the Malay Peninsula and they fused Chinese and Malaysian customs to create a rich and colourful culture. In Katong, you can visit traditional Peranakan shops and houses and eat the delicious fusion food; no visit to Katong is complete without trying a bowl of laksa.
If you’re planning a trip to Singapore, the summer is a great time to visit. The food festival takes place in July, with special events, menus and cooking classes. And August is very special as we celebrate our national day, with musical performances, a huge parade, special restaurant events and spectacular fireworks along the east coast.”
