HOLLA back in a familiar looking place. Last year when I visited Singapore, I did two posts about the food I had there. And honestly, I don’t know what it is about Singaporean food but I dreamt about the noodles, seafood, and roti prata that I had there for months afterwards…
Singapore is such a strange little country. Or a city-state rather. An incredibly small island (?) chilling south of Malaysia without any natural resources but an amazing blend of Malay, Chinese, and Indian culture and food all in an English-speaking Westernized setting. Quite a strange place and even after my second visit there, I can’t seem to quite put Singapore into words.
It’s so clean, prosperous, and Western, it almost doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of Southeast Asia. Probably the cleanest urban center you may ever see in the world. Second to none, except maybe Japan. Some might find it boring… Too cookie-cutter clean and sterile. But for someone looking for the best food in Southeast Asia in one place, Singapore is the place to be.
Getting around:
Singapore is known for its amazing infrastructure – the underground will take you wherever you want to go. They’re constantly building new stations and the country is so small that navigating the subways and buses will be super easy. It’s about a dollar for each trip.
Landscape:
Incredibly Westernized. You’ll get fined for littering, chewing gum, or anything unseemly so keep that in mind. Preserve the atmosphere!
Weather:
Singaporeans say that they have four season – hot and hotter and wet and wetter! Or was it hot, hotter, even hotter, and freaking hot? Pack an umbrella for sure. It tends to rain in the middle of the day which is good because it cools down significantly. Or you can always escape into one of the many shopping malls and wait it out for an hour or two.
Food & Beverage:
I love Singaporean food. See below for the many photos… You MUST get Singaporean chili crab and you MUST get their famous fishhead curry. Oh, and laksa. Oh, and roti. Basically, go to a hawker center with as many people as possible and eat as many things as possible. Indian, Chinese, Malay, you want it, they’ve got it. Hawker centers are a great way to go on a budget and the food there tastes so much better than any other restaurant around.
And GET SOME KAYA TOAST. Love that junk.
Language:
English is the official national language here!
Cost:
Singapore is relatively expensive compared to the rest of Southeast Asia. I’d say comparable to the U.S. – $1.50 for a subway ride, $10 for a basic meal in a restaurant, $10 for a cocktail, etc.
Safety:
Are you serious? This place is probably safer than wherever you’re from. Unless you’re from rural Japan.
Final Thoughts:
Alcohol is expensive in Singapore because they have a “sin tax,” so I’d say try a Singapore Sling just for kicks but get your beer kick in Thailand or Indonesia. Singapore is a good landing pad for anyone on their way to the rest of Asia.
Kaya Toast at Ya Kun. :) I love this stuff with the soft-boiled eggs. Kaya jam is a sweet cocunut jam spread on toast with a lot of cold butter.
Laksa! <3 Spicy seafood noodles.
BBQ stingray
Fish Head Curry. You can only find the Indian version of this curry in Singapore. It’s the whole meaty head and collar of a red snapper cooked in spicy curry broth that’ll hook you with the first bite, and it is to DIE for.
Tian Tian Hainan Chicken and Rice. Endorsed by Tony Bourdain. You bet you ass it was good. Might look plain but the rice is cooked in chicken broth and full of flavor.
Black Carrot Cake. Kind of like Chinese dimsum turnip cakes, not like carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.
Petronus Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur during our small day trip.
Singapore Sling.
This is me terrified of our waterfall Flaming Lamborghini. This is one of the scariest things I’ve ever consumed in my life. Possibility of scorching my threat with flaming alcohol? SURE! SIGN ME UP!
I felt like a BAMF afterwards.
