Chinatown Singapore

I am starting my first day in Singapore and I do what I am supposed to do, force myself to stay awake to get on the current time zone. Luckily I have a food tour booked so I have a reason to force myself out of the room.

I love taking food tours and cooking classes when I travel. I love food and I love discovering new food loves. Singapore is very big on Hawker culture (there are so many Hawker complexes). I know me though and I get nervous and intimidated initially in ordering foods in some foreign countries. This tour, that concentrates on popular and Michelin rated/documented hawkers, is the perfect introduction to the hawker culture.

I’ve done some reading ahead so I know a couple things: like using a tissue pack to save a seat/table (called chope) and I have a list of foods I really want to try. But my guide fills in all the gaps. He tells us great stalls to try, history of things, and even great parts of town to visit. I also meet three lovely ladies on my tour, two of which I hang out with the next day for Chinese New Year. I love when my shy anxious self finds an easy way to meet new people!

We start the tour immediately visting the hawker building Hong Lim. Our guide tells us how hawker culture began. There used to be street carts like you would see in other parts of South East Asia, serving food and whatnot. At some point the city decided to take these into covered areas to make the foods safer, provide facilities for cooking with running water with tables for people to use to eat. Now you have what are present day hawker centers. There are numerous in the city and while a large number of them are Chinese, you can also find various other food types: Malay, Indonesia, Thai, Indian or those with a flair of many different cultures in one.

We start at Jiji Noodles House and he brings us a bowl of Signature char siew wanton noodle (pork). It comes with a side of a soup with goji berries that you can eat alone or dump into your noodles if they are not wet enough. This meal is fantastic. I craved it later. I wanted it the next morning but I assumed it would be closed (note: a girl on the tour told me the next morning that it was in fact open the next morning. I missed out on a second serving.). This is one of the places in the Michelin guide because it is so good.

Next I try a tea that is quite good – Ice Lemon Tea that I will try once more another day.

Then we head to try a curry puff. The guide calls it curry in a hurry. But you cannot eat it too fast because it is served piping hot.

We walk through a market where we look at the fruits. Of course durian is brought up. Durian is quite popular but it has an interesting taste and texture. You either like it or you don’t. I am still in the don’t like it category. I’ve tried it twice: once in a fresh fruit format and once as a cracker (accidentally). Both times it took me quite a while to get that distinct taste out of my mouth, in fact when I smell it, it comes back to me. Most hotels ban you bringing it in because it will “stink” up the place and its hard to remove.

We next stop to get a pandan cake but due to the Lunar new year they seem to be sold out so we try an orange chiffon cake instead and it is quite good. I’ve had pandan before a few times and I love it so I vow to come back to this store another time to try the cake.

Next we try the Chinese version of the Portuguese egg tart. It is not as sweet as the Portuguese version.

We then go to the Maxwell complex to visit the famous Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice. If you have watched any show on Singapore hawker culture this dish is featured; Anthony Bordain loved it. The chicken, served room temperature is good, but the special is the rice. It is very good. Some eat it as breakfast. It is considered a national dish.

Time to try some juice. We order soursop, a not so sweet fruit drink. I like how this vendor does no added sugar. It is quite refreshing.

We stop and visit the Buddha’s tooth relic temple. Yes you saw that correctly. There is supposed to be an actual Buddha’s tooth upstairs but we didn’t go up to see it. But the temple is quite beautiful and iconic in Chinatown.

We visit one last complex called Chinatown complex. We are very full already so we split a spring roll and enjoy Singapore Iced Coffee. The coffee is good and strong but being sweetened it would be an occasional treat for me.

I love the knowledge we received from our tour guide. I need to remember to do at least one tour such as this in each major city. It really cuts through the anxiety I have with being somewhere vastly unfamiliar.

Since I thoroughly enjoyed time with those in my tour and we are all mostly solo travelers we make plans to meet up tomorrow to see some of the Lunar New Year celebration. I am pleased to have met people so easily.

My first thoughts on Singapore is that it is a clean, safe and friendly country. While it is generally more expensive than most of South East Asia, it is a fantastic starter city for the region. Most people speak English here and things are more accessible to foreigners because you can stay in a hotel in a format that people are accustomed to with all the comforts of home. And the food, well Singapore is a full of many different cultures so the food choices are endless.

After my tour I wander around a bit. I do go back to my hotel to rest but I force myself to go back out with the lure of the visiting the birthplace of the original Singapore Sling at the Long Bar at Raffles hotel. It is a popular spot on the tourist trail so there is usually a wait but luckily I don’t have to wait long. They have a machine that shakes the cocktails. They mostly shake them by hand these days but I do get to see the machine in action briefly. This is also the only place in Singapore where it is lawful to litter: you can throw your peanut shells on the ground.

After I decide to walk the water to get a view of Marina Bay Sands and other things in the area. I return in a couple days to see more. Being exhausted i find a place for a quick but not great dinner and then head to bed early.

First day = success.