The moment

6PM – SINGAPORE

Jayson Ong Experience design lead

“My favourite time of the day is when I finish work. The city pretty much comes to life after regular working hours, when everyone is out and about, shopping, picking up groceries and eating dinner. Food is relatively cheap here – we have a lot of hawker centres – and it’s probably one of the reasons many Singaporeans don’t cook their own dinner. It’s so affordable and there’s so much choice that it’s a no-brainer.

Singapore is a dense city; it’s a really small country. It starts cooling down at the end of December and then we have lovely weather in January – the beginning of the year is the best time. We use the Lunar New Year, usually in mid-February, as a gauge of when it’s going to turn hot again.

Unlike other cities that value heritage and culture, Singapore has pride in change. A lot of my favourite places, where I ate growing up, are no longer around; they’ve been replaced by malls and condominiums. That’s one sad thing about a city that evolves very quickly.

We have this friendly competition with our neighbour, Malaysia, where we each say we originated a certain dish, such as laksa. But if you ask me, we’re in the same part of the world so it’s hard to decide who came first. The fact is we all like the same type of food. Most of the time even Singaporeans agree that the Malaysian versions are better but few will say it because of pride.

There’s one particular dish called rojak that’s basically a mish-mash of ingredients – a really messy salad – and that’s how I describe Singapore to anyone who hasn’t been here. We’re a melting pot of different cultures, a multiracial society, and we embrace all sorts of cuisines and beliefs.”