24 hours in Singapore
A culinary capital home to legendary shopping and a booming bar scene, the Little Red Dot is buzzing...
SEE
Head to Marina Bay to climb aboard the Singapore Flyer ( 31 Raffles Ave, +65 6333 3311, www.singaporeflyer.com): a giant, 42-storey, 165-metre-high observation wheel with breathtaking, 360-degree views of the city. On a clear day the panorama stretches to neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia.
SHOP
Head down to the Arab Quarter where bargains lurk in every nook and cranny. Haji Lane is a rich hunting ground for off-beat designer labels, vintage clothing stores, jewellery, records and homewares. There’s WanderWonder ( 65A Haji Ln, +65 6396 8621), a hip local menswear label aimed at the modern gentleman, streetwear store Sup ( 34 Haji Ln, +65 6297 9384) and Straits Records ( 49 Haji Ln, +65 9769 4837), a vinyl goldmine for super-rare indie, alternative, hip-hop and more.
EAT
Sorrel ( 21 Boon Tat St, +65 6221 1911, www.sorrel.sg), is a long shophouse dining room with a theatrical open kitchen and vibrant young chefs tending to dishes like artful surgeons.
DRINK
28HKS ( 28 Hongkong St, +65 6533 2001, www.28hks.com) is a speakeasy-vibe den marked only by the street number and unassuming beige door. Go even more underground (literally), at Operation Dagger ( 7 Ann Siang Hill, www.operationdagger. com), found by descending a cryptically marked staircase to a dark, tiny basement bar space.
STAY
The Wanderlust ( 2 Dickson Rd, +65 6396 3322, www. wanderlusthotel.com), features some of the wackiest rooms on the island with pantone single-hue rooms, pop art and origami themes – even ones designed like a spaceship or treehouse.
Find out more about Singapore at www.yoursingapore.com.