RETURN TO SINGAPORE: MANY FIRSTS FOR THIS OLD-TIMER
Night at the Museum of Ice Cream, chasing murals, candlelight concerts—the Lion City may feel like an old friend, but it never gets old
I walked into Maxwell Food Centre at half past noon on a weekday and, as expected, the place was busy. I grabbed a seat with a friendly-looking auntie and hopped from stall to stall.
Soon, my side of the table was covered with all kinds of deliciousness: Hainanese chicken rice from Tian Tian, char siu and roast pork from Fu Shun Shao La Mian Jia, teh tarik and a Milo dinosaur. My first bite of the succulent chicken was so good I had to close my eyes. A hawker center lunch, a quintessential Singapore experience. This wasn’t a dream. I was really here.
I’ve been going to Singapore since I was a kid. To me and to many Filipinos, Singapore feels like a longtime friend—warm, familiar, safe, comfortable, inviting. The pandemic had driven us apart, but I was determined to rekindle our relationship and
discover sides of her I had never known before.
Singapore Tourism Board has been encouraging people to do just that with the campaign “Singapore Reimagined.” They’ve worked with Pinoy comedian Victor Anastacio on VicTour Singapore, a series of videos where he uncovers Singapore’s hidden gems. (Follow
Tiong Bahru on YouTube; go.gov. sg/victoursingapore.)
No tests, no quarantine
It’s easy to follow Victor’s footsteps around the Lion City with Singapore’s health and safety measures.
Fully vaccinated visitors are welcome—no need for entry approvals, predeparture tests, on-arrival tests or quarantine. All you need are your passport, proof of vaccination, tickets, arrival card, and the TraceTogether app. (Kids 12 and below don’t need to be fully vaccinated.)
At Yotel Singapore on Orchard Road, check-in was contactless via the self-service stations. And whenever I needed anything, be it extra towels or drinking water, robots Yoshi and Yolanda would deliver them to my room.
I didn’t spend a lot of time in my room, though—I was always out. It was easy to get around because whenever my feet complained about all the walking (we’re not used to it after being cooped up for so long!) or it got too hot, I just booked a Grab.
Over the next few days, I would do things that I’ve always loved doing in Singapore—go shopping on Orchard Road, have many hawker center meals, eat at Marché, go to Universal Studios, stuff my face with floss toast, laksa
and roti, try to find out just how many Milo dinosaurs one person can drink, buy an insane amount of Garrett Popcorn, visit my favorite neighborhoods. But I also explored and experienced it in ways I never have before.
That’s the beautiful thing about Singapore—it may feel like an old friend but it never gets old. How could it, when there are always new things to discover and enjoy there, no matter what your passions are, no matter how many times you’ve been before?
Here are my new Singapore firsts, all of which have become fast favorites that I can’t wait to do again:
Smashing bottles, breaking things
“Are you here because you’re angry or just for fun?”
That’s how the staff at The Fragment Room (490 MacPherson Road; thefragmentroom.com) greeted me.
“Both,” I answered, as I made my way into Singapore’s first rage room. I had booked a single package on their website—that meant I was putting on coveralls, safety boots, cut-proof gloves and a helmet with a visor so I could spend 40 minutes in a room breaking things.
I picked my tools of choice—I tried a bat, a hammer and a crowbar but the huge, heavy wrench was my favorite. They encouraged me to hook up my phone to their Bluetooth speaker so I could play my own music while I went on a rampage. Deap Vally, Juniore and Nicky Blitz blared away as I shattered beer bottles, plates, even a teapot.
You can pay extra to buy things like printers, TVs, old phones that you can wreck too, but the sound of breaking glass was so satisfying I decided to just get another crate of bottles so I could keep smashing.
It was a fantastic way to let off some steam. I walked out of that room feeling really good.
“See you tomorrow!” the staff joked as I left. I wish.
Croissant worth waking up early for
I usually choose sleep over breakfast (even fancy hotel breakfast) but I woke up early for Tiong Bahru Bakery’s (tiongbahrubakery.com) famous croissant. And it was totally worth getting up for. It was light, butculture
tery and so, so flaky. That morning, I ate way too many French pastries for one person—I also had a pain au chocolat and an eclair—and I have no regrets.
I went to the original bakery location at 56 Eng Hoon St., but the bakery (a collaboration between the Spa Esprit Group and French master baker Gontran Cherrier) now has branches in different parts of Singapore including Raffles City, Funan, TANGS Orchard, Scotts Square, Chip Bee Gardens and more.
Mini golf in a bar
Holey Moley Golf Club (3B River Valley Rd, Clarke Quay; holeymoley.com.sg) brings together four things I love: mini golf, pop culture, eating and drinking.
I had a blast playing all 27 holes (some of my favorites were the Willy Wonka-, E.T.-, Jaws-, and Monopoly-inspired ones). And when I was done, I grabbed a table and drank a delicious cocktail called Duck, Duck, Juice, which came in a little bathtub and had an actual rubber ducky floating in it. Oh, and the truffle fries were really good too.
Stalking cats
I went to both branches of Cat Socrates (448 Joo Chiat Road; 01-14, 78 Yong Siak Street; cat-socrates.myshopify.com) with one intention: to meet Zoozoo and Chestnut, the resident cats. No felines were spotted during my visits, not real ones anyway, but I still enjoyed. Cat Socrates stocks lovely creations by Singaporean artists, unique souvenirs, pretty home decor, interesting books, gardening stuff and cat-themed goodies, of course. It’s more than just a store, it’s a celebration of
and creativity.
Candlelight concert
Oh, this was magical. I bought a ticket for Fever’s Candlelight: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at SEA Aquarium in Sentosa and I’m so glad I did. Vocalise String Quartet played the Italian composer’s memorable concertos amidst what seemed like a million flickering candles and with the massive aquarium at the Ocean Gallery as a backdrop. It was such a treat for the senses, listening to the incredible music, feeling the rhythm and watching marine life swim by.
Fever holds Candlelight Concerts in other venues in Singapore as well, and if you’re not a fan of classical music, no worries, they’ve also had tributes to pop’s biggest names including Taylor
Swift, Adele, Coldplay, and yes, BTS. (Visit feverup.com/singapore/candlelight.)
Crab ‘bee hoon’
“Do you think I can eat all of it?” I asked the waitress at Long Ji Zi Char (253 Outram Road; longjizichar.getz.co) when she told me how big the crab was for the crab bee hoon I had just ordered, a dish usually shared by multiple people.
But I would end up demolishing that beautiful, meaty crab, which arrived at the table on a bed of delicious noodles in a milky, garlicky, flavorful broth. I washed down the meal with a huge bottle of Tiger beer.
I blame Kevin Kwan for my crab bee hoon craving and I thank Kevin Kwan for my crab bee hoon craving. It led to one of the most memorable meals I’ve had in recent memory.
Awfully Chocolate Milk
Kwan was also part of the reason I went to Awfully Chocolate (awfullychocolate.com), along with the fact that I cannot believe I’ve never been there before when it’s been a hit in Singapore for over two decades now (and has even expanded overseas).
I tried the Super Stacked Chocolate Cake at their VivoCity cafe, but it was the Awfully Chocolate Milk that blew my mind. Made with Awfully Chocolate’s 100 percent premium dark cocoa and Belgian chocolate and served in an adorable orb-like bottle, it is richer than rich and so, so good.
I loved it so much that I also went to their flagship store, Awfully Chocolate Bakery and Cafe
in Katong (131 East Coast Road) where they have chocolate on tap! I enjoyed their SG$25 dinner, which is great value for money. I chose the Warm Camembert and Pear Salad as my starter and the Ribeye Steak as my main. Loved the truffle fries that came with it, too. And of course, I had more chocolate milk.
Pretending to be an astronaut
I got to go to the moon and Mars (no need for Elon Musk), thanks to the Spacewalkers virtual reality experience at ArtScience Museum’s VR Gallery. This offering has closed but there’s still plenty to explore at the ArtScience Museum in Marina Bay Sands (marinabaysands. com/museum) including Futureworld, a great experience for both kids and adults.
If you loved Borderless (which is closing in August, by the way) and Planets in Tokyo or if you’ve looked at all those photos on Instagram with envy, here is another great chance to enjoy the work of TeamLab. Play with the light balls, make your own hopscotch, add your drawing to the sketch aquarium, slide down the fruit field, watch flowers bloom beneath your feet, enter the crystal universe and find tranquility in the sanctuary. There’s also an “Attack on Titan” exhibit running until July.
Hunting down murals
Yip Yew Chong (yipyc.com) is a Singaporean artist who creates murals inspired by his childhood and the culture he grew up with. You can find them in different neighborhoods—Chinatown, Tiong Bahru, Kampong Gelam and more—and hunting down work will take you to corners of Singapore you haven’t seen before. That’s exactly what I did and I had a blast.
Take pictures of the murals and with them—many of them were created to be interactive, allowing visitors to be part of the picture with a strategically placed chair or by standing at the perfect spot. You can find maps on YC’s website, but for his more recent works, you’ll have to do more sleuthing. It’s fun, it’s almost like a treasure hunt.
Night at the Museum . . . of Ice Cream
Singapore has its own Museum of Ice Cream (100 Loewen Road, Dempsey; museumoficecream.com/singapore), the first one outside the United States. And when I discovered that they were offering a Night at the Museum experience, I said, “Heck yeah, I’m in,” and quickly booked a ticket.
I spent hours there, jumping on the bouncy castle, swinging on a banana, dancing in the mini disco, making my way through melted infinity, sticking a postcard on the wall, writing with magnets and diving into the pool of sprinkles, of course. I played games, made new friends (they have the best staff!) and I had so much fun I was the last visitor to leave that night (blame the gift shop).
You can go during the day, but I really recommend going at night. You’ll feel like a kid again, eat all the ice cream that you want (the taro ice cream wafer sandwich was my fave), but also get tipsy from the delicious Hendrick’s Gin cocktails they serve. It’s a triple win.
Exploring new neighborhoods
I vowed to explore new neighborhoods on this trip and I made good on that promise. I really loved my new discoveries in Tiong Bahru, Kampong Gelam, even Joo Chiat, Little India and Chinatown that I thought I already knew well.
I left at the end of the week knowing my Singapore adventures are far from over. There are always reasons to keep coming back.