{"id":479,"date":"2023-10-12T11:32:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-12T10:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.wordpress.com\/?p=479"},"modified":"2024-12-09T03:39:33","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T03:39:33","slug":"one-day-in-singapore-that-felt-like-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/12\/one-day-in-singapore-that-felt-like-three\/","title":{"rendered":"One Day in Singapore (That Felt Like Three)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Activity level: \ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modes of transportation: \ud83d\ude97\ud83d\udc5f\u26f4\ufe0f \ud83d\ude8a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Singapore is a city known around the world for its cuisine, especially its street food in food stall centers called \u201chawker\u201d stands. It just sort of turned out that we booked a hotel right next to 3 of the 5 best hawker stands in the city, so we were able to just walk out of our hotel and eat at some of the best food in Singapore (the night before, we went to one of the most famous in the city by pure chance, but the best stalls were closed).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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First up, we wanted to try one of Singapore\u2019s classics: chicken and rice. It\u2019s deceptively simple: roasted or poached (if hainanese style) chicken over fragrant rice, often with some greens and a savory sauce over the top. It\u2019s just one of those really simple foods done right, and chefs from around the world come to try it. Specifically, many of the best stalls have pictures with Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsey, who have left great reviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First stop was in the Maxwell stand right out of our hotel (where we ate last night) for Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken, which always boasts a line. The chicken was flavorful with a special house-made sauce, but the rice was even better. We tried a place next door, Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken, which was also delicious and very similar, though the rice was even more flavorful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Next, we wanted to switch things up and be more adventurous, so we tried an oyster patty at Maxwell Fuzhou Oyster Cake, which was some sort of beans and oysters fried in a patty. It was very crispy and pretty good, and we both enjoyed it. Sarah also got a coconut to drink, and they opened it up for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Oysters in patty form\u2014better than they look!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At that point, we had basically had enough of first lunch, and went to a nearby tea house called Silk. We didn\u2019t realize just what we were getting into\u2014it reminded Eric of a craft brewery or winery. The bar was empty (we were early in the day) so we grabbed the best table in the house. We ordered the \u201cdo it yourself\u201d option, and the server sat with us and taught us how to make the tea, as well as where it came from and what notes we should be tasting at different stages of the process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We ordered the 2022 shuixian and the white peony \u2018top grade\u2019. The two teas turned out to be an excellent contrast to try.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Here’s the process: first, you smell the leaves and heat up the pots and cups. Then, you rinse the leaves and smell again. Then, you steep (very quickly: 3-15 seconds) before pouring into the decanter. Then, you pour a little into the glasses and drink. There are about 5 rounds of this before the leaves are done, so you just repeat this methodical process for an hour and a half. We tried two different teas, both amazing in their own way (and Eric isn\u2019t much of a tea drinker).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Notice the cute pumpkin themed teapot\u2014all the tea ware was hand made by a local Singaporean artist. We wish we could have taken some home.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We took turns preparing the tea after our server showed us all 7 of the steps.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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See our snail friend in the back. Each table came with a little figurine. We\u2019re not entirely sure what the snail is for, but we were instructed to share our excess water and tea with him.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After that, we headed over to another of the famous hawker stands in China Town. This one had way more stalls, and was overwhelming. Eric looked for some recommended stalls, but couldn\u2019t find them, so he spent a while just wandering around. We ate at \u201cHawker Chan\u201d (formerly Liang Fan Soya Rice and Chicken), famously the first hawker to end up with a Michelin star (and the chicken and rice is only about $3 US). Unfortunately, it lost its star in 2020, but it\u2019s still a Michelin recommended stand. This was probably our favorite chicken, but Eric thinks that we had better rice earlier\u2014though the savory sauce on top of it was delicious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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First Michelin restaurant of the day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sarah got some dessert soup, which was hot almond milk with sesame\/bean filled dumplings (best thing all day!) and fried dough since she wasn\u2019t too hungry, and Eric went off in search of more stands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Eric figured out how to read the map, and found some highly recommended steamed dumplings at Zhong Guo La Mian Xiao Long Bao (also Michelin recommended), which were amazing with their ginger vinegar. He also ordered a mango smoothie and some braised beef hot pot, which were both excellent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Best dumplings in the market!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We both wanted to see some of the city, so we sped out of there back to our hotel to change before heading out for a river tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We were in a rush since we only had today to explore Singapore, but we stopped to admire the bonsai trees along the temples.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We ended up having to speed walk about 20 minutes to ensure that we caught the 5:00 PM boat tour, so we were sweating pretty heavily in the 90 degree heat by the time we made it. Turns out, the boats run horribly late, and we didn\u2019t need to run at all. Luckily, we did stop to get a really good-looking almond croissant on the way (accepting the risk of missing the boat cruise. It just looked so good.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We sprinted for 15 minutes in 100\u00b0F weather to catch the boat, but grabbing the croissant was worth it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The tour was cool, though not too long. Our digital tour guide was pretty interesting, and definitely gave us a flavor of the city, culture, and government. Sarah loved the views of the skyline and various skyscrapers\u2014especially the one that looks like a big boat on top three towers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The boat tour was an automated guide. It gave some interesting and dark facts about the history of Singapore, including pointing out a nearby municipal building that used to be a war prison (that tortured people?)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The restaurant at the top of the boat tower is called C\u00e9 La Vie. Our hotel almost convinced us to go, but we were pretty limited in time. We\u2019ll have to come back for it!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After that, we decided we had just enough time to check out the \u201cGardens By the Bay\u201d, a garden with futuristic tree-like sculptures and forests of local greenery. We did the self-guided tour, which was free, and gazed at the sculptures from the ground. We kept going the wrong way on the way back, ending up in the wrong side of a small lake\u2014but again, we made it back to our hotel in time to get ready for dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Gardens of the giant Supertrees was spectacular. We ended up getting lost on our way out, but that allowed us to see them with the sunset.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Weird baby statue.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dinner was at a Michelin star restaurant named Candlenut, as recommended by Zoe, a friend of Eric\u2019s from college who lived in Singapore for three years. It ended up being a marathon of food that left us both satisfied, but so full we could barely walk out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We ended up lost near a lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The food was world class and interesting. It\u2019s amazing how tiny little bites can add up and make you so full.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We ordered wine and they let Eric try it, even though Sarah is the expert there. Eric offered it to her and she said: \u201cI trust you\u201d but that was a mistake. He knew it was \u201cbold\u201d as the waiter suggested, but it was maybe too bold. Oh well, it was too late. It ended up turning out well, since it did end up pairing well with the heavy dishes to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We started with four appetizers that were fancy versions of common Peranaken dishes (mixed of Singaporean, Malaysian, and Indonesian cuisines, among many). Each was delicious. The chef and waiters also explained every dish in great depth, but it was so much information that we couldn\u2019t keep track of it all. We need a full course on Asian cuisine before going back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lots of great food\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The soup course was an amazing beef soup called buah keluak, which looked very similar to gumbo. It even had a lot of the same flavors, though it used 40-day fermented buah keluak paste as the base to impart richness instead of a roux. Apparently, those nuts cause dizziness and fainting if they\u2019re not prepared properly. According to Zoe, it\u2019s a hard dish to find in a restaurant, so we\u2019re glad we got to try it (and didn\u2019t pass out)!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, we had five different entrees\u2014and Sarah, thoroughly full, panicked because she thought those were just more appetizers with the main course to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And a great date!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For dessert, we had three classic dishes, and they even threw in a celebratory mini-cake since it was our honeymoon. We could barely eat another bite by the time we left\u2014possibly due to our late lunch. But either way, we had a great time and a memorable experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Looking at each other wondering how we\u2019re going to finish the complimentary dessert after all of that.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sarah and Eric do too much for their own good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-singapore","tag-singapore"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3527,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479\/revisions\/3527"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahanderictraveltheworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}