We took a spontaneous road trip to Singapore a few weekends ago for a four day three night trip just to get a bit of change of scenery. Singapore is as we all know completely safe and sanitised and no one adores Singapore as much as Singaporeans do 😅 Anyhow, these are some highlights of what one can do in a short stay here.

Eating

We had hearty western brunch meals at Common Man Coffee Roasters in Joo Chiat, and at Wild Honey in Mandarin Gallery. In Common Man Coffee Roasters the vegetarian breakfast was substantial and tasty – sauteed mushrooms, avocadoes, tomatoes, roasted cheese and scrambled eggs. I really liked the laid back, Sunday afternoon ambiance, how the veggies were spiced and the knowledgeable service of staff. Also a perfect place to fuel up before scouring through the streets of Joo Chiat.

In Wild Honey in Mandarin Gallery, there was an open and uplifting design to the place – the huge windows overlooking Orchard Road, and an almost loft-studio vibe to the space. Its an all day breakfast menu so we chose to have poached eggs wrapped in smoked salmon over dinner 😅

Breakfast at Zam Zam restaurant in Little India is almost like a pilgrimage visit for many of Singapore’s northern neighbour. A family owned restaurant established way back in 1908, and now run by their 5th generation – it is a regional treasure for their biryanis and murtabaks. We had their chicken murtabak and teh tarik which is just the bomb. This place is food you can only get here in Little India, Singapore.

Walking and looking

Singapore has upscaled its more authentic neighbourhoods in the past decade or more and this has really added more character to their streets. We explored Little India, Joo Chiat, Kampong Glam and Haji Lane and it was a walk for the ‘Gram really. Colourful facade, boujie hipster cafes, shops galore.

Shopping

My favourite shopping street is in Joo Chiat and my recommended shops are updated here. my My favourite shop on Orchard Street is Design Orchard – a store hosting artisan products from beautiful homewares to contemporary fashion. It’s located on the same side as Marriot at Tangs Plaza and across from Mandarin Gallery. Photo Phactory in particular, has beautifully designed souvenirs mainly accent pieces for the house.

Staying at Marriot Tangs on Orchard Road and The Vagabond Club in Little India.

Orchard Road is the Oxford Street of London, Jalan Bukit Bintang of Kuala Lumpur, Ploenchit-Chitlom of Bangkok… basically the shopping paradise for lovers of global brands whether high street or designer. Of course there are merits in staying at a property on this road- good coffee, boujie meals, endless shopping at your doorstep. But we are just at an age where this strikes us as exceptionally boring. If we wanted this experience we didn’t have to travel to Singapore it is available in most cities in the world. So we were glad we only did one night here and did the usual spiel of lunching alfreso at Crossroads Cafe, some window shopping at Takashimaya, Mandarin Gallery (second hand Chanels are twice the price you can get from KL) and Design Orchard.

The Vagabond Club however offered something unique to the city. Not only is the aesthetic set up distinctive (I’ve updated some photos of the interiors here) it is also a 5 minute walk to all the delicious food and historical architecture in Little India and Arab Street. We definitely enjoyed our stay here, and particularly our novel and ostentatiously designed room compared to the generic and colourless room in the Marriot.

Final Words

It was three full days of walking through these old gentrified neighbourhoods and just about enough time for us. Singapore is a city-state that we have holidayed at countless times throughout the decades and every return is usually more about the re-exploration of places already seen and activities done, and less about new exciting discoveries. Many say Dubai and Singapore have a similar vibe but apart from the clean and orderly framework I can’t say I agree. There is a flamboyant, diverse and organic chaos to Dubai’s truly cosmopolitan population which makes up for its greedy and capitalistic architecture that Singapore’s tepid smugness unfortunately doesn’t have. We left happy that we took long walks in famous localities though with no real plans of returning soon.