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I've always wanted to visit Singapore. It seemed beautiful, delicious, cosmopolitan, and well-organized. I had stopped at the airport but had never made the time to explore the city.

In September 2022, on my way back from India on Singapore Airlines, I extended my layover in Singapore for a few days. Luckily, a quick Google search showed that the New York Times had published a 36-hour guide to Singapore in 2018. Perfect. I decided to follow this itinerary.

TLDR: Following the NYT itinerary led to an essentially fun and fuss-free trip. One caveat was that the itinerary required a few tweaks and was jam-packed. As a result, it was ultimately too much for me to complete in 36 hours.

Friday- Arriving in Singapore was so convenient:

I flew into Singapore on a Friday morning, taking an almost empty Singapore Airlines flight from Cochin, India, to Singapore that arrived around 7 am in Singapore. Landing in India usually involves extensive paperwork, confusing signs, dealing with broken technology, dodging scammers, and waiting a long time to clear customs, grab baggage, get a SIM card, exchange money, and exit the airport.

In contrast, landing in Singapore felt like landing in the modern world. The airport was clean and easy to navigate. I quickly picked up a local sim using my passport and credit card. I went through customs by filling out an electronic form on an app and scanning my passport at a terminal with a scanner.

I was surprised there was no Uber or Lyft in Singapore; instead, there were local Singapore equivalents. I quickly signed up for one of the transportation options by linking my credit card. This also served as an electronic payment system that I could use to pay for public transportation and other goods and services.  

Exploring Telok Ayer - history meets modern restaurants

The NYT guide suggested visiting Telok Ayer Street around 5 pm on Friday. Telok Ayer is a historic neighborhood first populated by Chinese immigrants.

I landed on Friday morning and checked in to the SO/Singapore (now known as the Hotel Telegraph). To my pleasant surprise, my hotel was within a 5-minute walk of Telok Ayer. After settling in, I walked around the Telok Ayer neighborhood, taking in the historic temples, parks, and lively bars and restaurants.

This area was significant for me, as a South Indian, because I didn’t realize that many South Indians had settled in Singapore, along with Chinese immigrants. It was neat to visit an area that had Indian temples and mosques along with Buddhist shrines.

At the same time, these historical sites bordered trendy restaurants. I saw numerous friends and colleagues grabbing drinks to celebrate the end of the workweek.

Here’s where I started to deviate from the NYT’s recommendations. The NYT recommends heading to the local street food market, Lau Pa Sat, at 7 pm, a few minutes walk from Telok Ayer Street. Then, around 9 pm, the NYT recommends returning to Telok Ayer Street to grab a drink at one of the many fashionable bars and restaurants.

However, I decided to get dinner and a drink around Telok Ayer street rather than return to the area after heading to Lau Pa Sat.

I had dinner at a trendy dumplings restaurant. It seemed cute, yummy, popular, and lively without being loud. Unfortunately, despite good Google map reviews and a beautiful aesthetic, the food was not notable. I ordered the original dumplings, the crabmeat dumplings, the dessert dumplings, and a passion fruit ginger mocktail. The original dumplings and mocktail were fine, but nothing to write home about.

The crabmeat dumplings were a little too fishy for my taste, but that was a reoccurring problem for me. I suspect my palette is not quite calibrated to the local cuisine. The dessert dumplings were excellent. They were filled with sauteed pears and cream and topped with ice cream. I devoured the dessert dumplings.

Trying street food at Lau Pa Sat

Feeling a little tired, I headed to my hotel across the street from Lau Pa Sat.

When I got to Lau Pa Sat, I was floored by the scene in front of me. When I left around 5 pm, merchants were just setting up, and the streets were empty. When I returned around 9 pm, the road was full of people enjoying street food with friends and family. Vendors had their grills fired up, and the street smelled of charcoal smoke and grilled meats.

The more enormous food hall was teeming with people eating street food from all parts of Asia - from grilled snails, Singaporean garlic crab, and Indian naan and curry, just to name a few options.

There were many virtually identical satay stands, and I wasn’t sure which to pick. A quick search on Google maps and Tripadvisor recommended Satay stand 7 & 8. I took my spot in line and convinced the merchant to sell me an extra small combo order of chicken, beef, and prawn satays – I wasn’t that hungry.

There was a 30-minute wait to get the satays, so I wandered around the indoor food hall, watching people eat all sorts of meals. Finally, I returned to the satay stand at the appointed time and paid for my meal in cash (SGD 8 about $6). These stalls only accept cash or one of the Singaporean electronic payment methods.

 I sat on the steps of my hotel, watching the crowd before me and enjoying my late-night snack.

I love street food festivals, especially Asian food festivals, so I was delighted to enjoy the food and watch the crowds before me. The satay stands are set up on weekend evenings, but the food hall is open daily from mid-day to late at night.

I also realized that the NYT was right. It might have been better to eat better and cheaper food at Lau Pa Sat and then return to Telok Ayer for drinks.

I eventually wandered inside my hotel and headed to bed. I was thrilled that though the hotel was across from the lively market, my hotel and room were utterly soundproof. As soon as I stepped into the narrow hotel, the noise melted away.

I was also thrilled to use the hot rainfall shower resembling the Jewel waterfall at Singapore’s Changi International Airport. Coming from India, where hot showers, let alone hot rainfall showers, are scarce, I was delighted to take a luxurious shower. I climbed into my large king-sized bed and closed the black-out curtains before easily drifting to sleep.

Saturday:

Thanks to the hot shower, plush bed, and blackout curtains, I awoke the following day after sleeping about 10 hours. This is highly unusual for me since I usually sleep 6-7 hours. I dressed for the day and had a light complimentary breakfast at my hotel of dumplings. I then did a bit of work before mapping to the next NYT-recommended destination.

Exploring the historical and colorful East Coast Neighborhood

The NYT suggested that visitors head to the East Coast Neighborhood. Google Maps recommended taking a bus that was a short 5-minute walk away. Though Singapore has a clean and convenient metro system called the MRT, I often prefer taking buses to see more of the city. The bus ride from my hotel to the East Coast Neighborhood took about 25 minutes. As the route went on, the scenery became much less glamorous and much more like other Asian cities I had seen. I was getting to a more thorough picture of Singapore.

The New York Times suggested three traditional breakfast options - one was a bakery that offered buns with butter and jam. The other two options served a hearty fish noodle soup called Laksa. I decided to check out one of the soup locations, 328 Katong Laksa.

328 Katong Laksa was packed with local Singaporeans. I was surprised that there were no seemingly other foreigners despite the restaurant’s mention in the New York Times.

I ordered a soup and charcoal custard egg buns. I am a sucker for custard egg buns, and these were some of the best I’ve ever had - so creamy, perfectly sweet, piping hot, and uniquely flavored. I quickly placed another order.

I didn’t enjoy the Laksa as much because, again, my palette found the flavor too fishy; my tastes as opposed to the restaurant, given that local Singaporeans packed the place.

I looked at the New York Times itinerary and noticed that the next site the NYT recommended was closer to downtown and my hotel. I was surprised because the East Coast neighborhood seemed to be a charming historic neighborhood.

I decided to deviate from the NYT itinerary and get to know the neighborhood better. I wandered down the street and was amused by all the brightly colored buildings. I leisurely perused a souvenir shop and read about the neighborhood's history. The colorful area was home to upper-class Chinese immigrants known as Peranakan. The community featured colorful tile murals and single-family homes, and small apartment complexes.

The shop also had a map of a few notable places in the neighborhood, such as historic homes and the major church. I spent the afternoon walking down the street after street and checking out some notable homes from the map in the souvenir shop. The contrast between the many old-fashioned homes and numerous hip restaurants, cafes, and home decor stores struck me.

Halfway along my route, I noticed a fruit stall selling mangosteen, a favorite fruit in my native South India but one I’ve rarely seen elsewhere. My fruit-loving heart was skeptical that this precious fruit would still taste good though it was out of season. I bought a large pack for 8 SGD/$6 when I usually pay $25 for a small bag of mediocre mangosteen in the Chinese markets in Cupertino. I split open mangosteen with my hands, scooped out the delicious fruit, and greedily inhaled it. And then I ate ten more as I wandered through the neighborhood. My heart and stomach experienced a new sensation - being full of mangosteen. So good.

In considering my dinner options, I decided to head back closer to my hotel. Using Google maps as a guide, I picked a sushi place. I then attempted to take a bus to the restaurant but needed help. It took me a few minutes to reorient myself, but I successfully made it to the Bugis Cube, where my restaurant, Sushi Seizan, was located.

Omakase Sushi in Downtown Singapore

I chose Sushi Seizan because it seemed like a nice restaurant where I could order a la carte. Alas, upon arrival, I realized that the restaurant only offered gourmet omakase sushi. A la carte options were only available after ordering the omakase. The estimated cost was more than I usually spend on dinner, but I was tired and hungry, so I gave in.

In classic Singaporean style, the quiet 6-seater restaurant was seemingly no more than a few hundred feet; each diner sat in a row at the counter. The omakase was good but not the best I’ve had. The piece de resistance was something I accidentally ordered- grilled wagyu beef. Thin slices of beef were quickly grilled on rock salt and then dipped in a sauce with a raw egg. The wagyu beef was sublime and wet my appetite for future wagyu beef.

After dinner, I had grand plans of checking out a fancy cocktail bar, but by this time, I was wiped. I headed back to my hotel to get a good night’s sleep. Sleeping extensively is always a luxury I permit myself on vacation.

Read part II of this review of the Singapore itinerary here.

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