4 Days in Singapore - Itinerary and Food Report
In January, we went to Singapore for 3 days to not only see BTS live, but also to eat our faces off. Despite being so pumped for the trip, I didn’t expect to love Singapore as much as I did.
I’ve never seen a city so at one with nature; my first impression of Singapore was just how green it all was. Tropical, colorful, and very hot, Singapore is vividly imprinted in my memory.
Unlike my other itinerary and food reports, this one won’t include super specific info on where we ate, just the names of the foods we tried and the hawker centers we went to. Really, you can’t go wrong with where you eat in Singapore. There’s an incredible mix of Malay, Indian, Chinese and British influence into the food and culture, and pretty much anywhere you go will have a diversity of options.
NAVIGATION
Itinerary
Saturday: Arrived, Old Airport Road hawker center, BTS concert (!!)
Sunday: Old Airport Road hawker center (again), Little India, Sri Veeramakaliamman, Arab Street, Masjid Sultan, Chinatown, Sri Mariamman, Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, Maxwell Food Center, Prudential Marina Bay Carnival, Marina Bay Light Show
Monday: Lau Pa Sat hawker center, kaya toast at Esplanade Mall, Marina Bay Sands, The Shoppes at Marina Bay, Gardens by the Bay, the Merlion, Makansutra Gluttons Bay
Tuesday: Old Airport Road again, left for airport
DAY-BY-DAY BREAKDOWN
Day 1: Stuff your Face
It was a grueling flight. We planned to board at 10pm, when my friend realized at the airport that she forgot her passport at home. She had to stay behind to catch another plane later that morning, but my other friend and I went on.
We got to Malaysia around 4am, and spent the next three hours in the layover-from-hell, which involved lines and running and more lines. I barely made my transfer.
But we made it! By noon my friend and I were out of the airport and at our airbnb near the stadium. We freshened up and practically ran to the nearest hawker center, which would soon become our favorite—Old Airport Road.
Pastries, sausages, stir fries, curries, dumplings and coffee and roasted chicken over rice. We picked the first option that looked good—a sort of chili stir fry for me and a gravy noodle dish for him—and melted into our seats, overjoyed. Then we hit up round 2.
By that time, I was ready to head over to the stadium to prepare for the BTS concert.
I made a “vlog” about BTS (here) if you’re super curious about what the concert was like, but it’s not good. Mostly just clips of me screaming as they walk by. Suffice to say, it was a crazy good concert. Except, I did get super sick from heat exhaustion. But still. Worth it!
MY FAVORITE EATS:
Old Airport Road - a hawker center near our hotel. We tried stir fried noodles, dumplings and iced coffee
Day 2: dive into diversity
Still reeling from the concert, we started the day late and lazy at the nearby Old Airport Road hawker center. Then we began our tour of Singapore itself.
We first went to Little India and took lots of videos of its colorful buildings, stopping to window shop and grab ice cream. We grabbed a curry lunch since my friend had never tried Indian curry (!!) before, then walked over to Arab Street, where we got henna and quietly walked through the Masjid Sultan, which is any and every adjective that equates to “awe-inspiring.”
On we went—this was a long day. We checked off the list: Chinatown and Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. We’d arrived the week before Chinese New Years, so decor was just starting to be put up. A hindu parade passed us by, stopping at Sri Marimman. Coming from Korea, which is one of the (or maybe the most) homogeneous nations on Earth, we were surprised and pleased to see so much diversity in one place.
After a breather at a cafe in Chinatown, we ate at the nearby Maxwell Food Center and grabbed a taxi to the bay. We rode a few rides at the carnival, watched the light show, and sat by the water, chatting softly.
MY FAVORITE EATS:
Old Airport Road - We tried Hainanese roasted duck rice. They also had a chicken version. Both come drenched in hoisin-y sauce with broth soup and hot sauce on the side
Chettynad Curry Palace - South Indian place in Little India; we had their chicken curry. I thought it was pretty good, though our food was a little cold
Maxwell Food Center - My favorite of the trip: prawn laksa. It was a thick, hearty stew with giant prawns and fish cake. It wasn’t spicy, but salty and delicious. My friend tried carrot cake, which was also a favorite of ours
Chinatown - street food, but in particular you can get durian, the smelly but maybe-delicious fruit. We tried durian ice cream, which I liked the more I ate it.
Day 3: Marina bay and Satay
We headed out bright and early to Lau Pa Sat, a famous and very well-established hawker center near the bay. We ate our own individual brunch choices, then walked over to Esplanade mall, where we got some kaya toast, then headed out to spend the day by the bay.
First, we checked out Marina Bay Sands, the giant hotel. We just walked through the lobby, hoping that one day we’ll be rich enough to come back and stay a night.
Next to do was Gardens by the Bay, where we took tons of pictures and admired the incredible greenery. The domes are actually air conditioned, so I got a bit chilly. We took a break at the cafe inside, then continued onto informational exhibits. We spent hours in there, watching the steam roll over meters and meters of vegetation. Educational and pretty, the gardens can do it all.
When we’d had enough, we stopped by the Shoppes at Marina Bay to grab an afternoon beer. We watched the sun set on the bay after stuffing our faces with a dinner of chili crab and curry at the Makansutra Gluttons Bay hawker center. Our last major tourist checkpoint, we admired the Merlion before returning to our airbnb.
MY FAVORITE EATS:
Lau Pa Sat - I had an eggy beef rice with hot sauce, and while it wasn’t my favorite meal of the trip, I weirdly crave for it. I think about it all the time! My friends chose to get Bak Kut Teh (pork bone broth soup), and let me try a taste. It was SO flavorful.
Kaya toast - Okay, I feel obligated to put this here, but I think where we got it (Esplanade Mall) was not great. Or, at least, I think I didn’t really know what kaya toast was and my expectations were different. Don’t laugh at me but I wasn’t expecting all the butter. Still, good cultural experience. And the jam was amazing.
Makansutra Gluttons Bay - Prepare to spend a pretty penny on chili crab. Worth it. And the little rolls? *chefs kiss*
Day 4: Lor mee please
At long last, our journey in Singapore was done. Our flight was at like 2pm or something, so we had time to grab a last breakfast at…you guessed it, Old Airport Road.
MY FAVORITE EATS:
新美香卤面 Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee - Michelin starred stall at Old Airport. Lor Mee has stewed meat, garlic, vinegar, red pepper, and eggs. Has a fishy taste
Hong Kong egg tart - also readily available at a stall in Old Airport Road, flakey and delicious
Wrap-up: The must-eats
These were my favorite places and eats in Singapore, but there’s so many hawker centers and foods we didn’t try. Unlike Hong Kong or Japan, where I researched heavily where to go before I went, Singapore is a place you can just waltz in and pick whatever looks good.
But the classic foods to try are:
Chili crab
Kaya toast
Bak Kut Teh (pork bone broth soup)
Satay
Laksa
Anything with prawns
Carrot cake (not a cake, a stir fry dish)
Thanks for reading!