I was fascinated by the quaint Peranakan enclave of Zhu Chiat with its historic two-story houses, restaurants and shops. The Peranakans are a mixed Chinese / Malay / Indonesian ethnic group whose culture is on display at the Intan Museum. There, the strange owner of Peranakan, Alvin Yap, served us tea, gave us an exquisite piano performance by You Raise Me Up and told us about his fascinating collection of 1,500 artifacts.
The food is even more remarkable now than when I first visited it, whether you’re struggling with sticky satay on the street or eating gourmet food on something with a Michelin star. Our vegetable lunch at the popular South Indian restaurant MTR was cheap and cheerful: mango lassi and spicy pancake with potatoes and onions; soup with tomatoes and lentils, then kesari bhath – semolina cake with cashews and saffron nuts. The bill was £ 12, including drinks.
Equally wonderful was our Michelin-starred, imaginatively imaginative Labyrinth dinner: a 12-course tasting menu that began with crab ice cream and included pork satay, chicken rice, fish soup with noodles, shrimp cocktail and sizzling scales. Our food was as inventive as the kitchen could be, each dish unusual and surprising (melting red candles turned out to be edible pillars of beef) and costing around £ 123 each without drinks.
When we visited Singapore in March, you could not drink alcohol after 10.30pm (one of the many restrictions on Covid after they were lifted); contact tracking and the rule of six still applied and we had to wear masks everywhere, including outside – although it was sticky 30 degrees with 90 percent humidity. Even getting there was difficult, with an administrative maze of flight-only applications and forms – although Covid’s rules have been relaxed since then.
The many remaining rules can be annoying. The signs in almost every toilet reminded me to let go of the chain, wash my hands, wear my mask: it was suddenly 1972 and I went back to school. But as the beggar Ben Gunning told me, “Yes, there are a lot of crazy rules, but they never really apply, so it’s all a bit of a cosmetic exercise.”
Our last stop before returning was MO Bar Mandarin Oriental, recognized last year as one of the 50 best bars in the world and Asia. As a small act of rebellion, I ordered the most powerful drink on the menu – a cocktail based on absinthe with crazy punch.
I was pleasantly embarrassed when we entered the icy air conditioner at Changi Airport. As we lined up at check-in, I felt liberated, as if I had just spent two days under the watchful eye of a strained aunt. At home, I planned to play uncommunicatively loud music and walk around my house naked with impunity. Maybe even leave the chain red. But not until we took off …
Basic things
Mandy Appleyard was a guest on the Singapore Tourism Board and stayed at Parkroyal Collection Pickering, where prices start at around £ 150 a night. For more information on Singapore, visit visitsingapore.com
Covid rules
All travelers over the age of 12 must show proof of full vaccination
Add Comment