Dining in Singapore

[BBMacLaird]

Our guest blogger, Ann Tran, has written this week about visiting Singapore during Chinese New Year.

Like my lasting impression of disembarking our ship in Singapore, the food is what I remember most...I still dream of the black pepper crab we ate outdoors one evening! I think I'd return to Singapore just for the food :hearteyes:

 

What do you remember most of Singapore? If you haven't been, what do you want to do in Singapore?

 

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/blog/singapore-and-celebrating-chinese-new-year

[upwarduk]

Impressed

The beautiful Changi airport, which had just been opened in January 2008.

Flying on the new A380 to Australia.

The cleanliness and lack of graffiti, especially in the underpasses, due to the massive fines.

The massive numbers of bankers who were eating by the river during their lunch break.

 

Not over impressed.

The poor quality of the Singapore Sling at Raffles hotel. The drink we were given on Singapore Airlines was stronger.

[BBMacLaird]

Impressed

The beautiful Changi airport, which had just been opened in January 2008.

Flying on the new A380 to Australia.

The cleanliness and lack of graffiti, especially in the underpasses, due to the massive fines.

The massive numbers of bankers who were eating by the river during their lunch break.

 

Not over impressed.

The poor quality of the Singapore Sling at Raffles hotel. The drink we were given on Singapore Airlines was stronger.

 

Hi upwarduk, I agree with you about the Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel. Many years ago (sometime in the 90s) I loved the whole Singapore Sling experience. This past experience though was very disappointing.

The drink was weak, it cost about $20 per drink, and the only place we found to order one was at a courtyard cafe in the hotel, sitting on metal chairs. They no longer allowed non-staying guests to stroll into the hotel. Perhaps if we had been on a tour we could have gone into the hotel?

My husband had never been to Singapore so it was a real let-down.

Has anyone else found a way to enjoy a better Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel lately? I ask because perhaps we just made bad choices?

[vada_9]

Hi upwarduk, I agree with you about the Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel. Many years ago (sometime in the 90s) I loved the whole Singapore Sling experience. This past experience though was very disappointing.

The drink was weak, it cost about $20 per drink, and the only place we found to order one was at a courtyard cafe in the hotel, sitting on metal chairs. They no longer allowed non-staying guests to stroll into the hotel. Perhaps if we had been on a tour we could have gone into the hotel?

My husband had never been to Singapore so it was a real let-down.

Has anyone else found a way to enjoy a better Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel lately? I ask because perhaps we just made bad choices?

 

Sad to say - no. we were there in 2013 and we could go to the Long Bar - peanut shells on the floor and all. I thought $50 Singapore should cover 2 drinks, but alas no - think it was about $70 or $80 with taxes etc. And to add insult they poured them out of a premade jug (just like cordial). The ones on Singapore Airlines are far superior and included in your fare.

[vada_9]

To add to my above post re food - we also had afternoon/high tea at Raffles and this was excellent.

 

Recently on television we have had a show "Destination Flavour -Singapore" with chef Adam Liaw and he has been going everywhere from Hawker stalls to 5 star restaurants and almost everywhere he showcases has something I want to try from a tomato dish at Jaan, Samosas in Little India, Chili crab and a desert place that looks out of this world.

[Cedricandsophie]

We were on a crystal ship in march that disembarked at Singapore. We had an overnight and after a day tour of the city took the cable car from directly outside the port to the island Sentosa. We walked around the island and went to the top of the giant lion statue. Fab views. By the time we took it back it was dark and the view of the city was incredible. We took the cable car to the end and then back to the stop at the port. A wonderful experience.

 

 

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[ceba]

Our guest blogger, Ann Tran, has written this week about visiting Singapore during Chinese New Year.

Like my lasting impression of disembarking our ship in Singapore, the food is what I remember most...I still dream of the black pepper crab we ate outdoors one evening! I think I'd return to Singapore just for the food :hearteyes:

 

What do you remember most of Singapore? If you haven't been, what do you want to do in Singapore?

 

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/blog/singapore-and-celebrating-chinese-new-year

We'll be there in Dec just finishing up the Spice route itinerary. Where do you get the black pepper crab? Sounds wonderful!

[Grandma Cruising]

The thing I remember most was the visit we took to the night zoo. We didn't book a tour, we used public transport, which meant taking two buses - quite an adventure, and the night zoo was great too.

Overall Singapore wasn't our favourite city - too clean and clinical, although we did enjoy walking around Little India and Chinatown, both areas had more atmosphere than the rest.

 

 

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[DavidTheWonderer]

I've never done a cruise to Singapore, but have spent a few weeks there. I adore Singpore, and choosing just one thing is difficult. But, my choice is Gardens by the Bay. The Cloud Forest there is spectacular. For people from temperate climates, the companion Flower Dome is less interesting since much of the display is things we live with. But it is still worth the trip. And then there is a lovely outdoor set of hawkers stands a few hundred yard walk from the Cloud Forest and Flower Dome. The area overlooks the water and has the usual great hawker food one finds all over Singapore.

[Food galore]

Love Singapore so clean and enjoyed getting the hop on hop off buses,the river cruise visiting Raffles Hotel and going to the top of the Marine Sands Hotel for their wonderful view. Staying in Singapore next year after one of your cruises and hope to visit a few more places we missed out on our first visit. Any ideas gratefully received.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

What I remember most was the great street food. Everything is so clean, that all this wonderful food is safe. Chinatown, the Arab quarter of Kampong Glam, Gardens by the Bay, the Botanical Gardens, lots of great stuff.

 

But the food, that's what I remember, both street and otherwise. Wonderful!

[BBMacLaird]

We'll be there in Dec just finishing up the Spice route itinerary. Where do you get the black pepper crab? Sounds wonderful!

 

I believe you'll find it almost anywhere; on the menu with the signature chili crab.

[wripro]

My one piece of advice is to go to as many Hawker Centers as possible and try everything.

[DavidTheWonderer]

The hop-on hop-off bus is supposed to be pretty nice, although I've never taken it. However, unless you're just there for a couple of hours, learning to use their subway system is really easy. It is cheap, reliable, and will get you almost anywhere you want to be.

[DavidTheWonderer]

Any ideas gratefully received.

 

The Asian Civilisation Museum is terrific. I've been there twice and still only scratched the surface. From there, you can walk across the Singapore river bridge to the Fullerton Hotel, which is at least as swanky as Raffles but not nearly as touristy. Continue walking along the river and there is a large variety of more reasonably priced places along the waterfront to eat.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

My one piece of advice is to go to as many Hawker Centers as possible and try everything.

 

Yes, I should have been clearer about that when I mentioned street food. The hawker centres are all over the place, and the food varied and good. There's one at Gardens by the Bay--we had the chili crab there.

 

The Asian Civilisation Museum is terrific. I've been there twice and still only scratched the surface. From there, you can walk across the Singapore river bridge to the Fullerton Hotel, which is at least as swanky as Raffles but not nearly as touristy. Continue walking along the river and there is a large variety of more reasonably priced places along the waterfront to eat.

 

Yes. Those restaurants along the left side of the river (as you look upriver) are fairly touristy, but it's still possible to get a nice meal there, and there are great outdoor patios all along the river.

[Trend]

We enjoyed Dim Sum at Din TA Fung in a very clean Mall near the Ritz Carlton. The open kitchen let you view this detailed method of creating each unique morsal.

The Singapore Zoo was excellent as the monkeys are walking around like the tourists and feeding the giraffe.

[aussie travel bird]

Just to add in relation to transport to the zoo, whilst public transport is a bit tricky and time consuming, consider a taxi. They are CHEAP. At Christmas time on our Journey cruise we got a taxi to the zoo from the old cruise terminal (Singapore cruise centre), for approx A$18-20 (for the four of us). It took 35 minutes as opposed to 1.5 hours by MTR and bus. Metered taxi's to the airport are much cheaper than the quote A$55 for a fixed price taxi too.