It’s the place where Gordon Ramsay went to take on the street chefs...
and lost. Ramsay is one of the world’s most decorated chefs and you would have thought that being in the world’s joint-most expensive city, in and amongst the hustle and bustle of skyscrapers, finance bigwigs and fine diners, he would have been right at home. But Singapore’s significantly high cost of living (it’s up there with Zurich) has worked in funny ways.
Supermarkets can be so expensive that locals prefer to eat out rather than at home for most of their meals. The cheap eats culture at hawker centres is part of Singaporean DNA and, as a result, the 120 food centres possess some gems. And as we found to be increasingly common, Michelin stars too.
Yes, you read that right. You can go to the world’s priciest city and have a Michelin-star meal for a few quid. It’s 11 years since Ramsay challenged hawker chefs in the Maxwell Centre – one of Singapore’s most famous eateries – to a cook-off, but little has changed.
At every meal time it feels like you are competing in an Easter egg hunt, trying to find the treasure before anyone else. The treasure can be whatever you want it to be. The food in Singapore is inspired by all their neighbours, and Thai, Indian, Korean and Malay tastes help their spectacular culinary scene thrive.
Lau Pa Sat is perhaps the most famous hawker centre, with tourists flocking to get their hands on world famous grub with a relaxed market atmosphere. But similarly brilliant food is available on almost every street corner, averaging between £3 and £6 per dish. Perfect for those looking to do Singapore on a budget.
Locally, the favourites are chicken rice (pretty much exactly what it says on the tin), chilli crab (be prepared to get your hands dirty), and satay chicken (be prepared to go back for more). Varied influences can lead to some weird and wacky dishes. Ais kacang – the Malay dessert which translates as ‘bean ice’ – is popular with the locals, but our group of Brits couldn’t stomach the mix of tastes, despite its colourful exterior.
The vibrant yet cheap food was my favourite takeaway – pardon the pun – from my trip to Singapore, where I learned that you can visit on a more modest budget and you do not need to splash out on the likes of the eye-popping Marina Bay Sands hotel. This spectacular metropolis, with incredible architecture and greenery everywhere (every newbuild has to dedicate 30% of its space to plants), is a joy to explore and easy to navigate. It is a fine city in many ways.
.. but more on that later.
Cycle tour We rose early to beat the heat of the sun and explored the city with a four-hour bike tour. Don’t worry, it’s not a four-hour workout, as there are numerous stops to take in the sights. From the busy Haji Lane to the Batman Building, from beautiful mosques to Raffles Hotel, it was the ideal way to see all the city’s key sights with a fun and knowledgeable tour guide.
(Historical Singapore Bike Tour, £47pp.) Getting around If you don’t fancy cycling, getting around the city cheaply is easy on the super-efficient underground network, the MRT. As a tourist, you can pick up travel cards which cost the equivalent of little over a tenner for up to three days at a time, no matter how many journeys you make.
Make your stay affordable We stayed at YOTEL, which offers affordable style. Singapore is the first of the brand’s Asian conquests, with Tokyo, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur to follow. Ours boasted a nice restaurant, Komyuniti, with live music on certain nights, an outdoor pool and even a robot delivering room service, making it perfect for those on a flying visit.
Double rooms start at around £118 a night. There is a big mall culture in Singapore and at YOTEL, you are based on Orchard Road, the epicentre of shopping in the city. Take in the views We might not have stayed in Marina Bay Sands, but you do still want to see it, for it is an exemplary piece of architecture.
In the afternoon we headed up to the financial district for a drink at Level33, a sky bar and the world’s highest microbrewery. We enjoyed spectacular views right across the bay. There is no minimum spend before 5pm and there are happy-hour prices.
Keep an eye out for these. Most places around the city will have special drink offers at different times of the day. A Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel would set you back around £18, but you can find much more affordable options elsewhere.
See the lights Doing Singapore on a budget does not mean staying at home in the evening. At Gardens by the Bay there are twice-nightly Garden Rhapsody light shows. Watch from the sidelines or directly underneath – it is an immersive experience not to be missed.
There is also a light and water show, Spectra, at the front of Marina Bay Sands and it is worth combining this with a trip to The Gardens for a magical and budget-friendly evening out. The Satay by the Bay hawker centre sorted our food needs. Talking of immersive experiences, the Future World exhibition (£17pp) in the ArtScience Museum is a favourite of influencers, and it’s easy to see why people of all ages love to visit, with a raft of digital and interactive installations.
Calm days out Singapore is more than just a big city with bright lights – it is made up of 64 islands. Popular island resort Sentosa can be reached by monorail, cable car or road, and has a raft of attractions. Perhaps most famous for Universal Studios, it also has a couple of beaches that are perfect for a day in the sun.
We visited Tanjong Beach and were among only four or five small groups there. The Botanic Gardens (free entry) is also worth half a day to explore, enjoying the plants and spotting wildlife in the rainforest. They also feature the National Orchid Garden (£8pp).
It’s a fine city One of the most overwhelmingly memorable things about Singapore is how clean it is. I can’t remember seeing a single piece of litter. That is mainly because there are huge fines for anyone who steps out of line, and the locals certainly don’t mess with the law.
We were told the police can be more lenient with tourists, but display good manners, abide by any obvious rules and clean up after yourself – and remember to clear your plates in the hawker centres. The perfect stopover Due to the small size of Singapore (about the same as Anglesey), you probably do not need more than four or five days to see everything. For me, it would be the perfect place for a stopover, thanks to the incredible culinary scene and architecture.
I ate more cuisines in four days than I probably did in the previous 12 months. And who’d have thought I’d have been eating Michelin-star chicken in a food centre? Book the holiday British Airways flies from Heathrow to Singapore starting at £564 return. ba.
com Rooms at the YOTEL hotel in Singapore start at around £118 a night room-only. Join the free YOTEL Club and get an extra 15% off. yotel.
com More info at visitsingapore.com.
