Six ways to experience Singapore like a local
There’s more to this south-east Asian country than neon-drenched Orchard Road, and we’ve got the proof with these brilliant ways to get under its skin
1. Stay in a shophouse
Chinatown has several historic shophouses which have been transformed into hotels, and one of our favourites is the KēSa House by The Unlimited Collection, a 60-room hotel in a row of lovingly-restored shophouses. Unexpected perks include a self-service laundry room and a communal kitchen – perfect for clients who fancy whipping up a Singapore sling to enjoy on the pretty communal terrace. Experience Travel Group offers a seven-night break at the Unlimited Collection Kesa House on a room-only basis, from £3,000 per person, including return flights from the UK; experiencetravelgroup.com
2. Enjoy afternoon tea, Singapore-style
Clients craving something other than identikit afternoon teas should head to the Pan Pacific Singapore, where the Local-inspired Afternoon Tea, served in the atrium, honours traditional Singaporean cuisine. Highlights include a chilli crab bun and a salted egg yolk yam puff. From £40 per person; panpacific.com
3. Book a food tour
Our favourite food-themed tours include those offered by Wok ’n’ Stroll, which cover everything from farm-to-table and street food to Singapore’s wet markets and behind the scenes of Crazy Rich Asians film locations. Alternatively, the Singapore Tourism Board’s website lists tours including a night time food tour of Geylang, an often-overlooked neighbourhood known for its street food; woknstroll.com.sg, visitsingapore.com
4. Island hop
It’s just a 15-minute ferry journey from Singapore’s Changi Point ferry terminal to Pulau Ubin, a tiny island once dotted with quarries (the granite was used for Singapore’s public housing). Today, the quarries are nature reserves, and the plants which thrive here were chosen because of their appeal to rare species such as the Mangrove Tree Nymph butterfly. Hiking and cycling trails (bikes can be hired near the pier) fan out across the island, which has fewer than 50 residents. It’s popular with locals, many of whom stay on campsites (there are no hotels). Pulau Ubin’s pièce de résistance is the Chek Jawa Wetlands, where six ecosystems converge; nparks.gov.sg
5. Swap street food for fine dining
At the Esplanade Mall’s Michelin-starred Labyrinth restaurant, Chef LG Han serves up what he describes as new Singaporean cuisine – dishes such as chilli crab with a chilli tomato ice cream and Hainanese chicken rice made with his grandmother’s sauce. Both the food and the décor (which includes his grandmother’s pans, nailed to the wall) are inspired by his childhood. It’s dining which doesn’t take itself too seriously – one course is served on a board resembling a hawker centre tabletop, complete with a reminder to return your tray. Clients can choose between £120 or £173 tasting menus; restaurantlabyrinth.com
6. Cycle the Rail Corridor
Singapore’s Rail Corridor is a 24-kilometre hiking and cycling route in the footprint of a former railway once used to shuttle goods to Malaysia. The route, which is easily broken down into stretches, connects Tanjong Pagar, in the south, to Kranji, in the north. Although it’s a magnet for local hikers and cyclists, it rarely gets crowded. Rewilding projects along the passage attract species such as the straw-headed bulbul (a bird species in decline in almost every other country apart from Singapore) and the Sunda pangolin. There’s an opportunity for a history fix too, by stopping to visit the former Bukit Timah railway station building – built in 1932, it’s now a visitor centre. Use a bike sharing app such as Hello Ride to get some wheels; railcorridor.nparks.gov.sg
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