“Singapore is Disneyland with the death penalty.” “Singapore is too dull.” “Are you sure you want to visit Singapore? It’s so sterile.”
My experience in Singapore couldn’t be further from the truth. I know Singapore isn’t without its fair share of problems and its planned and regulated to a tee, but you know what? From the moment we entered customs until we checked out of our hotel, Nishan and I were smitten with Singapore’s vibrancy, from the diverse neighborhoods to the heavenly food at every corner. Our most dystopian experience was at a place that rhymes with Faffles, but we’ll get to that later.
First, let’s talk about the food. Singapore is heralded as one of the best places on earth for food. I concur, a million times over. When we landed, Nishan and I rushed to our hotel to check in and then quickly walked ran to our first stop to grab dinner before they closed.
Gandhi Restaurant in Little India is a no-frills restaurant serving South Indian fare. Sit down, get a banana leaf, and they’ll serve you ladleful after ladelful of curry and dal. Say yes to it all because it is all delicious. My lamb curry, papad, rice, dal, and chicken curry brought me back to life after our flight from Thailand.
The next morning, we had lunch at what would become my favorite restaurant in Singapore: Ananda Bhavan. Specifically, the one on Syed Alwi Road in Little India. This casual vegetarian eatery is nearly always packed, and with good reason.
I got the Mysore masala thosai, served with sambar, dal, pickle, and chutney. Nishan got the South Indian set meal, served with rice, chapati, vegetables, parippu, sambar, puzikuzhambu, curd, pickle, rasam, thuvaiyal, appalam, vadai, and payasam. We struggled to finish our heavy breakfasts, but since then, nothing has come close to replicating the flavor of this meal. Believe me, I’ve tried. Consider this my love poem to the cooks at Ananda Bhavan. Ananda Bhavan, if you’re reading this, will you consider publishing a cookbook? Us plebeians outside of Singapore wistfully long for your sustenance.
Afterwards we walked it off at Singapore’s most famous attraction: the Gardens by the Bay. It really is larger than life and with views of the Marina Bay Sands and the entire city as you walk through the park.
Next we headed to the iconic Raffles Hotel. You know, the home of the Singapore Sling yadda yadda yadda. We had a drink at their Long Bar but mostly we were creeped out by the hotel’s glorification of colonialism. To visit the Raffles Hotel is to encounter the colonial experience, complete with Sikh doormen and a discreet side door for those only dining at the hotel — after all, the lobby is for real (read: moneyed, largely European) guests.
Anyway, they’re really into this guy.
Enough about that. For dinner, we headed to Momma Kong’s in Chinatown. Momma Kong’s specializes in crab which are flown in from Sri Lanka daily.
Red chili crab, black pepper crab, mantou, garlic water spinach, and grilled squid.
After a quick visit to the Sands SkyPark we headed back to our hotel (the wonderful Hotel Vagabond) for a nightcap.
Who said Singapore was bland again?