← Older revision
Revision as of 07:54, 22 October 2015
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Start off with a quick lunch in the food court located in Ngee Ann City's basement. Dependable Singaporean-Chinese chain '''Crystal Jade''' has no less than 4 outlets scattered throughout the mall (the ones in the basement are cheap, those on top cost more), '''Sushitei''' (2nd floor) serves up very good conveyor belt style sushi, '''Central''' (Basement 1) has a modern take on Hong Kong cuisine, and if you're still pining for more options, the lower basement '''food court''' has more options than you can shake a chopstick at.
Start off with a quick lunch in the food court located in Ngee Ann City's basement. Dependable Singaporean-Chinese chain '''Crystal Jade''' has no less than 4 outlets scattered throughout the mall (the ones in the basement are cheap, those on top cost more), '''Sushitei''' (2nd floor) serves up very good conveyor belt style sushi, '''Central''' (Basement 1) has a modern take on Hong Kong cuisine, and if you're still pining for more options, the lower basement '''food court''' has more options than you can shake a chopstick at.
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Your course from here onward depends on your interests, there are literally dozens of shopping malls along Orchard Rd stretching in both directions from Takashimaya. Up on the third floor is '''Kinokuniya''', Singapore's largest bookstore. If Takashimaya's lower floors aren't enough, across the road is '''Paragon''', full of yet more expensive luxury brands. If you're looking for something specific and can't find it, the '''Singapore Visitor's Centre''' at Orchard Road (near Somerset MRT station). But do yourself a favor and ''avoid'' buying any electronics in '''Lucky Plaza''', a notorious pit of ripoff artists.
+
Your course from here onward depends on your interests, there are literally dozens of shopping malls along Orchard Rd stretching in both directions from Takashimaya. Up on the third floor is '''Kinokuniya''', Singapore's largest bookstore. If Takashimaya's lower floors aren't enough, across the road is '''Paragon''', full of yet more expensive luxury brands. If you're looking for something specific and can't find it, the '''Singapore Visitor's Centre''' at Orchard Road (near Somerset MRT station
, Exit C
). But do yourself a favor and ''avoid'' buying any electronics in '''Lucky Plaza''', a notorious pit of ripoff artists.
===Evening===
===Evening===
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Find your way onto the '''MRT North East Line''' and get off at '''Chinatown''' station Exit A. This will deposit you on '''Pagoda Street''', right at the heart of Chinatown.
Find your way onto the '''MRT North East Line''' and get off at '''Chinatown''' station Exit A. This will deposit you on '''Pagoda Street''', right at the heart of Chinatown.
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Immediately to your right as you come out is an outlet of '''Bee Cheng Hiang''' (1), a famous shop — now franchised, and the yellow-and-red signs can be seen all over Singapore — that sells sweet barbecued roast pork and beef. During Chinese New Year, queues here can stretch for hours! Ask for a free sample and buy a box as a souvenir for any
Chinese
friends back home.
+
Immediately to your right as you come out is an outlet of '''Bee Cheng Hiang''' (1), a famous shop — now franchised, and the yellow-and-red signs can be seen all over Singapore — that sells sweet barbecued roast pork and beef. During Chinese New Year, queues here can stretch for hours! Ask for a free sample and buy a box as a souvenir for any friends back home.
−
A few houses down the road to your left is the '''Chinatown Heritage Centre''' (2), an excellent and informative museum of Chinatown's history and development. Admission $8. As of September 2015, this is closed for renovation and expected to reopen later in the year, so you might have to skip this.
+
A few houses down the road to your left is the '''Chinatown Heritage Centre''' (2), an excellent and informative museum of Chinatown's history and development. Admission
fee is
$8. As of September 2015, this is closed for renovation and expected to reopen later in the year, so you might have to skip this.
−
Keep on walking down the road, past the many stalls hawking what is mostly touristy kitsch. Pagoda Street ends on '''South Bridge Road''' and, immediately to your right, you will see the '''Sri Mariamman Temple''' (3). Take off your shoes and
tiptoe
in to take a look, pausing to observe the intricately carved ''gopuram'' (gate statuary) above the entrance and the nonchalant '''cow statues''' perched on the roofs. Free admission but donations welcome.
+
Keep on walking down the road, past the many stalls hawking what is mostly touristy kitsch. Pagoda Street ends on '''South Bridge Road''' and, immediately to your right, you will see the '''Sri Mariamman Temple''' (3). Take off your shoes and
walk
in to take a look, pausing to observe the intricately carved ''gopuram'' (gate statuary) above the entrance and the nonchalant '''cow statues''' perched on the roofs. Free admission but donations
are
welcome.
−
Further down South Bridge Road you will see (and smell) a number of '''Chinese herbal medicine''' shops, ready to cure anything that ails you with unlikely ingredients including dried seahorses and snake skin. Poke around and maybe pick up a bag or two of cheap and tasty dried fruits. After the shops, you'll soon spot a gigantic vermilion four-story Chinese pavilion: this is the '''Buddha Tooth Relic Temple''' (4), completed only in 2007. The holy relic in question is housed on the fourth floor, and if you arrive before
11 AM
you'll
may even
have a chance to gaze upon it from a distance before the
curtain
shuts
. On the roof, you'll find 10,000 miniature Buddhas and a giant Tibetan-style prayer wheel.
+
Further down South Bridge Road you will see (and smell) a number of '''Chinese herbal medicine''' shops, ready to cure anything that ails you with unlikely ingredients including dried seahorses and snake skin. Poke around and maybe pick up a bag or two of cheap and tasty dried fruits. After the shops, you'll soon spot a gigantic vermilion four-story Chinese pavilion: this is the '''Buddha Tooth Relic Temple''' (4), completed only in 2007. The holy relic in question is housed on the fourth floor, and if you arrive before
6pm,
you'll have a chance to gaze upon it from a distance before the
exhibit closes for the
day
. On the roof, you'll find 10,000 miniature Buddhas and a giant Tibetan-style prayer wheel.
Feeling peckish enough for lunch? If yes, you can turn right onto '''Smith Street''' (5) for a row of gentrified hawker stalls prettified for tourists (although many only open for dinner), or left into '''Maxwell Food Centre''' (6), which doesn't score much points for ambience but does serve some very good local food. Pick the stall with the longest queue and dig in! Be sure to leave some room for dessert at '''Tong Heng''' (7) at 285 South Bridge Road, famed for its egg tarts ($1).
Feeling peckish enough for lunch? If yes, you can turn right onto '''Smith Street''' (5) for a row of gentrified hawker stalls prettified for tourists (although many only open for dinner), or left into '''Maxwell Food Centre''' (6), which doesn't score much points for ambience but does serve some very good local food. Pick the stall with the longest queue and dig in! Be sure to leave some room for dessert at '''Tong Heng''' (7) at 285 South Bridge Road, famed for its egg tarts ($1).
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Take Exit C and walk down '''Bukit Timah Road'''. The big building to your left is '''Tekka Centre''', a large wet market that sells all sorts of fresh meat, fish, fruits, vegetables. Worth a look if you haven't seen one before, but the meat section is not for the squeamish.
Take Exit C and walk down '''Bukit Timah Road'''. The big building to your left is '''Tekka Centre''', a large wet market that sells all sorts of fresh meat, fish, fruits, vegetables. Worth a look if you haven't seen one before, but the meat section is not for the squeamish.
−
The first road to your left is '''Serangoon Road''', the central artery of Little India. Across the road is '''Tekka Mall/The Verge''' (1), Little India's first and only air-con mall, but of more interest is the
lowrise
building to the left, which houses the '''Little India Arcade''' (2). This is a collection of small shops and stalls that sell all sorts of Indian items, some geared for tourists, but most are for the locals. Note the flower garlands, for decorating home shrines, and the little leaf packets with something red and white inside: this is ''paan'', a mildly narcotic concoction of betel nut and lime. Go ahead and try some, but the taste is bitter, it stains your teeth red and you need to keep chewing for 20 minutes to get any buzz.
+
The first road to your left is '''Serangoon Road''', the central artery of Little India. Across the road is '''Tekka Mall/The Verge''' (1), Little India's first and only air-con mall, but of more interest is the
low-rise
building to the left, which houses the '''Little India Arcade''' (2). This is a collection of small shops and stalls that sell all sorts of Indian items, some geared for tourists, but most are for the locals. Note the flower garlands, for decorating home shrines, and the little leaf packets with something red and white inside: this is ''paan'', a mildly narcotic concoction of betel nut and lime. Go ahead and try some, but the taste is bitter, it stains your teeth red and you need to keep chewing for 20 minutes to get any buzz.
Return to Serangoon Road and walk up the street. Explore the countless little shops here, one specializing in bangles, another in incense, many in Indian music and Bollywood DVDs.
Return to Serangoon Road and walk up the street. Explore the countless little shops here, one specializing in bangles, another in incense, many in Indian music and Bollywood DVDs.
−
Soon to your right you will see '''Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple''' (3). This is Little India's oldest temple, dating back to 1881, not as grand in size as Chinatown's Sri Mariamman but usually much busier. In February (usually), this is also the starting point of the procession for '''Thaipusam''', celebrated in Singapore and Malaysia by devotees who attach heavy weights and portable shrines to their skin with skewers (''kavadi'') and carry them kilometers across the city to another shrine. Free admission but donations welcome.
+
Soon to your right you will see '''Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple''' (3). This is Little India's oldest temple, dating back to 1881, not as grand in size as Chinatown's Sri Mariamman but usually much busier. In February (usually), this is also the starting point of the procession for '''Thaipusam''', celebrated in Singapore and Malaysia by devotees who attach heavy weights and portable shrines to their skin with skewers (''kavadi'') and carry them kilometers across the city to another shrine. Free admission but donations
are
welcome.
−
Keep walking down Serangoon Road until you see Serangoon Plaza. The road leading right from here is Syed Alwi Road, home to a shopping extravaganza like no other, the inimitable '''Mustafa Centre''' (7). Open 24 hours
a day
, this perennially packed discount department store will happily sell you absolutely anything imaginable: on the same trip you can easily pick up a high-end camera, a tube of toothpaste, five kilos of mangoes, a golden necklace, some Bollywood DVDs, a box of imported Bisquick pancake mix, a washing machine and five meters of patterned silk. Next, you can get a suit tailored at Mustafa Tailor, eat fish and chips at Mustafa Restaurant, buy tickets at Mustafa Travel Agency, exchange your leftover Omani rials at Mustafa Exchange and collapse into a cheap room at Mustafa Hotel. While you can find pretty much anything you need here, electronics are a particularly good buy as prices are extremely competitive and there's no hassle or risk of ripoffs. Just don't expect much in the way of attentive service!
+
Keep walking down Serangoon Road until you see Serangoon Plaza. The road leading right from here is Syed Alwi Road, home to a shopping extravaganza like no other, the inimitable '''Mustafa Centre''' (7). Open 24 hours
everyday
, this perennially packed discount department store will happily sell you absolutely anything imaginable: on the same trip you can easily pick up a high-end camera, a tube of toothpaste, five kilos of mangoes, a golden necklace, some Bollywood DVDs, a box of imported Bisquick pancake mix, a washing machine and five meters of patterned silk. Next, you can get a suit tailored at Mustafa Tailor, eat fish and chips at Mustafa Restaurant, buy tickets at Mustafa Travel Agency, exchange your leftover Omani rials at Mustafa Exchange and collapse into a cheap room at Mustafa Hotel. While you can find pretty much anything you need here, electronics are a particularly good buy as prices are extremely competitive and there's no hassle or risk of ripoffs. Just don't expect much in the way of attentive service!
Hungry yet? If it's already dinnertime, there are countless options in the vicinity, and if you're adventurous by all means consider some '''fish head curry''' — Banana Leaf Apolo<!--sic--> (5) and Muthu's (6), on nearby Race Course Rd, are both famous for this. Good yet less fishy options include '''Delhi''', for somewhat upmarket North Indian fare just Serangoon Road, and '''Komala Vilas''' (4), for vegetarian South Indian goodies with outlets both back where you came from and a little more up the road on Serangoon.
Hungry yet? If it's already dinnertime, there are countless options in the vicinity, and if you're adventurous by all means consider some '''fish head curry''' — Banana Leaf Apolo<!--sic--> (5) and Muthu's (6), on nearby Race Course Rd, are both famous for this. Good yet less fishy options include '''Delhi''', for somewhat upmarket North Indian fare just Serangoon Road, and '''Komala Vilas''' (4), for vegetarian South Indian goodies with outlets both back where you came from and a little more up the road on Serangoon.