I can’t believe that it’s taken me so long to watch Crazy Rich Asians – even after Ryan constantly nagging at me to watch it for so long! Anyway, it didn’t disappoint and watching it brought back all the emotions I felt when visiting Singapore myself a few months ago … and reminded me that I’m yet to write a blog about it!

So, slightly delayed, but I’ve finally got round to writing about our (very short) time in Singapore and all that we managed to cram into our visit!

Day One

We landed from Langkawi into the famous Changi Airport at around midday and, as we travelled lightly, we scurried out with our hand-luggage and wasted no time in the airport. We had read online about the budget / comfort taxis so it was a little disappointing when the airport staff tried scooting us into the higher end, expensive taxis.

We took the little budget taxi and raced to check into our hotel the Pan Pacific. We contemplated staying at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel (and not just for the rooftop pool) but we decided that for the cost of the hotel we just wouldn’t make our money’s worth as we didn’t intend on spending any time at the hotel as there was too much exploring to be done! The Pan Pacific was a lovely 5* hotel, although it had more of a corporate feel than holiday, it was in a great location within walking distance to Marina Bay Sands Hotel and it has an MRT station less than a minute walk away.

Ce La Vi

We headed straight to Marina Bay Sands and up to Ce La Vi. We landed in Singapore the day after my birthday and so Ryan treated me to the three course lunch with wine pairings. The food, and wine, was delicious and the staff were so friendly they made me a birthday card with a Polaroid photo of Ryan and I, sang happy birthday and prepared a dessert with gold flakes and my name! (Definitely service of a 5* hotel!) We had amazing views across the Singapore Strait and could see some of the Indonesian islands from up there. After we finished our food we headed round to the poolside and sat overlooking the Marina with all of the skyscrapers whilst drinking more wine. I must admit that out of the two sides of the hotel, my favourite view was across the Strait, it overlooked the Gardens by the Bay and the views were just breathtaking. Living in Dubai I’m lucky enough to have a view of the Marina and skyscrapers as soon as I open my curtains in the morning, so it’s nice to see some greenery and nature.

Gardens by the Bay

Its not often that we go on holiday and do super touristy things but I was so excited to visit the Gardens by the Bay. I had seen so many pictures on Instagram and read up on a few blogs but I did not expect the trees to be so tall!

We walked around the gardens for a little while and then headed to the domes. We started in the cloud dome which was amazing! It’s incredible to think that they have replicated and created a natural oasis inside what is essentially a huge green house! I was shocked at how many different species of trees and plants were housed in there, let alone the waterfall cascading through the centre and the naturally formed clouds on the higher floors.

We then headed across to the flower dome which was lovely but by this point we were exhausted – and had done a fair bit of walking! We had purchased a joint entry ticket but didn’t realise how long we would spend in the Cloud Dome and would probably have been better to just buy a single entry ticket.

Level 33

We went to meet one of Ryan’s friends for dinner and drinks and he took us to Level 33, a bar in the Marina Bay Financial District with insane sunset views of Marina Bay Sands.

Usually we are the ones meeting people on holiday in Dubai and showing them amazing bars and restaurants for dinner so it was nice to have the shoe on the other foot for a change.

Day Two

Orchard Road

We started the day by taking the MRT to Orchard road and went for a lush breakfast at Wild Honey. We would never have found this little cafe but it came highly recommended from Ryan’s friend and it didn’t disappoint – and we do love our brekkies!

China Town

The second stop of the day was China Town. China Town was crazy and full of life! There were market stalls popped up all around, we visited a few temples and stopped to have lunch at one of the Michelin Star Street food shops. I could have spent hours just walking around the markets and taking in the hustle and bustle of daily life there.

Little India

Our next stop was Little India – we just took the MRT between all of our stops, it’s super easy to use and all of the stops are written in English, it’s by far the easiest way to get around the city.

Little India was much quieter than China Town but we still loved walking around the colourful streets 💛

Raffles hotel

Our final stop of the day was Raffles Hotel for a legendary Singapore Sling cocktail! Although the hotel was under renovation the Long Bar is still open (as is the gift shop where we spent a small fortune!)

The cocktails were lovely and the decor of the bar made me feel as if we were in the 1950’s it was a great experience. We also ate our body weight in monkey nuts!

Clarke’s Quay

We spent our final evening at Clarke’s Quay and ate in a lovely Asian restaurant called Little Saigon which was an Asian street food concept but the tables were sat slightly over the Quay which was lovely. We walked around and sat down at one of the bars right on the river bank and stayed there for a few hours drinking and watching the world go by.

Day Three

On our final day in Singapore we met up with my friend Ingmar who has lived in Singapore for the majority of his life. I met Ingmar when I first went travelling to Thailand at the age of 19 and we have stayed in touch through Facebook etc. since. It was lovely to see him as we had 7 years of life to catch up on!

Ryan and I then headed to Sentosa Island to spend our final day on the beach. We were unsure at first whether Sentosa, as a man made island, would feel like the Palm but actually we didn’t consider this once we were there. We took the tram across from the mainland which was only SGD$8 each for a return journey and extremely easy.

I couldn’t help but see the similarities between Singapore and Dubai. A financial hub, bustling city life but with the 5* hotels, beaches and all year weather (although I am aware at how lucky we were that it didn’t rain during our time in Singapore!) but the one thing I feel that Singapore has over Dubai is the nature and the deep rooted culture. My favourite part of our trip was spending time in China Town and drinking along the river bank in Clarke Quay.

Although indeed we were only there for little over two days, I have fallen in love with the place and I’m pining to return, whether for a holiday or permanently, who knows?!

If I had to use one word to describe dining in Kuala Lumpur I would say “overwhelming” purely because there is so much choice! Kuala Lumpur has a huge range of high end restaurants, budget cheap eats and also street markets to choose from during your stay.

We were lucky enough to stay in an area that was surrounded by high end restaurants with Michelin Star ratings however, we feel that we are spoilt for choice with this style of dining in Dubai, so during our stay in KL we decided to eat in the more rustic, authentic restaurants and street markets.

Here is a run down of our favourite eateries during our short stay in KL:

Little Penang Kafe – Suria Mall

We found ourselves in Suria Mall as we were staying close by and a Malaysian friend had recommended that we find a Little Penang Kafe during our time in Malaysia. We wouldn’t normally choose to dine in the mall but the food did not disappoint. The food was authentic local cuisine and we ordered a seafood noodle dish, chicken rice dish and a side of minced prawns in pastry (kind of like an opened spring roll). This restaurant was a great dining option for local cuisine in a not so authentic setting!

Chinoz on the Park

We visited Chinoz twice during our stay in KL. The first was for an afternoon drink in happy hour, it was lovely to sit amongst all of the plants in their little outdoor terrace area. It also had a lovely view of the KLCC Park.

We then returned for breakfast the next morning as it was the only restaurant we found open for breakfast at 9am on the weekend. We both ordered poached eggs on toast with a coffee which was lovely (and much cheaper than breakfast in the hotel).

Hakka Restaurant

This was one of our favourite meals in KL! The restaurant was a 5 minute walk from our hotel and it had a huge outside dining area but it was full to the brim when we arrived! We waited, only a short while, to be seated and ordered a selection of local dishes. We ordered salt and pepper shrimp, pork belly (which was amazing, I wish we ordered a bigger portion!), Hakka fried rice and black pepper crab. The food was really reasonably priced given the size of the portions.

It was a lovely setting and buzzing atmosphere and I would definitely recommend this restaurant to people visiting.

NZ Curry House

We had read great reviews on Trip Advisor about NZ Curry House so we thought we would try it out for lunch – and we were not disappointed. I ordered the Nasi Goreng with chicken which was a huge portion with almost half a chicken and Ryan ordered a local noodle dish with prawns, we both shared a garlic naan bread which came with a small portion of dal curry to dip and also had a sprite each. The bill came to 27RM!!

The restaurant also offers a daily set menu with a drink for 5 RM (equivalent to £1!). It is definitely a cheap and cheerful dining option if you’re dining on a budget. The setting itself was quite basic but the food was lovely and definitely worth a visit.

Meng Kee Grill Fish at Alor Street Food Market

I am so glad we (Ryan) had done our research on Alor Street Food Market before going because it was absolutely crazy and packed full of stalls and restaurants offering a huge variety of local cuisine. We had read great reviews about Meng Kee so decided to give it a try.

We got a table slightly set back from the busy walk way so we could enjoy our meal but still see the hustle and bustle of the street.

We ordered spring rolls, a local noodle dish with beef and a platter of grilled pepper prawns. The portion sizes were generous and the food was delicious. The prawns were quite large and seasoned beautifully.

We also had two beers and a water and the bill came to a total of 111RM. I would definitely recommend this restaurant if you’re looking for local cuisine in an authentic setting.

Ryan also found restaurant Wong ah Wah had great reviews and is famous chicken wings. Our other option was Cu Cha which serves the traditional Char Kuey Teow dish.

We definitely did not leave KL feeling hungry. It would have been lovely to try out some of the Michelin star dining options but maybe we can save that for another trip! This post has also made me realise that I like taking pictures of Ryan and food!

Tag: Asianfood

Singapore