Before dawn on a recent morning, a high-pitched, repetitive ku-OOO sound stirred me from my slumber. It was the persistent mating call of the Asian koel, sometimes referred to as the Singapore alarm clock.
I probably would not have heard it at one of the many towering glass-and-steel hotels in town. But last year, and again this year, my husband and I had opted for a smaller, more intimate, boutique hotel in Chinatown.
The initial draw of this neighborhood — and the city in general — was the food. An island, connected to Malaysia by a bridge, Singapore is a melting pot of cultures and cuisines. Its legendary hawker centers, with dozens of side-by-side stalls serving up Chinese, Malay and Indian fast food, are a grazer’s paradise.
Given Singapore’s position as a gateway to Southeast Asia, and a hub within the region, this is especially convenient. For those who arrive jetlagged, there is always something delectable to eat nearby, at odd hours. Most recently, though, in our migration as Southeast Asian snowbirds, we were transiting from Malaysia, where we had spent a month, to our next destination, in Vietnam. Instead of immediately changing planes, and with no need to adjust our body clocks, we decided to lay over in Singapore for two full days of chowing down.
A Bit of History
On six previous trips, we had traversed the metropolis on a culinary crawl, from lodgings in the Tanglin area, on Orchard Road and near Marina Bay. All reflect Singapore’s triumph in urban planning, expanding vertically both above and below ground to compensate for the fact that there is so little horizontal space. Ultimately, we decided to stay closer to our preferred food sources. And that took us about three miles away from the futuristic city center, into the heart of Singapore’s past.
Our base, for what have now been two “heritage layovers,” was the part of Chinatown known as Telok Ayer. Being there is like stepping back in time visually, by as much as two centuries, while never being more than a few paces away from a fabulous meal.
In the Malay language, telok ayer means water bay. Before the land was reclaimed more than a century ago, Chinese immigrants came ashore here, and thanked Mazu, the sea goddess, for their safe passage. The shrine where they disembarked is now Thian Hock Keng Temple — the oldest in Singapore.
Our February visit happened to coincide with the ninth day of the Lunar New Year — one of two on which the birthday of the Jade Emperor is observed. We found the temple, with its intricate stone and wood carvings, in a haze of incense and bustling with devotees paying respect to their ancestors.
Memorable Murals
Along the back exterior wall is a 43-yard mural by Yip Yew Chong, recapping the temple history. It’s one of nine he’s painted depicting scenes from old Chinatown or his memories of growing up there. Chong, previously an accountant, left the field in 2018 to work full-time as an artist. Last year we spent an entire morning, map in hand, visiting all of his Chinatown murals.
“My Chinatown Home,” in the covered alleyway between Smith Street and Temple Street, depicts a Singaporean shophouse, where merchants resided above the store. Approximately 6,500 of these structures remain, with a noticeable concentration of them in Chinatown. Though many are now devoted to upscale businesses, Chong’s mural reminds us that, as shared dwellings, they could be rudimentary and cramped.
Shophouse Architecture
The style evolved, between the 1840s and the 1960s, from simple two-story buildings, with timber windows, to more elaborate ones reflecting the tastes and economic standing of their owners. Many of these attached houses are still painted in pastel shades of blue, green, pink, red, turquoise and yellow. Some incorporate three-dimensional ceramic tiles, brought from Europe or Japan, on their façades.
One advantage of shophouse architecture is that a five-foot way (passageway) runs in front of these buildings, which are attached to neighboring ones. In this tropical climate, these covered areas offer pedestrians protection from sun and rain. Along Telok Ayer, Amoy and Club streets, for example, it’s possible to stroll the historic corridors in relative comfort no matter what the weather. In the course of it, one can observe the many old shophouses put to new uses.
Our hotel, the limited-service Ann Siang House, was one of them. The Scarlet, around the corner on Erskine Road, which combines 1868 shophouses and a vintage 1924 Art Deco building, is another. For those who prefer a five-star hotel experience, the Duxton Reserve is in the vicinity.
The Maxwell Food Centre (1 Kadayanallur Street) was so close to our lodgings that we could practically use it as our cafeteria. Started as a wet market in 1929, it was converted into a hawker center in 1987, and is well-known for its traditional Chinese food stalls. My favorite jetlag antidote is Zhen Zhen Porridge (stall 01-54), which opens at 5:30 a.m. They don’t skimp on the meat that goes into a bowl of their silky chicken porridge, topped with fried shallots, spring onions and a dash of soy sauce.
Later in the day, a queue forms at Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice (stall 01-10/11). In a city where some people think there is no such thing as bad chicken rice — only good and better — this stall is widely regarded as one of the best send-ups in Chinatown of this traditional dish.
Breakfast, Lunch and Snacks
At the Amoy Street Food Centre, also a five-minute walk from our hotel, early risers frequent Coffee Break (stall 02-78). Their specialty is an assortment of breads, toasted, and served with various spreads, the most popular of which is kaya. The essential ingredients of this jam are coconut milk, eggs and sugar. An order for “kaya toast” in Singapore means your bread will be slathered with a base of butter or margarine, so if you don’t want that additional richness, you must specify.
One advantage of having a light breakfast is that you will be hungry again and ready to queue up for lunch by midmorning. At Amoy Street Food Centre, for example, there were already 50 people patiently waiting for fish soup at Han Kee (stall 02-129) when we recently arrived there, 15 minutes ahead of its 11 a.m. opening. Why? Michelin inspectors awarded it a well-deserved “Bib Gourmand” last year, defined as good value for the money. The gelatinous broth has a mild umami flavor, and even a small bowl comes with a generous helping of chunky mackerel and fresh rice noodles. After one spoonful, we understood its appeal.
For snacks, we headed to Tong Heng (285 South Bridge Road), which has been serving up their diamond-shaped egg tarts since 1935. These flaky confections get some stiff competition from the pineapple tarts at Kele (2 Smith Street). They are available all year but are especially popular around Chinese New Year because pineapple is a symbol of good fortune.
More Food, Plus Tours
When we want a break from the sometimes chaotic hawker centers, we walk over to Kok Sen Restaurant, which has been in business for more than 50 years. It’s hard to believe that the Instagrammable street where they moved to three years ago (2/4 Keong Saik Road), now lined with trendy restaurants and bars, was a red-light district during the 1950s. You can spot Kok Sen by the long queue in the evening, or at lunchtime on a weekday, by the crowd of hungry office workers waiting for it to open promptly at noon.
Kok Sen is just 10 minutes by foot from NUS Baba House, where one can work up an appetite by touring a late-19th-century townhouse. This one originally belonged to a Chinese shipping magnate, was acquired by the University of Singapore in 2006 and is now operated as a museum. It’s been restored to exemplify what’s called the “Peranakan,” or “Straits Chinese,” style. That’s a reference to the descendants of Chinese immigrants who settled in the Straits Settlements (Singapore, Penang and Malacca), married the local Malays and adopted their language and customs.
During an hour-long guided tour (Tuesday to Friday at 10 a.m.), one learns a great deal about architectural details. For example, there’s a front gate designed to expel evil influences while drawing in visitors and good fortune. Those who want extra time to explore the period curiosities on display throughout the house, will need to return for a “self-guided tour,” limited to Saturday afternoons. Either way, visits are by appointment only and cost S$18 (about $13).
The Iconic Singapore Sling
One thing that took us out of Chinatown was a 30-minute walk to the historic Raffles Hotel. It’s named for Stamford Raffles, the British colonial official who is considered the founder of modern Singapore. Raffles Hotel was opened in 1887 by the Armenian Sarkies brothers, who founded other luxury hotels throughout Southeast Asia. Now a tourist destination, it’s famous for the Singapore Sling; Ngiam Tong Boon, a Chinese bartender, is credited with inventing it there in 1915. The iconic gin-based cocktail costs about $30 at the hotel’s Long Bar.
When Singapore has been our last destination before returning to our home in New York, we stop at the Raffles Boutique to buy a jar of their signature kaya jam (S$15, or about $11). Once opened, the kaya must be refrigerated, but it keeps that way for several months. After smearing it on sourdough toast, whole wheat toast or even a toasted Brooklyn bagel, I can revisit our heritage layover with every bite.
