Embark on this passion-filled itinerary
Published Date: 3 September 2018
Beyond its world-famous restaurants, malls and attractions, Singapore is a city that differentiates itself with multisensory experiences. In our modern metropolis, dining and shopping are presented as eye-opening experiences and can be found in both heritage and avant-garde venues. Visitors can discover diverse nature and cultures that are unique to our eclectic island, then indulge in fun and let their hair down at our acclaimed watering holes. What’s more, our island abounds with exciting events and engaging workshops, so there’s never a dull moment. Innumerable possibilities await in our City in a Garden, where unforgettable memories will be crafted for your guests.
11am: Feast on the dishes of the Straits Chinese at House of Peranakan Petit
Start the day at Tiong Bahru Market (30 Seng Poh Road), a local wet market that sells fresh produce and flowers on its ground floor, and hawker delights on its second floor. Afterward, introduce your guests to Peranakan* culture, through House of Peranakan Petit’s rich cuisine. Peranakan cuisine draws from the best of Asian spices and ingredients, and its classic dishes are prepared using meticulous traditional techniques. Must-try traditional dishes include Nonya Ngoh Hiang (Peranakan-style spring rolls), Long Beans Sambal (long beans stir fried in chilli paste) and Assam Prawns (a sweet and sour shrimp dish made using tamarind). This heritage restaurant seats patrons in an intimate setting, among vintage Peranakan heirlooms and decorations. Lunch and dinner packages may be customised for groups.
*The term is an Indonesian/Malay word that means “local born”, which generally refers to people of Chinese and Malay/Indonesian heritage.
Address: 42 Eng Hoon Street
Opening hours: Mon, Wed-Sun noon-3pm, 6-10pm
Seating capacity: 50 pax
Website: houseofperanakan.com.sg
To book: Call +65 6222 1719 or email houseofperanakan@gmail.com (Trade contact: Ms Seah)
2PM: BROWSE LOCAL BOOKS AT BOOKSACTUALLY
Introduce your guests to Singapore’s literary scene at BooksActually. Here, they can discover talented local authors along with quirky publications from around the world. The BooksActually team is happy to introduce their favourite books and writers to your clients, along with iconic literature that your guests might like to bring home with them. Avid shoppers and souvenir collectors might also enjoy taking their pick from vintage vinyl records in Curated Records (55 Tiong Bahru Road) and creating their own floral arrangements at One Olive (61 Seng Poh Lane).
Address: 9 Yong Siak Street
Opening hours: Mon & Sun 10am-6pm; Tue-Sat 10am-8pm
Website: booksactuallyshop.com
To book: Call +65 6222 9195 or email kennyleck@booksactually.com (Trade contact: Kenny)
3pm: Meet the Dancing Girl and explore her secret garden
Your guests can to spend a relaxing hour exploring Tiong Bahru, one of the oldest housing estates in Singapore. Built in the 1930s, this neighbourhood has a look that sets it apart: low-rise buildings in the Streamline Moderne architectural style of clean lines and minimalist forms. The district’s first piece of public art is located in Seng Poh Garden, a green sanctuary tucked away from the hustle and bustle. Here, your guests will be greeted by an abstract statue of a dancing girl by sculptor Lim Nang Seng, who also created the Merlion. She dances and reflects the residents of this serene neighbourhood, who engage in dance, exercise and tai chi (an internal Chinese martial art practiced for both defence and health benefits) in this tranquil lesser-known enclave.
Address: Seng Poh Road
4pm: Trek the Southern Ridges
An eye-opening experience awaits naturalists at the Southern Ridges, which is a short drive from Tiong Bahru and home to a variety of flora and fauna. Sign them up for the Southern Ridges Nature Tour, a ten-kilometre trail that offers its fair share of scenic views. Through this 1.5- to 2-hour tour, participants will be introduced to a wide variety of plants and animals, and get to enjoy the sights and sounds of wildlife such as cicadas, straw-headed bulbuls, kingfishers and even migratory birds of prey. Your guests will also have the opportunity to photograph these creatures in their natural habitat and take selfies on Henderson Waves, which is a picturesque bridge with wave-like arcs. This connecting series of parks is speckled with war relics like decommissioned canons and pillboxes, and features a mini World War II museum called Reflections at Bukit Chandu. Tours have to be booked a month in advance and participants should preferably be at least 12 years of age.
Cost: S$10 per pax
Minimum group size: 15 pax
Website: nparks.gov.sg/activities/workshops-and-guided-walks/c-hortpark-and-southern-ridges
To book: Call +65 6471 5601 or email Denise_Chng@nparks.gov.sg (Trade contact: Denise)
6pm: Ride a cable car into an island of fun
Travel to Sentosa in style as the sun sets. Your guests will be delighted by the 360-degree view of southern Singapore when they hop aboard a cable car ride into Sentosa, a resort island that can be reached by bus or car. If guests are hungry, they can first grab a bite at the newly opened Dusk Restaurant & Bar, which serves an array of dishes that includes gourmet meats, pastas and desserts, before boarding a cable car. For an epicurean sky-high experience, book them an intimate four-course dinner aboard these iconic cable cars. Group bookings and packages can be made through One Faber Group.
Address: Faber Peak Singapore, 109 Mount Faber Road Level 2, Singapore 099203
Opening hours of Singapore Cable Car: Daily 8.45am-10pm (last boarding at 9.30pm)
Seating capacity of one cable car: 8 pax
Opening hours of Dusk Restaurant & Bar: Mon-Thu 4-11pm; Fri, Sat & public holidays 4pm-2am; Sun 11am-11pm
Seating capacity of Dusk Restaurant & Bar: 120 pax
Website: onefabergroup.com
To book: Call +65 6377 9688 or email susan.kuan@onefabergroup.com (Trade contact: Susan)
8pm: Catch a wave when night falls
Thrill-seekers will relish learning how to surf or flowboard on Wave House Sentosa’s huge wave simulator. Newbies will have an exhilarating time learning new skills here, while experienced surfers can try new tricks on this safe but realistic simulator. A popular events space for parties and gatherings, this picturesque and capacious beach club also frequently customises food and drinks menus for a wide variety of clientele.
Address: 36 Siloso Beach Walk
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 11.30am-9.30pm; Sat-Sun 10.30am-9.30pm
Website: wavehousesentosa.org
To book: Call +65 6377 3113 or email events.sentosa@wavehouse.com (Trade contact: Jogena)
10pm: Be part of the in crowd at Panamericana
A vivacious Latin restaurant and bar whose décor, food and drinks are themed on the 14 countries that the Pan-American Highway cuts through, Panamericana invites your guests to mingle with its fun-loving patrons over creative cocktails. Curated by its award-winning beverage manager Ricky Paiva, the creative cocktails that guests can savour include White Wine Sangria (pisco, sauvignon blanc, Cointreau and an array of tropical fruits), 50:50 Martini (Tanqueray No. Ten gin and vermouth with a dash of orange bitters) and Champagne and Absinthe Colada (Appleton rum, coconut and pineapple juice, perked up with absinthe and a splash of bubbly). Panamericana’s various lookouts also offer views of the South China Sea and Sentosa Golf Club’s verdant surroundings, which will make for a relaxing night out. Contact Panamericana’s management to customise menus, cocktails and themed parties for your guests.
Address: Sentosa Golf Club, 27 Bukit Manis Road
Opening hours: Wed-Fri noon-11pm; Sat, Sun & Public Holidays 9am-11pm
Seating capacity: 200 pax
Website: panamericana.sg
To book: Call +65 6253 8182 or email cherry@panamericana.sg (Trade contact: Cherry)
