For more information and to book please visit www.mrandmrssmith.com or let us arrange your whole trip, by calling +44 (0)20 8987 4312 or from the USA dial 1 866 610 3867.
Scratch the squeaky-clean surface of this former colonial trading post and you’ll find an aromatically spiced blend of Malay, Chinese and Indian culture, neatly displayed among glossy skyscrapers and romping across lush parkland to the tropical shoreline. You can spend your morning eyeballing designer gladrags in chilly shopping malls, then warm up at an alfresco curry restaurant before exploring historic temples and poking around in Little India and Chinatown. Later, soak up the sun on Sentosa Island, have a sundowner in a Balearic bar and feast on amazing Asian-fusion cookery feats in one of the city's smart restaurants.
Select a couple of woven cane chairs between potted palms and beneath a ceiling fan and order yourself a Singapore Sling in its birthplace, Raffles’ legendary Long Bar (+65 6337 1886). Ok, so Hemingway, Kipling et al may be long gone, controversy surrounds the pre-mixed Sling recipe used today, and it’s a bit touristy, but it’s still an old-world pleasure to sip the sweetly sour combination of gin, Cointreau, cherry brandy, Bénédictine, Grenadine, Angostura bitters, pineapple and lime, slinging your peanut shells on the colonial-style floor and taking the glass home with you afterwards.
… a fabulous tan. If you feel too wan for the beach or it rains the whole time you’re there, make like Paris Hilton and make an appointment for a quickie Sun FX spray-on with marvellous make-up artist Moira Coops (+65 6763 9853).
Our round-up of the hippest hideaways and romantic boutique hotels in Singapore
With a tree house bar, ‘aquarium’ bathrooms and deliberately scuffed ceilings, the New Majestic Hotel – Singapore’s first collaboratively designed hotel – is a knowingly cool cornucopia of artistic delights.
Winding vines and steel origami-inspired structures adorn the shell of Naumi, a slickly designed boutique hotel in the gastronomic heart of the Asian island state.
Planes, trains, automobiles, or maybe even helicopter – we tell you the best way to go.
Late January/early February Chinese New Year is celebrated with parades and fireworks. April During the World Gourmet Summit, Michelin-starred chefs roll into town to give wine workshops, host gourmet barbecues and wax gastronomical about all things foodie (www.worldgourmetsummit.com). May/June The Singapore Arts Festival showcases cutting-edge world premieres and performances (www.singaporeartsfest.com). August
Womad Singapore is a world music festival held at Fort Canning Park (www.womad.org). October ARTSingapore is Southeast Asia’s answer to Art Basel, a trade fair where art collectors gather to hunt down new museum-quality contemporary artworks; it’s the place to spot young talent (www.artsingapore.net).
Less trad café and more modern all-day grazing post, this Scandinavian-style resto-bar overlooking lush lawns is a fantastic spot for brunch or a quick coffee in the morning (the view is beautiful at this time of day). Also good for afternoon tea, a pre-dinner cocktail or light dinner. Book a table for lunch or dinner (www.pscafe.sg); and don’t forget to check out the antiques and furniture shops in the neighbourhood while you're there.
28b Harding Road, off Dempsey Road, Singapore
Set in a former colonial barracks, this unabashed temple to all things meaty serves some of the most succulent steaks in the city, with deliciously zingy Bloody Marys to wash them down.
10 Dempsey Road, Singapore
Set in up-and-coming Rochester Park – a modishly renovated former military compound of black and white colonial bungalows – this buzzy restaurant serves Asian-Australian fusion grills. Mr Smith loved the soy-lacquered ox cheek and Mrs Smith was equally enamoured of her roasted barramundi. Book a table in one of the alfresco dining pavilions, try not to get too absorbed in the silent-movie classics screened in the pit, then retire to the Mint lounge bar on the first floor for post-prandial cocktails and cigars.
4 Rochester Park, Singapore 139215
Want a taste of hawker street-snack classics without having to pound the pavements? Book a table at this buffet-style restaurant for Singaporean breakfast, lunch or dinner, and sample local staples from Laksa and Nasi Goreng to curries.
Grand Hyatt Singapore, 10 Scotts Road, Singapore 228211
Here, they cook to cure you, adding prescribed Chinese herbal remedies to your meal. After a brief diagnostic chat at the pharmacy-style counter, the chef will design a soup or other witch’s brew to treat your particular ailment, be it jet-lag or sluggish digestion. Careful, though – you could be prescribed locust tonic, fried ants or scorpion soup. Booking essential (www.imperialherbal.com). The doctor is in residence all week except Sundays, and will appreciate a small tip.
Metropole Hotel, 41 Seah Street, Singapore
For Japanese sumiyaki (charcoal-grilled food), including great yakitori, try this traditional Izakaya restaurant (or ‘sit-in sake shop’), which handily has one of the widest selections of sake in town. Sit at the counter overlooking the open kitchen and try skewered ox tongue, and the cheese or scallop maki rolls.
30 Robertson Quay, 1–15 Riverside View, Singapore 238251
For an all-day brunch or quick lunch – especially if you are fed up with Asian food – try this fantastic deli-bistro for Mediterranean-style food, roasts, great burgers and home-made cakes (www.themarmaladepantry.com).
Palais Renaissance, 390 Orchard Road, Singapore 238871
Voted among the top 100 restaurants in the world, Iggy’s offers a set 10-course tasting menu – you don’t get a choice, but you won’t be disappointed with the innovative fusion food. Book a table up at the bar, bring your credit card and settle in for a lingering gourmet feast.
The Regent Singapore, 1 Cuscaden Road, Singapore 249715
The Crystal Jade chain produces spot-on Chinese food and dim sum, with each outlet concentrating on a particular regional cuisine; this Palace branch on Level 4 of the Takashimaya Shopping Centre specialises in Cantonese cuisine and our favourite, but we also like Crystal Jade Jiang Nan Cuisine on Level 2, where you can sample flavours from south of the Yangtze river.
391 Orchard Road, 4–19 Ngee Ann City (Takashimaya Shopping Centre), Singapore 238872
The Sunday Buffet Brunch at the Four Seasons restaurant is a Singapore institution – book ahead for the most wantonly decadent display of food you've ever seen, and bring a cavernously empty stomach.
Four Seasons Hotel Singapore, 190 Orchard Boulevard, Singapore 248646
This dazzling-linened and shiny-glassed trattoria flies in fresh cheeses from Italy for its dedicated cheese room, has a permanent buzz and fabulous service. The marsala-laced zabaglione is to die for.
27 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088450
Head to this decadent Oriental restaurant and bar on the site of the Asian Civilisations Museum for healthy Southeast Asian ‘nutriceutical’ cuisine. Dishes hail from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, and there's a nice view of the Singapore River to boot (www.indochine.com.sg). Order a two-person bowl of canh chua do bien, a sweet and sour Vietnamese seafood soup, and Cambodian-style chilli and basil chicken. Then progress to Bar Opiume for a few drinks.
1 Empress Place, Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore
Swing by this swanky Japanese-run and -owned bar if you’re serious about your cocktails and prefer to be able to have a civilised conversation over drinks. There’s an impressive list of whiskies from Scotland (as well as Canada, Ireland and Japan); order one and it will be poured lovingly over shaved ice in a cut-crystal tumbler.
205 River Valley Road, 1–76 UE Square, Singapore 234274
A meeja-friendly split-level rooftop bar opposite Raffles, Loof’s gently eccentric decor is paired with sensible banquette seating, good cocktails and great views. Best of all, when it rains, they pour – if the heavens open before 9pm, drinks are two for the price of one. Playful atmosphere plus atmospheric playlist equals good times.
Odeon Towers Extension Rooftop, 331 North Bridge Road, Singapore 188720
This inimate outdoor venue sprawls across clipped lawns and has a great, grown-up vibe. As well as regular DJ nights, there are live performances by an interesting mix of acts, from R&B diva Kelly Rowland and soulstress Alice Russell to acid jazz pioneer Russ Dewbury and Japanese jazz-funker DJ Howl. Visit www.hacienda.com.sg for event listings.
13a Dempsey Road, Tanglin Village, Singapore 249674
Classic del Mar soundtrack, sand, sea, sunset and sundowners – what more do you want? This beachside bar on Sentosa Island is one of the nicest places to chill out after a day soaking up the rays.
40 Siloso Beach Walk, Siloso Beach, Sentosa Island, Singapore 098996
©2009 Mr & Mrs Smith
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