Singapore - (Spring 2025) - Day 2
Lau Pa Sat Hawker Center
Not too busy in the morning
Went to Lau Pa Sat in search of a breakfast snack. The center is usually very lively during peak hours but still quiet in the morning. It was mostly the stalls that served coffees and juices that were active at this time of day. This is probably the nicest and hence maybe slightly pricier hawker centers in Singapore. The tray return stations separate out the halal from the non-halal dishes.
Pin Wei Hong Kong Style Chee Cheong Fun (Lau Pa Sat)
Luckily what was open in the center was this rice noodle place serving my favorite dim sum dish. Places like this are the best. They do one thing and do it great. They only serve rice noodles either plain or with 3 other fillings. They are slathered in soy sauce and you can put a dollop of hot sauce on the side. Super delicious way to start the day and I came back here my last day as well before leaving Singapore.
Merlion and Marina Bay
The Merlion is pretty much the symbol of Singapore and luckily the renovation has been completed. It has recently been covered up under maintenance recently. It was also fortunate to have a flawlessly clear blue sky day as a backdrop for the photos.
Avenue J Coffee
Singapore can get rather hot so when you are out and about you sometimes need to seek out some AC to cool down. Having a coffee is a nice way to take a break. This was a nice little place we found while we were on our way to Orchard Road.
Orchard Road
Orchard Road is the main shopping district of Singapore. High end shops line the street so basically it is an aspirational video for every developing Asian country. It seems like the countries that have these extravagances are the ones that have seen some economic success (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, etc). I do often wonder who shops at all of these high end shops, especially in cities like Bangkok and Taipei, and laying down the money to purchase the goods since it isn’t me and often the normal people who live in these countries don’t have the money to spend like this.
Regardless of the economics questions, I still like walking around and seeing the opulence and enjoying the comfort of a fancy mall- especially when it is roasting hot outside and these malls almost always have good food inside.
Acid Bar and Restaurant
Along Orchard Road we found a place to have some beers and snacks. This place had a special - buy 2 beers and get a 3rd free. Honestly, I didn’t want the extra beer but if you give me free beer, I’m drinking it. It was cool enough to sit outside in the shade and it’s a good spot to people watch just off the main road. The chicken chop is a Singapore thing. It is basically a nicely crisped piece of dark meat chicken plated on some gravy. It was simple but tasty. You get a side of fries to sop up the gravy.
Marina Sands
After the lunch snack we headed over to the Marina Sands area. The hotel is just about as iconic as the Merlion as it gets highlighted so often because the ship shaped roof has an infinity pool on it. It is a very high end pricey hotel that dominates the skyline on that side of the bay. There is also a casino attached to it along with a mall.
Outside Marina Sands - View from the Deck
Views from the deck outside the Marina Sands. There is a light show in the evenings (which will be shown in later photos).
Part of the Sands complex is an upscale mall (of course)
The mall portion of the property has a canal style theme (like the old Sands sister properties in Las Vegas
Ce La Vie - Marina Sands
Ce La Vie is a bar on top of the Marina Sands. You have to pay entry to ride the elevator to the top but you also get a voucher for a free overpriced drink so the entry fee is not so bad in that context. There is a smaller menu of cocktails that you can order for the free drink.
The view is well worth the admission. It’s best if you can snag a seat by the glass wall on the edge (but it can get got if the sun hits those seats during some parts of the day)
Views of Singapore from Ce La Vie
Looking out over the Singapore Strait, the water is filled with cargo ships waiting to be loaded. The view reminds you of how the country’s geographic importance helped in transforming into a state of wealth.
Walking Across Helix Bridge from the Sands
Leaving the Marina Sands, we walked across the Helix Bridge to the subway station. The bridge is inspired by DNA and along with the helix structure it has the A, T, G, C symbols along the path for the amino acids of DNA.
Singapore Flyer
A view of the wheel from the bridge, just slightly smaller than the High Roller in Vegas
Jigger and Pony
It’s tough to say what is the best of anything but it is probably fair to say that Jigger and Pony is at least one of the most respected cocktail bars in Singapore. It seems like every cocktail bar knew that Jigger and Pony had recently overhauled the menu and it was big news. They are obviously a trend setter and standard bearer for the industry here.
It is located off the lobby of a fancy hotel and they had impeccable service as you would expect. It is rather large on the inside as you have several bar areas which helps them accommodate more customers. We showed up without a reservation and were seated right away but it was also earlier in the evening.
Live Twice
Live Twice wound up being one of my favorite bars in Singapore I think mostly because it was empty since we got there early and got to chat with the bartenders. The sleek clean wood decor felt almost Japanese in a way and they offered quality cocktails.
The bartender also let me try the new Johnnie Walker Black Ruby release. They got the bottle from the distributor and they don’t serve it but let patrons try it.
88 Hong Kong Roast Meat Specialist
In search of some food after hitting the bars, we first ventured to the Maxwell Food Centre but most everything was closed. We then got to this place before it closed and got some excellent roast meats. You can tell this place is packed during the day - especially during lunch but we were able to sneak in an order before they closed. Hong Kong style bbq meats are probably also one of my favorite foods.
Bitters and Love
We had time for one more evening cocktail. Again - being in the Chinatown district is great for getting great food and a lot of bars are located here. The door of Bitters and Love feels speakeasy-ish since the sign is small and you ring to be let in.
It was busy so must be a popular place. They had great cocktails and the menu had a flavor profile wheel to help you select the type of drink you may want. It lists the flavor along with the drink that they think suits that profile.