Singapore: Day 4

On Tuesday, Emily, Laney and I went to NUH for breakfast again. This time the line for the breakfast station wasn't too long and we weren't in a rush like we were the day before. I ordered the supposed healthier option, the popiah. I'm not exactly sure what was in this delicious roll of crunchy goodness, but it was tasty! Emily and Laney ordered the breakfast sets of kaya toast, eggs, and kopi. I will have to try the breakfast sets sometime too.

Popiah

After breakfast, we all met at the Kent Ridge MRT station and commenced our city tour. The AIC chartered a bus and hired a tour guide for us, which was a huge plus. Our first stop was the to see the Merlion statue at Merlion Park. The Merlion is a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish; it is the mascot of Singapore (a very peculiar, but cute one in my opinion).

The symbolic Merlion facing the water

Group picture in front of the Merlion

Merlion Park

Next stop was the Malay area, Kampang Glam. This was another interesting part of Singapore-- not quite like Little India or Chinatown in terms of atmosphere, architecture, and layout. There were a couple of beautiful mosques as well as many restaurants and shops. We stopped by Haji Lane, which was just a street over, to do some vintage shopping. The clothes and accessories were very cute and  indeed vintage; Apparently, the clothes were designed by local designers and handmade! I bought a white chiffon top for $8 and a dress for $12. Can't wait to wear them!

Kampang Glam

Haji Lane, a street filled with vintage shops

Our last stop was in Little India (my third time visiting there by now). We shopped around, but the best part was the food. We grabbed lunch at a vegetarian restaurant by the name of Komala Vilas. I ordered the rawa dosai, which is an Indian crepe. It was definitely a new experience, but a tasty one. I thought Naan N Curry and House of Curries were delicious, but I will never see them the same way ever again thanks to the all the amazing Indian food here in Singapore! After lunch, we returned to our explorations. I bought two mangosteens (the supposed "queen of fruit") for a little less than a dollar. I love fruit (durians remain the only iffy one), so I've been having a blast with the fruit in Singapore. We also stopped by a stand for Indian sweets and I bought a Chandra Kala, which is a half-moon shaped sweet filled with khoya and nuts. As usual, the Indian food here does not disappoint-- the dessert was absolutely delicious!

Rawa dosai

Stand for Indian sweets

Chandra Kala

 After the tour, we were brought back to PGPR and relaxed for a bit. A few hours later, a group of us ventured to the City Hall area and explored. We had dinner at the local hawker station called Makansutra Gluttons Bay. The food there is absolutely amazing, definitely the best meal I've had so far in Singapore!! We each ordered a dish and had a family-style dinner, which allowed us to try various types of food. We had the mee goreng, wonton soup, oyster omelette, fried carrot cake, roti prata, chicken rice, and char kway teow, and each dish was mouth-wateringly delicious. Definitely need to return for another round!

 Emily and I also tried durian for the very first time, as the others urged us that it was delicious. We ordered and shared a durian shaved ice from the dessert booth. Emily thought the taste was okay, but I couldn't get past the stench and was very iffy about the taste. I had two spoons of it and was done (but not for forever perhaps).

Durian shaved ice

Emily and her durian shaved ice

Afterwards, we walked along the river and gazed at the city line. I cannot get enough of this beautiful view! It's so interesting how Singapore is so urban with its business and shopping districts, yet so country-like with Little India, Kampang Glam, Chinatown, the hawkers stations, etc. and it's all on ONE island. Definitely mind-boggling how Singapore compacted everything into such a small area!

Group picture in front of the river