In Pursuit of Teh Peng, Kaya Toast (Steamed) and Chicken Rice

What I do and what I think you should do in your first 24 hours in Singapore as someone who has been coming to Singapore for 31 years

5 a.m. local time: We touch down in Singapore.

The Air Canada pilot comes over the loudspeaker and welcomes us to Singapore in both French and English before a member of the crew repeats the message in Mandarin and Cantonese. Condensation instantly replaces the frost on the window, and I’m ready to get off this plane. After a 17-hour flight from Vancouver, a race through YVR due to our delayed arrival from Toronto, I’m ready for teh, a shower and a nap.

One of the best things about arriving in Changi Airport has been that Singapore is relentlessly committed to efficiency and progress. It’s been this way since I was a toddler. Unlike other countries where progress seems to erase the magic of traditional life, since independence Singapore has made progress a pillar of society. While some parts of the city feel completely unchanged since the colonial era, each time I arrive, the most unchanging fact of the city is that it always changes. Hawker centres are renovated, buildings constructed, the MRT expanded, etc. Immigration has now become a 5-minute form you fill out online prior to arrival and a gate where you scan your passport before immediately walking out into the baggage claim hall. Compared to the arrivals process at Toronto Pearson, you feel like you are walking straight off the plane into baggage claim.

The catch: our bags are still in Vancouver. The layover was far too short to get our bags onto the flight. Irritating, but that is what insurance is for and with Singapore being the shopping capital of SE Asia, there isn’t much you can’t find here.

7 a.m. local time: I log into class. Yes, I did have class two hours after 23 hours of flying and losing a day to the time change. Jet lag-fuelled delusions, a man who kept circling back to the examples he’s going to share with our teacher (but not the class) and one overly sweet “The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf” strawberry matcha latte later, I had survived.

9:30 a.m. local time: MRT to Orchard Road. Without our checked luggage, we decided to take the MRT downtown. The MRT is Singapore’s subway, air-conditioned, incredibly efficient and super clean. Every time I step onto any Western subway system, I cry a little because it cannot compare to the MRT.

Tourist note: You can tap onto the MRT with your credit card or can buy subway cards to tap with. Similar to a PRESTO card (GO Train/TTC) or an Oyster card (Tube). DO NOT drink on the MRT or bring durian. Seriously, people do not risk the wrath of a Singaporean enforcement officer. The rules are the rules, but the rules keep everything super clean and safe.

10 a.m. local time: After a sweaty walk up Cairnhill, we drop our luggage and FINALLY go out in pursuit of a kopitiam.

Singapore is my second home. It is where I’ve spent the most time outside of my own country. It’s where my mom is from and where I have the most family. I love this little island in Southeast Asia. Christmases spent here are treasured memories and the highlight of the year. When we come back here, I don’t feel like a tourist. The government and my tourist visa say otherwise, but I quickly slip back into my routine, and my morning Teh Peng Siew Dai is a staple. As I’m writing this newsletter, I’ve got my teh next to me.

10:05 a.m. local time, Toast Box, Paragon Shopping Centre: Our room isn’t ready yet, so we dine in and enjoy the first taste of proper kopitiam offerings. It might be a chain, but it is damn good after 18 months away.

Kopitiam means coffee shop, but it refers to a traditional Singaporean and Malaysian-style coffee shop. The kopi (coffee) and teh (tea) are rich, sweet and ordered in a flurry of customizations that would make the most seasoned barista at Starbucks blush. Ordering at a kopitiam can be intimidating (I still sweat a little before getting up to the counter), the words a blend of multiple Chinese languages, English, and Malay… but don’t worry, you can order completely in English, and you will be totally fine. If you want to try your hand at ordering like a local, knowing the main parts of your order in Hokkien will do the trick. My order is almost always teh peng siew dai da bao. Teh (black tea with condensed milk and sugar) Peng (Ice) Siew Dai (less sweet) da bao (take away) is rich, delicious, and has enough caffeine to fuel my 20,000-step day. Singapore’s efficiency has a high correlation with the high amount of caffeine found in a local’s daily kopitiam order.

11:45 a.m. local time, Food Opera, ION Shopping Centre: The main event. It is time for Chicken Rice. Hainanese Chicken rice is Singapore’s national dish. Brought to Singapore by immigrants from Hainan, this dish has been adapted over time to become the delicious comfort food it is today. While many Westerners, upon hearing that the national dish is simply chicken and rice, scoff. Do not underestimate the layers of flavour in the steamed chicken, the oil rice and the chicken rice chilli. Seriously… do not underestimate the chicken. I dumped a boyfriend after he told me it was “just ok”. I had been contemplating it before that moment, but honestly, who tells their girlfriend of 3 months that her favourite food is “just ok”! I joke about it now, but it was a serious moment of holy shit: my future husband and father of my children needs to not make stupid, incorrect comments about chicken rice being lacklustre when I ask to eat it for the 3rd time in one day while in Singapore. Some may say I was unreasonable; I personally think I saved us time by diagnosing our incompatibilities before it was too late. My partner now fully supports my chicken rice lifestyle. Never settle.

3 p.m. local time: no luggage yet, but the room is ready, and it is time to shower after 30+ hours. Yikes.

5 p.m. local time: with no luggage, we headed back out to Orchard Road for some essentials.

6 p.m. local time: duck rice.

If you are wondering why there is less editorial commentary from 5 pm onwards, it is because I was so exhausted at that point that my memories are fuzzy. After duck rice, we promptly returned to the room and passed out.

Your first 24 hours in Singapore.

Coming from the East Coast of North America, Singapore is a brutal 12-hour time difference. For orienting yourself, it is really easy, but the first 72 hours in the country are a bit of a challenge while the dehydration and complete flip of your day wreak havoc on your system.

Here is what I think you should do when you land.

Upon Arrival: grab your luggage and head to Jewel Changi. It is in T1, so depending on which terminal you arrive in, you can walk or take the train.

Jewel is a giant mall, not a crazy cultural experience… well actually mall culture and Singapore are synonymous but not the point here. You can store your luggage and walk around or drag it with you. Totally up to your vibe and pain tolerance.

What I would suggest doing is going to Ya Kun, grabbing a Set F2 (steamed kaya peanut, with two soft-boiled eggs and a drink) if in the AM, kopi or teh; get it iced or “peng” if you want something more refreshing - and recover from the horrors of 17+ hours of plane food with delicious steamed white bread, coconut jam and peanut butter and the umami hit of eggs with soy sauce. The waterfall in Changi (the one all over the internet) runs every hour. Take the external escalators up to your desired vantage point and enjoy the music, the show and being inside an indoor tropical rainforest.

After you are done at Jewel, take a Grab or the MRT to your accommodation. Grab is like Uber.

Something about Singapore which is a bit funny to me is that, nestled in this ultra-high-tech city, are cash-only hawkers, markets and vendors. Make sure to keep a bit of cash on you at all times, just in case. Most taxis take credit cards, but they definitely prefer cash.

Check in, get refreshed, and put on your stretchy pants because it is time to eat again. Depending on your energy levels and how much time you have in the city-state, you can be as adventurous as you want, but with limited time, I would recommend you head to one of the city's famous hawker centres for a meal and some sugarcane or calamansi juice. I would also recommend barley water or barley drink (depending on who is selling it will be called one or the other) but it is a bit more “local” than the juices. Delicious but not a common flavour outside of Asia.

Which hawker centre you visit will depend on what food you are looking to eat. Singaporeans will tell you with great enthusiasm that different centres are better for different foods. They are 100% right but also 100% wrong. Everyone has different opinions on which stall is the best and which centre is the best. But we will ALL agree that you cannot get everything at one place. Sorry guys, it is confusing and probably irritating, but because of this, I would recommend heading to a famous hawker centre and trying some of this country's most famous dishes: chicken rice, char kway teow, satay, nasi lemak, nasi goreng, etc.

Getting to the hawker centre is best done by MRT. Grab and taxis are readily available, but to properly get to know the city using the MRT is the way to go. It is so affordable and efficient. Do not be surprised when you see Birkins and Classic Flaps on the MRT; it is THE transportation method of choice here. Cars in Singapore not only have massive import fees, but the surcharges on fuel and the license costs here make them egregiously expensive. People do own cars, of course; it is a status symbol, but much like in NYC, why sit in traffic when the MRT saves you time and money?

IF I were to suggest one hawker centre to you, I would recommend Lau Pa Sat. It is the oldest Victorian cast-iron structure on the island (and technically in SE Asia) and is the start of an excellent loop through the colonial district where Raffles Hotel is, around Marina Bay to Marina Bay Sands.

Warning: DO NOT do this loop between noon and 3 pm, and do not do it without sunscreen and water. Singapore is 30°C and sunny almost every day of the year.

The heat in Singapore is like mid-July in Toronto. If you aren’t used to the heat, the sun and the humidity, I would recommend caution when going out at midday.

After your meal at Lau Pa Sat, if you have the energy, a meander from the CBD to MBS past the Padang, Raffles Hotel and South Beach is a lovely way to help your meals digest.

Marina Bay Sands is the top of every travel blog's list of things to do in Singapore, but it is just a tourist trap. I say this to set the expectation that this is not an area full of culture and tradition. It is a cool architectural moment, a massive shopping mall and a lovely garden, BUT it is not Singapore as a Singaporean would live it. Kampong Gelam is more “Singapore” than this. On the MBS of it all, one of my cousins from Canada went to Singapore (without me, truly rookie mistake #1 lol because she just did really, really basic tourist things) and was like, “the city is meh”… after only being in the MBS area. Do not be surprised if you go to MBS and find it underwhelming. It’s literally a casino and a shopping mall. Cool, pretty, convenient for shopping, but not a hallmark of culture.

If you are looking for a bit more of what Singapore is, Katong–Joo Chiat or Emerald Hill, where you can see Peranakan shophouses and enjoy the Peranakan and Nyonya culture, is much better in my opinion.

If you’ve done the walk around the marina to MBS, you can catch the MRT back to your accommodations or grab a taxi from the many taxi stands at the hotel, casino or mall.

The best thing to do on arrival day is to grab a bit of food, enjoy the gorgeous weather and sleep early!

I really hope you enjoy my favourite place in the world (no pressure).

xo Steph