The Gardens by the Bay

The latest addition to the tourist attractions in Singapore has got to be the 'Gardens by the Bay' which is just next to the Marina Bay Sands. It is sitting on a reclaimed land which shaped the Singapore shore into straight lines. There was a joke saying that you can draw the Singapore map with a ruler thanks to the reclamation work. Well, back to the park, it has a size of 101 hectares.

The most outstanding feature of the park is the Supertree Grove. It has nothing to do with Superman. Neither Superwoman, Superboy nor Supergirl. I don't know why they are called the Supertrees, but they are just concrete and steel trees.

There is an elevated platform hanging on the Supertrees which you have to pay to get on. With the cheapskate tourist in me, I didn't go up. I only roamed around the grove with my camera and tripod.

The Marina Bay Sands becomes part of the view from the grove and it can be quite interesting by nightfall.

The Supertrees come to 'life' in the evening with the glowing lights. I am still not convinced that they are trees. They are just man-made structures.

There is a lake in the park that offers a good view of the Marina Bay Sands thanks to the mirror-like reflection on the lake.

When I got back to the path leading back to the Marina Bay Sands again, I saw the Supertrees again. There are just some glowing structures, not trees!

The Republic of Food

The hawker food of Singapore and Malaysia has very high similarity as they all originated from the same root, an amalgamation of Chinese, Malay and Indian food. Some years ago, a business group has gathered some of the best Singapore hawker food under one concept-store style food court called Food Republic. There are many outlets all over Singapore particularly in the shopping malls.

I visited the one at the newly-renovated Wisma Atria and it was fully packed with diners at lunch peak hours. I visited the same outlet a few years back and the situation was the same. It seems that the food court is never lacking in customers.

I also felt like I was spoilt for choices. I went round and round the stalls looking for something that could really satisfy my gastronomy for Singapore hawker food.

At the end I settled for the fried prawn noodles which is also a signature dish of Singapore hawker food. There was a long queue for the noodles and I knew I had made the right choice, because the first rule in good food hunting is spotting the crowd around it. The chef did not stop cooking the noodles since I first joined the queue. I saw the whole process of how my food was prepared.

When I finally acquire my plate of fried prawn noodles, the next challenge was to look for a seat. I was lucky to find a seat by the glass window and I could finally savour my plate of hot Singapore hawker food. The stir-fried noodles were soft and coated with very subtle prawn broth. The fresh lime and the chili paste that came with it elevated the taste of the noodles to a different level if you like spicy and sour taste.