Insider guide to Singapore

Gaynor Reid, Director of Communications, Asia Pacific at Accor gives us the Insider Guide to Singapore.

What does Singapore mean to you?

Singapore is about great food, heat, sweat and access to the rest of the world.

Time to Get Lost

Singapore’s tourism theme is to “Get Lost and Find the Real Singapore”.  Where would you take visitors to discover the real Singapore?

I get lost on a weekly basis when I just go to the shopping centres.  Every mall leads into another so I can enter at Ion and finish on the other side of the city.  If you don’t like someone and want to get them lost, just send them shopping. I love Tiong Bahru which is a really hip suburb with great boutiques and spas, bookshops, cafes. That is where I would go to get lost in terms of spending an afternoon exploring.

As an expat in Singapore can you give us the Insider Guide to Singapore dining?

The Tippling Club is one of Singapore’s most expensive restaurants. They do amazing food. Being a Sydneysider I don’t want to pay a fortune for wine so I like exploring places where you can get a good happy hour. Ding Dong is one of my favourites. It’s just off Club Street. It has amazing south-east Asian cuisine and they also do an affordable wine by the carafe.

There is a restaurant called Artichoke on Middle Road which is fantastic. The décor reminds me of Melbourne a bit as it has a funky vibe, the maître d is amazing.  There is a restaurant called Bacchanalia which is styled on a Roman orgy.  They have two dishes that have been named in the “Top Things to Eat Before You Die” list and they do an amazing burger for $25.  I also really like Level 33 _ they have a gnocchi dish which is amazing and the other one is Satay Street which is just outside the Sofitel So.

Breakfast time?

Australians love a good breakfast.  Can you give us the Insider Guide to Singapore breakfasts?

There is a place where I live _ I live at Robertson’s Quay _ called Common Man Coffee Roasters and they do a really good breakfast.  It’s all about the brunch for Singaporeans so a lot of hotels do a great brunch that goes for hours.  It starts at 12pm and you drink free flow champagne – every hotel has it and it goes forever. It is where you go if you want a really hardy breakfast.

Mum’s the word in Singapore

You are a mum with a young daughter, where do you like to take her in Singapore?  

Sentosa. We go there about three times a month. A lot of times we go to Adventure Cove and Universal Studios and we have annual passes for all of those.  Last weekend we went to Sentosa just for four hours.  We took a cable car across and did zip lining, had lunch at one of the beach clubs and went home a two o’clock.  We can also do that a Universal Studios because we have the annual pass. It’s cheap.  We go there in the morning _ that is the best time to go because Singaporeans don’t get up early. and there’s no queues.  Sentosa has something for all age groups.  For my daughter the best part of living in Singapore is pretty much going to Sentosa.

What about the Sofitel So, what do you love about it? 

What I love about it is that it’s not like any other hotel in Singapore. It’s a blend of French sophistication and Singapore so when you go to your room you will find that your mini bar has its own version of the Singapore Sling. You have a dome above your bed that is very European but it reflects a map of Singapore on it so it is very much shows the best of Singaporean and French.

Explore a food tradition

I love that our chef has gone to Lau Pa Sat (satay street) which is one of the oldest hawker centres here. He has spoken to the hundred-year-old families who have had a stall at the hawkers centre and she takes some of their traditional menus and makes them modern.  So one of my favourite things is the foie gras shumai dumplings which is a Singaporean dish but with foie gras, mixing the best of both worlds – you will love it.  We will try one after.

And what about the rooftop pool at the Sofitel So. The golden pool?

The gold tile swimming pool, I’ve actually been talking about this swimming pool for two years. There is no other rooftop swimming pool in the world that is tiled in gold.  If that doesn’t say luxury nothing else does.