Relocating to a new place means every weekend can be like a vacation. It sure felt like it when we explored the downtown area by Singapore River. Arriving at the Raffles MRT Station, this place feels very different on a weekend. There are no one in their office suits rushing around to get from one place to another. Instead, the place is packed with tourists taking pictures or groups of young adults playing their favorite musical instrument. With the Christmas events in town, this place is also swarmed with people shopping from temporary stalls along the river.
From the Raffles MRT station, we walked along Boat Quay. This area is filled to the brim with bars, seafood restaurants and spas squeezed between the restaurants. Everyone stands right outside their shop trying to lure you in with their best dishes, cheapest beer for happy hour or the most popular sports show of the season. The end of Boat Quay is an underpass that once hosted a beautiful painting depicting the politics of Singapore. The mural has been partially torn down…wonder if it is an act of vandalism or there are plans for a change in scenery.
Stop #1 - Cafe Iguana
With so many bars in this area, there is definitely a happy hour somewhere. Cafe Iguana is a Mexican restaurant and their margarita price increases as the day gets later. Hence, it was a great place for those who like to start early. It took us a while to find this place because the blur us was looking for a place called Chameleon (this place was recommended to us as the place to go for margaritas).
Stop #2 - Liang Court
With the day still bright, we decided to roam indoors for a bit. We came upon Liang Court, a Japanese themed shopping mall located just upstream of Clarke Quay. The highlight there for me was Uniqlo and Kinokuniya. On a previous trip, we visited Tampopo with some friends. Their fresh sushi is highly recommended.
Stop #3 - Sque and The Central
Looking for another place to enjoy happy hour, we head back towards Riverside Point (Clarke Quay is pretty much isolated before nightfall). After window shopping at the stalls set up along the river, we stopped by the Sque Rotiserrie & Alehouse for their buy 1 get 1 happy hour deal. Their location was great for people watching and so we decided to stay for dinner…highly not recommended. Their meat dishes came out barely cooked or extremely greasy. It was quite a disappointment for a place they call Rotiserrie. As we were about to leave, we realized the Sque is actually part of another mall - The Central. This is quite a maze of a mall with each section practically hidden from another. But they have a few Christmas-themed stalls on the first floor with pretty reasonable prices.
Stop #4 - Mad for Garlic at Clarke Quay
After all the walking and barely had any food, we walked across the river to Clarke Quay and found Mad for Garlic. I was looking for an ice-cream place but JQ convinced me to try their pizza dessert. The verdict - I wouldn't mind getting it again!
