I fly from Sydney to Mumbai once a year and one of the stopover options is Singapore. It was a while before I ventured out to eat in a Singapore hawker centre and I was just starting to enjoy it. And then Covid hit and these visits stopped. Like many other pursuits, the moment Covid ended I threw myself into it with more zeal. Nothing like having it taken away for a few years just when you are getting into it. No matter the number of times you do it now, there is always the feeling that all this will go away in the snap of a finger.
I would not say the first visit was a disaster but it remains memorable for the wrong reasons. I had decided to go to Lau Pa Sat as that was the most well known one then (this was before Crazy Rich Asians hit the screens). And to think these days I would look down my nose at going to such a touristy place! Once I got there, I realised I had no local currency and all the stalls took cash only. The nearest ATM was almost a km away and I had to trudge there with my heavy backpack filled with photography gear. Once there I thought $50 should do the trick – hawker centres are known for cheap food. Wrong! A dish of pricey Singapore crab and I had to choose between ordering very little afterwards or yet another trudge to the ATM. I chose the lazy option and confined myself to a bit of fruit. Then came time to catch a cab back to the airport. Easily done – stand on the roadside and wave at one. But not this time. Singapore had switched to online ordering of cabs and hailing a cab on the street had gone the way of the rickshaw. And my phone was slowly dying. As time left to board my flight was fast diminishing like my phone battery charge, I tried getting a local to help. She tried but it was not easy. I started getting more desperate. Even the occasional cab that stopped had a driver that was reluctant to go to the airport. I tried offering an extra $10. No luck. Increasingly desperate, I ran up to a cab stopped at the signal and tapped on the glass. When he reluctantly rolled the window down, I offered an extra $30. He hesitated and then let me in. My relief was indescribable. On the way, he gestured at the meter and said this already is over $30. What is his problem? When we reached the airport the meter was $35. As promised, I handed over $65. He look puzzled and said it was $35. I said, yes, I said $30 over meter. And he goes – oh I thought $30 for the whole trip. Apparently, he only stopped because he saw the desperation in my eyes and not at the inflated fare offer! I insisted on paying the whole amount and he could not stop thanking me. And I responded – no, let me thank you, I was close to missing a flight. I hurriedly entered the airport swearing that I will never do this ever again. Little did I know it was start of a habit that would continue to this day. Even though, these days, I make two trips a year. And I still look forward to the next visit. But thanks to my scarring experience, I over-plan and over-research every trip now.
These days, every trip has a plan. To save time and being a bit lazy, especially on a full stomach, I confine myself to a single hawker centre. Weeks before, I start looking for a good hawker centre to visit. Once I pick one, I start reading blogs on it. I start watching youtube videos. I usually stick to dishes talked about here at the risk of missing something new. I then draw up a list of dishes and the place where they are sold. Though all I can manage are probably 5 or 6 dishes – I know, more than most – I pick about 10 or even 20. Once you get there you may find out that place has a long queue or it is closed. Again, to my detriment, I avoid places with a long queue. Over the years, there are very few places that you have to queue and I have decided that standing in a queue detracts from my fundamental rights. Besides, I can find the same dish somewhere else and my tourist palette will scarcely know the difference.
It took me a while to figure out every shop in a hawker centre has a number. And they are logically laid out. Some blogs may mention it. But I scan the photos and youtube videos for that small, barely noticeable shop number and make a note. It usually looks something like #01-48. That goes into my list. Some blogs may even mention opening hours but that is not reliable. It does not faze me when the first 5 or so shops on my list are closed. There is a reason my list is 20 shops long.
Times have changed and some shops will take a card but the twitching of my battle scars means I carry at least $100 in cash. And you must carry a “hawker centre passport” – that box of tissues. There is plenty of food, array of cutlery but no tissues! And no place to get one. So I assume everyone carries this pack of tissues. It serves a dual purpose – a box of tissues sitting on a table is the traditional ‘chope’. It means someone has called dibs on that table and is getting their food. I lie awake at nights, worrying about a terrorist attack where they go around putting a box of tissues on every table while the local population slowly starves to death 😊 The food may be a sticky set of chicken wings or a messy, red dish of bone. So I use wet tissues. And wear a drifit t shirt. Woe betides the newbie who turns up wearing a white tshirt.
Well before wheels down, I am getting ready. A few stretches to limber up and shake off the sleep, if needed. I have already filled in the SGAC (Singapore Arrival Card) online the day before or even on the flight. I get off and check the terminal my next flight takes off rom. I head there or to my personal preference Terminal 3. Go to the arrival hall. Here is where the fabled Singapore efficiency takes over. If you have filled up your SGAC, you walk up to one of the several gates (no queue) and scan your passport. A photo and you are through. It takes a minute. Sorry, I exaggerate – more like 30 seconds. That is it. Waltz through the green channel and head straight for the Smart Carte where I check in my hand luggage and retain my passport and may be a small backpack. It costs around $11-16 and the queue is short or non-existent. And don’t forget the box of tissues. Get some cash from the ATM now. Line up for a taxi (usually no queue here either). Jump in and tell taxi uncle where you want to go.
Twenty bucks and 15 mins later you are at said hawker centre. Wipe drool off chin, go in. Some places have a buzzer that they give you but most places you hang around and wait for your order. Don’t. Place your order and do the same at a few nearby stalls. Find a beverage shop and grab a juice or beer and then make your rounds back to collect your food. On most of my visits, it is past peak time so there is not much of a queue and there are plenty of spare tables.
The downside is a few of the places have closed by then. Once I have finished, I go the second round where I wander about and tick a few more places off my list. Then all that is left is to clear up my plates and drop them off at the plates station. There are separate ones for halal and non-halal, please don’t mix them up. And don’t you dare leave them on the table – there is a fine for that.
Good news, Kway Teow place has no 45 minute queue 🙂 Bad news, Kway Teow place is closed 🙁
Use one the taxi apps – I use Grab or Zig. Grab your hand luggage from Smart Carte. On the way back in, immigration takes a lot longer. Sometimes they check your passport manually before they let you in and the 30 seconds may blow out to a minute or two. No xray screening, just plug in your passport and you are in. Chill out at the airport till your outgoing flight. And be prepared for a long wait as the whole trip took a lot less time that you expected. I have done this on 4 hour stopovers but I am one of those last minute people. I know folks who turn up 4 hours in advance at the airport for their flights. At this point, I head for the lounge and have a shower (I carry a change of clothes). And then, shameful as it is, I check out the buffet for some more food. And dessert. For all the wide variety of food in Singapore, the dessert selection is either slim or not to my taste. And cut fruit does not hit the spot and not every place has Putu Piring.
Better find something at the airport or visit the endless confusing maze that is Jewel at Changi Airport if you have the time. I tend to finish every meal with a gelato. Try the gelato at Birds of Paradise as long as there is no queue or settle for Gelatissimo and eat it next to the famous waterfall.
