Pit stop Singapore (pt.5)

Other beach bars on Sentosa are: Bikini Bar (Serving ice-cold beer, tantalizing cocktails and breezers), Bora Bora Beach Bar (beach bar with the sounds of French and Latin jazz), Club Islander (“Sentosa's premier beach bar” with cool jazzy music, theme nights and funky parties) or COASTES (“its three distinct sections are the ingredients for an incredibly versatile venue. From families wanting weekend fun and couples seeking dreamy calm, to executives needing a post-work chill and the club crowd looking to party in paradise”).
 
As a choice for stay on the island Amara Sancturay Resort on Palawan Beach (opened in 2007) is recommended where colonial heritage can be experienced. With its unique blend of colonial and contemporary architectural styles this resort is a winner of the prestigious Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) Architectural Heritage Awards 2007. Amara Sancturay Resort is nestled beautifully on a hillside, surrounded by 3.5 hectares of gardens and natural tropical rainforest. Suites are housed in a stretch of 1930s bungalows originally built to quarter British army sergeants. And its Si Bon restaurant, serving exquisite Japanese cuisine, is housed in Singapore’s oldest Chapel.

 

This leads us to the modern and dramatic history of Singapore presented at the renovated National Museum’s History Gallery. You can spend a whole day in there and still have more exciting stories to come back for.

 

Learn all about the nation state’s modern and especially 20th century’s very dramatic history and how it grew into one of the world’s most important hubs for shipping already by the late 19th century, which is presented using a story-telling approach.

 

The National Museum itself is also a landmark building with its classic neo-Pallachian façade (a European style of architecture (1508–1580) derived from the designs of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio). Admire the glass corridor linking the original building with its extension and a 16 metres high glass-and-steel rotunda.

 

This museum is building is also home to 3 plush restaurants and bars on its grounds, including MUSE. Here you can admire the interior – a mix of modern and retro with high ceilings, huge armchairs and designer seats – or enjoy drinks at the outdoor decks in the museum’s courtyard. MUSE has a 8-metre high ceiling and 8 red pillars in rows in the main room, with a DJ booth in the far end. In the adjacent room is the KRUG bar, an exclusive area where you can indulge in an exquisite selection of Krug champagne vintages exclusively available at Muse.

 

The venue uses LED lighting to get thousands of shifting colour patterns which you contemplate while you sip on Classic Cocktails and a selection of Martinis, such as the Asian Martini (ingredients: Belvedere Cyprus shaken with peach liqueur, fresh lemon and lychee juice and a hint of mint with peach bitter) or the Cuban Muse: Bacardi with carta blanca rum shaken with fresh mint, Cointreau and a hint of fresh lime topped with pineapple juice. The resident mixologist has also incorporating international trends of integrating fresh seasonal fruit with native herbs and spices, to create four cocktails.

 

After sunset find anything that tickles your fancy and this guide would definitely be incomplete if not mentioning one of the latest clusters of bars and restaurants situated in a unique setting. In an area of lush greenery and resort-style atmosphere find the wine-and-dine destination Tanglin Village including Dempsey Hill, which used to be colonial-era military barracks, a base for the British. Here, government buildings have been transformed into lifestyle venues and hip hangouts, neighbour to Singapore’s Botanical Gardens, a golf course and parks and just minutes away from the city centre

 

Tanglin Village is a serene spot with a cluster of small bars, cafes and restaurants.

 

Enjoy the Dempsey House lifestyle venue or try for instance Fabbrica wine bar serving swordfish wrapped in Proscuito; L’Organic, a café and shop with organic produce; Wine Network or Angels’s Share, a sophisticated wine bar.

 

Quaruba’r offers relaxation on cosy daybeds whilst sipping from a fine selection of wines, catch the latest sports on the TV screens, Savouring  concoctions with delectable choice of finger food. Their live music menu consists in harmonies of Jazz, Latin & Tango.

 

For more alternatives try the restaurant Prime Society or The Hacienda – a casual down tempo al fresco bar.

 

Rochester Park is another hotspot among the offerings for dining and entertainment.

 

There is also much more to be said about Singapore past twilight. Entering into nightlife a few picks will now follow.

 

Singapore can become very humid and hot. Then it can be exotic in the opposite way to visit Eski bar for a really cool drink in a bar room temperature of -5 degrees to 15 degrees Celsius. Popular among tourists and people from the business district Eski bar is open until 3 am the day after on Fridays and Saturdays. Among the drinks you find Sleeping polar bear (malibu, cacao white, milk and pineapple juice).

 

The national cocktail of Singapore, the Singapore Sling – the original mix is also sold and served by at the designated The Foundry, Clarke Quay – a full-fledged bar in timeless colonial beauty.

 

Very much part of Singapore’s history it was created in 1915 and at first a ladies cocktail in the early 20th century by a Hainanese bartender. Finally it was perfected in 1985 by True Heritage, the brewery.

 

Clarke Quay is also a hotspot for entertainment with tens of bars and restaurants along the Singapore River and also home to several nightclubs. If visiting this area, do also consider The Clinic where hospital white, syringes etc. permeates the venue inspired by a clinic and where you get drinks in test-tubes

 

At Clarke Quay one can, possibly, enjoy an entirely different kind of amusement. If being in for a thrill it is your cup of tea, have your self catapulted skywards at no less than 200 kilometres per hour in the G-Max Reverse Bungy.

 

Looking for a birds-eye-view of the city the new Ferris wheel with its 28 glass pods taking you 165 metres up into the air is of course a prime attraction. Enjoy wine and canapés served during the half-hour rotation, while you can see all the way to Indonesia on a clear day.

 

For those of us who prefer both feet on the ground, but perhaps high up in a building, the view from one of the city’s tottering towers, the Equinox Complex, is also striking. If you want to impress on someone its New Asia Bar on level 71 offers Spectacular views of Singapore, Malaysia and parts of Indonesia.

 

Enjoy easy listening beats throughout the day, sensuous cocktails, sundowner specials during the whole afternoon as well as prestigious champagnes. The mood heightens in the late night hours and the skyline is just as magnificent then.

 

We can safely conclude that Singapore has more than enough of exciting things for everyone. Add to that the Formula 1, causing a for Singapore unprecedented frenzy.

 

By now you are probably exhausted from reading this, just wait until you arrive to Singapore for a weekend, trying to discover it all…

 

Text and images: Joakim Persson

 

Read the rest of this destination review:

Part I: Pit stop Singapore - booming development, vibrant-events, brimming with confidence

Part II: Pit stop Singapore: numerous vibrant events and festivals, cultural influx, global aspirations

Part III: Pit stop Singapore - nighlife, Naumi hotel, Peranakan at InterContinental

Part IV: Pit stop Singapore - M Hotel, VivoCity, Keppel Island, Sentosa island

Links to international events, venues and entertainment in Singapore:

www.singaporegp.sg

www.visitsingapore.com

www.timeoutsingapore.com

www.galleryhotel.com.sg/html/index.html

www.naumihotel.com

www.millenniumhotels.com.sg/mhotelsingapore/index.html

www.singapore.intercontinental.com

www.sentosa.com.sg

www.marinabaysands.com

www.tigerlive.com.sg

www.underwaterworld.com.sg

www.nationalmuseum.sg

www.mosaicmusicfestival.com

www.singfest.sg

www.singaporeartsfest.com

www.singaporebiennale.org

www.singaporesunfestival.com

www.SingaporeBeerFestival.com

www.dempseyhill.com

www.tanglinvillage.com.sg

www.visitsingapore.com/publish/stbportal/en/home/where_to_eat/dining_precincts/rochester.html

www.pscafe.sg

www.hacienda.com.sg

www.dempseyhouse.com

www.majesticbar.com
(For handicrafted cocktails)

www.newmajestichotel.com
(Design boutique hotel with eclectic mix of heritage)

www.fabbrica.com.sg

www.theclinic.sg

www.supperclub.com/

www.prive.com.sg/
(Keepel Island marina)

www.loof.com.sg/rooftopbar/
(Rooftop bar opposite Raffles hotel)

 

See also Image gallery Singapore

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