Singapore’s slick and shiny shopping malls are often touted as best in the world, making this tiny island a go-to place for retail lovers. But what if high street brands and luxury boutiques aren’t your bag? Then why not venture out of the megastore for some local bargains and flavours at these Singaporean shopping haunts?
Wet markets
The fresh food markets awaken with daybreak, as the supply trucks deliver and the restaurant chefs and home cooks do battle over the the best ingredients. One of the busiest, most colourful wet markets is to be found on the basement level of Chinatown Complex. Make sure you’re wearing waterproof shoes for this visit. Once the crowds die down around mid-morning, you’ll have a bit more room to check out the wonderful displays of fruits, vegetables and sea creatures stacked in neat rows. For a local treat to take home, try Anthony the Spice Maker’s legendary rendang curry blend.
Chinese medical halls – get some TLC with some TCM
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a 2000-year tradition, and the stores are a fascinating window into the world of Eastern medicine. Rows of jars, walls of tiny drawers and baskets of weird and wonderful looking dried plants and animals are bound to leave you wondering just what they might be. Traditionally, a customer explains their ailment to the practitioner and a remedy is swiftly rustled up. Unfortunately, the traditional medical halls are dwindling in Singapore, though you’ll still find a few around Chinatown. If you really want some TCM, try the Eu Yan Sang – not as authentic but practitioners are English speaking and the medicines are usually labeled and packaged.
HBD flats – journey into Singapore's heartlands
Over 80% of Singaporeans live in state-run Housing Board Development (HDB) tower blocks. Amazingly, inside these, you’ll find local coffee shops, hawker stalls, food markets, hardware stores and a variety of knick-knack shops selling everything from household goods to local sweets. They’re the perfect places to spend an afternoon wandering while also getting a glimpse into local communities. Pop up from the MRT line at Toa Payoh or Pasir Ris and start exploring. One of the city-state's hippest third-wave coffee shops, Nylon Coffee Roasters, is tucked underneath an Everton Park HDB block; its brew is worth the trip.
Mustafa Centre – get lost in Little India
In Little India, you’ll find the Mustafa Centre, a giant shopping nirvana. You’ll need to set aside a few hours to explore it properly. You’ll find everything from the latest electronics to hair accessories, groceries to sporting equipment, gold sellers to money changers. It is a daunting maze inside and even getting out might take you the best part of an hour. If you love a bargain, you’ll appreciate the cheap prices but - it’s busy every day and even busier on Sundays. Best time to visit is in the small hours (they’re open 24 hours), but even at 2am you’ll find plenty of customers wandering the aisles doing their weekly grocery haul.
Antique treasures?
Skip the touristy mish-mash of Chinatown’s Pagoda St and instead head for Tong Mern Sern Antiques Arts & Crafts, in nearby Craig Road. The sign out front humorously proclaims ‘We buy junk and sell antiques’. Inside you’ll find a treasure trove of porcelain plates, paintings, Peranakan tiles, lamps, trinkets and even some vintage bicycles hanging from the rafters. Spot something that takes your fancy? Unlike many Singaporean establishments, you’re allowed to gently haggle on the price.
Durians - delectable or disgusting?
Don’t try to pack this green, spiky, so-called ‘king of fruit’ in your luggage for later. It emits one of the most pungent and obnoxious odours in Asia. Despite being banned from hotels and public transport, don’t let that put you off. You may discover that, like many locals, you quite like it. Sellers can be found in Chinatown, but the full local experience is to be had at Durian Culture in Geylang. Here you’ll find packed tables of friends and families, plastic gloves on, happily digging into the mellow yellow flesh while seemingly oblivious to the stench. Stallholders will help you choose a fruit, open it and then it’s up to you to tuck in – it does allegedly taste better than it smells, though how much better is in the tastebuds of the beholder.
Singapore snacks – beyond the average
You can grab a chocolate bar anywhere, but it’s much more fun to visit a traditional Singapore snack shop. Carnivores head to Lim Chee Guan, famous for its bak kwa (barbequed preserved pork). During Chinese New Year the queue will stretch around the block. The sweet-toothed should not miss Tong Heng, an old-school bakery selling lusciously flakey egg tarts. If you need a biscuit with your afternoon tea, try the range at Biscuit Shop – the brightly coloured iced gems are a fun treat but the pineapple cookies and lemon puffs will have connoisseurs swooning.
Time for tea
The beautiful tins at famous tea purveyor TWG make a lovely keepsake. However, you can learn all about the history of tea by heading to Tea Chapter, where you can savour a cup of loose leaf tea prepared with the utmost precision, purchase your favourite blend and grab a stunning tea set as a souvenir.
Title Image Credit: Alan Samuel (Image Cropped)