Making Each Day Count

Recently I went to Singapore for a business trip. It was great seeing the Garden City once again. The last time I went was in 2022, and i remember enjoying the view of the pink bougainvillea lined highway on the car drive from the airport to the city hotel.

I took a very early morning flight from Manila and arrived at Singapore before 10AM. I booked my stay at Novotel on Stevens, which near Singapore’s main shopping street: Orchard Street.

Though I was in much need of sleep since I’ve been up since 2AM, I wouldn’t be able to check in until 3PM. So, I took that time to walk around Ion Orchard Mall, and later on to Emerald Hill. I first heard about Emerald Hill from Ju-Lyn, whose posts about Singapore finds are my Go-To’s, and since then I was determined to check it out and marked it as Want to Go to in Google Maps.

I enjoyed my strill at Emerald Hill. It was a picturesque street filled with beautiful houses, a great way to cap off my day.

Whilst my trip was work-driven, one thing I looked forward to after hours was catching up with friends. We went to hawker centers for the next two nights I was there. Newton Food Center was the first we went to. It was packed with people and it was fun shopping around for our dinner. I liked watching the vendors efficiently prepare and serve the food. We got many dishes, and the ones that stood out for me were the cereal prawn and the durian mousse.

The next night my friends and I met up at Zion Riverside Food Centre. This is where I buy what I consider as the best prawn noodle soup. A friend brought me here once and since then I pay this place a mandatory visit every chance I go to Singapore. While I waited in queue for my prawn noodle soup, my friend lined up for kway teow. She wanted to introduce the fried savory noodle dish topped with egg, fish cake and sausage. Our wait in line was worth it as the food was fantastic. I now crave them as I write this.

Before going home to the Philippines, I was finally able to see the Jewel Changi Airport. I missed this the last time I visited Singapore in 2022. I guess, looking at things from a positive perspective, the last-minute notification from my airline that my flight was moved up to a much later departure time gave me a change to appreciate Jewel Changi Airport’s huge indoor waterfall and its surrounding greenscape. I also got to bring home food souvenirs like ready to make laksa noodles, and the famous Irvin’s salted egg chips and fish skin.

Though my trip to Singapore was short, it was a good balance of work, and a great time spent over good food with friends.

@mrswayfarer

Be it for work or leisure, this is always in my SG to dos #hawkerfood #zionriverside #newtonfoodcentre #singapore #foodies

♬ original sound – MrsWayfarer – MrsWayfarer