Whether it’s hotels tucked into heritage buildings or Michelin-starred Singaporean chefs serving up dishes inspired by their childhood, it’s never been easier to swerve the tourist traps and experience the city like a local. Here’s how, writes Tamara Hinson I’ve never been a fan of afternoon teas, which rarely offer any meaningful insight into the destination in question, and usually leave me wondering why I’ve paid over the odds for pastries I’d find in my local supermarket. Until, that is, I came across the one served at Pan Pacific Singapore , where visitors can chow down on an afternoon tea paying homage to local flavours.
The result is one which is equally popular with locals and tourists . Delicacies on offer include a salted egg yolk yam puff, a bun stuffed with chili crab meat and a crispy pork lobak (a sausage roll-like dish). The best bit? The Pan Pacific Singapore isn’t alone in its determination to showcase the country’s best bits , revealing sides of the country usually overlooked by tourists.
Take Udders, a Singaporean icecream brand that can now be found throughout Asia . At the brand’s branch in Novena, I sample a delicious Kueh Salat flavour inspired by the sweet, rice-based cakes found throughout Singapore, the ridiculously moreish Muah Chee (made with mochi chunks and peanuts) and the Singapore Chendol, an icecream version of the frozen dessert which combines a pandan leaf jelly with sweet red beans. And then there’s chef LG Han, head ch.
