Singapore Series: Paris + Ikea + Toast

The moment I landed in Changi Airport, the first thing I looked for was food. The travel time from Manila to SG was about 3.5 hours and I regretted not shoving in my bag the peach-mango pie that my dad bought me for baon that day :(

So upon arriving, my eyes quickly settled on the nearest signage that would cater to my rumbling tummy.



Paris Baguette Cafe!

That's Mhe, my travel buddy for day 1!

Sausage roll and bottled water, these will do! :)  The first thing that people will warn you about SG is its high cost of living. Case in point: My first meal above costs 5+ SGD, which is about P180 :) 

My Day 1 in this beautiful city was pretty laid back since I already arrived in the late afternoon so we have no big plans for the day, except to go to Ikea for their famous meatballs! And you'd think that the first thing that comes to mind when you say Ikea is "furniture." Nope, it's "meatballs."

When I say IKEA, you say meatballs!

 Aside from their popular Swedish meatballs, they also serve chicken wings, salmon, pasta, pastries and cakes :) It's like a one-stop shop for all your comfort cravings.

The set up at Ikea is much like a school cafeteria: Pick -> Pay -> Go :)

Hi meatballs! :) Yummy, served with their special jam and mashed potato!

Poached Salmon served with veggies and garlic bread.

Almond cake, to cap off the meal! :)

Sign, sign, baybeh!

Aside from being a fine city, Singapore could also be called a sign city. Because everywhere you go, there are signs to guide people, especially tourists like me! :) I am geographically challenged, so to only be lost ONCE (yes, only ONCE!) in my 6 days there definitely says something about how tourist-friendly Singapore is :)

I love how clean and organized their public transportation is! They don't live by the rules, but they live by courtesy. I remember reading this on one of their billboards: "Don't be so quick to see red, encourage courtesy instead." Then on the same billboard are the words: ENCOURAGING DRIVER, in which the letters, RAGING DRIVER, are in a different color to highlight its message. So are you a raging driver? Or an encouraging driver?

This was further highlighted the one time we rode a taxi on our trip. The driver was really nice and when she (yes, the driver's a lady!) had to gas up somewhere, she said that we just deduct the amount going to the gas station from the final amount to be fair. :)

As for efficiency, Singapore has an EZ Link card, which is like a commuter's prepaid card used for both trains and buses. So no need to count coins and wait for the conductor to collect your fare when riding the bus, you just tap your card away!

Riding their double decker bus! Wheeeee!

With Achi Joy, thanks for taking us around on our first day!

Coffee & Toast

Singaporeans love their kaya toast and milk tea. That's why every area in this city seemed to have their own version of this snack item. Before meeting up with the rest of the girls, Achi Joy first took us to Coffee & Toast for a Singaporean breakfast.

Kaya Toast is a simpleton's breakfast: toasted bread + butter + kaya (coco jam), which is usually eaten with soft-boiled egg. Quite a weird combination at first, but the sweet and savory tastes blend well together! Aside from this famous toast, they also serve heavier local fares like chicken curry, nasi lemak and laksa :)

Sleepy bunch! Bawal aantok-antok! Haha!

We're off to a busy second day in this city! Next stop: Singapore Zoo, River Safari & Marina Bay :)

Ikea 

317 Alexandra Road, Singapore 159965

60 Tampines North Drive 2, Singapore 528764

Coffee & Toast

Raffles Xchange

Citylink Mall

Robinson Towers

111 Somerset

Tampines Mall

Esplanade Xchange

Changi Airport

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