IndoChine’s Bar Sá Vanh is a popular nightspot on Club Street.

Courtesy IndoChine

Singaporeans gather for traditional dishes such as Hainanese Chicken Rice and Hokkien Mee noodles.

Courtesy Contact Singapore

The beloved durian is considered “god of all fruit” throughout Southeast Asia. Because of its strong odor, it is banned in selected public areas.

Malaysian satay is a favorite appetizer.

Courtesy Singapore Tourism Board

Singapore is a gastronomic delight. It’s hard to go wrong in a town where lunch is a topic of discussion by 9am, and people are already discussing dinner options over lunch. With choices ranging from authentic Middle Eastern to Indian, Mexican and, if you miss them from home, genuine Brooklyn bagels, visitors should be prepared to pack on the pounds.

Regional flair
Ask nearly any Singaporean to name his or her favorite restaurants, and chances are that IndoChine will top their list. With nine distinct eateries spread across four downtown locations (Empress Place, Waterloo Street, Club Street, and Holland Village), IndoChine is drawing diverse and lively crowds with its uniquely vibrant atmosphere and sumptuous offerings of traditional and contemporary Laotian, Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Australian cuisine, a multi-cultural mix which parallels the international flair of Singaporean society. “Everything we do has a style of its own,” says owner Michael Ma, “Everything is tailor-made.”

IndoChine’s Bar Sá Vanh (Club Street), aptly named for the Laotian word for heaven, is a stunning space complete with golden Buddha effigies and exotic fish gliding through a seawater pool designed to lap gently under a wooden bridge linking the front and rear seating areas. Three equally spectacular riverside (Empress Place) establishments – IndoChine Waterfront restaurant, Siem Reap II, and Bar Opiume – all opened in January 2002, allow al fresco diners to gaze upon both the city’s central business district and Boat Quay’s colorful nightlife right across the Singapore River’s banks.

Not to be missed are the flavorful Vietnamese pepper beef, the tender Cambodian-style chili and basil chicken, and the melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin custard, a sumptuous treat. The eponymous IndoChine platter combines Vietnamese rice paper rolls, spring rolls, sun-dried beef, Laotian sausages, and fried prawns on sugarcane, and is in itself a reason to return time and again.

With an IndoChine outlet newly opened in Hamburg, Germany, and plans to expand operations in Europe and America under works, Washingtonians can look forward to Ma’s concepts springing up a bit closer to home.

Personal touch
If experiencing the latest in interactive dining sounds like fun, be sure to try the Apollo Novotel hotel’s newest addition, The Square, opened in early June. After ascending a swirling staircase from the hotel’s recently renovated lobby, diners are greeted by a unique and sophisticated combination of Eastern and European dishes and décor.

While choosing a complimenting buffet and cooked-to-order delights, diners are able to converse directly with the chefs who will gladly prepare warm salads, pasta, and seafood dishes right in front of them.

Guests’ choices of ambience include, on one side, the modern lighting, blonde wood and frosted glass typically preferred by business travelers and families; and, on the opposite side of the free flowing space, darker, more luxurious wood, dimmed lighting, and a view of a cascading, tropical waterfall; something cozy and romantic for those who prefer a more intimate setting.

According to Novotel Apollo General Manager, Philippe Dugauquier, “Guests enjoy the design, the possibility of choosing between two settings, and the huge selection of untraditional fare in our venue.” The Square concept will soon be seen in Beijing and throughout Accor hotels in Asia.

Rustic charm
To get to the heart of Singaporean cuisine, however, visitors simply must try local dishes like Hainanese Chicken Rice and Hokkien Mee noodles, found in any number of the city’s myriad hawker stands. In these clustered food centers, multiple stalls will beckon you with tempting fare.

Lovers of Indian spices will surely be pleased with Roti Prata, a complex layering of pan fried dough topped with lamb, vegetable, or chicken curry sauce. For a Malaysian treat, discover Mee Goreng, a fried pasta dish tossed with chili oil and oodles of prawns and scallops. Sizzling satay – chicken, mutton, and beef – is an all around favorite. The truly adventurous can also sample such exotic fare as barbequed stingray, blanched cockles, fried Kway Teow, and fish head curry offered among the cluster of hawker stands on Newton Road.

Move over Maryland crabs! Once you feast your eyes on Singapore’s absolutely, positively enormous Black Pepper Crabs and Chili Crabs, there will be no turning back. These mouth-watering delicious, and surprisingly inexpensive, dietary staples can be enjoyed at any one of the colorful, neon-lit establishments along Singapore’s East Coast Seafood Centre. For an unforgettable meal be sure to order mantou (fried buns) to scoop up every last bit of savory sauce!

And no trip to Singapore would be complete without at least a nibble of the medieval torture instrument-resembling, rancid odor-emitting, yet highly revered fruit, the durian. “At least once a week I am asked by Singaporeans whether I’ve tried one,” says Stephen Morse, an American ex-pat who’s been in Singapore for two years. “They look and smell quite intimidating, but after trying one, I can understand why some people love them.”

Whether the food you seek is mild or spicy, comforting or truly out-of-the-ordinary, Singapore will not disappoint!