Singapore - When he was a young civil servant working in Singapore, Ngiam Tong Dow would occasionally be honoured with an invitation to lunch from the Minister of Finance himself.
They were modest affairs in the rooftop canteen with a view across the Strait.
But if the view was expansive, the food was not. The meal would be three meagre dishes and some soup, all priced at 50 cents a bowl, to share.
Mr Ngiam would thank his host, agree he was full, and then sometimes make a diplomatic trip to buy mee goreng from one of the noodle-sellers lining the riverbank below.
“How could I say I was still hungry? How could I ask the Minister to spend more?” Mr Ngiam laughs today, as he explains how Dr Goh Keng Swee, architect of Singapore’s tiger economy and godfather of its modern tourist industry, was prudent with all of his country’s resources.
Thanks to both men - Mr Ngiam would ultimately rise to become one of Singapore’s top civil servants - much about the buccaneering island republic has changed since those frugal lunches half a century ago.
Their setting however, has not. They took place on top of the Fullerton Building, which still stands as guardian of Singapore’s harbour. Completed in 1928, this monument to Britain’s colonial ambition became the engine room of Singaporean independence in the 1960s, housing several great departments of government. Today it’s a luxury hotel.
And it’s where I’m taking afternoon tea with Mr Ngiam while we watch current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong gazetting the building as a National Monument. Clearly Singapore has no problem embracing its British heritage as well as the Malay, Chinese and Indian influences that have chiselled a place in its history.
This polyglot pedigree shows. To add to a “heritage quarter” that would still feel familiar to Kipling, Coward and Conrad, there’s a vibrant Chinatown, a spicy Little India, the pan-Asian restaurants of Boat Quay, and the “extreme shopping” experience of Orchard Road, for which you need both flat shoes and a deep wallet.
It adds up to a capsule collection of the best of Asia and makes Singapore ripe for a thrilling city break en route to the Antipodes or a beach holiday in the Far East. So, mindful that the majority of British visitors would be visiting on speedy stopovers, I set out from the Fullerton to see what I could squash into a single day.
I started by puttering down the Singapore River on a traditional bumboat (yes, really - the name is derived from the Dutch word for canoe). A 45-minute cruise enables you to tick off several of the city’s historic landmarks, including pretty Clarke Quay and the Cavenagh Bridge, from which single women toss a mandarin into the drink while wishing to meet “The One” at Chinese New Year.
Waterborne, you have a fish-eye view of Singapore’s modern architecture, much of it on reclaimed land. There’s a science museum that resembles an orchid, an arts centre nicknamed The Armadillo, and a bridge that spirals across the water like a helix of DNA.
The morning cool and river breeze were welcome. Heading inland, the equatorial heat stilled my sails, encouraging me to sidestep the melee of Orchard Road in favour of a browse around Keepers, one of Singapore’s trendy pop-up boutiques.
My top picks were a Singapore Sling marmalade capturing the cherry flavours of the city’s celebrated cocktail, and a smartly bound dictionary of Singlish, idiosyncratic Singaporean English, more of which later.
Singapore has a booming foodie culture but if you have only a few hours, why waste them on a leisurely lunch? Try instead the Singaporean speciality of pandan cake, cooked in steam to achieve its ultra-light texture. Traditionally it comes in an alarming bright green - equally alarming is the knowledge that pandan juice is used to deodorise fridges, and is also a cockroach-deterrent.
It’s scrumptious, though, so enjoy a wedge of cake and a glass of kopi, the Singaporean coffee made with sugary condensed milk, and you’ll have all the energy you need for a turbo-charged afternoon.
I channelled mine into a high-speed scurry around the shuttered, sugar almond-painted shops and houses of Chinatown. When I’d walked myself footsore, I took a trishaw from Bugis Street, once a nightly transgender sex bazaar but now a bustling market area that comes alive at sunset, down to Little India with its curry houses and Hindi music lounges.
From there I headed to the Arab quarter’s Haji Lane, which is busily rebranding itself as a hipster HQ. Its mix of vintage clothes, homewares and bric-a-brac made a welcome change from the internationalism of mall shopping, and I celebrated the purchase of a cool tankini swimsuit made out of, um, recycled plastic bottles, with a virgin mojito in a lazy bar.
I mooched home alone on foot after dark - even taxi drivers with a vested interest in my custom told me it was safe.
By the time I got back to the Fullerton, I was very ready for a massage and detox in its spa before climbing to the rooftop Lighthouse bar to retox with a glass of crisp white wine.
The view enjoyed by Dr Goh and Mr Ngiam is as lovely as ever, although the young Singapore they once gazed upon is now fully grown and perfectly rojak.
Ah yes, that’s a Singlish word which, according to my new dictionary, describes a unique and eclectic mix of things drawn from different sources to make one fabulous whole.
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