Recently in Singapore Category

Peter Foreman is the Director of Sales & Marketing at Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur and thelobby.com's expert on Asia.

Working at Le Meridien and being a coffee lover, I enjoy our global partnership with Illy.   However, on my last trip to Singapore, I discovered TWG Tea at the newly opened iconic shopping centre - ION Orchid, a 10 to 15 minute walk from the St. Regis Singapore. 

TWG Tea was established in Singapore a few years back to celebrate the island's history as a trading post for tea. This was made official in the year 1837 when Singapore's Chamber of Commerce was established. Today, this quaint little tea salon serves over 800 different teas from India, China, Japan, Burma, Brazil as well as your favorite classics; 12 different Earl Grey styles and over 100 exclusive blends such as London-Singapore Tea and Weekend in Moscow Tea.  Open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m, service is quick, efficient and the staff are knowledgeable about the different teas on offer.  Tables are clothed with crisp white linen and the tea is served in stylish tea pots with elegant cups and saucers.  For morning tea, I had a Gentlemen's Earl Grey (S$10 / US $7.20) and a Crème Brulee infused with Darjeeling Phuguri Tea (S$10/ US $7.20).

My tip: Escape the Singapore heat with an Iced Tea; try Lemon Bush from South Africa; (S$10.50 / US$8) or enjoy some TWG tea when you're staying at the St. Regis Singapore, which also serves the tea to guests.

Peter Foreman is the Director of Sales & Marketing at Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur and thelobby.com's expert on Asia.

Of course, I went shopping on my last visit to Singapore. Walking along the Millenia Walk, I found a store that caught my attention from the signage; it was called Chocolate Research Facility. If you are a lover of chocolate, you will love this place.
 
First, choose from over 100 different flavors of chocolate, all categorized into 10 different series: Classic, Exotic, Tea, Coffee, Alcohol, Fruit, Double Fruit, to name but a few.  Then, you'll need to decide if you want your favorite flavor in milk, white or sugar-free chocolate from Germany, Belgium or Switzerland.  Hmm - too many choices leave a shopaholic /chocoholic like myself with just one solution - buy as many different flavors as I carry!  Yum! At S$10 (approximately $7 US) per bar, my tip is to go for the Earl Gray Tea bar.
 
This amazing chocolate shop (or concept boutique - as the website states) is also attached to a café - serving, you guessed it, more chocolate inspired dishes! With a store on Orchard Road near Wheelock Place, you can carry your chocolate home to St. Regis Singapore, but hurry, before it melts in the Singapore heat!

Peter Foreman is the Director of Sales & Marketing at Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur and thelobby.com's expert on Asia.

There is much more to explore in Singapore than Orchard Road and the many stores that line this shopper's paradise. Dempsey Hill is a recently refurbished area that covers over 6 blocks of grassy fields, shops, restaurants and art galleries. This area was the former British army barracks and many of the old buildings still stand.

Red Sea Gallery is well worth the visit with a collection of sculptures, original paintings and prints. With many restaurants and cafes on offer, you are sure to find something to satisfy your taste buds, whether it be a family brunch on Sunday morning or a romantic dinner on Friday night. Choices include Ben & Jerry's ice creams and a favourite of mine from Sydney, Jones the Grocer, who has opened locations in New Zealand, United Arab Emirates and now in Singapore. Here you will find the highest quality of local and imported ingredients to take home with you or long communal tables where you can mingle with friends and strangers alike. Personally, I find it hard to leave their signature cheese room in each of their stores.

Dempsey Hill is a short taxi ride away from Singapore's best address, The St. Regis Singapore. My tip: be sure to arrive (and depart) Singapore in one of the hotel's customized Bentleys!

Peter Foreman is the Director of Sales & Marketing at Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur and thelobby.com's expert on Asia.

Within walking distance of Sheraton Towers Singapore is the Newton Circus Hawker Centre. Fully renovated in 2006, this casual, outdoor dining area, with maybe a few more tourists than locals, is said to be a little more pricier than some of the more 'local' hawker stalls, but is a great night out. With so many choices on offer, you are able to try Indian, Malay and Chinese cuisine. When you exit the hotel, turn left and walk towards the Newton MRT Station and you will find the food centre diagonally opposite from the station. Open daily from 4pm for supper and dinner, be sure to take cash, as credit cards are not accepted. Alternatively, the St. Regis Singapore is a short taxi ride away from Newton Circus.

My tip: Be sure to try the local brew: tiger beer and sample the Hainan Chicken Rice, a flavorful and often spicy rice dish that is extremely popular in Singapore. Having lived on Hainan Island for two years, I learned all about the long time feud between the people of Singapore and Hainan, but I will let you decide, "Who makes the best Chicken Rice?"

Peter Turco is a writer, editor, and lately an aspiring drummer when he's not working on the marketing team at Starwood Hotels & Resorts. This week, he writes about his first trip to Asia, where he recently traveled to Singapore, Phuket and Bangkok.

A few people have referred to Singapore as "Asia for Beginners." There is no language barrier, it's lick-the-door-handles clean and very safe, and the food and shopping is fantastic. It's a relatively new city, so it's nicely organized and not etched in stone 300 years ago like some city we all know, and hence, easy to navigate. There are practically no uniformed police, almost all are undercover, and that adds even more to the feeling that you're in some sort of Utopia. And Singapore's efficient: one night, we called ahead for five taxis to take us home from the restaurant, and all five rolled up within minutes of our call, all within seconds of one another.

Thing is: there's nothing much to see. Well, this stuff:

Right outside the office is the world's largest fountain, known as the Fountain of Wealth.

Also, we went to the largest food court in the free world. It's all outdoors, and you just sit at a little table surrounded on all possible sides by a gazillion food stalls with all kinds of things--soup, satay, noodles, everything you'd expect. Waiters come over and show you menus with photographs on them, and you just point at what you want. They run around to the stalls and bring it to you, you give them a little money, and then it starts all over again every five seconds until your table is full of food, beer, plates, napkins--until you've reached capacity and they can't sell you anything because you can't fit it on the table. You sit there and eat like a slob and you've spent a total of about 20 bucks for four people. Nice, very very nice. The food here is amazing - everything has been out of this world.