A first weekend in a new city

My first weekend as an ex pat in Singapore and a very serious question needed to be answered – was I going to be able to get a satisfying coffee fix? Let’s be clear, I love travelling in Asia and the food is sensational, but the coffee… well.

So following a visit to the weekly ex-pat auction we arrived famished at the Forty Hands restaurant in Tiong Bahru for brunch.

Built on a site previously dotted with cemeteries, Tiong Bahru, or ‘New Cemetery’, is one of the oldest housing estates in Singapore, built in the late 1920s. Gorgeous, all white Art Deco flats – all curving balconies and spiral staircases, were the choice of residence of the upper classes in the pre-war years. Apparently the rich and powerful kept their mistresses here and the area was known as Mei Ren Wo, or “den of beauties”!

Today a very sought after place to live for locals and ex-pats alike; full of a mixture of quirky design stores, florists, bakeries and book shops, as well as cafes and bars that would be at home in Sydney, alongside brightly painted local restaurants serving Chicken rice and Duck noodles – think red plastic chairs at marble topped tables on wide verandahs, fans whirring slowly overhead to keep diners cool(ish) in the sultry heat.

Hungry after the auction, my morning was made on seeing the menu at Forty Hands. My ‘Eggs Cocotte’ was poached (free range) eggs, accompanied by sautéed spinach, Portobello mushrooms, truffle oil and homemade toast.  Don’t misunderstand me – I’m exited by what Singapore has to offer and will  be tracking down the best Laksa’s and Chilli crab, but I am happy to see that Organic and Free Range foods and great coffee exist alongside fantastic local fare.

I’ve since discovered that Tiong Bahru was listed in Vogue among the most hipster neighborhoods in the world; and I thought I’d miss Surry Hills…