With art, food, artefacts and an MRT jingle, Singaporeans show other sides to city state

A fancy restaurant with a hawker centre vibe, murals, a jingle based on folk song – Singaporeans offer visitors insights about their home

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A mural in Singapore’s Chinatown by Yip Yew Chong is an example of efforts by Singaporeans to show each other, and visitors, sides to the city state they may not have appreciated. Photo: Tamara Hinson

Published: 7:45am, 27 Jul 2024Updated: 2:04pm, 28 Jul 2024

I have never understood why tourists fly to Singapore only to trawl its designer stores and try to reserve tables at restaurants headed by superstar foreign chefs.

Surely a visitor should try to get beneath the skin of a place, which is why I am in favour of the recently composed jingles that now play in the city state’s MRT metro stations as trains approach.

Inspired by folk songs and nursery rhymes, they are a nod to Singapore’s heritage, for anyone who bothers to listen.

I also approve of the growing number of hotels rolling out afternoon tea sets featuring slices of Singapore to guests who would not ordinarily venture far from the Orchard Road shopping area.

A cyclist in Singapore with the central business district in the background. Many visitors to Singapore go for the shopping and fancy restaurants with foreign chefs, but there’s more to the Lion City. Photo: Singapore Tourism Board

The afternoon tea served at The Fullerton Hotel’s Courtyard, for example, is packed with local flavours, including marinated sea prawn served with a fragrant laksa aioli.

Labyrinth, a Michelin-star modern Singaporean restaurant, is another reminder that the best insights into a place often come from its own people.