David Brocklehurst, from Australia has been traveling on a regular basis around the region for quick stop overs every 2 months. He has an office in Singapore His trips are usually business trips for his company, FirmDecisions selling services to advertisers and David shares with us his places to go in Singapore.

A must-try local food in Singapore?

David: Chicken Rice is good – I like fried chicken as well as white chicken. The first chicken rice I have tried was at Tiffany Café & Restaurant.  

What was your first impression of Singapore?

David: Very clean, sterile, plenty of nationalities here including expats. Singapore now is different from Singapore then, it is very progressive.

The best 3 places not to be missed?

David: Orchard Road is a good place for shopping, Club Street with many restaurants within the vicinity, especially with my favorite restaurant located there. I would recommend Clarke Quay and Boat Quay for their good choices of restaurants as well.

Do you know of any Singlish word/ phrases? What are some of your favorite?

David: ‘Ang mo’* (which is me) and ‘Lah’* but I don’t know when to use it.

*Ang mo is a racial epithet describing white people and it originates from Hokkien. Lah in Singlish is a discourse particle in Linguistics term, it does not change the meaning of the sentence but for pragmatic functions such as indicating tone.

How would you spend a day in Singapore?

David: I’d go for the local market around Chinatown, a massage at Tanjong Pagar, take a walk along the river and have a cup of coffee. I just had good coffee today at this café called ‘My Awesome Café’ at Telok Ayer.

A gift from Singapore to bring back home?

David: I used to buy chopstick holders, local souvenirs, easily available at Chinatown and it is really convenient given the location of Furama City Centre.

How and where will you go to unwind in Singapore after you’re done for the day?

David: I’d go for a walk at Clarke Quay, and do some people watching. Relax at the Executive Lounge and have a drink. Ray (Furama City Centre’s bartender) would have a Bacardi Coke for me when I am here. I would visit the Lounge when I am on an early flight or to unwind.