In Lonely Planet's new Singapore Encounter, Mediacorp actress and presenter Michelle Chia shares her favourite dining locations, the best place for drinks, and her romantic hideout.
Your favourite quiet, romantic spot?
The Cliff restaurant at the Sentosa hotel. There's a separate area away from the main restaurant, which you can book.
The best view in Singapore?
The Singapore Flyer.
Upper Pierce Reservoir
Where would you eat on your last day in Singapore?
Breakfast at Ya Hua Rou Gu Cha on Keppel Rd. They're only open for breakfast and lunch - and closed Mondays.
Lunch at Kampong Chicken Rice on Upper Thomson Rd - it's better than the other more well-known chicken rice places.
Dinner would be at Newton Circus, because they have everything there, but my favourites are the carrot cake and fish-ball noodles stalls.
Best place for after-dinner cocktails?
The Bar & Billiard Room at the Raffles Hotel.
Best green space to escape the crowds?
Upper Pierce Reservoir Park. It's so quiet and peaceful, and hardly anybody goes there.
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View from The Cliff
The Cliff Seafood
With its stunning views, a breezy clifftop outdoor setting and a superb seafood selection, this restaurant rivals Il Lido for romance. Make the experience even better by choosing to retire to one of the hotel's junior suites after dinner. With all those oysters around, you might need it. Definitely one of Singapore's best spots to eat. » Map
This is the world's largest observation wheel (beating the London Eye by 30m) and one of the key Marina Bay developments. The 30-minute ride is best done on a clear day, or on a clear night, when the lights of Indonesia and Malaysia frame the spectacular pan-Singapore views. Until future river-taxi services (2008), a pedestrian bridge (2009) and the MRT Circle Line (2010) are in place, the best way to get there is the shuttle service from City Hall MRT station (10am to 8pm daily, every 30 minutes; adult/child $2/$1). » Map
There's no such thing as "location, location, location" when it comes to hawker food. Singaporeans would crawl through a sewage pipe if there were a good meal at the end of it, so the positioning of this famous bak kut teh (pork-rib soup) joint next to the port and beside an expressway doesn't stop the multitudes from coming to sip peppery broth and gnaw on bones. » Map
Vibrant and noisy, this famous hawker centre still has a great atmosphere. You could eat here for a year and never get bored. Well-known stalls include Boon Tat BBQ seafood, Hup Kee oyster omelette (stall 65) and, next to it, Singapore's most famous fishball noddles. Touts can be a problem for foreigners, but ignore them. The best stalls don't need to tout. » Map
Scotts Rd; 5pm-4am.
Bar & Billiard Room
Forget the Long Bar, this is the quintessential Raffles drinking hole. Gentle lighting, genteel service, the clack of billiard balls, and a breezy veranda next to the spot where Somerset Maugham used to set up his typewriter. » Map
