Right on the harbour close to Raffles Landing is an area of former warehouses. These have now been turned into trendy areas called Clarke Quay and Boat Quay.

Clarke Quay contains a mixture of shops, restaurants and bars all clustered around a centrally covered area.

A quick walk along the canal brings you upon a strip of bars and restaurants lining a quay known as Boat Quay. Here is the place to try out the famous chilli crab – but not at those prices as these are huge buggers!

Runners from the nearby offices and restaurant hawkers impede your journey along here and it was a good place to take in a drink looking out at the harbour.

As hunger approached we looked to our South and one of the last unvisited ghettos in Singapore. Normally you keep the best for last but we also needed to keep the most recent experience at bay for a while longer..but now it was time for Chinatown.

Interesting given that Singapore is a predominantly Chinese city to have it’s own Chinatown, but here it is different with Cantonese being spoken here.

Colin Malcolmson had a good tip for us again but in the fashion of ‘Crystal Maze Riddle Challenge’..

“Walk out the subway entrance (didn’t say which one by the way..), and on your right will be yellow plastic furniture..here you eat!”

Thanks Colin. Good thing Karen has keen eyes and we found it eventually.

The food was amazing, chilli garlic rice was really good, so good that we had to spend a few hours walking around to burn off our dinner.

The main street in Chinatown is called Pagoda Street, named after it’s famous pagoda. Is not a pagoda but a Hindu Gopuram of the Sri Mariamman Temple, and is further evidence of Singapore’s mesh of cultures. It also has a Tintin Shop.

Not to mention the streets of lanterns, waving golden cats and Chinese dress shops you live and expect of Chinatown.