So it took me a little longer than a week (I have come to realise that consistency is not my forte lol 
*need to work on this in 2023*), but welcome back to Part III of my Singapore Travel Diary, and my last blog post of 2022!!! <3
*need to work on this in 2023*), but welcome back to Part III of my Singapore Travel Diary, and my last blog post of 2022!!! <3 If you haven’t read Parts I and II yet, you can find them here!
Continuing on from Part II, the last sightseeing spot that we visited in Singapore (and one that Peron was quite excited for haha) was Haw Par Villa, a park/ outdoor gallery which has hundreds of colourful sculptures and dioramas inspired by Chinese culture, philosophy and legends! 
We had never heard of Haw Par Villa before we did our research on places to visit in Singapore, but when we talked to our Singaporean and Malaysian friends, we were told that it was actually an extremely popular local attraction back in the day and almost everyone who grew up in Singapore had been there before (on school trips and whatnot) when they were kids!
Haw Par Villa is one of the quirkiest places I’ve ever been, and I must admit that it creeped me out a little at first haha 
We had a little walk around the park (which is pretty huge!) and we also went inside an indoor exhibition centre at the park where we got to learn about the history of Haw Par Villa <3 The park was originally part of a villa built by one of the Haw Par brothers, whose father famously created Tiger Balm (a medical balm which is super popular in Asia!)
The exhibition explains that the Haw brother was deeply passionate about Chinese culture and traditional virtues, and built hundreds of sculptures and fixtures at the park which focus on teaching traditional Chinese values and morals.
The villa is unfortunately now gone (it was demolished after it was occupied by the Japanese and sustained damage in WWII) but the park and the sculptures have fortunately been preserved and rebuilt.
The entire park was filled with these enormous sculptures and I had honestly never seen anything like it before! There were signs underneath most of the sculptures which tell you the specific story/ legend that the sculpture is depicting and the park was truly an interesting and insightful place to walk around! 
It was a bit gloomy when we first arrived at Haw Par Villa and we managed to walk around for a little while, but then it started POURING down with rain for an hour straight Since almost all the sculptures are outdoors, there was nothing we could do but look for shelter (which there wasn’t a lot of!) so a word of caution – definitely check the weather report before you make the trip!
Since almost all the sculptures are outdoors, there was nothing we could do but look for shelter (which there wasn’t a lot of!) so a word of caution – definitely check the weather report before you make the trip!
When the rain got lighter, we managed to walk around a little more before hailing a cab back to our serviced apartment when it started raining heavily again. Overall, we found Haw Par Villa super unique and SO full of culture and a place that is definitely worth visiting! 
And nowwww… onto all the other food we had on this trip!!! 
(You can read about our other meals in Part I and II hehe <3)
(You can read about our other meals in Part I and II hehe <3)We only got around 3 days for our last Singapore trip and during then we managed to hit up some of the most popular food spots like the local hawker centers (i.e. the ones Rachel in Crazy Rich Asians went to when she arrived in Singapore with Nick Young haha 
)
) Since we had more time this trip, we got to visit more cafes and restaurants and we loved all the food we had! <3 I hope you’ll be able to use this as a little food guide if you ever find yourself in Singapore 
Tiong Bahru Bakery at Eng Hoon Street
I was craving some good pastries so I asked Steph, one of my best friends who happens to be an incredible chef (and whose hubby is Singaporean haha) whether she had any recommendations – and she told us to check out Tiong Bahru Bakery!
There are a few branches of the Tiong Bahru Bakery in Singapore (one of them near our serviced apartment in Orchard) but Steph mentioned that it might be worth it to make the journey to the original Tiong Bahru Bakery at Eng Hoon Street (i.e. the Tiong Bahru neighbourhood) since she likes it more than the other branches, and Peron and I took her advice!
The Tiong Bahru Bakery at Eng Hoon Street is SUCH a cute place! I loved it the moment I saw its entrance and the bakery’s interior is as cozy and aesthetic as its exterior 
I could smell fresh coffee brewing pretty much the moment I walked in! 
I could smell fresh coffee brewing pretty much the moment I walked in! 
I also loved how all their pastries were displayed 
It made it SO hard for us to choose which ones we wanted to try as they all looked amazing!
It made it SO hard for us to choose which ones we wanted to try as they all looked amazing!
After a lot of deliberation, we decided to go with the smoked salmon squid ink roll, the croque monsieur and the roast beef croissant!
The croque monsieur was definitely my favourite! It was absolutely delicious
I did a little search on Instagram and found out that the Tiong Bahru Bakery has this signature pastry called the “Kouign Amann” (some sort of croissant-like buttery pastry hehe) and I was super keen to try it Sadly, the original version was sold out when we arrived so we went for the chocolate version of the Kouign Amann instead, which was AMAZING We need to try the original version next time!!
Sadly, the original version was sold out when we arrived so we went for the chocolate version of the Kouign Amann instead, which was AMAZING We need to try the original version next time!!
Anddd I got myself a cup of coffee to go with the yummy pastries! 
Onto our next food spot!
Le Bon Funk
Out of all the restaurants we went to in Singapore, this one has got to be my favourite Steph and her hubby, Shelson, met up with Peron and I for dinner there one night and we ordered some of the best food I have ever had in Singapore!
Steph and her hubby, Shelson, met up with Peron and I for dinner there one night and we ordered some of the best food I have ever had in Singapore! We had the foie gras toast (so yummy 
) and the pate…
) and the pate…
…plus chips with caviar and French onion dip (LOVED this! 
) and the whole artichoke
) and the whole artichoke 
as well as the beef tongue sandwich, agnolotti and dessert!!
It was an amazing meal and I would LOVE to re-visit this restaurant when we are in Singapore again! 
Bistecca Tuscan Steakhouse
Since we were in Singapore right before Peron’s birthday, Peron’s brother Steven and his wife Lin took us and Peron’s parents to Bistecca Tuscan Steakhouse, a steakhouse near Robertson Quay for an early birthday meal to celebrate! We had tomato bread for starters, and loads of steaks (the Tomahawk was fantastic )!
)! The restaurant was spacious and great for big parties and we were so happy that Steven and Lin took us there to celebrate with Peron’s parents 
MO Bar
Since we didn’t get to have drinks at Smoke & Mirrors, Steph, Shelson, Peron and I went to the MO Bar instead for drinks on the last day of our Singapore trip
The ambiance was great and it was a perfect spot to hang out with friends! And a perfect way for us to bid farewell to Singapore before we headed back on our flight the next morning 
Andddd that was it for our Singapore adventures (for the most part!) 
Before our trip, I was a little worried that we wouldn’t have much to do in Singapore given how small the city is and that we had 9 days to kill, but I was pleasantly surprised with all the spots we hit up! We also got REALLY lucky with the weather – except for the day we visited Haw Par Villa, we got blue skies and sunshine pretty much every day!
Before our trip, I was a little worried that we wouldn’t have much to do in Singapore given how small the city is and that we had 9 days to kill, but I was pleasantly surprised with all the spots we hit up! We also got REALLY lucky with the weather – except for the day we visited Haw Par Villa, we got blue skies and sunshine pretty much every day! We also went to Sentosa on the last few days of our trip to celebrate Peron’s birthday and we stayed at a really special hotel (hint: it starts with a C and ends with an A hahaha) for 2 nights which was a total dream But I’ll save that post for another day hehe!
But I’ll save that post for another day hehe!2022 went by in a total flash and although I didn’t get to do as much travelling as I perhaps would have wanted to (because of strict covid travel policies in Hong Kong ), I am extremely grateful and feel SO lucky that I still managed to go on a few trips and reunite with friends and family across the globe! 
Nothing quite beats the feeling of getting on a plane and flying to different places around the world (would never take travelling for granted again after experiencing covid restrictions for the past 3 years!!!)
), I am extremely grateful and feel SO lucky that I still managed to go on a few trips and reunite with friends and family across the globe! Nothing quite beats the feeling of getting on a plane and flying to different places around the world (would never take travelling for granted again after experiencing covid restrictions for the past 3 years!!!) Now that Hong Kong has opened back up (FINALLY!!!! 
), I can’t wait to travel again and also to share all my travels here 
so watch this space in 2023 <3 To all my friends who are still reading this – thanks for being hereee (some of you have been reading since I started this blog in 2014! 
TRUE FRIENDS HAHA )
I hope 2023 will be an AMAZING year for alllll of you and last but not least…
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 
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