I took the very convenient Singapore Airlines afternoon flight just before midday on a Friday. This is so much more convenient than a night flight when the airport is at its chaotic best and you arrive in Singapore at the crack of dawn, half dopey and jet lagged. Late morning in Mumbai is complete bliss. Check in is like a quick formality and not an arduous task. I travel Singapore Airlines reasonably often and find that which ever class you travel, the skinny girls in their well tailored sarongs are always exceedingly polite and seem completely ‘unflusterable’ no matter how difficult the situation. On the afternoon flight, you arrive in the city at a very convenient 7 p.m. – time for a quick cocktail, a light dinner and an early start on Saturday morning. Singapore has several top of the line, big names in hotels…I went with the newly renovated Mandarin Orchard (very conveniently located on Orchard Road, right next to the famed Takashimaya). It’s a big, buzzing hotel with a fabulous, new shopping arcade known as the Mandarin Gallery on its first four floors and a superb Club floor and lounge. I prefer a Club room in a good hotel to an ordinary room in a super luxury one. This one also came with a full blown leather massage chair…very handy after a long flight. At the Mandarin, staying on the Club floor entitles you to complimentary daily laundry, free local calls, French champagne and escargots in the evening, a simply superb buffet and à la carte breakfast and tons of that exemplary Singaporean service. That evening, I couldn’t resist trying my favourite Singaporean dishes, chicken rice and laksa at their iconic coffee shop, Chatterbox which despite the change in décor, remains true to form in terms of quality.

The next morning, I trotted off to Sentosa Island, about 20 minutes drive from the hotel. I always remember Sentosa being quite far when we took the boys there years ago but on a relatively calm Saturday morning, it was a breeze. Part of Sentosa is still resort land with Universal Studios and the like, but the other more discreet parts of the island remind me of the south of France or Spain…million dollar homes, pristine beaches, marinas and hotels like the magnificent Capella (a must for the luxury traveller with amazing sea views, outsized rooms and superb villas) and Sentosa. The latter houses the Spa Botanica, 6000 square metres of award winning indulgence. It is being touted as the country’s best spa experience. There are float pools, waterfalls, a lap pool, volcanic mud pools, outdoor spa pavilions and indoor air conditioned ones for treatments and lounging and the nicest thing is that you are free to spend as much time here as you want before or after your treatment. In addition to the Singapore flower rituals, Javanese massages and Tibetan and Chinese detox, are some very invigorating treatments and cleanses. My three-hour Tropical Glow included tropical fruit, flowers and spices and was not only meant to relax me but I was supposed to glow afterwards. The treatment begins with a 15-minute Vichy rain shower where several powerful jets of water set about to cleanse and invigorate you. This is followed by a jasmine, coriander and oatmeal scrub performed by a highly trained masseuse. I had Mumtaz whose hands I still dream of. Then comes the 60-minute papaya clay wrap during which Mumtaz gave me a facial with an eye glow product. Clearly the war torn eyes needed it. And to finish, a massage with a perfectly non-sticky rice bran based oil infused with aroma oils. I was certainly relaxed and rejuvenated but did I glow? Undoubtedly, yes. Spa Botanica also threw in a healthy sandwich lunch in their delightful café restaurant overlooking the pool, The Garden. It specialises in ‘conscious dining’ which demystifies the dictum that you have to eat low calorie, rabbit food at a spa. The food at The Garden is made with thoughtfully selected produce and sourced from organic or bio dynamic farms. Techniques of cooking are light but not fanatical.

Not aware of The Garden, lunch was already booked for me at the newly opened Osia, down the road at Festive Walk, a delightful location overlooking the sea and part of Resorts World. Osia was perfect for a post spa lunch since it is an Australian concept which encompasses the ‘free spirited nature of Australian dining’. The menu is designed by Aussie celebrity chef Scott Webster. Seafood is predominant and well prepared, however, what I most enjoyed was the Lilli Pilli Bellini a champagne cocktail made with Australian Lilly Pilly berries macerated in the magnificent sweet Noble One wine. By the time I got back to town it was time for an indulgent cup of tea and a pastry. There is no better place in Singapore to enjoy one than Canelé. There are four convenient locations in the city but we opted for the one off Scott’s Road since it was right bang in the middle of my shopping destinations. Canelé not only has exquisite macarons and pastries but quite extraordinary chocolates too. Their executive pastry chef has been nominated for Pastry Chef of the Year since Canelé opened in 2004. The chocolates taste like velvet (especially the black sesame) and they look so special primarily because they are displayed in dark cases more like jewellery than food. You’ll recognise the shop and tea salon in an instant by its gold and black décor.

Post tea, I walked off the extra calories by visiting the newly opened ION shopping arcade on the corner of Scott’s and Orchard. This dazzling structure with 300 plus shops has flagship stores for Uniqlo, a Japanese jeans store for young people, Sephora the cosmetic giant and Diane von Furstenberg in addition to a number of well-designed luxury boutiques, the most prominent of which is Louis Vuitton’s 23,000 sq ft showroom, their largest store in South East Asia. But it’s not just a case of ‘bigger is better’, the mall also has a wonderful art space and a great air-conditioned food court, not to mention the TWG tea salon and tea shop which is the perfect place to shop for beautifully packaged varieties of teas and elegant teapots and tea sets. They have a particularly beautiful ceramic teapot with an insulated steel tea cozy – which is both practical and very stylish.

For those who are unfamiliar with Singapore, Orchard Road also includes Ngee Ann City, the largest shopping centre in the district and home to Japanese retail giant Takashimaya and it’s neighbour, Wisma Atria, which houses mainly high street and main stream brands; Isetan and Paragon shopping centres are also a hop skip and jump away. Paragon has undergone a 45 million dollar facelift, with a new posher, sleeker exterior and great names in luxury like Tod’s, Aigner, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo. However, my favourite mall on this trip is the newly opened (in January this year) Mandarin Gallery, part of the Mandarin Orchard Hotel. Apart from five flagship stores, Emporio Armani, D&G, Montblanc, Marc by Marc Jacobs and Bread and Butter, they also have a fabulous range of food and beverage offerings ( you cannot miss the Japanese restaurants Ippudo and Suju) as well as local fashion designers like Ashley Isham. What I like most about the four floors of shopping were the more quirky stores like Atomi, a lovely Japanese designer store selling both clothes and glassware; Huit an unusual French lingerie brand; inhabit, a luxury interior store; DeFRED jewellers, M.A.D – museum art gallery and a bunch of spa and beauty salons. Many of the stores are new to Singapore and several are flagship stores.

Shops in Singapore are open till late, usually 9 p.m. and most, especially in the luxury segment will quite happily offer you a GST deduction form which is quite easy and effortless to claim at the airport. If you are in the mood for a little free gift shopping then head for Takashimaya, still the best department store on Orchard to buy almost everything. They often offer fabulous gifts like branded handbags and perfumes on leading brands of perfumes. Generally the more you spend the better the gift. I found sales assistants in post recession Singapore, very helpful and eager to please.

Since this proved to be my 1 km walking radius, I chose Shabu Shabu Gen to dine at that evening. Shabu Shabu is basically a large pot of boiling stock in which you cook finely sliced, highly tender beef, black Kagoshima Kurobuta pork (loin and belly) and fish. This is considered the ultimate in Japanese fine dining. The beef is sourced from boutique cattle houses – people don’t just ask for sirloin or ribeye, they actually specify which prefecture or area they would like their beef to be from. The much prized Jyoshu Wagyu for example, comes from an area known as Gunma near Tokyo whereas Saga beef comes from Kyushu Island to the west of Japan. Japanese beef is graded from A-one to five and the fine marbling of fat (Beef Marbling Standards or BMS) which determines the best quality is graded from 1 to 12 (8-12 being the best). The A5 BMS 10-12 ribeye beef here will set you back by S$ 235-300 for one hot pot. The exterior of Shabu Shabu Gen is completely understated as most Japanese up-market restaurants are. You will find it right next door to Les Amis in the Shaw Centre on Scott’s Road. Being a Japanese restaurant it opens at 6.30 p.m. but closes by 11 p.m. It only sits 26 so it is very advisable to book.

Since we wound up dinner pretty early we headed off to the Highlander a Scottish bar in Clarke Quay, the party and bar area of the city. Apart from Scottish food and a Scottish owner, Highlander has the most unusual collection of Single Malts in the city. I tasted whisky from the main regions of Scotland – Campbeltown, Lowlands, Highlands, Speyside, Islay and Island. Of these the Benriach 12-year-old limited edition matured in sherry wood and the MaCallan 19-year-old, privately bottled, both from Speyside, were truly extraordinary. The Benriach was sweet and strong rather than peaty and smokey and the Macallan at 54 per cent had a touch of spice.

The next morning, a round at Paragon supermarket in the basement and Isetan took care of my food shopping. What a dream to shop in air-conditioned splendour! I spent an hour or so in what I consider the best bookshop in S.E Asia, Kinokuniya. It is right next to Takashimaya in Ngee Ann City on Orchard Road. I treated myself to Les Amis for an early elegant French lunch. Although it is 15 years old, Les Amis still remains not only one of the best restaurants in the city but certainly my favourite fine dining venue. We started off with a bottle of Bruno Paillard champagne, a little known house from Reims and decided to order the lunch menu which consists of three or four extraordinarily well-executed courses. Les Amis have the best wine cellar in the city, (two temperature controlled wine cellars to be precise, which house a 5 million dollar wine collection). Its 2000 label wine list has been a recipient of the Wine Spectator’s Grand Award – one of the only three Grand Award winners in Asia, every year since 1996. We started off with a little dish of Alaskan king crab and avocado topped with Beluga caviar and warm blinis. This was followed by a dish of lightly smoked eel and then the char grilled Kurobuta pork loin. We finished off with Strawberry – Yuzu tiramisu. Lunch is especially good value and a memorable experience at 60 dollars (Sing) for three courses and 80 dollars for four courses, quite a steal for this level of sophistication, style and skill.

After lunch I did a little quirky shopping is an area known as Kampong Glam. There is nothing glitteringly glamorous about this area, said my companion for the afternoon, lifestyle writer Audrey Phoon, but it has become and eclectic fashion, music and design hub. Its charm lies in the historic lanes that were home to Singapore’s Malay aristocracy prior to British colonialism. The lanes then housed the Arab community’s trading centres in the 19th century. A stroll down Haji Lane, Arab Street and Bussorah Street will give you a dose of both culture and couture – a number of independent stores that offer interestingly edited collections of designer home ware, vintage clothing and souvenirs. What is pretty ritzy however are the numerous textile shops selling exquisite lace and gold threaded fabric.

I was on the 7 p.m. flight back to Mumbai and so had just enough time to make a quick dash to Upper Thomson road to buy some orchids from Far East Flora. If you are an orchid person, there are four or five nurseries in a row where you’ll find seeds, herbs and flowers galore. Of course you bring them back at your own risk. Singapore Airlines were most accommodating with my outsized box both on the aircraft and general handling. The air hostess even put it next to her refrigerated catering trolley to keep them cool during the flight!

FASHION

This is a tough one in Singapore since there are so many brands from Louis Vuitton (the largest store in Asia is in the new Ion Orchard) to high street brands and quirky street shopping. You can find almost anything in this city. My pick for this trip would be Shanghai Tang, the Hong Kong store with Asian style clothes of superlative quality, now available in several places all over Singapore. Atomi is a lovely Japanese store in the Mandarin Gallery run by Misuko Murano. In addition to simply styled clothes, she also keeps a range of fine glass ware. People of Asia Company (in the Mandarin Gallery as well as Paragon, Marina Square, Vivo City and Plaza Singapura) is another beautiful store inspired by Asian designs. Kokon Tozai is a quirky Japanese shop with kimonos, both contemporary and antique as well as a large range of products like hand bags, made from kimono fabric. They have a small boutique in Millenia Walk and outlets in terminal 2 and 3 at the airport. A local young designer to look out for is Ashley Isham.

His couture and prêt lines are both in Mandarin Gallery

Lingerie: Last but by no means least there is a lovely lingerie shop and a French shop called Huit in the Mandarin Gallery, a shop stocking several brands in Millenia Walk and, if all else fails, you have Marks and Spencer’s at the corner of Scotts and Orchard on top of Borders book shop.

Subscribe to Verve Magazine or buy the Verve issue on stands now!