The Little Red Dot (part 3)

If Singapore was a fruit, it would be a durian.

This oddly-looking fruit has been proclaimed the “king of fruits”. It has a very strong and quite lasting odour that some people consider pleasant and even addictive, while others find overpowering and unpleasant. This is the reason for banning them from taxis and all modes of public transport. Some people recommend to block your nose when you taste it for the first time, as the taste is quite different from the smell. The creamy golden flesh has been described to taste like a rich almond-flavoured custard, a cream cheese or even a wet rag… In any case, you will either love it and join those who wait impatiently for the next durian season, or absolutely hate it and run away from it every time you smell it!

You can find durian in literally everything - from ice cream, biscuits, crackers and cakes, to coffee and tea. We had the unfortunate idea of bringing some durian cookies back to Europe - as anticipated, some people liked them while others hated them, but we did not expect to have to throw the fridge where we had stored the remaining biscuits, even though only for a day...

The image of durians is so ubiquitous in Singapore that two of the most famous modern buildings - the performing arts centre Esplanade - have an appearance similar to durians and are known as “the big durians”.

The famous fruit has also given its name to a whole generation - the “durian generation”, referring to kids with extremely protective and indulgent parents whom they turn to for every single thing!

Even if you do not like durians, there are lots of other delicious tropical fruits available on the island that will definitely do - mangoes, papayas, red, white and yellow dragon fruits, mangosteens, rambutans, coconuts, soursops, sugar-apples and - my favourite - passion fruits!

There are stalls everywhere where you can buy fruits or order your own customised fruit smoothie - the pink combination of bananas and red dragon fruits is something!

If Singapore was a bird, it would be a Javan Myna or an Asian Koel.

The Javan Myna, endemic to the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali, was introduced to Singapore in the 1920s and is now the most commonly found bird in the country. It is cute and very clever!

Another bird, more often heard than seen, is the Asian Koel. It is a protected species under the Wild Animals and Birds Act. Wherever you live on the island, you will hear the repetitive kind of scary, desperate and lonely sound of “kooo-kooooooooo” at any time during the day and the night. The call of this large cuckoo bird is a universal Singapore experience! It is actually a mating call that the male Koel repeats in search of a female. Without any response, the only thing the male Asian Koel can do is set its call on loop, hoping for a reply. One of my friends recently called it the “Tinder bird” after the dating website!

While simply walking in the streets, you can also spot bright yellow Black-naped Orioles, majestic white parrots, gorgeous Hornbills and, of course, an amazing variety of tiny kingfishers with their bright feathers and long bills.

If Singapore was an animal, it would be a lion.

No, there are no lions in Singapore, but it is the Lion City after all!

However, you can come across an amazing diversity of wildlife - water monitor lizards, crocodiles, otters, wild boars, monkeys, squirrels...

...flying lemurs, sea turtles, bats, butterflies, lizards, crabs, dragonflies… and all this without having to visit the Singapore Zoo!

If Singapore was a mascot, it would be Singa the Lion.

The cute smiling lion was created in 1982 and has been adopted as the official mascot of the Singapore Kindness Movement, whose mission is to inspire graciousness through spontaneous acts of kindness, making life more pleasant for everyone. It reminds me of the Gross National Happiness in Bhutan. You can find the mascot everywhere and will quickly realise how nice, sweet and helpful Singaporeans are!

The bus drivers will wait when they see you running for the bus or a parent with small kids is slowly alighting the vehicle! The taxi drivers are chatty and adorable! The guards of the condos are helpful and always smiling.

The aunties and uncles in the food courts and the MRT are always so sweet! I remember one lady who was always standing at the bottom of the escalator in the morning and greeting everyone with a smile and a “good morning” - she made my day every day! One day a young man offered her a bouquet of flowers - I guess she made his day every day as well!

If Singapore was a birthday, it would be 60.

Once a British colony, Singapore later became part of the Federation of Malaysia before it officially gained independence on 9 August 1965. In 2025, it celebrated its 60th birthday!

If Singapore was the colours of a flag, it would be red and white.

The national flag of Singapore comprises two equal horizontal sections of red, representing universal brotherhood, and white for purity and virtue, with a white crescent moon representing a young nation and five stars symbolising its ideals - democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality.

If Singapore was a person, it would be Raffles or Lee Kuan Yew.

Sir Stamford Raffles is the British East Indian administrator who founded the port city of Singapore. His statue can be found at the mouth of the Singapore River where he first set foot in 1819, and his name is everywhere...

There is of course the Raffles Hotel, but also Raffles Place, Raffles Avenue, Raffles Hospital and Raffles Institution (the oldest school in Singapore founded in 1823)…

However, the person recognised as the nation’s founding father is Lee Kuan Yew - the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, who served from 1959 to 1990 and is credited with rapidly transitioning the country from a “developing third world country into a developed first world country within a single generation” under his leadership. When he died in 2015, millions paid tribute at his lying-in-state at Singapore's Parliament House during a week of national mourning.

During his long life, he had spoken six languages (English, Mandarin, Malay, Hokkien, Latin and Japanese - he had to learn Japanese during World War II which helped him survive and work as a Japanese translator) and sang four anthems - the British one when Singapore was a British colony, the Malaysian one when Singapore was part of the Federation of Malaysia, the Japanese one during the Japanese occupation of Singapore, and the Singaporean one after the independence in 1965!

If Singapore was a cuisine, it would be the quintessence of Southeast Asian cuisines.

Singapore is the culinary hub of Southeast Asia and even beyond - it connects in a surprising way flavours from various continents and countries around the world. Would you like to try a sushi burrito or a Mexican Vietnamese dish? This is also the place where your Caesar salad may come with or without chicken, your Nicoise salad can have tuna in it or not, and you are allowed to skip the meat in the bolognese sauce of your pasta - anything is possible!

You might miss your mashed potatoes as most of the local dishes are rice or noodle-based, but you will quickly forget about it once you realise you have landed in the hеaven of noodles - the ubiquitous yellow wheat flour mee noodles, thin rice flour bee hoon noodles and flattened rice flour kway teow noodles are just a tiny part of them!

A world of exotic names and flavours will open to you!

Malay, Indonesian, Indian, Peranakan and Chinese dishes will parade in front of your eyes and water your mouth! Mee siam (thin rice noodles fried with prawn paste and spices), mee goreng (noodles fried in tomato/chilli paste with cabbage, bean sprouts and meat), char kway teow (a signature dish with fried flat rice noodles, prawns, veggies and sweet dark sauce with a smoky flavour from the hot wok), nasi lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk, served with egg, anchovies, chicken wing, cucumber and sambal chilli), nasi briyani (basmati rice cooked with cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, cloves and cashew nuts), popiah (a fresh spring roll filled with savoury ingredients in a sweet sauce), laksa (thick rice noodles in a spicy gravy with aromatic spices, dried shrimps and coconut milk), chai tow kway or carrot cake (which is actually made from radishes steamed with rice flour, and not from carrots), rojak (a savoury fruit and vegetable salad in a flavourful dressing), kueh pie tee (crispy pastry cups filled with veggies and prawns), the famous economy rice (you start with a plate of steamed white rice and choose from a wide variety of vegetables, meat, seafood and so on, freshly cooked throughout the day), muah chee (the Chinese version of “mochi” or a glutinous rice snack coated with sesame seeds or peanuts), you tiao (the Chinese version of churros)... The choice is endless!

The world of the drinks is as rich as the one of the dishes - bandung (an iced sweet drink made from rose-flavoured syrup and evaporated milk), sugar cane, calamansi, soursop or lime juices, iced lemongrass tea and the fancier milo dinosaur, milo godzilla and michael jackson… There is a whole world out there to taste and discover!

You will be rewarded with the opportunity to eat delicious authentic Japanese cuisine and actually understand what is written on the menu!

You will also discover the subtlety of various Indian cuisines and the richness of the Malay cuisine, without setting foot in India or Malaysia!

The murtabak, made of plain flour, stuffed with a choice of savoury fillings and eaten with a curry gravy, is delicious!

You can also opt for the “lighter” roti prata, a flatbread pancake, cooked on a griddle and also served with a spicy curry gravy - watching the prata man tossing the dough before putting it on the griddle is quite a spectacle and part of the experience. My favourite Indian dish is the mysore masala dosa, made from fermented rice batter and black lentils and stuffed with savoury fillings, that goes with a savoury doughnut called vadai - the best one I have found so far is at Komala’s!

The cuisines you will find in Singapore are full of flavours - peanuts, garlic, shallots, basil, cilantro, mint, cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, cashew nuts, tamarind, black sesame, lemongrass, chilli paste or sauce, lime, soya sauce (which will pretty soon replace the salt in your daily meals), Sichuan pepper, curry powder, bean curd, radishes, dried shrimps, coconut, green tea and tons of other spices and herbs...

If Singapore was a restaurant, a bar, a drink or a dessert, it would be... (to be continued in the fourth part of this article)