Rozz loves sharing stories about places around the world. The travel host for web and TV curated a list of her favorite hometown spots that provide a unique lens into what Singapore has to offer to locals and visitors.
Less"Go here to find the best crab beehoon in Singapore. Beehoon is like a rice vermicelli, like a thin rice noodle. And it's got the most outrageous sauce that comes with it. People go there because they don't charge for corkage, so you can bring your own wine. I like this place because often people are like, ‘Singapore is all about chili crabs,’ but actually real Singaporeans don't quite like chili crabs. There are better ways to eat crab, and this is one of the best ways in my opinion."
"Beerthai, especially at Golden Mile Complex, is like Thailand within Singapore. Singapore is so clean and pristine that when we step into a place that seemingly has no rules, it's very exciting to us. Beerthai has an extensive menu because the guy who owned it used to cook for the Thai princess. It’s the best Thai food in Singapore. And if there's anything on the menu that you don't see that you've had in Thailand that you'd like to have, you just need to tell them and they'll make it."
"This restaurant was set up by an Italian who married a Singaporean woman. They used to work in the corporate world before they started this home dining spot called Casa Nostra, where they made pizza on the balcony of their condo. They decided to spread the love and open a restaurant. They are known for their Neapolitan pizza; they call it Newpolitan, with mind-blowing toppings.
"This teahouse has been around since 1989. Along Tanjong Pagar Road, there are several tea houses, but this one has really stood the test of time. It's not fancy, but it's a very modern set-up. No frills, but you can get the best collectible Chinese teapots there and also the most premium Chinese tea. In fact, it was this tea house that made me a tea snob. You can have a nice tea after a long lunch, or you could just take away packets of the premium tea for gifts."
"This is my brother's photo studio. It's Singapore's only wet plate photo studio. It’s an old photography method that's a precursor to film. Today, it's known as analog art created from chemicals and sunlight on a metal plate that lasts forever. If you do a photo shoot here, you can see the entire process of developing the photos in the dark room. There are also workshops in which you learn how to do everything from scratch and take your own photo and then develop it."
"Very, very cool spot. It's almost hidden. It's kind of facing the main road with a really tricky door. It seems pretty traditional on the outside, but it's actually a party zone on the inside. If you don't drink, you will not be allowed to sit there. They also have little bites that go with alcohol, so you can have sushi or small meat dishes. It's like Japanese tapas. Get your sake, have two hours of little nibbles, and then go somewhere else for dinner so you can stretch the night."
"This is a very interesting photo studio in Little India. It first started out as a service for Indian and Sri Lankan construction workers and other foreign workers. They'd come in to take photos that the studio would digitize and send back to their families back home for matchmaking purposes. The photo studio is so kitschy cool that a lot of people go there just to take wacky photos. He has these really retro handpainted backdrops, and costumes and props from the eighties and seventies."
"I think only expats picnic in Singapore because they just love the alfresco life. Singapore it's generally just too hot, but I like Changi Beach Park sometimes because it's got a good wind going through it. If you're driving, definitely stop at Car Park Two. The beach is just literally 20 steps away. The beach is kind of grassy, but you get the view of the sea quite unobstructed, barely any oil tankers there, just the occasional sailboat and landing plane."
"I feel the therapists at this branch are the most consistently good ones. It really looks like you are walking into a Japanese garden. Once you get past it, you can actually do your foot massage lying flat down. And they have these heater bean bags that they put on your neck, so you just immediately relax. I go there when I have a really busy day, and I have this weird two, three hour window or just want to relax and sleep. I would go there for a hour, get a massage, and sleep."