A Weekend of Good in Singapore

Start your day by stepping back in time to learn more about Singapore’s early years with Tribe Tours, which prides itself on building strong bonds with local community and maintaining respect for local craft to deliver guided experiences with heart. Try their Disappearing Tradestour, which immerses you in traditional trades that are past their heydays but still carried on by passionate craftsmen thrilled to share their skill. 

The tour takes you to a local coffee roasting factory, a traditional bakery that has been turning out fragrant, fluffy loaves for decades, and a workshop where intricate paper houses are painstakingly created as an offering for the dead as part of Chinese customs. Every stop is a step into living history, and an opportunity to connect with ordinary folks who were part of Singapore’s crucial post-independence years. 

• Experiences

Private tours that make you feel like a local

• TRIBE TOURS

For lunch, drop by Breakthrough Café for dim sum, which are tasty, Cantonese-style small bites. Located along a row of food shops on the ground floor of People’s Park Centre in Chinatown, the service is friendly, the food is satisfying and the mission warms the heart: the eatery offers former drug offenders employment, allowing them to hone their skills to make a fresh start.  

• Experiences

A dim sum cafe that empowers ex-offenders

• BREAKTHROUGH CAFE

After filling your stomach, take a leisurely stroll along Eu Tong Sen Street and soak in historic sights like buildings such as People’s Park Complex, the former Majestic Hotel and Sri Mariamman Temple, Singapore's oldest Hindu Temple. For a glimpse of what goes on in a typical market, take a small detour to Chinatown Market and get up close to the action at the various stalls selling fresh produce, meats and fish. 

Next, take shelter from the afternoon heat at The Social Space on Kreta Ayer Street. Comprising a café with healthy vegetarian options, a retail space and a nail salon, the multi-concept store is chic and cheery, with a carefully-curated selection of high-quality, fair-trade products that don’t harm the environment or support a social cause. Many are made in Southeast Asia and make for perfect souvenirs. You can also treat yourself to a manicure by The Nail Social, which trains and employers underprivileged women to help improve their livelihoods.

• Experiences

A sustainable cafe with style

• The Social Space

Continue with the retail therapy by hopping on the train to Somerset station (along the North-South Line on the MRT, the city's metro system ), which will take you to Design Orchard, the latest addition to the stretch of glitzy malls in the heart of Orchard Road. Home to 61 home-grown brands, you can find locally-designed clothes, accessories, home furnishing and even food souvenirs here. There’s also an amphitheatre at the rooftop, perfect for chilling and people-watching after your retail therapy session.

If you passed on getting a manicure earlier, consider a massage at My Foot Reflexology in Midpoint Orchard just beside Design Orchard. Its ordinary shopfront belies its heartfelt mission: it employs the visually-impaired as therapists, and the service is deft and seamless. 

Have a laid-back dinner at Crossings Cafe, tucked away in the Catholic Centre on Waterloo Street, which serves well-priced comfort food blending local and western flavours, such as chilli crab pasta. The social enterprise employs people from disadvantaged backgrounds to help them get a stronger footing in life, and also donates its proceeds to charity. 

• Experiences

Asian fusion fare with a social mission

• CROSSINGS CAFE

Public transport in Singapore is efficient and affordable, but cycling allows you to breezily explore the back lanes of each district, while keeping you carbon footprint small. 

Let’s Go Bike Singapore’s Historical Singapore Bike Tour takes you along the Singapore River, across Marina Bay, the Civic District and the main cultural districts like Chinatown and Kampong Glam. You guide will share stories of Singapore’s early development as you retrace the steps of migrant communities in search of a better life. The tour starts and ends at the bike shop located at Crawford Lane, accessible on foot from Lavender MRT station.

If cycling is not your thing, sleep in a little before making your way to the National Gallery Singapore and browse the world’s largest public collection of modern Southeast Asian art. Housed in the former City Hall and former Supreme Court, the museum’s classic-meets-modern architecture, stunning interior and unique environmentally-friendly features draw just as much attention as its exhibitions.

• Experiences

Bike around Singapore's backstreets

• Let's Go Bike Singapore

For lunch, hit up Mahota Commune, not far from Little India and the Jalan Besar Conservation Area. The space consists of a farm-to-table restaurant, a bakery, a retail space and even a clinic. Enjoy wholesome pastas, salads or sharing platters made from seasonal organic produce responsibly sourced from farms around the region.  

An alternative within the city centre is The Caffeine Experience, which has outlets at Tanjong Pagar and on Orchard Road, making it a convenient stop for a light lunch and a great cup of coffee. Believing that everyone deserves a good meal and a second chance, the café hires former drug offenders to give them a means to regain their confidence and make a living. Note that the Tanjong Pagar outlet closes at 2pm on Saturdays and is closed on Sundays. 

• Experiences

Unwind with a coffee that empowers

• The Caffeine Experience

Cool off in the afternoon at Gardens by the Bay, a sprawling park comprising three waterfront gardens on 101ha of reclaimed land. Its futuristic Supertrees and cooled Conservatories are an impressive sight, as are its sustainability principles that ensure efficient use of energy and water, such as burning the bio-waste collected to generate energy for its needs.  

For a small fee, audio tours are conducted daily where visitors are taken on a scenic and informative 25-minute ride around the Gardens. Or opt for the Auto Rider, an air-conditioned self-driving vehicle with live commentary on board. The park is a 15-minute walk from Bayfront MRT Station on the Circle or Downtown Line.

After a day exploring the island, reward yourself with dinner at Scaled by Ah Hua Kelong, on Haji Lane in the Kampong Glam area, a farm-to-table restaurant serving fish and shellfish from its own Singaporean kelong farm (traditional wooden platforms built over water). Dishes like curry mussels, grouper served with sweet potato noodles, and chilli crab risotto offer a fresh take on classic Southeast Asian flavours. It shares a space with local favourite Bar Stories, which can mix up bespoke cocktails to complement your food (and mood). 

For those who don’t mind travelling a little further, take a taxi to Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh in Bedok in the eastern part of Singapore. Bak kut teh is pork ribs served in a rich, peppery or herbal broth, and Soon Huat also serves up a lightly-spiced “dry” version in a claypot, as well as other local dishes. The restaurant was founded by an ex-offender who offers those who have served time a new lease of life through employment. 

• Experiences

Feast on claypot delights and transform lives

• Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh

Most people would not think of spending their Sunday mornings at a cemetery, but Bukit Brown Cemetery’s tranquil surroundings, varied history and famous graves possess an unusual appeal. Guided tours are available on scheduled weekends by a.t.Bukit Brown (All Things Bukit Brown), a volunteer group dedicated to keeping alive the history of Bukit Brown, which is under threat from development. There are also self-guided tour routes by the Singapore Heritage Society should you prefer to explore at your own pace.

If traipsing through jungle paths isn’t an option for you, consider visiting Henderson Waves, Singapore’s highest pedestrian bridge for your dose of lush urban greenery. A taxi can drop you near one end of the bridge, which has wide, flat paths. The bridge is part of the Southern Ridges, a 10-km long trail that connects parks along the southern part of the island.

• Experiences

A cemetery walk of history, art and nature

• a.t.Bukit Brown (All Things Bukit Brown)

After a morning outdoors, head to Food for Thought at the National Museum of Singapore for a hearty brunch. The social enterprise also allows you to give back, by sponsoring S$10 (US$7.20) food bundles for the underprivileged through Food Bank Singapore, or donating S$2 (US$1.40) to a well-building project in Asia. 

• Experiences

A tasty meal that uplifts the underprivileged

• Food for Thought

History and craft meet at the traditional pottery kilns that have survived urbanisation in Boon Lay, at the western end of Singapore. Thow Kwang Pottery Jungle is home to Singapore’s oldest surviving wood-fired “dragon” kiln, so named for its distinctive, snaking structure. The friendly, family-run business has been flying the flag for traditional pottery in Singapore for decades from its rustic premises, and runs  regular workshops for the public.

Alternatively, you can also visit Center Pottery in the historic Joo Chiat district, which also offers regular classes and sells more contemporary, handmade pieces by resident potters. Promoting the therapeutic benefits of working with clay for mental health, the social enterprise also conducts weekly classes at a home for the intellectually disabled.

• Experiences

A pottery workshop with a social mission

• Center Pottery

Urban jungles like Singapore can feel isolating at times. Enter One Kind House for a pleasant reprieve and a chance to interact with locals and fellow travellers over an intimate, home-cooked dinner. The meal is prepared by the resident chef and head of the household — affectionately known as Mummy Soh — and served in her family home in Joo Chiat. One Kind House, which aims to keep local culture and community alive, also offers cooking classes. 

If you are early, take a walk around Joo Chiat and Katong, once the enclave of the Peranakans, Straits-born people of Chinese and Malay or Indonesian descent, who over centuries developed a rich craft and cuisine heavily influenced by their multicultural heritage. The neighbourhood is identified by the colourful, intricate shophouse facades that line the narrow streets. 

A grittier alternative is Geylang Adventures, which takes you on a guided tour of Geylang, Singapore’s red-light district. Its guides offer a thought-provoking commentary that mixes cultural interest with pertinent local social and policy issues, giving you a nuanced view of life in Singapore rarely seen by tourists — and a chance to enjoy mouthwatering  food along the way. Founded as an initiative to support the marginalised migrant worker community in Singapore, it runs projects such as giving free haircuts for migrant workers and the poor on weekends.

It now also offers a tour in the neighbourhood of Dakota, which lets you take in the quaint charms of one of Singapore's oldest housing estates, while learning about how redevelopment plans affected the elderly who called it home. 

• Experiences

Explore the unexpected in a redlight district

• Geylang Adventures