Singapore is always full of contrasts and surprises but on this trip I found more than usual. There was the humid heat interspersed with downpours worthy even of my home town of Manchester. There was the taxi driver who shuttled me through the rain and who, in 60 years living in the city-state, had learnt three different national anthems: British, Malay and, finally, Singapore’s own.
There was the early morning trip to Tiong Bahru suburb, with its wet market, for a breakfast of omelette with steamed radish, garlic and turnips, and rice cakes with preserved garlic and sesame seeds. It was followed by a cappuccino at the new Forty Hands café round the corner that was as good as any you would find anywhere.
At Esquina, in Chinatown, I met Irish chef Andrew Walsh, who was cooking Spanish food in a restaurant that is a partnership between British chef Jason Atherton and Singapore restaurateurs Geoffrey Eu and Loh Lik Peng.