Tourists in Kampong Glam

If you are a regular reader of my blog you'll know that we got the opportunity to take up a staycation at the Hotel Clover 33 Jalan Sultan not so long ago, by the way check out the link to the post for an offer on your own stay there exclusive to my blog readers. As it was an unexpected treat I took the opportunity to take a Saturday off work to maximise our stay. After our check in and a tour of the hotel we were free to enjoy ourselves and we saw this as the perfect chance to be tourists for the day in the Kampong Glam area.

We were actually a little early for our check in initially so decided to find a cafe or coffee shop close by to kill some time. Literally just around the corner from the hotel we stumbled upon the Dong Po Colonial Cafe. I realised afterwards that I'd actually seen this place on a TV show and what a great little find it was. It was packed full of memorabilia from Singapore's yesteryear. All the tables were like ours in my photo below, glass topped and stuffed full of little mementos and, of course, there was kopi, kaya toast and a whole load of other yummy things on the menu.

kopi time

Once we had checked in we dumped our overnight bags in our room and ventured out once more. We wandered around the streets of Kampong Glam, of course, this included the famous ones like Haji Lane but because we came from the Jalan Sultan direction lots of others that I've probably barely walked down before. Asides from the shops, restaurants and weekend hustle and bustle I took the time to look for other things of interest. I'm always interested by ghost signage or hints of what a building may have originally been used for, who it was owned by or when it was built and I spotted this on one of the street corners above the modern shop frontage. Always pays to look up, you never know what you'll see or find.

After all our walking we needed lunch and decided to try out somewhere else that we'd heard lots about from friends but never got to, Pizza Fabbrica on Bussorah Street. All the hype about the place was definitely worth it and I can only agree with all those already singing its praises. The food was delicious with amazing pizzas and the service was great too. Good service is certainly something I find myself appreciating a lot more these days. 

Our starter and my pizza choice

Of course after a huge lunch like that we needed to do some more walking around the area to burn a few of those calories off. This gave us a chance to see some more of the back and side streets of the Kampong Glam area and catch different views of some of its famous landmarks. After plenty of walking we retired to a bar and enjoyed a couple of late afternoon drinks before heading back to the hotel, freshening up and heading out for something to eat. Having had such a large and fairly late lunch we weren't especially hungry but the beauty of this area is it is packed full of Middle Eastern food which means plenty of delicious snacks and mezze style dishes to choose from. Perfect for when you just want something light and also great for sharing. 

Masjid Sultan mosque from a backstreet

We didn't try this place out but the tag line amused me - one for another time perhaps.

Dinner - dining on Middle Eastern food

It was great to take some time out to explore this part of Singapore again, somewhere we probably don't spend nearly enough time in. I especially enjoyed it given that my Saturdays usually consist of a day at work so my extra free time and exploring was all the more special. Being a tourist in your hometown (or adopted hometown) is certainly something I'd recommend you try.

Don't forget to check out my blog post of my stay at the Hotel Clover 33 Jalan Sultan if you'd like to take the time to explore this area a little more yourself and also get a great deal on your hotel stay in the process!