'I’ve holidayed in this underrated Asian city four times. There’s a reason I keep going back.'

Singapore is a destination I have visited many times — and for good reason.

Being one of the main thoroughfares to and from Europe, I have stayed twice on my return home from bigger trips. I find staying in Singapore a great way to start adjusting to the time difference from Europe and minimising my jet lag when I get home to Australia. Plus, I won't argue with a mini holiday inside a bigger holiday, it's like the little babushka doll of holiday destinations.

I've also visited Singapore twice on its own. It's an easy eight-hour direct flight. I often fly Singapore Airlines, and they are one of my favourites to travel on. The flight attendants are always very hospitable, the journey is quick and seamless and the meals are amongst my favourite.

Once you arrive, one of the first things you will notice is that Singapore is incredibly clean and well-kept. There are strict regulations against littering in public and even spitting out chewing gum is illegal. The weather is always warm, so it's a year-round destination for escaping the cold.

The people are very friendly, always willing to help, and you don't need to navigate a language barrier. There is lots to see and do. Did I mention the shopping districts are incredible? And as far as holiday destinations go, it's very family-friendly.

Stay at the InterContinental Singapore.

On my most recent trip, I was lucky enough to stay at the InterContinental Singapore, and it was everything I could have dreamed of and more. Located in the Bugis and Bras Basah cultural districts, the hotel is a combination of Chinese heritage and Peranakan architecture. It walks a fine line between feeling very homely but without missing a beat on anything you would expect from a luxury five-star hotel.

My husband and I stayed in the Junior Suite which felt like being royalty. It had a bedroom with a separate living room, the bathroom had a bathtub and my favourite were the BYREDO products on the bathroom vanity and in the shower. Was I tempted to take them home? Yes. Was there a sign politely asking guests not to take the BYREDO products? Also yes.

The temptation to take these BYREDO products was real. Image: Supplied.

Our room was maintained daily and when we returned my husband had to explain what a 'turn down service' was when I saw slippers next to our bed, a robe on top and our bed sheets untucked. There was even a note to let us know our room attendant, Eddy, had been. All the staff were incredible, very friendly and would even point out where to watch your step when walking. Being pregnant and struggling to see over my belly, it was much appreciated.

Our room overlooked the pool. Image: Supplied.

You have access to a pool and there's even a world-first Champagne Express Lane, where you can drive through and enjoy bubbles and caviar on the go. You also have the option to upgrade to Club InterContinental which gives you access to lots of great perks like breakfast, afternoon tea and evening cocktails in the lounge and discounts on restaurants and laundry services.

What to do and eat in Singapore.

Have an à la carte dinner and enjoy a live jazz performance at The Lobby Lounge.

After we arrived and checked in at the InterContinental Singapore, we got ready for an à la carte dinner at The Lobby Lounge. There is so much to do and see in the hotel itself, you could honestly never leave.

Sitting on comfy lounge chairs in dim lighting, we settled in for a live jazz performance. The band and singer created an incredible atmosphere in the room. We nibbled on food and talked while enjoying the music, and it was the perfect way to spend our first night.

Our entrées while we watched the live jazz performance. Image: Supplied.

For dinner, we decided on some more traditional Singaporean options that were very much elevated and the hotel had its own dessert bar which we selected from for later. Everything we ate was delicious, but the standout for me was the creamy lobster bisque.

The menu included:

Entrées

• Crispy chicken karaage with mixed salad, lemon and wasabi mayonnaise

• Singapore style chilled chilli crab sliders with dungeness crab meat, chilli crab sauce, golden mantou and coriander

• Creamy lobster bisque with saffron aioli, dungeness crab, bottarga, pistachio and sourdough toast

Main

• Hainanese chicken rice with traditional poaches chicken breast, fragrant rice, rich chicken broth and garlic chilli

• Penang char kway teow with pork sausage (lup cheong), tiger prawns, egg, vegetable and flat rice noodles

Dessert

• Passionfruit cheesecake

• Ivory white chocolate mousse cake

Eat breakfast at the Club InterContinental Lounge.

The next day we had breakfast at the Club InterContinental Lounge, a nice perk of having club access.

Inside the Club InterContinental Lounge. Image: Supplied.

It's much quieter, and you can order anything you like from their breakfast à la carte menu. My favourite was the Belgian waffles topped with maple syrup, mixed berries, icing sugar and chantilly cream, while my husband was a fan of the smoked salmon eggs benedict with truffle hollandaise, topped with avruga caviar on a toasted English muffin.

Yes, the eggs benedict came with caviar. Image: Supplied.

There is also a full buffet breakfast for you to choose from too, and you can have tea, coffee or any other beverages brought to your table.

Visit the Intan Peranakan House Museum.

After breakfast, we visited the Intan Peranakan House Museum.

It looked unassuming from the front, but once we stepped in, we were greeted by an array of antiques and artefacts collected by its owner and curator, Alvin Yapp. Alvin was generous with sharing stories about his upbringing, his passion for Peranakan culture and how a hobby of collecting its wares almost accidentally led to him opening an entire museum in the culture's honour.

Part of the collection inside the Intan Peranakan House Museum. Image: Supplied.

"Nowhere do you see a Chinese community like the Peranakan culture who are strong, confident and secure to remain as Chinese as you will ever be, and yet pick and choose other people's cultures, except Peranakan culture," Alvin told Mamamia. "You see this in our food, in our language and our lifestyle. Chinese, Malay, European, all coming together as one."

Amongst his many collections, Alvin also had a huge collection of traditional shoes. He explained his connection to shoes and his reason for collecting them initially was that they were cheap and easy to source. While some collected porcelain, Alvin collected hand-made shoes. A pair of which even featured in the Singapore Airlines safety video along with Alvin.

His museum is definitely a must-visit and an experience that is off the beaten track when it comes to Singaporean attractions.

Try an immersive dinner at LUCE.

LUCE is an amazing dining space because it transforms throughout the day. You can have a buffet lunch there in the afternoon or enjoy a dinner buffet of Italian (pasta cheese wheel station included) with lots of other international options at night.

But tucked in the back of LUCE is an experience I wasn't expecting that night and that was the Banquet of Hoshena. The best way to describe it is part theatre and storytelling, part fine dining experience. It follows a fictional story about the mythical realm of Hoshena, with its queen needing the diners sitting around the table to take on a quest to restore the kingdom through a seven-course dining experience. Changing the world by eating? That is an experience I can get on board with.

Watch the Banquet of Hoshena at LUCE below.

Going through the meal is like eating with your eyes, ears and mouth all at the same time. It's brought together with a mixture of 3D visual technology, image mapping, props and the menu matches the storyline (there are, quite literally, fairies dancing on your table while you eat.)

The final course in the Banquet of Hoshena at LUCE. Image: Supplied.

I have it on good authority (from the LUCE staff) that the Banquet of Hoshena experience might be changing to a new storyline in the coming months, so run, don't walk.

Do high tea and don't skip the sabrage experience.

The next day, we had high tea in The Lobby Lounge, which felt like an entirely different experience during the daytime when compared to the live jazz performance in the evening. I've been to many high teas, but this one was super special and unique. What the chef did so well was incorporate local Singaporean favourites that you would get at a hawker's market and elevate them into something even more special.

The high tea was something else. Image: Supplied.

The menu included:

Savoury

• Chilli Boston lobster roll

• Hokkaido scallop chawanmushi

• Jumbo lump crab salad and sea grape

• Home-cured beetroot and Norwegian salmon

• Signature kaya jam and foie gras

Scones

• English buttermilk scones

• Freshly baked blueberry scones

Condiments

• Devonshire clotted cream

• Pandan coconut preserves

• Organic rosewood honey

Sweets

• 70% chocolate de l'opera tartlet

• 24-carat gold banana genoa cake

• Ondeh-ondeh swiss roll

• Sweet corn cake

• Intercontinental macaron

After the high tea, a waitress came out and asked if we were ready for our sabrage experience and who would like to do it. Once we found out a sabrage experience involved opening a bottle of champagne or sparkling wine by striking the neck of the bottle with a sword, I volunteered my husband.

After a demonstration, thankfully, he got it first go. I'm not sure what would have happened if he… didn't? But he got to hold a sword, a smiley photo, a bottle of champagne and even a diploma to say he was certified in sabrage at the end of it (as well as the top of the bottle he cut off). So it's safe to say it was a very cool experience.

My husband post-sabrage experience. Image: Supplied.

Hot tip: our waitress also let us know that there is no glass left inside the bottle of a proper sabrage. This is because the pressure inside the bottle, combined with the force of the sword strike, causes the top of the bottle to break cleanly, forcing the cork and a portion of the neck away from the bottle. Doing this means there are no glass shards inside the bottle and safe to drink.

Explore the Bugis shopping district.

Connected to the hotel is the Bugis Junction shopping centre as well as the Bugis Street shopping district.

It's a great outdoor retail space that is fun to walk around in and explore. We visited all of our favourite clothing stores as well as novelty pop-up stores, the Pop Mart and scored a few bargains thanks to the tax-free shopping. As a bubble tea fan, I was pleased to find I could have it on tap from the closely located Gong Cha at a cheaper price than I get it at home.

If you're keen on even more shopping, keep walking, and you will hit the Mustafa Centre and the main shopping district with all the luxury stores. Centres like ION Orchard, which I've visited every time I am in Singapore, are only a two-minute drive away on Orchard Road.

Enjoy dinner at Man Fu Yuan.

On our last night, we had dinner at Man Fu Yuan, which is often referred to as Singapore's top Cantonese restaurant. The service was second to none and our waitress practically topped up our drinks after every sip.

My favourite part was how much of the meal was made table side. Lots of the dishes, including the fried rice, were made at an interactive station at our table. It was fun to watch the food coming together before you got to enjoy it. The standout dish for me was the 3.33 honey-glazed duroc pork ribs which were braised for three hours, then fried, glazed with honey, then finished with yuzu soya sauce and grated coconut.

The best pork ribs I have eaten in my life. Image: Supplied.

It was the perfect end to our trip and a reminder of why I love visiting Singapore so much. So if you're looking for your next holiday destination, it's definitely not one to sleep on.

Where is your favourite place to stay in Singapore? Tell us in the comments section below.

Mamamia travelled as a guest of the InterContinental Singapore. All opinions expressed in this article are the author's own.

Featured image: Supplied/Valentina Todoroska.