SINGAPORE: When Adam and Charlotte Erace had 48 hours in Singapore in June, flying in from Philadelphia, United States, they concentrated on eating and drinking.

“Because Singapore’s reputation demanded it,” recounts Adam, 40, a food and travel writer. “We didn’t want to just follow Michelin stars or (Netflix series) Chef’s Table or (chef Anthony) Bourdain; connecting with a local person who could show their personal favourites in their neighbourhood gave us a deeper experience instead of following all the other food tourists.”

That local person was me. In four hours, we sliced across Joo Chiat, from Katong to Geylang Serai, mimicking a Singaporean’s daily culinary cycle: Kaya toast breakfast set at Chin Mee Chin, popiah lunch at Kway Guan Huat, curry puff tea time at Soon Soon Huat, nasi padang dinner at Hjh Maimunah and Haig Road Putu Piring for dessert.

Along the way, we breathed in the pastel kaleidoscope and ethnic embroidery of the country’s first designated Heritage Town. The Eraces were curious about life here: Sharing a hawker centre table with uncles and aunties, we talked about HDB void deck culture and the gifts and challenges of our uniquely cosmopolitan society.

This was a sensorial deep dive into our heart(lands) and soul - not content for the next Instagram Reelarenaplus, TikTok and YouTube video.

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