Tanjong Pagar

I have not been to Tanjong Pagar on a week day since about more than 2 years ago when I had attended a course with 2 other colleagues. I have already forgotten about the noticeably hectic pace of the place relative to others. I had the fortune of experiencing a typical office crowd again on Monday when I was there for another course.

In the morning, the queue up the escalator out of the train station extended to way behind the starting point. Everyone hurried up the escalator. If one walked a little slower, one would be stepped by the more impatient commuter behind. People were literally fighting against time. One’s heart also beat faster in order to go with the flow.

During lunch, it was another adventure totally. One of my course mates brought me to Amoy Street food centre. Wow, I was overwhelmed by the choices, the crowd and the queues. There was a long line of people standing in front of almost every stall. If not for my extended lunch hour, to accomplish the task for finding a seat, queuing for food and finishing the food would definitely be an amazing race.

Notwithstanding, the variety of food that could be found at the hawker centre was more up market than elsewhere. There was a freshly baked muffin stall. There was nasi ayam served on wooden plates – the other 2 places with these were HDB Hub and Changi Village.

Beside the hawker centre, there was also a small park where one could sit on the wooden bench under the trees to enjoy al fresco dining with your packed food (especially when you were not successful in ‘chopping’ any seats in the hawker centre). The architecture one could enjoy in Tanjong Pagar was varied composition of modern skyscrapers and colonial shophouses (characterized by the White House and Red House).

Well, if you have time on a weekday or if you happen to pass by that area, do drop by to experience the CBD of Singapore. :-)