Beyond the shopping street Orchard Road, there is so much more to Singapore. I have been going back yearly for seven straight years but during my recent visit, there were many firsts for me such as a lovely Saturday with girlfriends spent in the neighborhood of Tiong Bahru.

First order of business was brunch at Forty Hands (www.40handscoffee.com) known for their sustainably produced specialty coffee. It’s small and quaint, as most shops in the area are so we had to wait for a bit to get our table. I decided to skip the coffee, although my friend who ordered coffee is totally in love with their house blend, because I was hungry already. Instead I ordered one of their brunch meals. The busy vibe and good food were enough to wake us up as we ready ourselves for a full day ahead.

After filling our stomachs, we headed to our next stop – books actually (www.booksactually.com) which is just nearby. This independent bookstore specializes in Fiction and Literature but more than books it also sells vintage items and other interesting things. What I really like about it is that they have many local books and that made me spend a lot of time browsing through pages because reading through those printed words of locals is just like eating their local cuisine, it gives you a lot of insight to the people and their culture.

Now that our souls were already fed after spending hours at books actually, we then walk around the side streets seeing more cozy shops and details but at the end of one long street was our final destination for that day – Tiong Bahru Bakery (www.tiongbahrubakery.com). Just like Forty Hands, Tiong Bahru is known in the area so there’s also a line but we found a table pretty quick after we placed our orders. I’m not really a bread person but I must say the pastries I have tasted are perfectly baked and something you will crave for meaning not commercial in taste at all which will probably explains the continuous flow of people coming in.

We’ll take you to another area beyond Orchard Road in future BBR Recommends for International Travel.