After our long day in Macao, we were able to sleep today since our private food tour didn't start until 11:30. We took the MRT to East Coast Road, where J. R. encountered the most incompetent Tim Horton's on the planet. 20 minutes to make a latte with only two people in the restaurant, which meant no time to eat our donuts when we should have had a half hour.

We met Gee Soo at a 7-Eleven on East Coast Road. Along this two mile stretch, colorful heritage shophouses sit shoulder to shoulder with eateries, museums and stores showcasing Peranakan, or Straits Chinese, culture that forms a large part of the local identity. Our guide took us to Soon Soon Haut, famous for its curry puff, which was very tasty. We had hot teh (tea) with sugar and milk and then had the typical Singaporean breakfast of a soft boiled egg and Kaya toast.

We stopped to visit the colorful Peranakan houses where Gee Soo told us the story of this unique Chinese-Malay culture which arose when Chinese immigrants married Malay women after coming to Singapore.

Gee Soo took us next to Kim Choo Kueh Chang where we ate Nonya Chang (rice dumpling) and Oneh-oneh (soft green balls with palm sugar inside) upstairs in the private Peranakan museum.

Our last stop in the Katong area was Katong Laksa for their signature Laksa dish before making a quick stop in a grocery store where Gee Soo showed us the Laksa sauce.

Then we took a bus to Old Airport Road Food Centre, an authentic hawker market which was more inline with what we expected as opposed to Lau Pa Sat. Gee Soo explained the hawker centers are run by the government and stalls rented to locals where Lau Pa Sat is private. We dined on Sugarcane Juice with Lemon, an Oat Pancake with peanut filling, Chendol (iced dessert) and Fried Oyster Omelette.

Afterwards, Gee Soo took us to a housing project typical of the type of place working Singaporeans lived and explained how the government encourages apartment ownership in these public structures, which continue to be built throughout the country. In fact, Gee Soo said he was just offered a brand new flat at the same price as his current location because the government is going to renovate his 20 year old building.

We took another bus to Kampong Glam, which is the ethnic Muslim area of Singapore. In the 1800s, Kampong Glam was a Muslim quarter, home to the Sultan of Johore. Those influences melded into shops and cafes, where boutiques sit next to Mediterranean restaurants in conservation shop houses. It is also home to cultural attractions like Sultan Mosque, the Malay Heritage Centre, and the Vintage Camera Museum. We saw the outside of the Sultan's Mosque and strolled down Arab Street before a stop at Minang Ruham Makan for Beef Rendang, Terung Belado (Egg Plant) and Sambal Goreng (stir fried tempe with long beans). Before leaving the area, we had Chicken Murtabak at Victory Restaurant, where we met the owner of this century old eatery and he told us the story of an American couple who had eaten then in the 70s and kept the business card and recently returned after 50 years.

Next we walked through the rain to Little India where we had Coconut Laddoo at Komala Vilas and Paper Dosai at Kamala. Gee Soo walked us to the Little India station where we said goodbye.

We returned to our hotel to do some packing and prepare for our last day in Asia tomorrow.

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