+ Changi | Dinner Out

Changi Village Chalets and Shops

Like every year, during Chinese New Year, that will mean no shopping or Kedai Kopi or Coffee Shops open for business for 2 to 4 days at a stretch.

The major shopping centres and department store will be closed for the 3 days. Basically ghost town for the shopping centres.

Since the majority or 60% of Singaporeans are Chinese here, and mostly are the ones with the stores and Coffee Shops and department stores, these few days are the most boring days in the island for the other races here.

It is not necessarily a bad thing, its just that its the holidays, and everybody wants to have a rest - moms not cooking, families go outings and eat out.

Not many places though, so the Malays comprising of 30% and Indians are the ones cashing in the monies opening their stalls, setting-up make-shift stalls outside the Coffee Shops and in the void decks to "feed" the people for these few days.

That said, our family is no exception. We went out to Changi Village to have our dinner.

Wow! The crowd at the hawker centre was incredible. Practically all Malay and Indian stalls were open.

The queues were long and many favourite dishes were sold out. There seemed to be only Nasi Lemak or Rice in Coconut Milk dish that were available in many stalls.

On normal days, you would order your food at the stall and they will send it to you, but not these few days.

You have to queue a little longer and self-serve - wait there for it to be prepared and collect it yourself to your table. Great that we could find a table to have our meals.

Not that anybody mind, but the situation is a bit panicky. You just have to settle with what is available for these few days.

You always have McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut to choose from. They are always open for business.

After dinner, we bought a few snacks and drinks and headed to the beach.

The Sungei Changi Bridge is the separator between the hustle of food rush and the tranquility of the sea.

We sat down at the bench facing the sea and snacked on Kuaci or dried Sunflower Seeds like 3 parrots skillfully separating the shell from flesh with our tongues.

The night was clear and the sea breeze was cooling. A quiet spot and a relaxed atmosphere. We talked and watched people fishing, campers barbecuing and children running about care-free.

It is always a nice night out whenever it's at the beach. 2 more days to relax!