Lunch in Chinatown

After sorting out groceries and getting myself settled into the apartment, I headed out on the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) to meet my colleagues for lunch.  The MRT is amazingly easy to use with 7 different lines that cover all of Singapore.  Luckily there is a station on the East-West line right outside the apartment - Tanah Merah Station.  Headed in to the Lavender station.
One of my colleagues has been to Singapore before so on his advice we hopped into a cab and headed to Chinatown for lunch.  Singapore has an amazing number of markets and everywhere you look there are places serving food.  We wandered around the Maxwell Food Centre trying to decide on what food looked best.  Each vendor has a "grade" posted for their health rating - we looked for "A's", but didn't see any so bought from a "B" vendor.  It was really good and inexpensive - only $3.50 for a full plate of noodles with seafood.
After lunch wandered around Chinatown and even managed to get myself a Singapore phone number for my stay.  

 The architecture is amazing - a real mix of very modern buildings with some colonial style buildings.  When I posted yesterday, a friend commented that there weren't any people in the pictures despite the population density.  Rest assured there are lots of people and the traffic can be terrible. The are trying to discourage use of cars in the congested areas by charging tolls, but I'm not sure it is really working.

Some of the streets are closed off in Chinatown with vendor stalls lining them. 

The side of the Sri Mariamman Temple - the oldest Hindu place of worship in Singapore.

 This is the facade on the temple.  It is amazing!

















So much to see, so will have to make a second trip to Chinatown!
Thanks for stopping by!
Melva