Bino

Market Street Hawker Centre What to Eat & Best Food

June 23, 2026 by Bino Leave a Comment

Market Street Hawker Centre is a recently reopened food centre in Singapore’s CBD in CapitaSpring. Despite the change in name, many CBD workers still call it “Golden Shoe” – owing from its origins from 1984 up until 2017 when the hawker centre was housed in a relatively low-rise carpark building called Golden Shoe. When that original building was demolished to make way for the construction of CapitaSpring, Market Street Hawker Centre moved to a site just beside Telok Ayer MRT Station where it stood for almost 5 years as the Market Street Interim Hawker Centre.

On 5th April 2022, Market Street Hawker Centre reopened as part of the gleaming CapitaSpring skyscraper with the food centre occupying the 2nd and 3rd floor of the building – just like it did during the Golden Shoe period. The reopened hawker centre houses 56 stalls – the same number it did back then, although some establishments have changed hands.

I have personally been visiting this particular hawker centre since its Golden Shoe days. When the interim market was set up, I had also frequented it due to its proximity to my workplace. When the food centre reopened in 2022, I was pleasantly surprised to find many of my favorite stalls intact despite the many changes over the years.

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Hotel Review: Emiliano Rio – Sophisticated Luxury on Copacabana Beach

June 8, 2026 by Bino Leave a Comment

Few hotels in Rio de Janeiro manage to balance luxury, style and a genuine sense of place as successfully as Emiliano Rio. Located directly on the more scenic southern end of Copacabana Beach, this boutique five-star property offers a more intimate alternative to Rio’s chain hotels while still delivering a world-class experience.

The hotel is part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World or SLH, a chain of independent boutique properties united by a sense of uniqueness. It is also one of 2 Emiliano hotels in Brazil, the other one being in Sao Paulo.

The distinctive white exterior of the property, one consisting of honeycomb balcony panels that can be slid open or shut depending on guests’ preferences, ensures thousands of potentially different permutations when it comes to the building facade. With its remarkable Brazilian design, the hotel stands out immediately from the other buildings in that stretch.

I stayed in Emiliano Rio during my short sojourn in Rio de Janeiro and I have to say, it’s one of the most unique boutique properties I have ever stayed in.

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Food Review: Nishikane – Elaborate Anniversary Omakase From S$160

April 19, 2026 by Bino Leave a Comment

There’s something quietly powerful about dining at a restaurant with nearly two centuries of heritage. At Nishikane by Nobuhiro Nishi, every course in their Celebration Omakase feels like a continuation of a story that began in 1850—one told through seasonality, restraint, and precise craftsmanship.

nishikane restaurant interiors

Originally from Fukui in Japan, Chef Nobuhiro Nishi moved Nishikane to Singapore where it remains to this day. This special menu, created to mark their 176th anniversary, is less about extravagance and more about balance. Each dish is thoughtful, composed, and deeply rooted in Japanese culinary philosophy.

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Food Review: Fortuna – Italian Restaurant in Craig Road Introduces New Menu Items

April 5, 2026 by Bino Leave a Comment

As Singapore’s first Sicilian–Neapolitan concept, Fortuna has always been rooted in the spirit of la dolce vita — a celebration of Italian ingredients expressed through thoughtful, refined cooking. The restaurant’s story traces back to Naples, where founder Egon Marzaioli first shaped the concept before bringing it to Sydney in 2013, where it grew into a successful group in the city’s CBD.

The new menu at Fortuna Singapore is a reflection of that journey. Drawing from its deep Neapolitan heritage while incorporating the produce-driven, contemporary influences of Australia, the dishes feel like a natural evolution — a balance between tradition and modernity, and a tribute to a culinary identity shaped across two hemispheres.

Fortuna’s new menu feels like a confident step forward — playful in parts, but still grounded in familiar crowd-pleasers. Across the tasting, there’s a clear emphasis on bold flavours, textural contrast, and just enough creativity to keep things interesting without overcomplicating the dishes.

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14 Chinatown Complex Food Centre Best Stalls & What to Eat

March 31, 2026 by Bino Leave a Comment

Chinatown Complex Food Centre is one of the largest hawker centers in Singapore, boasting over 260 stalls. Chinatown Complex is well-known among Singaporeans and residents from all over the island would make the long trip here to shop at the wet market in the basement and to purchase their meals from the plethora of stalls upstairs. You can practically find the entire gamut of Singapore hawker food here and more – from Michelin-starred joints to increasingly rare traditional snacks.

Chinatown Complex Food Centre is personally one of my most frequently visited hawker centers. I just love the wide choices of good food here and getting to try some rare dishes adds an exotic factor to one’s foodie exploration.

Without further ado, here are the things you must eat (and drink!) the next time you find yourself at Chinatown Complex Food Centre. The stalls listed here are not arranged in particular order and you’d probably need to make multiple visits to try all of them.

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Hotel Review: JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa – Huge Property North of Phuket

March 22, 2026 by Bino Leave a Comment

Tucked along the quiet shores of Thailand’s Andaman coast, JW Marriott Khao Lak Beach Resort & Spa offers a slower, more spacious alternative to Phuket’s high-energy resort scene. Located about an hour and a half north of Phuket International Airport, the resort is perhaps the largest in the entire province of Phang Nga and is best known for its enormous lagoon-style pool that winds through the property and connects many of the guest rooms directly to the water.

Everyone knows Phuket but not many know about Khao Lak. I have to admit, despite countless visits to Thailand, I had never heard of Khao Lak until 2025 when JW Marriott Khao Lak first entered my radar. The province of Phang Nga, where the property is located is sparsely populated and mostly rural. It boasts of a long coastline and a mountainous interior.

During my stay, I experienced one of the resort’s most sought-after room categories — the Deluxe Lagoon Pool Access — while also exploring several of its dining outlets and facilities.

overlooking the lobby of jw marriott khao lak

The resort is huge and I had to get my bearings when I first arrived. Reception handed me a map which I used to navigate the many dining outlets, facilities as well the different wings. My room was at the northern side of the resort.

lobby of jw marriott khao lak

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20 Maxwell Food Centre Best Food Stalls & What to Eat

March 16, 2026 by Bino Leave a Comment

Maxwell Food Centre is one of those rare hawker centers in Singapore that is highly popular with tourists and at the same time, is held in high esteem by locals for its authentic and traditional hawker dishes. The main reason for this is that Maxwell Food Centre is the current home of a myriad of age-old street stalls that originally plied the area around China Square (now part of the CBD). Many of these establishments have been around for 80 years or more and continue to be managed by the same family, albeit the 2nd or 3rd generation.

Other than that, patrons can find quite a number of relatively rare hawker dishes here such as Fuzhou-style oyster cake, peanut pancake and more and at any given day, one can find Singaporeans from near and far descending upon this humble-looking hawker center queueing for various specialties.

Personally, Maxwell Food Centre is one of my most frequently-visited hawker centers in Singapore as I enjoy walking to this place during my lunch hour whenever I am looking to clock in more steps. My favorites here are a mix of some of the original China Square hawker stalls as well as newer ones started by enterprising youngsters.

However, it remains to be one of the more challenging hawker centres for me to write about due to their relatively high turnover. This is one of Singapore’s OG hawker centres and a number of the original stalls have closed permanently due to the retirement of the owners. New concepts have sprouted to replace them, with varying degrees of success.

Without further ado, here are some of the food you should try the next time you find yourself at Maxwell Food Centre.

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The Kuala Lumpur Itinerary Curated by Locals (KL) 2026 Update – Best Things to Do in Malaysia’s Capital

March 10, 2026 by Bino 4 Comments

Kuala Lumpur (KL) is a city that is all too familiar to me after visiting countless times. As a major transport hub not only within Malaysia but also for destinations around Southeast Asia, the Malaysian capital has long been a popular destination due to its relative ease of access, plethora of eats as well as the iconic Petronas Towers.

There are plenty of attractions in Kuala Lumpur and if you spend two or three days here, you will soon discover that there is so much more to the city than just the twin towers. Around the metropolis, you will also discover pockets of culture, whether it be at the Kampung Baru or Brickfields (the city’s Little India). Over the years, a noticeably prominent coffee culture has also developed, giving way to plenty of concept cafes catering to just about every whim and fancy.

If you are looking for ideas of things to do, see and eat in Kuala Lumpur (KL); here is a recommended itinerary that you can do in as little as 3 days.

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