We woke up incredibly refreshed (the hotel beds in Singapore have been genuinely great) and started the day with a proper feast before making our way to Sentosa Island for sightseeing and some thrill rides. One of the best things about planning a day in Singapore is that you can pack so much into a single outing without the whole thing feeling rushed. Sentosa Island does that better than almost anywhere else in the city.
Breakfast: Heritage Dim Sum Since 1962
We visited a dim sum spot that has been around since 1962. We got there early to beat the queue. The food completely blew us away. Honestly, there is almost no point in eating dim sum back in the US after having it here.
Getting there early is really the move. By the time we were finishing up, the line outside had grown considerably, and I could see people waiting in the heat. If you sleep in and arrive late, you will either wait a long time or miss out entirely. Worth setting an alarm for.
Hong Kong Coffee: A strong blend of coffee and tea. Very good. It hits differently here than any version I have had back home, and I think a lot of that is just the atmosphere: the noise, the steam trays rolling by, the clatter of bamboo baskets.
Chicken Feet: The texture was unlike anything I have had before. The meat falls right off the bone the second you bite in. Vincent loved these and kept stealing mine off my plate before I had a chance to protest. If you have never tried chicken feet and you are feeling adventurous, this is the place to do it.
Singapore-Style French Toast: Incredibly sweet, dangerous, and delicious. Smothered in condensed milk with a perfectly runny, deep-orange egg yolk on top. It tastes like a rich custard. This was a standout and honestly something I keep thinking about even now. The combination of textures is hard to explain until you eat it: slightly crisp on the outside, pillowy in the middle, and then that yolk just breaks and runs into everything. Perfect breakfast chaos.
The overall vibe of the restaurant was exactly what you want from a heritage spot. No frills, loud, busy, with carts being pushed around and orders being called out. The kind of place that has earned its reputation over decades of doing one thing really well.
Trying 100 Plus
Walking around after breakfast, we grabbed a 100 Plus Zero Sugar from a convenience store. I had been seeing it all over Korean Instagram and had to try it. It is a popular local hydration drink, similar in concept to Pocari Sweat but with a slightly different flavor. Very refreshing in the Singapore heat.
If you are spending a full day out in Singapore, especially in January when it still feels warm and sticky, keeping something cold in your hand is basically mandatory. The heat creeps up on you between air-conditioned stops, and by midday you will be grateful for any cold drink you can find. 100 Plus is everywhere and cheap, so grab one whenever you see it.
Getting to Sentosa Island
From the mainland, getting to Sentosa is easy. You can take the Sentosa Express monorail from VivoCity mall, cross on foot over the Boardwalk (which has a small fee), or take a cab directly onto the island. We had no issues getting over, and once you are there the island is compact enough to walk between most spots or hop on the free beach shuttle buses.
Sentosa is essentially Singapore's leisure island: beaches, theme parks, cable cars, Universal Studios, and a stretch of resorts all packed into one place. It feels like a completely different environment from the city center, even though it is only a few minutes away.
Resorts World Sentosa
We made our way over to Resorts World Sentosa and explored for a while. The complex is huge and genuinely impressive to walk around even if you are not staying there.
The Casino: The entrance had a giant decorative dragon set up for the festive season. Beautiful. We did not go in, but here is an interesting detail: tourists can enter the casino for free. Singaporean citizens and permanent residents, however, have to pay a $150 SGD daily levy (or $3,000 annually) just to walk in. That is a deliberate policy to discourage locals from gambling. The contrast between the festive decorations outside and this very practical piece of social policy stuck with me.
Malaysian Food Street: A fully air-conditioned food hall designed to look like a retro village street with fake building facades inside. Stalls serve Hainanese chicken rice, fresh mango juice, and other Malaysian and Singaporean classics. We ordered noodles and meat. Unfortunately, the dish we picked was too salty and came out cold. Not our best meal of the trip, but the space itself is worth a walk-through just for the atmosphere and the novelty of eating "outside" without actually being in the heat. The design is surprisingly convincing, with dim lighting, painted storefronts, and the general bustle of a busy hawker environment.
If we went back, we would spend more time reading the stall menus before ordering and lean toward the classics like the chicken rice or fresh juice over anything that looked unfamiliar.
Skyline Luge Sentosa
To get to the top of the track, you take an open-air chairlift up the mountain. The views are great. I spent the entire ride up terrified that my slide sandals were going to fall into the jungle below. They did not. Lesson learned: wear proper shoes to the luge, or at least sandals with a strap.
Racing the luge carts down the winding tracks was genuinely fun. The course is longer than it looks from the bottom and has enough turns to keep it interesting. You can go as fast or as slow as you want since you control your own cart, and there are multiple track options available. We did it more than once because the line moved quickly and we were not ready to stop.
The whole thing is surprisingly great value for what it is. A chairlift ride with good views followed by a go-kart-style descent through a winding course, in the middle of a tropical island. It is impossible not to enjoy.
Souvenir Shopping
Before heading back to the mainland, we did a round of souvenir shopping. Found some really nice premium t-shirts featuring classic Singaporean icons: the Merlion, Chicken Rice, Chili Crab. Great quality compared to the usual tourist shop stuff. The designs were clean and understated, the kind of thing you would actually want to wear at home rather than just stuff in a drawer.
We also spotted durian-flavored snacks. After my previous encounters with the fruit, I was not ready for that. We kept walking.
If you are shopping for gifts, Sentosa has a decent range of options at multiple price points. The premium souvenir shops near Resorts World carry genuinely good quality items that feel a step above the usual airport fare.
Tips for Your Sentosa Day Trip
- Go early for dim sum. The 1962 heritage spot fills up fast. Get there when they open to avoid a long wait outside.
- Wear proper shoes for the Luge. Sandals work but closed-toe shoes with a back strap are way less nerve-wracking on the chairlift.
- Pre-book Skyline Luge online if possible. It saves time at the counter, especially on weekends when queues build up.
- Use the free beach shuttle buses to get around the island instead of walking everywhere in the heat.
- Grab 100 Plus from any convenience store as soon as you step outside. Staying hydrated in Singapore's humidity makes the whole day more enjoyable.
- Malaysian Food Street is more of a vibe than a meal. Walk through it, but do your research before picking a stall so you do not end up with a cold, salty dish like we did.
Final Verdict
Sentosa Island is a really solid day trip from the city, especially if you want to mix food, sightseeing, and something more active all in one go. The dim sum breakfast was a genuine highlight of our entire Singapore trip, not just this day, and the Skyline Luge was more fun than either of us expected. Resorts World is worth wandering through for the spectacle even if you are not there to gamble or stay overnight.
If you are in Singapore for more than a couple of days, Sentosa belongs on your itinerary. It is an easy half-day or full-day trip depending on how much you want to do, and it gives you a completely different side of the city from the hawker centers and city skyline walks.
