…what would you recommend him? Okay, this is my list of things to do:
Topmost on the list: Must bring him to try our local fare, of course!! I mean, we don’t have much of a natural heritage here, or any man-made wonders of the world (eh, does the Singapore Flyer count?), or dirt-cheap shopping, or nice quaint vintage houses, or tranquil countryside, etc.
Matt, our dear buddy, will be flying all the way from America to Singapore in a few weeks’ time. This will be his second visit here (he was Yang’s best man during our wedding, remember?) He will be here for our local food. He misses the Katong laksa, roti prata and dim sum. Okies, for the sake of our dear foodie friend, I shall draw up a list of must-try foods for him while he’s here again:
- Paranakan Cuisine: laksa (Katong of course!), nonya curry, mee siam, rojak, popiah, kueh kueh, otah, etc
- Chinese cuisine: dim sum (e.g. xiao long bao from Din Tai Fung), clear soups, congee (Crystal Jade’s), Hainanese chicken rice, duck rice (A* coffee shop), steamboat, shrimp dumpling noodles (Rivervale Mall’s Foodcourt), beef hor fun (Casaurina Rd), fried carrot cake (Shi Fu coffee shop), fried kway teow, fried rice (Din Tai Fung’s), chilli crabs (Jumbo’s), fried Hokkien mee (Punggol Plaza coffee shop), etc
- Malay cuisine: mutton / beef rendang (my mother in-law’s one is good), satay, nasi briyani, nasi lemak, lontong, mee rebus, mee soto, mee goreng, etc
- Indian cuisine: Roti prata (Compass Point Banquet – the best!), naan, teh tarik, teh halia, etc
- Thai cuisine: green curry, mango and glutinous rice dessert, red rubies, sweet tapioca, etc
- Local fruits: durian, mangosteen, malay apples, etc.
Pant, pant… did I miss out any ‘die die must try’ dishes? Tell me please ok?
As for places to look-see, here’s my rough plan:
- Rustic pulau ubin
- Bukit Timah nature reserve
- Singapore Flyer
- Singapore River / Clark Quay
- Chinatown
- Little India
- Marina South (to have steamboat??)
- Chinese Tea House ??
- Zoo?
- Where, where, where? Oh yah, go catch latest blockbusters…cheaper than the States…
This time round, we will still get Matt a tub of bak qua as happy-hour snack and stock loads of chilled green tea in our fridge. 
Now, haven’t we got something going?
Wow, it appears someone is going to be quite busy and quite stuffed! (I’m still, erm, digesting the thoughtful information and ideas you’ve written above.) It looks like you’ve got my first day in Singapore well planned. Now, tell me what I’m to eat and go see my second day in town? :)
Gosh, we can’t do everything within one day. Need to re-organise the places to eat and visit as they are all over Singapore.
First day touch down – be sure to have your fill of roti prata and teh tarik. The rest of the day is free n easy…with some light Chinese food to balance off the heavy prata meal.
Second day (since you asked) i already have plans to hit pulau ubin. We need the whole day to this island due to travelling time, especially to catch the boat ride. We can cycle on rented bikes – otherwise we can also walk on foot about the island :) It is nice to have a coconut drink there too. Just for the novelty of it. When we return to the ferry point on the main island, have a late lunch at the famous Changi Village hawker. Warning: it can be quite crowded and hot there!