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Ready for a fun day out with your kiddos? Here are our favourite museum and lunch combinations all over Singapore, mama!
There’s never a bad time for a little parent-child bonding. If you’re looking for some inspiration for a fun day out, mama, we’ve rounded up our favourite museums and nearby kid-friendly lunch restaurants so you can make a day of it. Read on and get planning!
Read more: Best Kid-Friendly Museums in Singapore
Lead image by Black Tap
The Artground is one of our favourite indoor play spots with lots of fun, open-ended, ever-changing exhibitions and its always-cool weekend workshops.
Where to eat:
Conveniently, Cafe Melba is just a few steps away and is always a hit with the kids thanks to its big menu, huge green lawn for running around, and its weekend bouncy castle.
If you’re after something slightly more upscale, adjacent La Barca offers up the same green lawn and an indoor kids’ playroom to go with yummy, authentic Italian cuisine.
The Artground, 90 Goodman Road, #01-40, Block J, Singapore 439053, www.theartground.com.sg
ArtScience Museum’s Future World is one of our favourite places to take the kids for cutting-edge digital installations, touchable interactive displays, not to mention the indoor lit up balls to bounce and the slide to whizz down! We especially love the Friday special (up to four children under 12 years old enter for FREE on Fridays with every adult ticket purchased!).
Where to Eat:
On the cheaper side, Din Tai Fung (#B2-63 Marina Bay Sands) is always a crowd pleaser with their award-winning dumplings.
For more of a splurge: If you want to burn a small hole in your wallet with all the cash you’ve saved on kids-go-free Friday, then head to Black Tap (L1-80 Marina Bay Sands) for their amazing sugar-rush milkshakes (Willy Wonka-style concoctions that your kids will dream about for years, at around $22 apiece), plus good burgers and salads. For Asian eats try out JustIN (L1-83 Marina Bay Sands) where kids can scoot outside while you’re waiting for your chow.
ArtScience Museum, Marina Bay Sands (outside), 10 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018956, www.marinabaysands.com/museum
Located alongside the river, the Asian Civilisations Museum is home to over 1,300 artifacts, focusing on pan-Asian civilisations. With learning opportunities for both younger and older children, the museum provides age appropriate activities, gallery-based story telling sessions and hands-on workshops — Saturday afternoons are particularly family-friendly.
Where to eat:
Cheap Eat: Have a coffee and cake in the in-house cafe
Splurge: Empress at the back of the museum offers Cantonese classics and dim sum lunch with a beautiful view of Boat Quay and the Singapore River. Don’t miss the Westernised desserts like Sticky Date and Longan Pudding or Cempedak Crème Brûlée.
Asian Civilisations Museum, 1 Empress Place, Singapore 179555, www.acm.org.sg
Image by Empress
The Malay Heritage Centre (MHC) is housed in the former Istana Kampong Gelam, which was gazetted as a National Monument in 2015. The centre showcases the history, culture and contributions of the Malay community within the context of Singapore’s history and multicultural society. During special periods of the year such as Ramadan and Hari Raya, there will be special bazaars showcasing food by local Halal vendors, breathtaking cultural dance performances and kid-friendly activities. The latest upcoming exhibition is Undangan ke Baitullah, which provides visitors with an intimate look into the Southeast Asian region’s experiences with the Hajj pilgrimage across the years!
Where to eat:
Head to nearby Kampong Glam Café for your fix of Malay and Indian coffee shop fare! The area is always buzzing with activity as Muslims head to Sultan Mosque for their prayers, while surrounding the area are plenty of carpet and fabric stores, plus several other hip cafes to choose from. If you’re looking for brunch or burgers, Working Title – Burger Bar will hit the spot. Kiddos will go crazy for their churros! Need to cool off? Lickety is just down the street, offering super fun ice cream flavours and yummy egglet waffles little ones will love.
Malay Heritage Centre, 85 Sultan Gate, Singapore 198501, www.malayheritage.org.sg
The National Gallery Singapore is home to the largest public collection of Singaporean and Southeast Asian art in the region. But what your kids are going to get excited about is the wonderful kid-friendly Keppel Centre for Art Education. There they’ll find art print making workshops, and plenty of touchy-feely interactive stations to explore.
Where to eat:
Splurge: National Kitchen by Violet Oon is a great place for upmarket lunch when you have out of town guests to treat, though the dark Peranakan dining room (and cuisine) may be too sophisticated for the more rambunctious toddlers. Order Beef Rendang, Dry Laksa, and and of course the Grated Tapioca Cake! If you’re more in the mood for Italian food, or Italian food try Aura on the 6th Floor — they offer a wallet-friendly lunch in the Aura Sky Lounge at $18.80 for salad or sandwich (or a more swish set lunch at $35 in the main restaurant).
Cheap Eat: Gallery & Co. Café for beef bulgogi ($18) and grilled chicken tacos ($15) and great coffee.
National Gallery Singapore, 1 St. Andrew’s Road, Singapore 178957, www.nationalgallery.sg
Image by National Kitchen by Violet Oon
National Museum of Singapore delivers history lessons via its permanent exhibitions and displays. Older kids will enjoy the multi-sensory experiences – we love the touch-screen displays, smelling pods and old film reels – as well as the interactive tours just for kids.
Just around the corner, the small, colourful Peranakan Museum (CLOSED) offers a look at the Peranakan culture that’s so unique to the Malay Peninsula. Kids are sure to love the dress-up activities!
Where to eat:
Flutes is an upmarket choice right inside the National Museum if you aren’t scared of mixing kids and white tablecloths. We love the grand setting and the European cuisine is always tip top, plus they do 2- and 3-course set lunches. Try Janice Wong for wow desserts and Chinese mains like gourmet dumplings.
Food for Thought is the affordable, very kid-friendly option inside the National Museum of Singapore. They have an all-day coffee and cake deal at $10 or try their lunches of pasta from $16 and burgers at $15. And you can never go wrong with their delicious pancakes (available all day long, and just $7 for a kid-size serving!).
National Museum of Singapore, 93 Stamford Road, Singapore 178897, www.nationalmuseum.sg
Peranakan Museum, 39 Armenian Street, Singapore 179941, www.peranakanmuseum.org.sg
The URA’s Singapore City Gallery offers a fun opportunity to see Singapore… in miniature! This recently renovated museum documents the nation’s planning challenges over 10 thematic areas with more than 50 audiovisual and interactive exhibits. Look out for the massive architectural model where kids will be delighted to get a bird’s eye view of the city centre – a great exhibit for showing off our little red dot to out of town guests! There’s also a 270-degree panoramic show that depicts scenes of daily life in Singapore which kids will enjoy, too.
Where to eat:
Cheap Eat: With Maxwell Food Court just across the street, why not round off your cultural trip with some local hawker fare: chicken rice, noodles, Indian food – go early when the queues are less long and for caffeine-low parents look out for the Hangar Coffee Express (1 Kadayanallur Street) or for something a little more hardcore there’s also craft beer on tap at 3rd Culture Brewing Co.
Splurge: Gattopardo on Tras Street offers a three-course Italian lunch at $38, or if you are just after a coffee and a stunning desert or cake head to Nesuto, also on Tras Street.
Singapore City Gallery, 45 Maxwell Road, The URA Centre, Singapore 069118, www.ura.gov.sg/Corporate/Singapore-City-Gallery
Image by Gattopardo Ristorante Di Mare
I love the Chinatown Heritage Centre – it’s great for slightly older kids, maybe 6-7 and up but I think younger kids would probably enjoy it, too. It’s a shophouse and the interior furnishings are just as they would have looked in the 1950s. — Andrea
Where to eat:
Around the corner on Smith Street you’ll find Hawker Chan, the no-frills (but air conditioned!) spinoff of the world’s cheapest Michelin Star meal from Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle. A plate of chicken rice will only set you back about $2!
About a five minutes’ walk in the other direction, Little Creatures at Mohamed Ali Lane offers a rotating slate of six delicious beers on tap, plus kid-friendly bites like burger sliders, fish and chips, and (ooh la la!) cauliflower mac & cheese.
Chinatown Heritage Centre, 48 Pagoda Street, Singapore 059207, www.chinatownheritagecentre.com.sg
If you find yourself on Sentosa and in need of some air conditioned comfort, there are worse places to be than the trippy, slightly silly Trick Eye Museum, which delights kids (and ok, we’ll admit it, mamas too) with its optical illusions and funny photo poses that were made for Instagram.
Where to eat:
Sentosa is obviously filled to the brim with dining options, but among our favorites is the kid-pleasing Slappy Cakes, where you can cook up your own pancakes tableside.
If you want something a bit more substantial, Chili’s has a good kids’ menu and a tasty enough range of nachos, burgers, and salads with a Tex-Mex twist.
Trick Eye Museum, Resorts World Sentosa, 26 Sentosa Gateway, #01-43/44, Singapore 098138, www.trickeye.com/singapore
Image by @jessicachaw via Trick Eye Museum
CLOSED: The Singapore Philatelic Museum houses a mind boggling amount of stamps and is actually more hands-on than it sounds! Kids will love the Heritage Room with its wall of doors, where they can open little cubbys and windows to learn about different cultures and festivals, and there is always some sort of kid-friendly exhibition going on, whether it relates to Harry Potter, the Little Prince, or monkeys!
Where to eat:
Right behind the restaurant at the edge of Fort Canning Park is Lewin Terrace, an elegant French-Japanese fusion restaurant housed in a sprawling colonial black and white. If you’re feeling a little bit fancy it’s a lovely place for an al fresco lunch with well behaved kiddos.
Also nearby to the museum is Peninsula Plaza, the heart of Singapore’s Burmese community. For a taste of some truly delicious Burmese cuisine that also won’t burn a hole in your pocket, head to Inle Myanmar for a wide array of interesting noodle and rice dishes.
Singapore Philatelic Museum, 23-B Coleman Street, Singapore 179807, www.spm.org.sg
Image by Lewin Terrace
(CLOSED)
Playeum is a super cool spot for open-ended creativity and hands-on play, what with its tinker benches and rooms for experimenting with light and sound. There’s also a nice soft play area for babies.
Where to eat:
Nearby Handlebar is a real live biker bar in Singapore, but it’s super kid-friendly and laid-back, with lots of outdoor seating and space for kiddos to run around (it’s really pet-friendly, too!). You’ll also find great tunes, a warm, friendly staff, and killer mac & cheese on the menu.
Also located within Gillman Barracks is Timbre at Gillman, which serves up super yummy thin crust pizzas and buffalo wings to go with lots of live music (NB: it opens at 4pm most days, so better for an early dinner rather than lunch).
Playeum, Block 47, Malan Road, Gillman Barracks, #01-21 to #01-23, Singapore 109444, www.playeum.com
Image by Handlebar
