Kampong Glam before lunch: domes, lanes, rendang

The mosque decides when you arrive. Lunch decides when you leave.

A morning for one with a camera, a friend who shops or a daytime date that doesn't need to try hard. Sultan Mosque sets the timetable: its morning walk-in window comes first, so be there by 10am, and never on a Friday, when it is closed to walk-in visitors. Read the house rules and dress for a place of worship before you leave home.

Sultan Mosque. The golden domes are how most of the island recognises Kampong Gelam. Enter by Gate 5 on Bussorah Street. If the morning gets away from you, there is a second walk-in window from 2pm to 4pm.

Haji Lane and Arab Street. One lane is murals and independent boutiques; the street beside it still sells silk by the metre and carpets by the room, and the contrast is the reason to walk both. Browsing is free, and the Arab Street shops generally open from about 11am, so mosque first suits them too. Get the open-air lane done before the midday heat turns browsing into work.

Rumah Makan Minang. A Minangkabau family kitchen that began in a rented room in Kampong Gelam and now cooks its rendang over charcoal. Casual, inexpensive and open well into the afternoon, so a late lunch is no problem (the rendang is the reward for the walking, and the walking was not much).

If it rains, spend longer inside the Arab Street shops and keep Haji Lane short; the mosque and the restaurant are both indoors.

The plan

1. 10am · Morning: Sultan Mosque (Masjid Sultan)

   Walk-in visits 10am–12pm (and 2pm–4pm), Saturday to Thursday; enter by Gate 5 on Bussorah Street and check the house rules first.

   Hours: Walk-in visits Sat–Thu 10am–12pm and 2pm–4pm; closed to walk-in visitors Fri

   Visit website

2. 11am · Late morning: Haji Lane & Arab Street

   Murals and indie shops on one lane, silk and carpets on the street beside it. Arab Street shops generally open from about 11am.

3. 12.30pm · Lunch: Rumah Makan Minang

   Charcoal-cooked rendang from a Minangkabau family kitchen.

   Hours: Mon–Sun 7.30am–6.30pm

   Book a table