The Ultimate Food Guide to Singapore
Top 12 Must-Have Cuisines and Where to Find Them. Include Bonus.
Singapore is home to diverse elements of culinary culture. Many of them came from multiple influences, including the Malays, the Chinese, the Indians, the Indonesians, and even from neighboring countries such as Japan, Korean, and Thailand.
With so many options of cuisines to choose from, it is tough to trim the food list down to Top 12. But hey, fret not! I lived in Singapore for the entire 20 years of my life. As such, I might not be right on the type of food you will like, but I know the best food that will suit your taste.
The reason I wanted to put this out there is that many of you wanted to know more about the best cuisines available in Singapore after reading on my most popular story, My Asian Culture.
The cuisines that I will be putting out are my personal favorites. Do feel free to take a look at other online sources for many other delicious cuisines Singapore has to offer. At long last, here is the Top 10 must-have food in Singapore.
Breakfast
1. Kaya Toast & Soft Boiled Eggs (~S$2 — S$8)
This is a unique traditional Singaporean breakfast that I always love to eat the first thing in the morning — Kaya Toast with Soft-Boiled Eggs. The traditional bread used is an old school rectangular white loaf, toasted on a bread grill and slathered with coconut or egg kaya, then slapped with a thick slice of SCS butter that slowly melts within two slices of warm bread.
The Kaya Toast with Soft-Boiled Eggs is a rather common and well-known ‘snack’ in both Singapore and Malaysia. Invented by the Hainan Immigrants to the Malay Peninsula, it has been modified to various versions, such as those putting sugar on top of the bread, and some who drink the soft-boiled eggs from a cup. Yum!
Ingredients: kaya(coconut jam), a topping of sugar, coconut milk and eggs, pandan, and sometimes margarine or butter.
Tip: Request for light black sauce and pepper from the counter. Add them to the egg and stir.
Locations:
2. Laksa (~S$2.80 — S$3.30)
You might have heard of this dish before. If you have not, Gordon Ramsay was once challenged by local food chefs and bloggers to a SingTel’s Hawker Heroes Culinary competition in Singapore. This was an attempt to raise the profile of Singapore’s hawker heritage.
Laksa is a dish created from the merging of Chinese and Malay cuisine, otherwise known as Peranakan culture. There are three main types of Laksa — Curry Laksa, Asam Laksa and Sarawak Laksa. They defer in the type of soup base that has been used. What you can taste from laksa is the spiciness, fragrance, and scrumptiousness. It is hard to describe the delicious taste of this dish, so why not try it for yourself? You will never regret it.
Despite losing the competition in Laksa, the notoriously foul-mouthed 46-year-old chef exclaimed: “What I’m taking home is a confirmation of how good hawker food is. I won three Michelin stars and they still kick my a**.” This just shows how good and unique laksa is to our local heritage.
Ingredients: vermicelli, coconut milk, tau pok (beancurd puffs), fish slices, shrimp and hum (cockles).
Tip: Chilli Lovers. Add more chili at the side. You will love it. Order a drink called Luohan Longan (S$2) to cool down the spiciness of the laksa.
Locations:
3. Roti Prata (~S$1 — S$5)
Roti Prata might be of an Indian origin, has a Malay name, but it is eaten by every race in Singapore, including the Chinese! That’s what Singapore’s racial harmony is all about. Ever since young, I loved digging into this dish with my bare hands. It really made me admire how diverse our culture is in Singapore.
Roti means ‘bread’, and prata or paratha means ‘flat’ in Hindi. Some believe the dish evolved from original pancake recipes from Punjab in India, but across the causeway in Malaysia, the flatbread is called roti canai, which some say is a nod to its origins from Chennai.
What is so delicious about this dish is the softness, chewiness, and fluffiness of it. The secret to this dish? 10.8%. Yes. As long as you have plain flour with a 10.8% level of protein, anyone can make this dish. But it does take months to become a pro! So if your prata ends up on the roof, don’t say I didn’t warn you!
This dish might be listed under the Breakfast section but hey, you can have it anytime you want. It will never get boring!
Ingredients: flour, own choice of filling.
Tip: Request for the fish and curry sauce (mutton also if they have!), and you can get to dip the prata into the sauce. Try them out!
Locations:
Lunch/ Dinner
4. Bak Kut Teh (~S$6.50 — $10)
Also known as Pork Rib soup, Bak Kut Teh, which translates to “meat bone tea”, gets its name from the Chinese tea that’s typically paired with this pork rib soup dish. Basically, pork bones and meat are boiled together with a delicate amount of herbs and spices. This dish is healthy with lots of herbs and spices added in to give it a strong aroma that you will never forget. Bak Kut Teh came about when a beggar came to a roadside pork noodle store begging for food. The stall owner, who was in poverty as well, would find whatever leftover pork bones and cheap spices he had to flavor the soup base. As such, Bak Kut Teh was born.
Bak Kut Teh has been around in Singapore since we were still a developing country and deserves its recognition as a simple, humble dish. Most of the Bak Kut Teh here are of the pepper variety with mild use of herbs like star anise. Fun fact: a good Bak Kut Teh typically requires 8 hours to boil and fuse in the flavors together. This is my most favorite cuisine of all time. It could be a bit too strong for someone who is trying it for the first time, but it is worth every cent of your money. However, do take note that the dish is high in saturated fat (25g) and contains 70% of your entire day of salt allowance.
Tip: Request for a Chinese fried dough called ‘YouTiao’, which will require a few bucks but it is worth it. Deep it into the soup and enjoy the crunchy texture mixed with the spices and strong flavor. It’s a perfect match!
Locations:
5. Chilli Crab (~S$25 — S$80)
As old as the Singlish, an English-based creole language spoken in Singapore, this dish was invented as early as 1950 by Mdm Cher Yam Tian. Living along the East Coast Beach, Mdm Cher and her husband would catch crabs and bring them home for dinner. However, they started to get bored with the plain steamed crabs that they would always eat. As such, Mdm Cher started to stir-fry the crabs, add in bottled chili and tomato sauce. Soon after, the first-ever franchise has been opened in Palm Beach restaurant. Boom! Talk about delicacy. This dish is as good as it can get.
There are 2 most famous styles of crab cuisines in Singapore, one with black pepper sauce and another one with sweet, spicy tomato-ish chili sauce. To achieve a delicious texture, the crabs go through a two-step cooking process; they’re first boiled then fried so that the meat doesn’t stick to the shell. The word to describe the taste? Satisfying! You will start licking your fingers once you have the first bite! I would recommend the Chilli crab as it is what it is.
Tip: Ask for fried mantous (buns) when you order chili crab. Most of the restaurants will give it for free. Soak them into the spicy sauce and you will know how scrumptious it tastes.
Locations:
6. Hokkien Prawn Mee (S$3.50 — S$8)
Singapore Hokkien Mee features a combination of fried egg noodles and rice noodles. Created after World War II by Chinese sailors from Fujian (Hokkien) province in Southern China, what makes this dish so unique is the combination of sweet and sour flavor that makes the entire dish a lot more savory. With the variety of seafood that is present in the dish, it adds punch to the dish and makes it delicious. This is considered as one of my top best cuisines to try out.
Ingredients: a combination of fried egg noodles and rice noodles in a rich prawn stock with cubes of fried pork fat, prawns, fish cake, and squid. Some vendors add pork strips as well to add more flavor.
Tip: Squeeze the lime juice over the entire dish to give it more flavor. It is good to order the upsize one as I think it is more worth it.
Locations review:
- https://sethlui.com/best-hokkien-prawn-mee-stalls-singapore/
- https://www.thebestsingapore.com/eat-and-drink/the-5-best-hokkien-mee-in-singapore/
7. Nasi Lemak (S$2.50 — S$4)
Known as the national dish, the Nasi Lemak was once a simplified breakfast dish packed in banana leaves and sold for as low as 30 cents! This dish might look unhealthy, but don’t deny it a ‘blank cheque’. It was once featured in TIME magazine as one of the 10 most healthy international breakfasts in 2016. The chili might look as if it is really heaty but in fact, it actually helps to boost metabolism. This dish even has its own book named ‘The Circumstances of Malay Life’ written by Sir Richard Olof Winstedt. Talk about famous. Huh!
Nasi Lemak is a very versatile dish and what was once a breakfast item, is now eaten during lunch and dinner too. Traditionally wrapped in banana leaves, Nasi Lemak is a deeply-rooted Malay coconut rice dish.
Nasi Lemak is so popular in Singapore that the other races have adopted this dish in their own variations and offer a wide selection of additional ingredients like fried chicken drumsticks, luncheon meat, and sotong (cuttlefish) balls. Be warned that the fat content might be a bit excessive, but just reduce the rice intake and you will be good to go.
Ingredients: Coconut filling, Ikan Bilis (fried anchovies), peanuts, egg, and sambal (chili paste)
Tip: Enjoy Nasi Lemak with its chili as the chili is the heart of the dish. You can opt to ask for more chili at no additional cost. If you are a chili lover, mix the rice with the chili. You will fall in love quicker than with your ex.
Locations:
8. Chicken Rice (~S$3 —S $5.50)
If you have heard of Singapore, you must have heard of chicken rice. More accurately known as Hainanese Chicken Rice, this is one of Singapore’s most well-known and celebrated dishes. No coffee shop in Singapore is complete without a Chicken Rice stall. This dish was originated in the Wencheng District of Hainan, an island south coast of China. It was later brought over to Malaya and Singapore by the immigrants from the late 19th Century. Mr. Wong Yi Guan started selling Hainanese Chicken Rice in 2 baskets carried by a bamboo yoke over his shoulder. With the limited amount of liquid that he could carry, the chicken stock has been used as a replacement to cook the rice. The sauces included minced chili and ginger.
The whole chicken is steeped in sub-boiling pork and chicken bone stock to absorb the flavors and cook. Some shops will also dip the bird in ice after cooking to create a jelly-like finish on the chicken’s skin.
The chicken rice is so highly respected as the pride of Singapore that in fact, there is always a search for the perfect one. There are a variety of chicken rice stalls in Singapore, and if you want to ignore the locations I have provided below, I will leave you with the Chatterbox in Mandarin Orchard Singapore. I found this online when doing this review but be warned, it cost a bomb (S$25). I always prefer to go for the cheap ones that are equally good because Simple is Pleasure.
Ingredients: Chicken stock, ginger, garlic, and occasionally pandan leaves for added fragrance.
Tip: Gym lovers or anyone with children, I got your back! Just request for chicken breast after ordering the chicken rice. They will remove the bone for you and what’s better, meat with good protein and calcium.
Locations:
9. BBQ Sambal Stingray (~S$16 — S$22)
There is no way I can leave this outside of my food list. Also known as Ikan Bakar (barbecued fish), stingray used to be unpopular but has risen in price since Singaporean Malays figured out that sambal (chili paste) on top of stingray = delicious. It is traditionally wrapped in banana leaf and barbecued, then a sambal paste made with belachan (dried shrimp paste), spices, shallots, and Indian walnuts is smothered generously all over the top.
Tip: Lime is usually squeezed over the fish right before eating. Enjoy it with the chili. What I would suggest is for you to order a cooling drink such as lime juice or coconut drink, it will balance the heatiness of the dish with a cooling sensation.
Locations:
Dessert
10. Ice Kacang/ Chendol (S$1.50 — S$3)
If you have a sweet tooth, torture yourself with this colorful Ice Kacang, also known as Chendol.
The word Chendol or Cendol was first mentioned in the Malay Concordance Project which had listed the food items that were available in Kuala Lumpur back then in 1932. Now, because of Malaysia’s connection to Indonesia in terms of culture, history, and even heritage, there is a famous belief that the word Cendol itself was derived from the Indonesian word, jendol, which means “bulge” or “swollen”.
A grinding machine is used to produce the mountain of shaved ice on top of a bowl of assorted ingredients. Showered with evaporated milk, enjoy the sweetness from the red rose syrup and Sarsi syrup. Some places serve cendol in a small bowl as the richness of it truly lies in the its flavor.
Welcome to our tropical country. Feeling warm? Your day has never been cooler than this!
Ingredients: red bean, attap chee (palm seed), agar agar jelly, chendol, grass jelly or any other filling desired.
Tip: Remember Laksa? Eat this dessert after it. You will thank me for that!
Locations:
11. Popiah (S$2.50 — $3.80)
The round Popiah skin is a thin paper-like wheat crepe that encases all the ingredients. A sweet sauce called hoisin is lathered onto the laid-out flat skin before fillings are added.
Ingredients: small prawns, boiled eggs, Chinese sausage, lettuce, bean sprouts, and primarily filled with cooked carrot and turnip strips.
Tip: Order it with the spicy flavor. I believe that you will love it for sure!
Locations:
12. Rojak (~S$3 — S$8)
The first word that comes to your mind when you look at rojak is: Messy. Rojak is one of the oldest dishes and the earliest historically identified food of ancient Java. This dish remains a mystery till date as no one knows how rojak was originated. Known as the Asian salad, it has a rich mix of vegetables and fruits. Messy it is, no doubt, but as our teacher always says, don't judge a book by its cover.
Ingredients: a mixture of you tiao (dough fritters), bean sprouts, tau pok (beancurd puffs), radish, pineapple, cucumber, and roasted peanuts.
Locations:
Bonus
13. Durian (~S$13/kg — S$30/kg~)
I know, I know. Some of you might disagree with this one. But let’s be honest, most of you will probably like this fruit after taking a few more bites. Durian is known as the ‘King of Fruits’. It is a unique tropical fruit that is really popular in Southeast Asia. It’s not something you would want to put into your resume for something with a pungent smell and with a large seed in the core of its body.
The name ‘durian’ originates from the Malay word ‘duri’ which means thorn, and it refers to the sharp spines on the husk that some people might be reminded of the Esplanade in Singapore. Thanks to its unusual smell, animals such as Civet can easily detect durian from a distance of half a mile. Being a perennial plant, it can easily survive 80 to 150 years in the wild.
However, durian has a plethora of benefits to the human body. It is very high in nutrients and does contain more than most other fruits. It can reduce blood cholesterol levels and normalizes blood pressure as well. Do take note that there are a variety of Durians available, and the prices can vary. Go with the expensive one if you want to taste the whole delicacy of the fruit. Remember not to bring this ‘weapon’ into public transportation or else you will be fined S$500 after the first warning.
Tip: After digging into the durian with your bare hands, you might find the pungent smell to linger on them for a while. To remove it, add saltwater into the durian husk and wash your hands into it. You can rinse your mouth a couple of times with the water. Durian Shells contain compound 5-HMF which acts as deodorizing agent to neutralize the strong smell in our breath.
Locations Review:
- https://thesmartlocal.com/read/durian-delivery-singapore/
- https://sethlui.com/honest-durian-stores-in-singapore/
- Note: Some durian stalls in Singapore tend to charge Durian at a higher price depending on the season. Try to bargain or better still, do some research online to buy at a better and more trustworthy shop.
14. Mcdonalds’
This might seem surprising for you, but it shouldn’t be. My mission whenever I travel to different countries is to try out their food in Mcdonald’s. Each of them serves different varieties of meals that capture the taste buds of the people there.
Recently sold to the Saudi group, there are little over 120 McDonald’s restaurants serving 1.2 million customers each week in Singapore. Some of our Singapore-exclusive burgers include Buttermilk Crispy Chicken, which is a ‘Crispy whole-muscle chicken thigh flavored with buttermilk packed in a glazed burger bun.’ Breakfast Wrap Chicken Sausage is a delicious tortilla that will wake you up in the morning with its heartiness flavor. McSpicy is another burger that will make you go ‘Wow!’.
Ingredients:
Buttermilk Crispy Chicken — Creamy Colby cheese, romaine lettuce, black pepper mayo; and topped with grilled pineapple rings and crisp purple cabbage.
Breakfast Wrap Chicken Sausage — Fluffy, scrambled eggs sandwiched between a slice of cheese and a chicken sausage patty, topped with a crispy, golden hash brown, finished with tomato ketchup.
McSpicy — Thick, juicy cutlet of chicken thigh and drum sits fiery hot on a bed of crunchy lettuce between toasted sesame seed buns.
Tip: Request for free Curry sauce to go with the fries/ burgers. You will not regret it.
These are my personal favorites for Singapore food. Any suggestions would be highly recommended in the comment to keep the community going!:) Do clap for me as this was a rather tedious blog.
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