What to Do in Singapore? Eat!


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Last Updated on November 20, 2017 by

Singapore, an unexpected stop on our Southeast Asian itinerary thanks to a cheap flight from there to India. Our culinary expectations for this small city-state were low, particularly in the wake of our street food experiences in Thailand and Malaysia. Yet in the three days before our flight to India, it seemed like all we did was eat.

Singapore Food Stall - Singapore
Wide Selection of Flavors from Singapore

Despite our original prejudice against street food stalls organized in indoor food courts, we have to admit that Singapore has done them well. Theirs feature a pleasant social mix, including business people in suits, construction workers and everyone in between. The prices are also surprisingly reasonable — roughly $3 for a typical dish.

And the taste? Terrific.

Singapore owes the breadth of its cuisine to its ethnic Malaysian, Indonesian and Chinese influences.

Note: Indian food is not represented here because India followed Singapore on our travel trajectory and we figured we would save our appetites for the subcontinent. Indian food enthusiasts, please be patient. Your time is coming.

In the meantime, here's the very tippy tip of the tasty culinary iceberg that is Singapore cuisine.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

At first glance, a simple dish: rice cooked in chicken broth and slices of chicken (roasted or steamed) served with cucumbers, herbs, hot sauce, sweet soy sauce and a small bowl of light chicken stock. The resulting array of flavors is complex and delicious. We’ve dreamed of this dish on many a night ever since. Where we ate it: At the large hawker center between Waterloo and Bugis Streets.

Hainanese Chicken Rice - Singapore
Hainanese Chicken Rice in Singapore.

Singaporean Laksa

We devoured lotsa laksa in Malaysia. But that didn't stop us from following a woman in Singapore slurping a bowl next to us. A rich, coconut milk soup outfitted with noodles, shrimp, tender chicken, tofu, mussels, and chili sauce. Singaporean laksa gives its laksa counterparts in Malaysia a run for their street food money. Where we ate it: Cahaya Muslim Restaurant on fifth floor of the Far East Plaza on Scott Street.

Singaporean Laksa
Singapore laksa. So incredibly good.

Mee Hoon Kueh

Hand-made noodles, tender chicken, greens, mushrooms, dried fish, and chili sauce. This is not your average Chinese noodle dish. Like so many dishes in Singapore, its taste takes you beyond its appearance. Where we ate it: Cahaya Muslim Restaurant on fifth floor of the Far East Plaza on Scott Street.

Mee Hoon Kueh in Singapore
Mee Hoon Kueh. Looks simple, but complex flavors.

Shrimp Popiah

Fresh bean sprouts, noodles, vegetables, and prawns – all tucked in a thin hand-made wheat flour skin lined with hot and sweet sauce. Think Chinese burrito. Where we ate it: Food court of Singapore's Sim Lim Plaza.

Singapore Food, Shrimp Popiah - Singapore
Shrimp popiah at Sim Lim Plaza, Singapore.

Nasi Lemak

Another plain-looking dish with a surprising taste. The combination of coconut rice, fried egg, peanut sauce, cucumbers, sambal (paste made from chilies, dried shrimp and spices) and fried fish exceeded our expectations. Where we ate it: Food court of Singapore's Sim Lim Plaza.

Nasi Lemak in Singapore
Nasi lemak. Another simple dish with complex flavors.

Fried wantons

When the owner of Cahaya Muslim Restaurant witnessed us ravenously devour our first two courses – laksa and mee huon kueh – he offered us a small plate of home made fried wantons. The difference with his wantons, he explained, was that they were filled with fresh vegetables – carrots and turnips – instead of meat. Vegetarians rejoice! Served with a plummy-looking sweet sauce. Scrumptious. Where we ate it: Cahaya Muslim Restaurant on fifth floor of the Far East Plaza on Scott Street.

Home-Made Wantons - Singapore
Homemade fried wantons.

Yong Tau Foo

Affectionately known as mix-and-match soup, its simplicity is its secret. Choose your steaming broth and a combination of ingredients including greens, tofu, fish balls, meat slices, vegetables, and wantons. Everything is cut into bite-sized pieces. So its all perfectly cooked when it hits the steaming broth. It's also easy to eat with chopsticks. You'll find this in almost any food court in the city.

Mix and Match Soup, Singaporean Style
Yong Tau Foo or Mix-and-Match soup.

Combo Meal

Lightly stir-fried broccoli greens, chunks of tender fish cooked with ginger and herbs, and ground meat flavored with star anise and other spices. Another absolutely superb meal in Singapore for under $4. Where we ate it: Maxwell Food Court, stall 01-98.

Waking Up the Taste Buds in Singapore
Waking up the tastebuds with a combo meal.

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Be sure to pick up the Singapore Tourism Board's 70-page booklet entitled Makan Delights, which describes Singapore’s culinary specialties and where to find them. There’s even a metro map color-coded by food precincts.

Now there's a city that takes its food seriously!

Singapore Food and Travel Photos

Singapore Travel Information: Where to Stay

Where to stay: Compared to its counterparts in Southeast Asia, Singapore features accommodation that is incredibly expensive. We stayed at Garden Guesthouse across from the Botanical Gardens – $40 for a double room. This was the cheapest non-dormitory room we could find. Wifi was included. Contact information: 10 Taman Serasi #01-10, [email protected].

About Daniel Noll
Travel and life evangelist. Writer, speaker, storyteller and consultant. Connecting people to experiences that will change their lives. Originally from the U.S. Daniel has lived abroad since 2001 and most recently has been on the road since 2006. When he's not writing for the blog you can keep up with his adventures on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. And you can learn more about him on the About Page and on LinkedIn.

13 thoughts on “What to Do in Singapore? Eat!”

  1. Great article – tough have to say you missed out a bit – many people say there is a better concentration of quality Indian food in Singapore than in any comparable slice on India itself!

    Reply
  2. @Sam: We don’t doubt that Singapore has a terrific concentration of Indian food, particularly if all the other cuisines are any measure. But stay tuned to this channel because although we are currently traveling throughout Latin America, we are about to write about our adventures in India – culinary and otherwise.

    Reply
  3. @Neeraj: Glad you are enjoying our food posts from Southeast Asia We certainly miss the street food from that region!

    Reply
  4. @Jeremy & Eva: As fellow foodies, I’m pretty sure you guys will love Southeast Asia! Make sure you check out our other food posts for the region – Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.

    Reply
  5. As a Singaporean, I’m glad you got a chance to experience the uniqueness my tiny island (a little red dot on the map) has to offer – food! Being a multiracial society, what you will tend to notice is an abundance variety of different cultural cuisine. Picture a scenario where you walk into a food court, and you start losing count of the number of round you’ve walked simply because you are spoiled for food choices!

    For those foodies who might be planning a trip here to Singapore, one advice would be to be adventurous in trying out different kinds of cuisine (regardless of how strange it may seem). Go local, do some research and have a blast

    Reply
    • Thank you, Benjamin. We were so glad to experience your home and its cuisine. Singaporean food was a real highlight for us. To your point, the multi-ethnicity of Singapore explains a great deal regarding what Singaporeans choose to eat. I can picture the scenario of 100s of food carts as you described because we experienced that often.

      Your final recommendation to be adventurous when sampling food is terrific suggestion…in Singapore and in general!

      Reply
  6. Hi,
    I am new to your blog. I I am devouring all of your articles. Love it. I wondered if you could give me an idea of where to take my family (husband and 2 boys 21 and 22) for Christmas vacation. Rather than buy gifts this year, we want to travel. I am hoping to keep it to about $5,000 – $8,000. Live in WA state. Boys like photography, bouldering, interesting places to hike, museums, shows and experiences. We’ve been to most places in the states and Canada.
    Appreciate any and all ideas.
    Thanks in advance,
    Jan

    Reply

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