You ought to be quite busy in Singapore, whether you’re there for work or for pleasure. There’s a wide variety of meals to try in both scenarios.
Perhaps the last thing that springs to mind once you think of Singapore is its city cuisine. Nonetheless, you should absolutely eat some of the local cuisine and visit restaurants and food establishments if you want to learn more about Singapore.
In this Southeast Asian island country, there are many restaurants to select from, and a few of them are so excellent that you’ll eat until you’re stuffed and spend all of your money. This piece will provide you with all the information you require regarding the greatest locations to visit, the best meals to eat, the best regional specialties, and significant advice you should take into consideration.
The Top Restaurants in Singapore for Dining
Food-loving travelers appreciate Singapore’s diverse cuisine and frequently return there only to indulge in it. This crowded city-state offers a wide variety of dining alternatives, from pricey fine dining to inexpensive street cuisine.
Below are a few of the top restaurants in Singapore that we’re acquainted with.
Hawker Centers
The best place to find delicious cuisine in Singapore at a fair price is in one of the numerous hawker centers. Such traditional open-air structures are an integral aspect of daily life since they hold a broad variety of street food booths, which is extremely uncommon in other nations. Due to their speed, quality, and affordability, these booths are where most Singaporeans purchase their meals.
Let’s look at them:
Maxwell Food Centre
Singapore’s Maxwell Food Centre is an increasingly popular dining destination. Both Singaporeans and tourists visit it frequently. The consequences of commercialization and mass tourism have harmed several eateries, but Maxwell is still the best option for authentic Singaporean food at a fair price for lunch and dinner.
Adam Road Food Centre
Despite its diminutive size, Adam Road Food Centre is renowned for its hawker foods throughout Singapore. In order to serve the street merchants that had positioned themselves across the Bukit Timah Canal, the Adam Road Food Centre opened its doors in 1974. The greatest location to find authentic Malay food has long been recognized as being there.
Newton Hawker Centre
The Newton Hawker Centre is an acknowledged dining destination in Singapore. There are over 100 stores there, giving you a wide range of options. If you’re looking for a seafood delicacy, Newton is the place to go. There are a ton of seafood merchants there.
Old Airport Road Food Centre
A well-known hawker center is the Old Airport Road Food Centre. It’s located on the Kallang airport’s former runway and is a popular spot for those looking to get affordable, top-notch hawker food. More than 150 stalls are located on the ground floor, while on the second story are shops that sell unusual items.
Ghim Moh Market and Food Centre
The 1972-founded Ghim Moh Market and Food Centre is still a well-liked destination for both locals and visitors. Most of the stalls here have had “facelifts” and changed ownership in the nearly 50 years since they first opened, but one thing has remained the same: no fanciness, just well-made, decent food. We all love to see an extensive food selection.
After all, that’s how you all act at home, right? It doesn’t matter whether you go out to eat, order takeout, or get ingredients to prepare meals by yourselves via delivery services—the broadest possible range of meal and ingredient options is what you seek. For the latter option, for instance, there are a variety of food options for every level of cooking ability with Home Chef. Well, every hawker lover’s demands will be satisfied by the outstanding range and selection of meals offered here.
Amoy Street Food Centre
Amoy Street Food Centre is located right in Singapore’s business district. Both new-generation businesspersons, who have modernized traditional hawker fare, and traditional hawkers can be found in this bustling food court. Avoid going during lunch if at all possible because everyone from the adjacent offices will be out enjoying their favorite hawker fare.
Food Courts
Singapore’s food courts are a godsend for anyone who enjoys eating out because there are so many inexpensive, delectable, and convenient options available there. You’d want to take pictures of your meal and the surroundings when dining at one of these elegant food courts since they elevate the standard hawker dining experience.
Eatbox by Artbox
The owners of Artbox Singapore, Shilin Night Market, and now Eatbox have all relocated to Tekka Place. You may view the murals, which vary each six to eight months, right outside the entryway and along the hallway. These works of art include amusing cartoons or doodles as well as artwork influenced by regional cuisine.
Food Junction at Great World City
Food Junction at Great World underwent a significant renovation at the beginning of the year that swiftly moved into both the present and the future. The digitalized ceilings and other space-age features in today’s food court can give you the impression that it is the year 2050 when you visit. To fit the setting’s motif, every food stand in the Food Junction food hall resembles a train car.
The Bedok Marketplace
The Bedok Marketplace is a 10-minute walk from the Tanah Merah MRT station. Each kiosk appears like a shop in Chinatown. There are several hawker stalls in Simpang Bedok’s Bedok Market Place where you can purchase delectable meals for a small portion of the cost of a restaurant.
Southside Interim Market
The word “interim” in the name refers to the fact that the hawker stands on Sentosa are only temporary. A fantastic location to escape the city’s bustle is The Market Conjunction Southside Sentosa. Only the signs’ warm light, which is primarily black and white within this food court, adds color.
Timbre+
Timbre+ is many things, including a modernized urban food park featuring inexpensive, upscale, and casual dining options. The food kiosks are in colorful containers that give the area a party-like atmosphere. Diners can enjoy a variety of live musical acts while they eat between Wednesday night and Saturday night.
Restaurants
Singapore is home to many top-notch eateries. They provide a wide variety of cuisines, including Japanese, Italian, Indian, and Mexican, and the majority of them have lovely décor and attentive service. No matter whether you’d like to try something brand-new or crave a classic, you’ll have too many alternatives.
Artichoke
The Arts and Heritage District of Singapore (Bras Basah.Bugis Precinct) is exactly where you’ll find Artichoke. Bjorn Shen, the owner and chief chef, has been preparing delectable meals for you nice people since 2010. Eating here is a lot of fun, and the cooks use Middle Eastern spices and ingredients to create dishes that people can’t wait to eat before sharing on Instagram.
Les Amis
A restaurant called Les Amis is located in the heart of Singapore and is regarded as being among the finest in all of Asia. It has won numerous honors. The restaurant has played a significant role in Singapore’s upscale dining scene since 1994. It offers classic French cuisine with a Japanese touch.
Cloudstreet
Cheek by Jowl, currently known as Cheek Bistro, is where Rishi Naleendra first gained notoriety in the Singaporean food industry. His “second child” is named Cloudstreet. For his efforts at Cheek, he received his first Michelin star in 2018. The food at this vibrant restaurant combined flavors in wonderfully inventive ways, and even the less inventive dishes were well-prepared.
Candlenut
When it first opened in 2010, Candlenut Kitchen, also known simply as Candlenut, gained popularity in Singapore for providing traditional Peranakan cuisine. The proprietor and chief chef of a restaurant in Tanglin is Malcolm Lee. It’s a delight to dine with out-of-town friends for business or pleasure at this wonderful Peranakan restaurant.
Birds of a Feather
Birds of a Feather gained recognition when it first debuted in April 2016 for giving conventional Chinese Sichuan cuisine a contemporary spin. You won’t feel as though culture is being forced onto your tongue or that you aren’t being taken seriously when you taste these sophisticated interpretations of traditional Sichuan cuisine.
Dessert Places
If you enjoy sweets or are looking for a place to get dessert in Singapore for a special occasion, these suggestions may be just what you need. Let’s examine a few of them. Let’s examine a few of them.
FLOR Patisserie
A French bakery with a Japanese flair, FLOR Patisserie offers pastries with a signature Japanese flavor. They take great satisfaction in using only the freshest, highest-quality ingredients to create the whole of their baked delights. Indeed, FLOR bakes this way because they value using the greatest ingredients and being truthful. These sweets aren’t as rich in sugar and fat as classic French pastries as they incorporate a great deal of fresh fruit.
Mr. Holmes Bakehouse
When Mr. Holmes Bakehouse announced that Singapore would soon be able to purchase their famed “cruffins”, numerous folks expressed interest. A delicious hybrid of croissants and muffins is a cruffin. These are cooked in muffin tins using croissant dough. With the exception of cruffin, every item on the menu offers the opportunity to sample a fun, delectable, and Instagram-worthy baked product.
The Durian Bakery
Visit The Durian Bakery to indulge in some treats prepared with delectable durian. This bakery is well-liked for special occasions like birthdays since they send out each cake they produce with great care. With the aid of birthday cake accessories, each item may be designed specifically for you while still being well-made and ornamented.
Fast-Food Chains
The following fast-food restaurants have been operating for the longest in Singapore, and despite the fact that they have undergone significant alterations, we still adore them.
Arnold’s
One of the earliest fast-food restaurants in Singapore to offer fried chicken is Arnold’s. It still operates out of its original spot, which was nestled off to the side of the city square. They were among the first fast-food restaurants to receive a certificate in 1984 stating that Muslims were welcome to eat there.
Subway
More than 40,000 Subway restaurants may be located in over 100 countries, making it an internationally recognized brand worldwide. When Subway began providing healthier options to traditional fast food in 1996, Singaporeans took notice. Since then, individuals have consistently turned to them for a quick sandwich or a delightful cookie.
Yoshinoya
It was a novel and thrilling concept when the very first Yoshinoya restaurant debuted in Singapore’s Ngee Ann City in 1997: a fast-food franchise that didn’t specialize in fried chicken. This Japanese chain restaurant offers tasty dishes like curry rice, “udon”, and rice bowls that will fill you up.
Local Faves
Singapore, although a small nation, has a variety of restaurants that can sate even the most voracious appetites. Its cuisine combines ingredients and cooking techniques from various civilizations, including Chinese, Malay, Western, Indian, and Indonesian. Listed below are a few of local cuisine’s top sellers.
Chicken Rice
One of Singapore’s best-known meals is chicken rice, which can be found in a variety of forms at eateries and hawker centers all across the city-state. If you’re curious about the secret to the deliciousness of chicken and rice, we’ll tell you that the rice is prepared in a chicken broth that has been spiced with ginger, garlic, and pandan leaves.
Bak Kut Teh
Popular foods in Malaysia and Singapore include “bak kut the”. It’s also known as pork bone tea, and it’s Chinese in origin. Local bak kut teh frequently contains pepper and subtly incorporates spices like star anise. To achieve a smoother texture in this soup, pig rib meat is the sole option.
Nasi Lemak
Every meal can be “nasi lemak”, which is excellent at any hour of the day. Rice is steamed in coconut cream, which imparts a delightful flavor and aroma. The essential components of a nasi lemak meal are peanuts, rice, “sambal”, and an egg. If you’d like, you can order fried anchovies on the side (chili paste). The quality of the sambal is frequently used as a metric for evaluating nasi lemak.
Wanton Mee
Although the traditional Singaporean recipe for “wanton mee” (wanton noodles) most likely originated in Hong Kong, it has a significant cultural impact. The Singaporean version is typically eaten dry, with slices of pork “char siu” (Chinese BBQ pork) and pig-filled wanton noodles, with a small cup of soup on the side.
Kaya Toast
Locals frequently gather at “kopitiams”, open-air coffee cafes, for a drink or two, some mild fare, and friendly conversation. On a bread grill, a traditional white rectangular flatbread is grilled before being smeared with butter, coconut, or egg “kaya” (soft-cooked eggs).
Char Kway Teow
Among the most popular foods in Singapore is “char kway teow”. To make it, boil cylindrical yellow wheat noodles and flattened rice noodles in fat, garlic, and sweet soy sauce to make char kway teow. Then you include ingredients like an egg, cockles, fishcake, beansprouts, and Chinese waxed sausage.
Cafes
In Singapore, there are cafes all over the place. And brunch has established itself as a mainstay in the majority of daily Singaporean lifestyles today, enabling a late morning snooze, particularly on weekends. Those cafés in Singapore offer on all three fronts and more, whether you’re looking for the ideal Instagram photo, a new place to hang out for brunch on the weekends, or a great cup of coffee.
Cultivate Cafe
There’s no better venue to dispel the widespread misconception that food that is vegan or vegetarian is weaker compared to the grandeur of the colonial setting in Cultivation. Each dish’s gorgeously original presentation plays a role in the delightful experience. The prune and dark chocolate brownie with bitter chocolate ganache ($16) is the best option to taste here.
Abseil
Among the newest eateries on Shenton Way is called Abseil. It’s renowned for its lofty ceilings, contemporary furnishings, and minimalist, monochromatic style. It also serves excellent coffee and espresso and has a sleek, straightforward appearance. Moreover, you ought to order the abseil ($8.50), the establishment’s take on an einspänner coffee, provided you can secure one of the five available seats at the bar.
Percolate Coffee
Percolate aims to give the Bedok district more life by giving off the impression of being an honest, modest, intimate café. This laid-back establishment serves coffee, pastries, cakes, and munchies in addition to coffee beans and grinders. The organic granola ($7), banana date loaf ($6.50), sandwiches ($7 –$10), and croissants ($3.50 –$4.50) are some of their best offerings.
Glasshouse
Glasshouse, a semi-permanent establishment, offers a refreshing diversion from the usual Singaporean café. With a straightforward layout and excellent natural light, you may enjoy the minimalism of a large and bright cafe. The most sought-after specialty of the café in Chijmes is the Glasshouse specialty coffee & toast bar ($3.50 and $4 for black and white coffee, respectively). Glasshouse is the ideal location to enjoy your coffee if you don’t feel awkward being watched by passersby while doing so.
The Populus: Coffee & Food Co.
The Populus: Coffee & Food Co. is one of Tanjong Pagar’s most well-known cafés due to its exceptionally gorgeous and Instagrammable meals. Populus is a trendy brunch spot that’s sometimes plagued by huge lines. Their buckwheat pancake (S$18.50), grain bowls, donburis, and Populus scramble (S$18) are particularly popular.
Advice about Eating Out in Singapore
There are numerous places to eat that are accessible and offer intriguing menus and settings. Nonetheless, frequent restaurant dining may strain one’s finances. If you use these money-saving strategies, you can continue eating your way across Singapore without going broke. These include anything from staying current on sales to maximizing your dining experience.
- Dine out when it’s not busy.
- Get the Booking app to aid with restaurant selection.
- Dine more than one tiny plate.
- Share the entrées.
- Order a value or combination meal.
- Always try to pay with a credit card.
Conclusion
We believe that all you just read will assist you to plan your trip, despite the fact that this guide isn’t comprehensive. It can be difficult to decide where to go because Singapore has so many fantastic restaurants. When you get to Singapore, access Google Maps and start looking for the things you wish to attempt. Well, you can start by going to one of several Singapore Visitor Centres. The major duty of the tourist center is to serve as a resource for travelers seeking information about the region and its attractions.
We’ve taken you on a tour throughout Singapore and informed you about several of the top restaurants and regional specialties. We’ve done our bit; it’s now up to you to locate and eat the finest food there.
