What is Singapore food? For the purpose of this post we are thinking of “local Singapore” food. Such types of food may not have originated in Singapore. They may be a part of Chinese, Malay, Indian or other cuisine. Perhaps one way to describe Singapore local food is the type of food that we miss when we are away from Singapore for some time. We will adopt this rough and unscientific description for this post to avoid any controversy about origin (e.g. the sort that Rio Ferdinand’s recent tweet on nasi goreng stirred up – see Straits Times story). Here is our list of the best Singapore food that we have tried.
Best Popiah – Spring Court Restaurant
Much larger and more expensive than those found in hawker centres, these plump specimens served in Spring Court restaurant in China town are worth the extra bucks. They have set up a popiah stand outside the restaurant to serve takeaways. Read our review here. These are the best commercially made popiah we have tried in Singapore. The most delicious popiah of all time is the one made by our friend and closet chef Ms C (see picture below and our story here).
Spring Court Restaurant
52-56 Upper Cross Street
Singapore 058348
(Opposite Chinatown Point carpark)
Best Chapati – Azmi Restaurant (Norris Road Chapati)
The best place to locate good, authentic Indian food in Singapore is Little India and the best place for chapati is at the Azmi Chapati at Norris Road. Read our review here.
Azmi Restaurant (Norris Road Chapati)
Location: Junction of Norris Road and Serangoon Road
Best Teochew Orh Luak – Chui Huay Lim
Located on the ground floor of the Chui Huay Lim Teochew Association, the Chui Huay Lim restaurant is run by the Jumbo restaurant group. This is one of the best Teochew restaurants in town and their orh luak is the best we have tried in Singapore. Read our review here.
Chui Huay Lim Teochew Cuisine
190 Keng Lee Road
Singapore 308409
Best Bak Chor Mee – Hill Street Tai Wah Pork Noodles
Now that the Michelin people have awarded Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodles a coveted Michelin star, they do not need any introduction. Read our review here.
Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle 吊桥头大华猪肉粿条面
Tai Hwa Eating House
Block 466 Crawford Lane #01-12
Singapore 190465
Best fishball and wanton noodles – Fishball Story and Wong Kee Wanton
The problem with Tai Hwa’s new celebrity status is that it is reported that people have to queue for more than an hour (see this New Paper story). There are alternative places for dry mee pok. The Fishball Story (Michelin Bib Gourmand) has the best fishball noodles and Wong Kee has the best wanton noodles that we have tried. They are also conveniently located a few stalls apart. Read our review here.
Fishball Story
#01-14
Wong Kee Wanton Noodles
#01-06
Timbre +
73A Ayer Rajah Crescent
JTC LaunchPad @ one-north
Singapore 139957
Best Putu Piring – Haig Road Putu Piring
Traditional Haig Road Putu Piring is the best putu piring in Singapore. Each puti piring is freshly made at the stall with a secret recipe for their flour mix. Their putu pirings are moist and have a very nice soft texture. Read our review here.
Traditional Haig Road Putu Piring
#01-08 Haig Road Market & Cooked Food Centre
Blocks 13 &14 Haig Road
Singapore 430013/430014
970 Geylang Road (Onan Road)
Singapore 423492
Blk 1 Geylang Serai Market Level 1
Singapore 402001
Blk 728 Ang Mo Kio Ave 6, #01-4200
Singapore 560728
Best Mee Siam – Old School Delights
Old School Delights has a rustic interior design featuring mosaic wall tiles, blackboards and paraphernalia from the 70s which evoke memories of old schooldays. Their signature dish Mee Siam made with a secret recipe handed down by a grand-aunt of the cafe owners will make you feel like its yesterday once more. Read our review here.
Old School Delight
215M Upper Thomson Road
Singapore 574349
Best Teochew Porridge – Heng Long Teochew Porridge
Located at the junction of Parkstone Road and Tanjong Katong Road, Heng Long Teochew Porridge (兴隆潮洲粥) serves the watery Teochew style porridge and a wide variety of dishes at reasonable prices.
Heng Long Teochew Porridge 兴隆潮洲粥
240 Tanjong Katong Road
Singapore 437028
1012 Upper Serangoon Road
Singapore 534750
Best Roast Duck – Jiu Jiang Shao La
We think that the roast meat stall in the Ghim Moh Market and Food Centre, Jiu Jiang Shao La serves the best roast duck in Singapore. Read our review here.
Jiu Jiang Shao La
#01-17 Ghim Moh Food Centre
20 Ghim Moh Road
Singapore 270020
Best Chicken Rice – Delicious Boneless Chicken Rice (Katong)
This stall in the basement food court of Katong Shopping Centre is simply known as the Delicious Boneless Chicken Rice stall. The chicken is not boneless but is aromatic, succulent and, yes, delicious. For more details read our story on TOP Singapore Chicken Rice in Katong
Delicious Boneless Chicken Rice
Katong Shopping Centre #B1-85/87
865 Mountbattan Road
Singapore 437844
Best Laksa – The Original Katong Laksa
The debate about which is the best Katong Laksa rages on. It would seem that the oldest laksa store in Katong is one originally known as Marine Parade Laksa and is now simply known as “The Original Katong Laksa”. It is a simple stall in the food court of Roxy Square and still run by members of the Ng family. Read more details in our story TOP Cheap & Good Food in Katong.
Best Char Kway Teow – Guan Kee and No.18 Zion Road
This char kway teow stall is one of the superstars at the Ghim Moh Market and Food Centre. Look for the stall with the longest queue and it is usually at Guan Kee. Read our review here. You can learn more about this stall and its owners by viewing the lovely video about the stall on their Facebook page.
Guan Kee Fried Kway Teow
#01-19 Ghim Moh Road Market & Cooked Food Centre
20 Ghim Moh Road
Singapore 270020
Mention Zion Road, and more often than not someone will say Char Kway Teow. It is hard to explain why it tastes so good. They use plenty of black sauce. Other ingredients include fish cake, Chinese sausages, bean sprouts, cockles, eggs and lar pok (fried pork lard). They all combined to infuse the simple rice noodles with the layers of flavours. Read “Michael Jackson Dinner” at Zion Riverside Food Centre.
No. 18 Zion Road Fried Kway Teow
Stall 17, Zion Riverside Food Centre
70 Zion Road
Singapore 247792
Best Satay – Chuan Kee
Chuan Kee Satay at Old Airport Road is a Hainanese satay stall run by an elderly Chinese couple. They sell pork satay, chicken satay, mutton satay and rice or ketupat. Read our review here.
Chuan Kee Satay
#01-85, Old Airport Road Food Centre
51 Old Airport Road
Singapore 390051
Best Briyani – Anjappar and Levant
There are different versions of briyani or biryani available in Singapore. There are two that we especially like so we list both of them here. The first one is Anjappar Restaurant in Little India. They serve authentic Chettinaad cuisine from Southern India, a region is known for its sophisticated use of spices and refinement. Do try the chicken and mutton dum biryani. Read our review here.
The Levant restaurant in in Watten Estate (Bukit Timah) and serves a Middle Eastern version of biriyani. The lamb shank biryani is superb. Read our review here.
Levant Restaurant
8 Greenwood Avenue
Singapore 289198
Best Roti Prata – Thasevi (Jalan Kayu) Roti Prata
Thasevi is probably the best known roti prata restaurant in Singapore. This Jalan Kayu roti prata place has been attracting patrons from all over Singapore for as long as we can remember. Read our review here.
Thasevi Food Jalan Kayu Roti Prata
237 & 239 Jalan Kayu
Singapore 799461
Best Rojak – Toa Payoh Rojak at Old Airport Road Food Centre
The stall is called “Toa Payoh Rojak” because Mr Cheng operated the stall for about 30 years in Toa Payoh before relocating to Old Airport Road Food Centre sometime in 2000. Still going strong after all these years.
Toa Payoh Rojak
#01-108 Old Airport Road Food Centre
51 Old Airport Road
Singapore 390051
Best Lor Mee – Xin Mei Xiang 新美香卤面
Xin Mei Xiang’s version of lor mee has a less thick gravy compared to the common Singapore lor mee. The gravy is smoother and less sweet. The gravy is made from starch and eggs plus some secret mix of spices and takes about 4 to 5 hours to cook. Tediously hand-shredded deep-fried Batang fish or Spanish mackerel is one of the key ingredients of Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee. Read our review here.
新美香卤面 Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee
#01-116 Old Airport Road Food Centre
51 Old Airport Road
Singapore 390051
Tel : +65 9382 2238
Best Indian Rojak – A.H. Food Corner at Geylang Serai
The Indian rojak at A H Food Corner includes items like seafood cake, egg in dough fritter, bean curd and cuttlefish. It was served with quite a lot of vegetables and green chilli. The secret of the dish is their special sauce. For more details, read Good Food at Geylang Serai Market & Food Centre
Rojak & Mee Siam
A.H. Food Corner , 1 Geylang Serai, #02-126 Geylang Serai Food Centre
Opening hours: 8am-4pm
Best Nasi Lemak – Ponggol Nasi Lemak
At Ponggol Nasi Lemak, there is a wide range of side dishes to go with the fragrant coconut milk rice. Choose from chicken wings, fried luncheon meat, fish cake, peanuts and ikan bilis, otah otah, ngoh hiang, sayuh lodeh, lady’s fingers and long beans.
Best Apom – G.S.Oli Thosei & Food Stall
Apom is a pancake with a soft, billowy bum in the centre and soft thin crispy edges. Depending on your imagination, it may look like an omelet or a flying saucer. The best ones we have tried are at G.S.Oli Thosei & Food Stall at Geylang Serai. More information at Good Food at Geylang Serai Market & Food Centre.
Best Chye Tow Kueh – Lau Goh Teochew Chye Thow Kway.
Can’t decide whether to have the black or white version of chye tow kueh? No worries, the black and white combination at Lau Goh Teochew Chye Thow Kway in Zion Road gets you the best of both worlds. Read “Michael Jackson Dinner” at Zion Riverside Food Centre.
Lau GohTeochewChye Thow Kway
Stall 26, Zion Riverside Food Centre
70 Zion Road
Singapore 247792
This list of the best of Singapore food is limited to those places we have tried. It is a work in progress. We will edit it when we encounter new or better ones.
Cheers!
The Ordinary Patrons
a Singapore food blog by ordinary people looking for places to eat