Local Favourite Food

Bak Kut Teh

Bak Kut Teh is a Chinese pork ribs soup cooked in herbs like five spices, star anise, cinnamon, clove, fennel seeds, dang gui, pepper and garlic.

It is eaten with rice and other accompaniments including fried dough and salted vegetables. It is also sometimes served with Chinese tea, as many believe that Chinese tea (particularly Tieguanyin) dissolves the copious amount of fat consumed in this pork-laden dish.

Char Kway Teow

Char Kway Teow is a savoury sweet noodle dish.

It consists of yellow noodles and broad wide noodles cooked together with pork lard, sweet sauce, dark sauce, bean sprouts, eggs, Chinese sausages, fish cakes and optional cockles.
 

Chilli Crab

Crabs that are being cooked in thick tomato and chilli based gravy. The crab is covered with plentiful of gravy and the crab meat is best eaten with the gravy. A pleasant accompaniment is the fried ‘man-tou” (fried buns) which is best eaten with the thick gravy.

Many seafood restaurants offer this delightful dish.
 

Hainanese Chicken Rice

This dish is originated by the people in China, Hainan Island and has since then been Singaporeans regular dish eaten usually for lunch or dinner. It is mainly cooked with garlic, scallion and ginger and the rice is cooked till fragrant.

It is commonly found in hawker centres, coffee shops and restaurants.

Hokkien ‘Mee’ (Noodles)

Hokkien Mee dish is cooked with yellow noodles and white noodle cooked with prawn stock, bean sprouts, prawns, squids, eggs and spring onions.

It is eaten with lime squeezed on the noodle dish giving it a slight tangy taste to the noodles and best eaten with sambal chilli.

Fish Head Curry

Fish Head Curry is a dish where the head of a fish, particularly red snapper is semi-stewed in thick curry gravy and lady’s’ fingers, brinjals are added to the dish. It is best eaten with white rice.

There are various versions to this dish, particularly the Indian, Chinese and Peranakan versions which may differ in terms of the curry gravy.
 

Fried Carrot Cake

Fried carrot cake is a favourite dish among many Singaporeans. It is flour mixed with radish and fried with dark sauce, turnip and sweet sauce and topped off with spring onions (‘black’ version), or fried without the sweet sauce (‘white’ version).

Rojak

A tasty local infused salad consisting of fruits, fried dough fritters, turnips, bean sprouts, cucumbers topped off with prawn paste and crushed peanuts. The gravy has a unique flavour that will entice one’s appetite for more.

Rojak can sometimes be found at hawker centres and coffee shops.

Roti Prata

Roti Prata originates from Southern India and is a type of Indian pancake made of flour. It comes with a variation of fillings including egg, cheese, banana, onions, meat or even topped off with a scoop of ice cream. It is served with hot curry gravy. Some people prefer to eat it with sugar.

Satay

Satay is a dish consisting of bite-sized pieces of meat grilled on skewers. They come in chicken, mutton, pork and beef. It is served with a flavourful spicy peanut sauce, slices of cucumbers and onions.

Places to Eat

Cafes

A growing favourite with the young working crowd. Designer coffee places like Starbucks, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Coffee Club have become the in places to hang out with friends. Most cafes serve Western food like sandwiches, pizzas and pasta.

Coffee Shops

These can be found in most housing estates outside the city and are usually located on the ground floor of apartment blocks or in 2-storey. Even till today, Singaporeans gather at coffee shops not just to eat and drink, but also to chat or even play a game of checkers. Although the older coffeehouses are slowly being phased out, they are still the place to go if you want to get cheap and good food served with a slice of true Singapore life, not forgetting the thick, black local coffee that comes in a porcelain cup.

Fast-food

A favourite with children and teenagers, fast food arrived in Singapore in the late 70s and is today a familiar sight everywhere. There’s McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Pizza Hut, Burger King, MOS Burger and much much more.

Hawker Centers and Food Courts

Together with hawker centers, food courts are the people’s main eating choice when dining out. You can find hawker food widely available here, a meal averagely costs about $3 or more. Food courts are usually found in shopping malls, and are air-conditioned and thus more expensive. For example, a plate of noodles that cost $3 in a hawker center may cost $4 in a food court. The choice of food is also more cosmopolitan, with some food courts even offering Italian, Korean, Japanese and Greek cuisine all in the same place. Be warned: at the more popular food courts, you could find people waiting behind you for your seat; so if you like to take your time, go during off-peak hours. Unlike hawker centers, you have to carry your own food to your table.

Food courts generally can be found in most shopping centres. There are usually at least one hawker centers in every HDB housing estates. Like Ang Mo Kio, Ghim Moh, Marine Parade, Old Airport Road, Whampoa. Enjoy your Singapore food discovery! For hawker centers, refer to some of the popular ones below:

Adam Road Food Center

This hawker center was recently upgraded. With a new facade and more parking space, it is very popular with lunch time crowds. More than 50% of the stalls serve Malay or Indian food. Good Nasi Goreng, Roti Prata, western food can be found here. Do not miss the BBQ seafood and the famous Nasi Lemak stall!

Location: Junction of Dunearn Road and Adam Road.

Chomp Chomp Food Center

Located at Serangoon Garden, this hawker center was recently upgraded. Wide variety of food at a reasonable price. Many stalls from the Botanic Garden hawker center had migrated here.

Location: Serangoon Garden.

Lau Pa Sat Food Center

Lau Pa Sat is the largest remaining Victorian filigree cast-iron structure in Southeast Asia. Located in the heart of Singapore's business district, it is a favorite meeting place of the locals. Built in 1894, Lau Pa Sat was a wet market and has now been restored and converted into a food centre offering a wide variety of local food.

Location: Boon Tat Street, Shenton Way, Robinson Road.
Getting There: Take the MRT to Raffles Place Station (EW14) and walk towards Robinson Road.

Newton Circus Food Center

The most well known hawker center in Singapore. If you are a seafood lover, do not miss this place, lots of BBQ seafood stalls can be found here. There are also many variety of food, including Hokkien Prawn Noodles, Fish Porridge, Chicken Rice and many more.

Location: Newton Circus, entrance at Cavenagh Road.
Getting There: Take the MRT to Newton Station (NS21).

Zion Road Riverview Food Center

People working around Orchard and Great World City usually drive or walk to this hawker center for lunch. You can find a wide variety of food here.

Location: Zion Road, directly opposite Great World City.