What to Eat in Singapore

Food lovers flock to Singapore for its mouthwatering cuisine. Singapore’s Peranakan culture brings a blend of Chinese, Indonesian, and Malay flavors to every dish.

Although Singapore is one of the most expensive countries in the world, you can get a Michelin-starred meal for $5. Why? A theory from a local is that Singaporean culture doesn’t value its homegrown cuisine. A fancy French restaurant in Singapore can charge high prices because people will pay for it. But, locals won’t pay more than $5 for a simple chicken rice they grew up eating at home.

As a tourist, your mission should be to try as many Singaporean dishes as you can. In this guide, we’ll go over the top 10 dishes to try on your trip to Singapore.

You can find all of these dishes and more at hawker centres throughout the city. Read this blog post for a guide to the best hawker centres in Singapore.

Let’s get into it.

The 10 Must-Taste Foods (and Drink!)

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Considered Singapore’s national dish, Hainanese chicken rice is a simple dish of poached chicken and white rice accompanied by three sauces. It gets its name from the Hainan province in southern China, where the immigrants who brought it to Singapore came from.

That Planner Friend Tip: If you have an upset stomach from your travels around Southeast Asia, Hainanese chicken rice is the ideal comfort food that won’t further aggravate your stomach.

Laksa

Laksa is a spicy noodle soup that is similar to ramen. The broth is a rich yet spicy coconut curry. It’s traditionally served with prawns but you can get it with chicken or fish. Laksa is a popular Peranakan dish in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Satay

Grilled meat skewers, known as satay, are a popular Indonesian dish in Singapore. Grill masters cook satay until 3 a.m. on Satay Street in downtown Singapore. Shrimp and steak are crowd favorites.

Carrot Cake

Far from the sweet carrot cake dessert, carrot cake in Singapore is a fried savory dish. Chai tow kway, or carrot cake, as it’s colloquially known, is a crispy pan-fried radish dish with egg. Black carrot cake is the most common type with a savory sauce. It’s a great side dish to share at a hawker centre.

Chili Crab and White Pepper Crab

Singapore is known for its seafood dishes, especially crab. The most popular crab dish in hawker centres is chili crab. Hawkers serve the crab whole, smothered in an extra spicy sauce. It can be a messy dish to eat since you need to wrestle the crab shell to get to the meat.

White pepper crab is another delicious crab dish served in Singapore. It’s the dish to order at J.B. Meng Restaurant in Geylang, which is one of Anthony Bourdain’s favorite restaurants. I opted to get my crab fix here for less of a mess.

San Lou Mee Hoon

Another favorite at J.B. Meng Restaurant is san lou mee hoon, a crispy noodle dish. Rice vermicelli noodles are cooked with dried shrimp, shredded squid, and soy sauce. Pan-frying the noodles makes them extra crispy. This dish was one of my favorite bites in Singapore, making the pilgrimage to J.B. Meng Restaurant worth it.

Kaya Toast

Kaya toast might be the simplest yet most delicious Singaporean dish. Locals often enjoy it at breakfast with eggs, but you can eat it at any time. Kaya is a simple coconut jam that is sometimes flavored with pandan leaves. More of a sandwich than toast, kaya toast is kaya and thick slabs of butter between two pieces of toasted white bread.

That Planner Friend Tip: You can buy kaya jam at the airport from Ya Kun Kaya Toast to make kaya toast at home.

Durian

Durian is a delicacy in Southeast Asia. It tastes like an overripe cantaloupe with a soft, supple texture. The fruit is polarizing — loved by locals but hated by many who aren’t accustomed to its unique taste. The infamous durian fruit smells so strongly that it is outlawed from public transit and many hotels. The fruit is big, like a jackfruit, but many spots will serve you a piece. They will also give you gloves to eat it without leaving a stench on your hands.

Around the Malay peninsula, you’ll find many desserts made with durian, specifically ice cream.

Putu Piring

The perfect post-hawker-meal dessert is putu piring. This simple rice flour dessert is steamed and filled with palm sugar for a sweet treat. Most warm desserts are heavy but putu piring stays light and airy.

Sugar Cane Juice

The last item on our list isn’t technically a food or meal. Sugar cane juice is a must-try drink. At many hawker centres, the sugar cane is juiced right in front of you by hand. It’s a natural sweet drink that pairs well with spicy meals and gives you a sugar rush of energy.

This list is by no means exhaustive. There are many dishes we missed on our trip that I want to go back to try like roti prata, nasi lemak, and hokkien mee. Because of the many immigrant communities in Singapore, you’ll find delicious Chinese, Arabic, and Indian food all over Singapore.

Enjoy!