Singapore

Singapore has a vast range of culinary delights for foodies wanting to explore the tasty delights of this multi-cultural city.  Just some of our recommendations are:

• It’s pretty easy to find a good cup of coffee in Singapore, with hip cafe’s and specialty coffee roasters to be found all over the city.  One of our favourites is the Maxi Coffee Bar, a tiny coffee shop located on Ann Siang Hill near Chinatown.  They roast their own coffee beans and recently came runner-up in the Singapore National Barista Championship (2024).  Try their Kaya Butter Toast (featuring house-made Kaya jam – a Singaporean staple – with French butter), and wash it down with an Iced Cereal Milk Latte – a great way to kickstart your day in Singapore!
• No foodie trip to Singapore is complete without a visit to a hawker centre for a meal.  Hawker centres arose in the late 1960’s, when the government started centralising the roving hawkers and their food carts into various locations.  Now there are around 120 markets and hawker centres in Singapore.  Some of our favourites are the Maxwell Food Centre (home to Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, a favourite of the late Anthony Bourdain – go early to beat the lunchtime queues), Lau Pa Sat (housed in a historic Victorian market), and the massive Chinatown Complex Food Centre (home to over 220 food stalls).  Make sure you know the etiquette of dining at the hawker centres – tables are communal (they can be reserved by placing a bag or a box of tissues on a table whilst you order), and always make sure you clear your trays and bowls after eating (just follow the locals lead if you are unsure). Each food stall usually specialises in one dish, whether it is a spicy laksa or savoury chicken rice (considered a national dish in Singapore).  Several stalls have dishes which are considered the pinnacle of their cuisine, such as the Famous Sungei Road Trishaw Laksa stall (famous for their laksa), and the Michelin Guide has a special section for Singaporean street food, such is the range of fantastic dishes available in various hawker centres.  If you are stretched for time, maybe consider a walking food tour of some the hawker centres, such as the Small Group: Michelin and Local Hawker Food Tour.  Make sure you try the pineapple tarts at Kele if you do!
• Near the Lau Pa Sat hawker centre, on Boon Tat Street, is Satay Street – one of Singapore’s largest open-air, alfresco dining experiences.  Open every evening until 3am, you can enjoy grilled skewers of beef, chicken, prawns and more, and wash it all down with a cold Tiger beer – a perfect way to end a busy day of sightseeing in hot and humid Singapore.  The quality of the satay can vary between the stalls, so look for the ones with the longest queues.  And if you don’t feel like satay, you can always pop into the Lau Pa Sat hawker centre just next door.
• If you are a family travelling with young children, then one of the more famous Singapore dining experiences is Breakfast In The Wild at Singapore Zoo.  It’s not everyday where you get to eat breakfast with Orangutans!  Whilst the buffet breakfast is definitely not gourmet, the experience of dining with the orangutans is a highlight.  Singapore Zoo is widely regarded as one of the best zoo’s in the world, and is home to over 300 different species of mammals, birds and reptiles.
• Feeling thirsty after exploring Singapore in the heat and humidity?  There are numerous pubs and bars where one can relax with a cold beer or cocktail.  If you are over the main-stream Tiger beer, then we can recommend the Lion Brewery (at 36 Club Street), or the Good Luck Beerhouse (9 Haji Lane) for a cold, craft beer.  And no visit to Singapore would be complete without visiting the Long Bar at the famous Raffles Singapore Hotel for a Singapore Sling – the famous gin cocktail first mixed in 1915.  The bar takes walk-ins only, no reservations, and sometimes there is a bit of a queue.  But it is worth the wait to step into the bar, across a peanut shell-strewn floor, and back in time to the old colonial days for a tipple underneath the rattan ceiling fans. 
• If you want a change from the street food stalls at the hawker centres, and want to dine a little bit more upmarket, Singapore has numerous Michelin starred restaurants.  A wide range of cuisines are featured, such as French, Italian, Thai, Japanese, and more.
• Finally, no trip to Singapore is complete without experiencing Singapore’s famous chilli crab.  You can find chilli crab at almost every local seafood restaurant in Singapore, but it is definitely worth it to track down the best.  One of our favourites is Holycrab (in the arcade at 13 Stamford Road).  They have many variations, from the Classic chilli crab, with its sweet savoury spicy sauce, but if you want something with a bit more of a kick, try the Black Panther crab, with black peppercorns in a rich crab broth.  And if you can fit it in, try the Signature Holycrab Fried Rice (fried rice with chunks of crab meat – delicious!).  On certain days of the week, they also host cooking classes, where you can learn the art of cooking your very own chilli crab!