Top 6 favourite foods in Singapore
If there is one thing I love just as much as travelling it’s eating and Singapore is my food mecca of all time. My Dad moved to Singapore when I was six so I’ve spent a lot of my life hopping from Hawker Centre to Hawker Centre chowing down on satay, char siew and kai lan. Singapore is a place where you can eat like royalty for as little as AU$3 and unlike other Asian cities Singas’ is so clean you don’t have to think twice when buying from a stall. Here are some of the best cheap eats in Singapore.
Ice Kachung
One of the more bizarre desserts in Singapore, Ice Kachung, is like a snow cone, topped with jelly and condensed milk…and corn and beans. It almost sounded tasty didn’t it? Lucky tip: you can get it without the corn and beans.
The Ice Shop in Ion is usually one of my first stops when I arrive in Singapore. They know how to make a flavoursome Ice Kachung, although sometimes the service can be rather casual.
Ice Kachung, Changi City Point – $2 (extra $1 for chocolate sauce)
Originating in Malaysia, Ice Kachung is probably the most popular Singapore dessert, with Ice Shops in every hawker centre and food court. Wherever you find Ice Kachung it should cost between $3-$5, with the latter being top shelf – with all the trimmings. My favourite is the Mango Ice Kachung – hold the corn and beans. This is shaved ice in the shape of a mountain, dowsed in four different coloured, flavoured syrups (usually raspberry, lime, mango and the best, brown sugar) then topped with condensed milk, jelly cubes and fresh mango. YUM!
It should be easy to recreate Ice Kachung at home; however, I think there is something about this addictive ‘must have’ dessert that can’t be replicated outside of Singas.
Mango Ice Kachung, Ice Shop Ion Food Court
Durian
Durian is not for the faint-hearted and after countless trips I only plucked up the courage to try it last time I was in Singapore. Durian is a very common Asian fruit that looks just like Jackfruit. Known in Asia as the smelliest fruit, it has been banned from a lot of places including the Singapore MRT and once you get within 5 metres of it, you’ll know exactly why. Words literally can’t explain it; either you’ll love it or you’ll hate it. No one just ‘kind of likes it’. If you can get over the smell, the initial taste isn’t bad, it’s the aftermath that lingers and just gets more mature with age. If you really want to dive in, try a piece the size of a fingernail – trust me that’s plenty!
It’s a must try, just for the experience if nothing else, and hey – you might love it!
Durian Stall, Bugis Markets
HK Roast
My absolute favourite. Hong Kong Roast in Ion, has been a bit of a tradition for me. It’s my first stop on Orchard Road and I usually eat it within my first day or two in Singapore. My favourite is the shop in the Ion Food Court; however, it’s just as good in almost every Hawker Centre or Food Court in Singapore. I usually get the combination plate – a mix of char siew (BBQ pork with a delicious sauce), Roast Pork, Roast Duck and Chinese Sausage. Team it with Chinese cabbage or Kai Lan and you have the best meal in Singapore. For the vegetarians, Singaporeans do the best vegetables. All Asian greens have flavours we can only dream of in Australia. My personal favourites are Kai Lan and Chinese cabbage in oyster sauce. Generally, after my HK Roast, I go straight to the ice shop next door to complete my meal.
Hong Kong Roast, Ion Food Court Orchard Road
Combination Plate, Kailan in Oyster Sauce and Noodles, Hong Kong Roast, Ion Food Court
Chicken Rice
Although it’s freaking delicious, I’m not a huge fan of Chicken Rice; I feel like it‘s the ugly stepsister of Chili Crab. Singapore’s most popular dish, chicken rice is extremely simple but very flavoursome. Available literally everywhere, the best chicken rice is from the Maxwell Road Hawker Centre – one of the oldest Hawker Centres in Singapore. You’ll find the best Chicken Rice at Tian Tian Hainanese.
Tian Tian Chicken Rice Stall, Maxwell Road Hawker Centre
Chicken Rice and Chinese Cabbage in Oyster Sauce, Tian Tian Chicken Rice Maxwell Road Hawker Centre
Chilli Crab
This is the traditional Singapore ‘must eat’. You can get it everywhere and generally, it’ll taste the same. Special mention must go to Jumbo’s East Coast – a huge seafood restaurant with plenty of outdoor seating – on the water. Another special mention is Sammy’s on Dempsey Hill, the ‘Institution’ of Singapore, which serves a more curry style chilli crab which is still finger lickin’ good. Note: Don’t wear white – it gets messy!
Chilli Crab, Sammy’s Dempsey Hill
Kaya Toast
Singaporeans don’t really make a fuss out of breakfast, in twenty years I think we went to a handful of breakfast cafes. The most local of the bunch, Killiney Kopitiam was the best by far. Killiney pioneered Singaporean Kopitiams (Coffee shops) in 1919 and these are the best representation of local Hainanese breakfast. The shops are plain but the flavour of their food speaks volumes. My top picks? The soft boiled eggs with soy sauce, the chicken curry and the kaya toast.
Killiney Kopitiam soft boiled eggs and kaya toast
Kaya toast is my all-time favourite. Killiney produce their own kaya spread, a coconut jam best served with butter. Served on a thick slice of toast my portion preference is three parts kaya to one part butter – the salt of the butter cuts through the sugar of the kaya in the most perfect way.
Chicken rice. Yum
My husband loved anything from Kumali’s and chili crab.
Anywhere in Litltle India.
Agreed Susie, I love Little India! I always make sure I stop by Ananda Bhavan Vegetarian on Serangoon Road for a Mango Lassi and Aloo Dosa when I’m in town.