Wok the Walk to Singapore

Food is the national passion and obsession of Singapore! Everywhere you go, there is something to eat and everywhere you look, people are eating. It doesn't matter where or what time of the day, Singaporeans are constantly eating.  As I have described in my previous blog post, Singapore is rich in diverse cultures and food cultures. But to many locals, the origin of the food is unimportant as long as it is tasty.

Many may not tell from my petite physique, but when it comes to good food, I have an appetite of two teenage boys. Looking for the best food stalls in Singapore is my family's favorite past time. We would drive all around the city on weekends and try out as many food stalls as possible.

I realize that  summarizing this topic into one blog post will not be doing our renowned local cuisine any justice. Therefore I decided to split this topic into two blog posts. I will cover general information about the eating cultures and the top five dishes (entrées) in Singapore on this blog post and finish off dessert, snacks and fine dining on the next post. If you would like more recommendations, let me know by leaving a feedback on the comment section below.

Honestly, a lot of local delights are not healthy. Frying is a common method of cooking and a lot of fat is used in most dishes. But do not let this deter you from eating your hearts out in Singapore. After all, you are on a vacation, its a great excuse to justify the extra few pounds and I assure you that it is worth it! 

Tourist need not worry about the hygiene of food stalls in Singapore. The National Environment Agency (NEA) regulates the food retail industry to ensure that food sold is prepared hygienically and safe for consumption. Retail food establishments are given a grade by NEA based on the overall hygiene, cleanliness and housekeeping standards of the premises. 

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A – Excellent 
B – Good 
C – Average 
D – Below average (stalls that fail to get at least a D are not allowed to operate)

These grades will be printed on certificates that are required to be placed outside a food stall where it is easily noticeable. Certificates should look like those in pictures on the left and right. 

There are mainly three dining options in Singapore: hawker centers, food courts and restaurants.

The hawker tradition and coffee shop (kopitiam) culture are the most popular in Singapore. Hawker centers and kopitiams can be found in every neighborhood. Though most of them are not air conditioned, the food sold are significantly cheaper and  I would recommend going to kopitiams for the most authentic versions of local dishes. These are my recommendations (not in order of preference, I just love them all):

Rice Paradise

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Hainanese Chicken Rice: A dish of Chinese origin, mostly associated with Hainanese cuisine. It is often considered as the national dish of Singapore. The preparation of the chicken may take up to five hours. It involves boiling the entire chicken in a pork and bone stock. The broth is also used for cooking the rice, reusing the broth, it produces oily and flavorful rice. The rice is so flavorful, it can simply be eaten by itself. For those who want to spice up their dish, chilli (similar to jalapeño) sauce, black sauce and ginger are often added as compliments to the dish.

In my opinion, Boon Tong Kee has the best chicken rice. Though they have a total of six branches in Singapore, all of them provide consistent quality in their food. The chicken is moist and tender, and the rice is fragrant and tasty. I have heard complains about the deteriorating quality over the years, but nothing much has changed when I was there last December.

I visit the Bukit Timah branch most often. They are located at 18 Cheong Chin Nam Road 
MRT Station: None
Bus: 67, 75, 170,171,173 and 184 

Nasi Lemak: The roots of this dish stems from the Malay culture, it is a Malay word that literally translate as "fatty rice." Similar to cooking chicken rice, producing fragrant, fluffy nasi lemak rice is an art. The rice is cooked in coconut cream together with a combination of other spices (many stalls have their own secret recipe to cooking the rice) and it typically served wrapped in a banana leaf. Standard ingredients that accompany the rice are fried chicken wings, fish cakes, cucumber slices and fried anchovies. An award winning combination would include an out-of-this world spicy sauce, called sambal.

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My family's all time favorite stall is Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak. It is probably one of the most famous nasi lemak stalls in Singapore and I heard that even the Sultan of Brunei is a regular. There will be a long line and be prepared to wait for at least 15 minutes but the food is always freshly cooked to order and the servers are very friendly.

Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak is located a Adam Road Food Center.

MRT Station: Newton
Bus: 66, 67, 74, 93, 151, 154, 156, 157, 165, 170, 171, 174, 852, 855 and 961 

Oodles of Noodles

Laksa: The noodle dish that rivals Hainanese chicken rice as Singapore's national dish. A unique feature of laksa is that it is a Peranakan dish which infuses Chinese and Malay cooking elements into one dish. The noodles are cooked in a coconut-based curry soup with tofu, shrimp, cockles and garnished with parsley flakes. The coconut-based soup is the star of the dish. It should be light to compliment the noodles, but flavorful enough to bring the dish to life. 

Recommending this dish is very tricky, but without a doubt, the best Laksa can only be found on Katong Street in Singapore. It is tricky because when you get to Katong street, there are several food stalls selling "Katong Laksa" and of course, every stall will claim to be the original, most authentic and/or tastiest laksa in Singapore. The two most famous stalls are 328 Katong Laksa and 49 Katong Laksa. Personally, I think they are all equally delicious, so I will let you be the judge of it. You won't be able to tell the difference simply looking at the pictures, you have to taste it for yourself.

328 Katong Laksa (source)

49 Katong Laksa (source)                                      

MRT Station: None
Bus: 40

Hill Street Fried Kway Teow (source)

Char Kway Teow: This is probably the most popular noodle dish in Singapore. This dish uses flat rice noodles, stir fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chilli, shrimp, cockles, Chinese sausage, bean sprouts and fish cakes. This is the best part - the dish uses pork fat and croutons of pork lard instead of regular vegetable oil. It is definitely a heart attack waiting to happen, but I guarantee satisfaction with every bite. 


Hill Street Fried Kway Teow serves the best and most sinful Char Kway Teow in Singapore. Even famous American food critic, Anthony Bourdain recommends Hill Street Fried Kway Teow. The chef adds a generous amount of crunchy sweet bean sprouts that creates an explosion of taste and texture in your mouth. The chef has been frying this secret recipe for 44 years! Unfortunately, none of this sons intend to  take over the family business, so rush over to try the BEST Char Kway Teow in the world, before he retires.


Bus: 12 and 229 

  

Long Beach Chilli Crab (source)

"Die-Die must try" : Before you correct my grammar, this is a common Singlish slogan for any recommendations that are worth dying for. For example, if I think that 328 Katong Laksa is the best in the world, I would say "I tell you, this 328 Katong Laksa die die must try ah!" 

So for this last recommendation, all I have to say is "When you come to Singapore, you die-die must try the Singapore Chilli Crab!" This dish originated from Singapore. Crabs are cooked in a savory thick tomato and chilli sauce. The sauce is mostly sweet, just with a hint of spiciness for the extra kick. Sweet rolls are usually served with the sauce and they are highly addictive! 

Fried (not baked) sweet rolls (source)

This dish tends to be very expensive and it can be quite a hassle to eat, since the crab is cooked as a whole. So prepare to get your fingers dirty. But once you taste the heavenly chunks of crab meat, all the trouble will be worth it. 

In my opinion, Long Beach seafood restaurant has the best chilli crab. The chilli crab is the restaurant's signature dish. I would easily lose count of how many sweet rolls I consume in one seating, the sauce is just THAT good. Long Beach has five different locations in Singapore, but my favorite is the one at 1018 East Coast Parkway because it is located right by the beach.

MRT Station: None
Bus: 31 

With so little recommendations, I feel like I have let the local readers down. Singapore's cuisine has so much more to offer and I will blog about more dishes upon request.  I will continue with  drinks, desserts and snacks on the next post. See you then!