Things and Places Not To Be Missed in Singapore: Food

A trip to Singapore would not be complete without tasting the unique local food fare that have impressed many famous foodies such as Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern. There is a wide selection of food items to choose from so you can throw that diet plan out the window. Heh.

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At the heart of the food scene of Singapore are the hawker centres. For those not familiar, these are the local versions of a food court. Hawker centres contain several food stalls that offer various cuisine to entice the hungry traveller. Another great thing about them is that the prices are very affordable (A meal would range from around S$ 3 – 5 only). Some of the famous Hawker Centres are Lau Pa Sat located in the central business district, Newton Food Centre is Newton and Maxwell Food Centre near Chinatown.

Hawker Centre in Bedok

• The Chicken Rice is one of my favorite local food. As the boyps explained to me, it is named as such not because of the steamed / roasted chicken but the how the rice is prepared as well. In the episode of No Reservations in Singapore, Anthony Bourdain explained that the broth where the chicken was cooked is used to cook the rice as well to add flavor.

Chicken Rice

• Satay is skewered meat (usually chicken or beef) that is grilled or barbequed and accompanied by peanut sauce. This makes a nice alternative to the barbequed meat that I am used to in the Philippines.

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

• I have never been big on spicy food but I am rather fond of the chilli crab. Some say not as spicy as they were expecting, the sauce is semi-thick made of tomato and chilli sauce. Paired with deep-fried buns, this makes for a very good meal. This is served on restaurants such as Jumbo Seafood and No Signboard Seafood as well as on some hawker centres.

Chilli Crab

• I love, love, love cereal prawns! These are deep fried prawns that are coated (and covered) with cereal. Ask for the de-shelled ones for the best dining experience. The best ones I’ve tried are from Jumbo Seafood.

Cereal Prawns

These are just some of the many good things to eat in the Lion City. Check out Lori’s 4-part Dessert Comes First feature on Singapore for more food stuff.

Happy eating!