Singapore Food Guide (from a local!)
Maxwell & Amoy Food Centre
Located in Singapore's CBD, these 2 hawkers centres are a 10 min walk away from each other. Home to some of the best hawker food, there's no better way to try all these dishes at 1 place.
Maxwell Food Centre
1) Tian Tian Chicken Rice - this chicken rice place is probably on most food guides out there, and for good reason. The chicken is soft and juicy, flavourful rice which isn't too oily, and a chilli sauce which packs a punch and cuts through the fat. This is my top chicken rice in Singapore, and the one I bring all my friends to when they visit!
2) Fu Shun Shao La Mian Jia - offers tenders roasts meats at an affordable price. Get their crispy roasted pork or charsiew (or both!) on a bed of wonton noodles or rice!
3) China Street Hum Jin Pang - for something different, try their their crispy fried dough fritters, with red bean or five spice powder. Wash it all down with sugarcane juice (with lime!) after..
Amoy Food Centre
4) Han Kee Fish Soup - don't let the clear broth deceive you, THIS fish soup is in no way bland. During lunch hours, the queues are snaking and you may end up queueing 40 mins for a bowl. Filled with a generous amount of fish, my favourite way is to enjoy this with a bowl of rice. You may be sweating while drinking this soup, but you'll definitely enjoy it.
5) Ah Ter Teochew Fishball Noodles - definitely a hearty bowl of noodles with fish balls, prawn, fish cake, pork slices, even liver and kidney, very shiok
Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon
A local spot with lots of families and locals during dinner time, you'll feel a sense of nostalgia when you're here. My family has been eating here for at least 20 years and we always get the same order - har cheong kai ("prawn paste chicken"), san lor hor fan ("three tossed horfun") and the fish sliced noodle soup.
The harcheongkai is crispy and juicy, served with a chilli sauce which complements nicely. The sanlorhorfan is comforting and the crunchy beansprouts give a good contrast to the delicate fish - try with green chilli ! And lastly, the fish sliced soup - which is milky in colour from the fish bones, is packed full of umami and has a hint of sweetness. Definitely a must try
PS do note !! the owner (man usually taking orders) is NOT the friendliest. Pretty crisp and no nonsense, and yes may come across rude at times. Prepare what you want to order in advance (unless you want to get yelled at) and tell him exactly WHAT SIZE of each dish you want, otherwise he will assume you want a 4 person portion if you have 4 people, when you might want a 2 person portion instead for sharing.
For Chilli Crab - Jumbo Seafood or Long Beach
Jumbo
Long Beach
Whilst chilli crab is one of Singapore's iconic must eat dishes, it certainly is not as affordable as a bowl of chicken rice. Be ready to spend at least $110-130 per crab (we paid $120 at Long Beach).
When it comes to chilli crab, Long Beach and Jumbo are 2 of the staple names in Singapore. Jumbo chilli crab has a sweeter taste, whereas Long Beach has a spicier kick. Both restaurants have multiple branches all over Singapore, so it's best to check which is nearer to you.
Definitely reserve your table as they are often booked out !
For Roti Prata - Casuarina Curry
YES...this prata shop is kind of out of the way, but YES i would totally recommend Casuarina Curry. My personal preference is just a plain prata (or "prata kosong") with a cup of tehbing (ice milk tea). The prata here is SO CRISPY and always hits the spot. You can also get your prata with a variety of toppings (mushrooms, onions, cheese, etc.) and they sell a good selection of briyani and other dishes too.
If you're trying to weave this stop into your Singapore itinerary, you could make Casuarina Curry a post hike brekkie / lunch spot after your TreeTop Walk hike - start your hike from the MacRitchie busstop (busstop name "Opposite Andrew Road") and take walk along the MacRitchie Nature Trail to get to TreeTop Walk. From there, walk towards the Island Club Road exit which leads to Upper Thomson Road. You can take bus 167 / 855 / 980 to Casuarina Curry (busstop: Bef Yio Chu Kang Rd"
For more insider tips like this, refer to my <>
For where the locals eat - Chomp Chomp Food Centre
Where the locals gather at night to eat, go early at 6pm if you want to avoid fighting for a table and using tissue paper to chope. It gets really busy after 730pm and is usually busy throughout the night
Try the chicken wings, hokkien mee, sambal stingray, and wash it down with a massive sugarcane juice. Enjoy !
The underrated local spot - Ghim Moh Road Food Centre
Another local hawker centre you probably wouldn't hear about is Ghim Moh Food Market. Whilst it may not be as touristy or well known as Newton Food Market, it definitely does not disappoint. More of a local spot, if you go early in the morning you'll also be able to see the wet market where fresh meat, fish, veg is sold. You'll see lots of locals having breakfast there - nasi lemak, youtiao (fried dough fritter) with douhua (soybean milk), roti prata, or century egg porridge are popular choices.
Towards lunchtime, my favourites are:
Tong Fong Fatt Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice - my favourite chicken rice after Tian Tian
Guan Kee Fried Kway Teow - the queues here are always LONG. Go really early if you want to try this
Chuan Kee Boneless Braised Duck - teochew braised duck is UNDERRATED. You barely see a food and travel guide telling you to try this. But to me, braised duck rice is a quintessential Singapore food. The rice is moist and tasty, and duck is soft and drenched in sauce. Add an egg or tofu too!
Teck Hin Fried Hor Fun - there's horfun and also muifan offerings. Both full of wokhei and egg gravy to slurp up. Best eaten with green chilli for some acidity.
McDonalds
Yes you heard that right - Mcdonalds! There's mcdonalds all over the world, but nothing comes close to Singapore's McSpicy. Give it a try if you have time. Mcspicy + fries + ice milo + apple pie.... do i need to say more.
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