Embark on a culinary adventure with me as I take you through my unforgettable foodie trip to Singapore. Renowned for its vibrant hawker centers and diverse street food culture, this island city-state is a paradise for the discerning palate. From savoring succulent beef noodles at bustling outdoor markets to indulging in the iconic black pepper crab at waterfront restaurants, my gastronomic journey was nothing short of epic. All reviews here are non-affiliated.
As I navigated the labyrinth of flavors and aromas, each dish revealed a story of tradition, innovation, and cultural fusion. The tantalizing scent of spices beckoned me into narrow alleyways adorned with neon signs and tantalizing food stalls. With each bite, I discovered the harmonious blend of Malay, Chinese, Indian, and Indonesian influences that define Singapore’s rich culinary landscape. Join me as I recount the delectable highlights of my immersive exploration into this melting pot of flavors and uncover the hidden gems that make Singapore a true haven for food enthusiasts.
Hwa Heng Beef Noodles – 290 Jalan Besar @ Earnest Coffeeshop
Wow, Hwa Heng Beef Noodles at 290 Jalan Besar in Singapore blew my mind! The rich and flavorful sauce of the beef noodles was just outstanding. The beef slices were tender and perfectly cooked, and the noodles had a nice chewy texture. The portion size was generous, and I left feeling very satisfied. I went back for more!
This unassuming photo of beef noodles smothered in dark sauce hides the fact that this was the only place I went to twice. It’s that good. The thick dark brown sauce contains the essence of the beef stock used to prepare it. As a food enthusiast, I have to say that Hwa Heng Beef Noodles at 290 Jalan Besar is an absolute must-try! The sauce had a depth of flavor that still has me craving for more. The beef was incredibly tender, and the noodles were cooked to perfection. The ambience of the place added to the overall experience. It’s an outdoor coffee shop that is not as crowded as your standard hawker center. I can’t recommend it enough!
Long Beach UDMC – 1202 ECP, #01-04 East Coast Seafood Centre, Singapore
I had the most incredible experience at Long Beach UDMC in Singapore! The black pepper crab was absolutely mind-blowing. The perfect blend of spice and flavor made every bite a true delight. And let me tell you, the chilli crab with mantou was out of this world! The combination of tender crab meat and crispy mantou buns had me craving for more. I can’t wait to go back and indulge in these delectable dishes again.
The other dishes we ordered were the Irish duck. Tasted like a nice roast duck. Nothing too spectacular about it.
Twice cooked live fish. Steamed then fried. I prefer just a plain steamed fish with soy sauce and shallots.
Tofu – tasted like tofu.
Sambal kang kong – a pretty good version
The sambal kang kong was good (I’m fussy on this. It has to be fried so that it comes out dry but tasty) but not as good as the sambal veggies at our next restaurant – Nan Hwa Chong Fish Head Steamboat Corner.
Nan Hwa Chong Fish Head Steamboat Corner – 812 North Bridge Rd, Singapore
I got so carried away with the food, I forgot to snap photos of it. Needless to say, people come here for the Fish-head (and fresh fish) steamboat dishes. Personally, I come here for their sambal sweet potato leaves and sambal kang-kong. Both look the same as the sambal kang kong at Long Beach but I think the sambal here is just that little bit better. You can’t go wrong with any of these dishes.
Tai Wah Pork Noodle – Hong Lim Market & Food Centre
I read about these guys in the Singapore Michelin Guide. For the past few years they have been received a Michelin Bib Gourmand for their “Noodles served with soup meat balls, dried fish and pork liver”. That’s not that accurate a description as it is missing a main ingredient – minced pork. Also, the dry version of the noodles is probably more popular. That is what I had.
In Singapore they call this dish Mee Pok (this type of yellow noodle) Bak Chor Mee (minced meat noodles). It’s pretty popular and available in most hawker centres. The version here is an excellent rendition of it with nicely balanced vinegar and chilli in their sauce. The line for the store attests to the quality of their food. Definitely food worth waiting for.
Da Lao Fried White Kway Teow – Toa Payoh Lorong 8 Market & Food Centre
I was actually in this hawker centre looking for a seafood bee hoon (rice noodle) dish – they call it Teochew Seafood White Mee Hoon. But, alas, they were closed. It wasn’t even a Monday. It wasn’t even 6pm. They were just closed. The other hawkers told me that they had sold out of food.
So I wandered around the hawker centre until I stumbled across this unassuming char kway teow place. I actually was having a bit of a craving for CKT as when I was lining up for Tai Wah Pork Noodle, I kept eyeing out the line for Outram Park CKT which is Michelin Bib recommended and had a line even longer than Tai Wah’s. I ate the Outram Park CKT on a previous visit to Singapore but found it a bit on the wet side. Happy to report that the CKT at Da Lao Fried White Kway Teow is more to my liking on the drier side as seen in the photo.
The CKT was fried as an individual serving (as compared to large batch fried CKT) which gave it a nice ‘wok hei’. All the usual goodies of cockles, chinese sausages and a cursory bit of green were in it. Not a bad CKT for Singapore. I prefer Penang CKT but this one was definitely more than edible.
Beach Road Prawn Noodle House – 370/372 East Coast Road, Singapore
I don’t care that they can’t standardize their trading name. I just know them as The Best Prawn Noodles in Singapore. Every trip to Singapore, I have to make the pilgrimage to Beach Road Prawn Noodles and have the soup prawn noodles with jumbo prawns. Prices haven’t changed much in years with the jumbo prawn version being only $13.50 still. Some people like the dry version, but it’s the prawn stock soup that really does it for me. They also have a good array of drinks like barely water and lime juice that you can order with the meal. If you are feeling peckish,the stand to the right of the counter sells an array of fish balls, cakes, fried tofu and other goodies that you can slather with sweet chilli sauce. But I come just for this amazing bowl of prawn noodles with jumbo prawns in soup.
Janggut Laksa – 50 East Coast Road, Roxy Square, Singapore
No trip to Singapore is complete without a bowl of Singaporean laksa. Singaporean laksa differs from Malaysian and other laksas, as it is a more a ‘Lemak’ laksa rather than a Curry laksa. Whilst outwardly similar in appearance, the Singaporean version has more coconut milk and a lot less curry powder/paste. It also has more dried shrimp in the soup base, giving it a slightly gritty sandy taste. This all adds up to extra umami flavour. Janggut Laksa is one of the best examples of this. But alas, it was closed on this trip, as the old man was busy preparing for the next day. The only problem I have with Janggut Laksa is that it is relatively hard to find even when you input the correct address into Google Maps. But don’t worry, just looked at the next two photos and you’ll make your way there easily.
BTW – I got my laksa fix this trip at Famous Sungei Road Trishaw Laksa at Hong Lim Food Centre. I didn’t remember to take any photos but it was a pretty good laksa. I got the deluxe version with the bugs for $13.50. It’s pretty easy to find as it’s just across from the lifts on level 2 of Hong Lim Food Centre.
Special Mention – Kim Hua Guan Bak Kua – People’s Park Food Centre
Bak Kua/Kwa/Gua/Gwa, however you choose to spell is a popular and beloved snack in Singapore, and several factors contribute to its widespread popularity among Singaporeans. The most important factor, however, would have to be its taste. It’s char-grilled minced pork glazed with sugar. What’s not to love?
Kim Hua Guan at People’s Park Food Centre grills it in front of you on charcoals. Whilst there are like a zillion other Bak Kua places, I rate this as one of the best. The smoky freshly grilled flavour does it for me every time. Just go try it for yourself.
To Nomad, the creators of the best travel eSIM – Thank you for making eSIMs easily accessible and installable. Wouldn’t have been able to find all these great places without data for Waze and Google Maps!
Administrative Stuff
This is probably my last post before migrating servers to Nestify. Whilst DreamHost has been absolutely great to get the blog off the ground, I am feeling the need for speed. Nestify hopefully solves that as they are a cloud based web host that allows automatic resource scaling depending on traffic.
Also, I have been advised that I need to get legals setup for the blog. I find it rather silly that the world has come to this, but it appears that having legal pages is necessary even for a blog. I’ve purchased the Legal Value Bundle Pack by Lucrezia Iapichino and hopefully will have it setup by the time the website migrates to Nestify.
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