Singapore - A Gastro Maestro.

Singapore is unique in many ways. It is one of the three surviving city states in the world. It has gone from being a British crown colony merged with Malaysia, to a Japanese occupied war-torn city to now a booming, populous sovereign state. Since 1905, it has also changed its timezone 6 times. Pretty impressive for a place that is only 2/3rd the size of New York City, right?

Well, all this history can get a bit heady if it doesn’t translate on to your plate. And it does. Thanks to its incredibly diverse population and culture, the food scene of Singapore is unlike any other. My husband and I have been to Singapore twice and both times have returned with serious food coma. This is our Singapore food sojourn, some highly-anticipated favourites, some dubious experiments, some dreamy delicacies but all totally memorable.

Chilli Crab

This is a postcard tourist delicacy and no wonder why. Supposed to have had with the shell on, this succulent fleshy creation is Singapore’s no.1 culinary export to the world. Try both the butter garlic & black pepper options, and definitely keep a tissue box handy.  

Where: Jumbo

Peranakan

This is where culture meets culinary. For centuries, countless Chinese families immigrated from Mainland Chine to the regions now called Penang (Northern Malaysia), Indonesia and Singapore. Known as Peranakan Chinese or Straits Chinese, these people married the locals and with that developed a unique flavourful cuisine of their own. In fact the beloved Laksa is a culinary creation of this ethnicity. You can always tell Peranakan cuisine by its abundant use of coconut milk, laksa leaves, lemongrass and tamarind. Among desserts, you must try the Sago Gula Melaka, which is a palm jaggery/sugar shaved ice dessert, light and packed with flavour, it ends your meal on a happy, blissful note.

DUCK SALAD

BEEF RENDANG

LADYFINGER SAMBAL

FISH HEAD CURRY

SINGAPORE LAKSA

SAGO GULA MELAKA

Where: The Blue Ginger

Roti Prata

Soft, aromatic and fluffy, these flour flatbreads are served with a spicy savoury meat (mostly chicken) curry. They come in onion, cheese and other delicious stuffings and prove to be an ideal early evening snack with friends.

Where: Mr. & Mrs. Mohgan’s

Street grub

For all those wanting to pig out in the city, be pleased to know that Singapore has some of the most delicious meat dishes – be it duck, beef or pork. And you don’t really have to shell out a fortune to taste these glocal grubs. Some unmissables are Hainanese chicken rice, spicy pork noodles, BBQ duck with tofu rice, red bean dumplings, Singapore spicy sausages, deep fried pork balls, roasted pork belly. If you want to go out on a limb and try something radical and really local, I would suggest the durian coffee. It is creamy and rich with the signature garlicy flavour of durian. Legend has it that people have passed out on the smell of this oddly-expensive fruit so the challenge is not for the weak-hearted.

SPICY PORK NOODLES

RED BEAN BUNS

SPICY SAUSAGES

ASSORTED STREET FOOD

ROASTED DUCK

ROASTED DUCK RICE PLATE

ROASTED PORK

HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE

FRIED WANTONS

DUCK IN RED BEAN GRAVY

Where: Maxwell Food Centre, ChinaTown

Din Tai Fung

From a failed cooking oil business to making the best dumplings in Asia (if not the world), founder Yang Bing-yi has scripted one of the biggest food success stories in history. His little drops of heaven, golf-balled sized, white translucent dumplings filled with pork, shrimps and chives are things to cherish forever. In fact, it’s something that makes you keep coming back for more. Although almost everything on the menu is lip-smackingly good, my best lunch was pork xiao long baos with the lemongrass juice.

PORK XIAO LONG BAO

Thirst Quenchers

Singapore has some of the fastest walkers on the planet, which means it has some really cool and delicious ways to re-hydrate. 

HANDCRAFTED BEERS AT CLARK QUAY

THE HUMBLE JASMINE GREEN TEA

OPTIONS GALORE

All this food talk made you hungry? Maybe it’s time to plan a quick trip to Singapore. The clammy tropical weather doesn’t really provide a “best time to travel” tip, but if you plan it around a national holiday like Christmas or the Chinese New Year, you are sure to experience an even more enriching culture fest. Time to Singapore, la!