Top 10 Singapore foods visitors must try (costs included)

I felt overwhelmed by all the food choices that are available in Singapore. When I first visited, I’d heard of a few famous choices, but I had no idea how to go about finding them, what to order, or how much I was supposed to be spending. And that’s why I put together this guide - sharing my years of experience visiting Singapore, I’m hoping to help visitors move past the confusion and experience some of the best of Singapore through its food.

1. Chicken Rice

When you think of Singapore how can you not think of chicken rice.

Hainanese Chicken Rice consists of tender poached chicken and seasoned rice served with a trio of sauces: Chili, soya, and ginger. My Singaporean friends will insist that the sauces are fundamental to enjoying the dish. Its origins are from - as the name suggests - immigrants to Singapore who came from the Hainan region of China.

The most popular place I like to bring visitors to is Tian Tian Chicken Rice at Maxwell, made famous by its Michelin star. Alternatives I like to bring visitors to include:

Lau Pa Sat
Jewel food court (this one is good if you don’t have much time in Singapore)
Katong Mei Wei - a famous 35 year-old chicken rice shop tucked away in the Katong Shopping Centre on Mountbatten Road in the east

Expect to spend around S$5 to S$10 on a single plate of chicken rice, including the rice, the chicken, and the sauces.

2. Laksa

Laksa is a spicy noodle soup with a coconut milk base often served with tofu, fish cake, prawn, and/or chicken. It comes about from Peranakan culture, being a blend of Malay and Chinese influences.

I’m told a good laksa should be able to be eaten with only a spoon (i.e. you shouldn’t have to use chopsticks to eat a good laksa). To get a consistently good laksa, I like to bring people to:

Toast Box - a chain of casual cafes spread across Singapore with outlets in convenient locations such as Jewel
Katong 328 - has a couple of outlets in different parts of the island, with the original being in Katong in the city’s east
Janggut Laksa Roxy Square - calling itself the original Katong laksa, how could you not visit this one to try?

Laksa is typically associated with a lunch food, so the Janggut Laksa shop doesn’t open for dinner. I recently went to Katong 328 for dinner though, so I can confirm it’s still open for dinner.

Expect to spend S$6 to S$9 for a bowl of laksa. If asked, say that you do want cockles in yours.

3. Chilli Crab

The other classic dish that everyone thinks of when they think of Singapore is chilli crab.

Singapore style Chilli Crab is a spicy, savoury dish that consists of a whole crab drowning in a tomato-based sauce. It is apparently a Singapore-original invention dating back some 70 years and taking the city by storm after that. Other varieties include the use of a black pepper sauce, or a white pepper sauce.

Chilli crab must also be eaten with mantou buns. The buns should be baked or fried to develop a slight crust that supports the bun being pulled apart to mop up the sauce.

The most popular place to eat chilli crab is the Jumbo Seafood restaurant opposite Clarke Quay, but I also like to bring visitors to Paradise Seafood for a crab fix. My personal favourite is Eng Seng Restaurant located on Still Road, east of the city.

Expect to spend at least S$50 per person when eating crab. And likely even more than this. It is easy to spend S$100 per person on crab.

4. Satay

Satay is my absolute favourite food and the number one thing I like to bring visitors to when they join me in Singapore.

Satay is a piece of meat that has been skewered and grilled over a charcoal fire, served with peanut sauce, cucumber, raw red onion, and rice cake. It originates with a Malay influence, but these days you can also get pork satay cooked by Chinese chefs.

Photo of fresh satay on a tray — Smokey grilled satay, I bought this from Lau Pa Sat

The most famous place to eat satay is the Satay Street at Lau Pa Sat. This street in the middle of the city - right outside the stock exchange - is converted at night to an open-air food stall restaurant area where you can eat satay and seafood, and enjoy beer (though my hint here is not to buy the seafood skewers - they seemed really overpriced last time I visited).

Other places I like to bring visitors to eat satay include:

Satay by the bay - the hawker centre connected to Gardens by the Bay
Old Airport Road hawker centre
East Coast Lagoon - I really like this one but it’s a bit hard to get to for visitors

Satay typically costs S$0.70 to S$1.00 per stick, but you usually have to order 10 or 15 sticks at a time. This means you should expect to spend at least S$10 per person when eating satay.

5. Char Kway Teow

Char Kway Teow is a stir-fried flat rice noodle dish served with egg, prawns, cockles, lap cheong (Chinese sausage), and bean sprouts. The stir frying should be done in a wok so that wok hei develops - a unique smokey flavour that imparts itself on to the dish having developed from cooking over a wok.

As a relatively simple dish it’s tough to pin-point its exact origin, though it is of Chinese heritage from Southeast Asia.

Many hawker centres server char kway teow, though some of my favourites include:

Old Airport Road
Joo Chiat Place
Golden Mile

Char Kway Teow typically costs S$3 to S$5.

6. Hokkien Mee

Hokkien prawn mee is a stir-fried noodle dish with prawns and squid and a dash of savoury broth. It is usually accompanied by very spicy chilli sauce and a lime to be squeezed over and mixed in.

As the name implies, Hokkien mee originates from Chinese migrants of Fujian origin (Fujian is the current name for Hokkien).

My personal favourite Hokkien mee is called Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee and is located at Old Airport Road. Unfortunately the wait is insane, we waited 2 hours once, so come early if you want to eat this one.

Hawker stalls — My favourite Hokkien mee stall

There is a Hokkien mee at Jewel which is pretty good as well - very convenient if you’re not in Singapore for very long.

Expect to spend S$4 to S$8 for a plate of Hokkien Mee.

7. Roti Prata

Roti Prata is a fluffy, crispy flatbread of Indian origin served with a side of curry. It is somewhat unique to Singapore in that other Indian communities would not refer to this dish as roti prata.

Prata can come with a variety of toppings such as egg, cheese, onion, or banana (my Singaporean friends find it funny when I order banana… I still don’t know why). And the curry is typically chicken or mutton.

My favourite place to eat prata is Casuarina Curry either in Thomson or Macpherson, but these can be a bit tough for visitors to get to. Tekka Food Centre also has some good prata shops.

I usually enjoy bringing visitors to eat prata after we’ve had something to drink together, I feel it’s a great late night food.

Expect to spend S$3-6 if eating outdoors, or as much as S$10 if eating indoors (usually you get a chunk of meat in the curry if you’re spending this much)

8. Bak Kut Teh

Bak Kut Teh is my other top favourite Singaporean dish to eat. And yes I say it’s Singaporean because the Singaporean style is different from the Malaysian style.

Bak Kut Teh is a pork rib soup where the soup has been prepared from a base of aromatic herbs and spices. It has a Chinese origin, likely from Fujian and Teochew communities.

While the soup is warming for your soul (because who needs warming for the body when it’s over 30 degrees outside), it is possible to also get “dry” bak kut teh which is the pork meat served with a think sauce instead. If you are getting soup, make sure to get you tiao bread sticks to dip in and soak up the soup.

My personal favourite is Sin Heng Claypot Bak Koot Teh on Joo Chiat Rd in the city’s east, though the Song Fa chain is also excellent. There is a Song Fa outlet at Jewel, making it an easy choice for visitors to try.

Expect to spend at least S$10 per person when eating bak kut teh; the more you pay the more pork ribs you’ll get ;)

9. Sambal Stingray

This is a barbecued stingray served with a spicy chili paste. It’s of Malay origin and probably centuries old.

A fresh stingray is barbecued over charcoal, then it’s lathered in sambal sauce and served with a lime to squeeze over.

My favourite places to eat it are at Bedok South and East Coast Lagoon, both unfortunately tough to get to for tourists. I think there is a reliable one at Satay by the Bay and I’ll update this guide once I find it.

It is easy to spend at least S$12 on a plate of sambal stingray, though be prepared to spend up to S$20.

10. Kaya Toast

Kaya toast is my favourite breakfast food in Singapore. Kaya is a paste-like jam made from pandan, coconut, and egg; it is slathered over a piece of toast and served with a thick chunk of butter.

Usually kaya toast is bought as part of a set which includes 2 soft boiled eggs and tea or coffee. I discovered the joy of this breakfast dish when I learnt you can dip your toast into the egg yolk and eat them together. Do also add soya sauce and white pepper to your eggs when eating.

My favourite places to eat kaya toast are:

Yakun Kaya Toast - many outlets across the island
Toastbox - similarly many outlets
May’s Kafe - a small cafe in the Bencoolen area, I’ve become addicted to their toast lately

There is a Yakun located in Terminal 3 at Changi Airport, and a Toast Box at Jewel. Both are on the public side, so if you have a couple of hours in transit you can hop out of the airport and try some kaya toast!