{"id":75,"date":"2013-05-27T23:52:48","date_gmt":"2013-05-27T23:52:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/singapore-to-savour-iconic-dishes-and-where-to-find-them\/"},"modified":"2022-08-08T23:18:25","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T23:18:25","slug":"singapore-to-savour-iconic-dishes-and-where-to-find-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/singapore-to-savour-iconic-dishes-and-where-to-find-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Singapore to Savour: iconic dishes and where to find them"},"content":{"rendered":"

The main island of Singapore is only a little over 42km in length, but it\u2019s home to an incredible mix of nationalities. From Sydney and Melbourne it\u2019s only around 8 hours in the air to Singapore and Aussie travellers are making the most of good deals and lower hotel prices on the island.\u00a0See Expedia’s\u00a0Singapore Holidays<\/a>\u00a0for flights and hotel packages.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the best ways to get a sense of the island\u2019s diverse heritage is to start eating \u2013 hawker stalls, food courts and restaurants serve a variety of cuisines. From spicy laksa soup to chilli crab, there are a few quintessentially Singaporean dishes that should be sampled when you\u2019re in town. Here\u2019s our guide to the best places to try them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hainanese chicken rice at Tian Tian<\/h2>\n

This relatively simple dish of steamed chicken and rice might not sound like anything exciting, but ignore it at your peril. Tian Tian started life as a humble hawker stall and is now a well-respected empire with three outlets spread across the island. The woman who began the operation is Madam Foo Kui Lian and she still regularly presides over the kitchen with spoon in hand, ready to check each dish.<\/p>\n

Served slightly chilled, this surprisingly flavoursome dish is really refreshing on a hot day, although the optional chilli sauce can ramp up the heat levels. The tender chicken is great, but the bed of rice it sits atop is just as important. Smooth and rich with a hint of garlic,\u00a0the rice is so good that we (and food guru Anthony Bourdain) suggest eating it on its own. Tian Tian<\/a>, 443 Joo Chiat Road<\/p>\n

Chilli crab at Hua Yu Wee Seafood<\/h2>\n

The seafood market out at East Coast Park is worth a visit in its own right \u2013 grab a seat among the open-air stalls and kick back with a beer and a plate of steamed clams. It\u2019s close to the airport and a great destination if you\u2019ve just landed with a rumbling stomach.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got more time and want a really special night out, head to Hua Yu Wee Seafood. This humble old colonial bungalow houses an incredible array of weird and wonderful-looking seafood residing in tanks out front, but the chilli crab is the dish that put this place on the map. Prepare to get messy as you extract meat from the huge crab claws and soak up the spicy sauce with a wedge of fried man tou (Chinese bun). Hua Yu Wee Seafood,\u00a0462 Upper East Coast Rd<\/p>\n

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Laksa at Marine Parade Laksa<\/h2>\n

Rice noodles with fresh prawns, chunks of fishcake and a hard-boiled egg all bobbing in a creamy-spicy coconut broth. It has to be laksa. While there are several contenders for the crown of best laksa in Singapore, in our mind Marine Parade Laksa is the original real deal \u00a0\u2013 although it has moved locations since opening in the 1940s and is now (despite the name) situated in Bedok, a neighbourhood to the east of the island. By making all the components in-house (including the paste for the base of the soup, made from a lengthy list of ingredients), the owners continue to serve steaming bowls of perfectly balanced laksa. There\u2019s just enough coconut sweetness and a little umami kick from the dried prawns. Marine Parade Laksa,\u00a0Blk 128 Bedok North St 2 #01-02<\/p>\n

Hokkien mee at Ah Hock Fried Hokkien Noodle<\/h2>\n

Colloquially known as Chomp Chomp, Serangoon Gardens recently won the public\u2019s vote as Singapore\u2019s favourite hawker centre. With less than 40 stalls, it\u2019s one of the island\u2019s smaller food courts, but as a result offers a more intimate and laid-back dinner and late-night eating experience. We stumbled upon this stall because it had the longest queue \u2013 always a good sign, especially when locals are happy to wait at least 30 minutes for their noodle fix. Run by the eponymous Uncle Ah Hock for the past 50 years, one of the keys to his long-running success might be the use of thin bee hoon noodles. They certainly set this place apart from the hundreds of other hokkien mee stalls in Singapore.\u00a0Ah Hock Fried Hokkien Noodle, Serangoon Gardens Food Centre,\u00a0Kensington Park Road<\/p>\n

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Roti at Mr and Mrs Mohgan\u2019s Super Crispy Roti Prata<\/h2>\n

Derived from the pancake recipe used to make paratha in India and Pakistan, roti prata literally means flat bread. Cooked over a hot griddle in ghee (clarified butter), the crispy, flaky bread is traditionally eaten at breakfast and you\u2019ll find it for sale at most Indian Muslim coffee shops and hawker stalls. Don\u2019t let the word pancake fool you \u2013 there\u2019s no sugar in sight. This is a savoury dish made with rounds of dough (prepared by Mr Mohgan himself each evening) and served with a range of heavily sauced curries, including dahl (lentils), or assam fish (a sour Malaysian dish). If eating something this spicy first thing in the morning doesn\u2019t take your fancy, opt for a steaming glass of sweet teh tarik instead.\u00a0Mr and Mrs Mohgan\u2019s Super Crispy Roti Prata, 7 Crane Road<\/p>\n

Kaya toast at Ya Kun<\/h2>\n

Brunching on roti is a popular pastime, but if you want to try Singapore\u2019s national breakfast dish, you must try kaya toast. Served at the island\u2019s numerous kopi tiams \u2013 Singapore\u2019s answer to Starbucks, kopi is the Malay word for coffee, while tiam is the Hokkien word for shop. Arriving with Hainanese immigrants, kaya is a jam or custard made with eggs, sugar and coconut milk, flavoured with pandan. Spread thickly on toast and served with soft-boiled eggs and soy paste, it\u2019s not to everyone\u2019s taste, but is an important stop on the Singapore food tour. If you really aren\u2019t keen, a strong black coffee will easily counter the sweet spread.\u00a0Ya Kun<\/a>, Far East Square, 18 China Street<\/p>\n

And where did we stay to sleep off the food coma? I think the name swung it for us \u2013 built as a school in the 1920s,\u00a0Wanderlust<\/a>\u00a0is quirky boutique hotel located in Little India (2 Dickson Road) with four themed floors and 29 uniquely decorated rooms.<\/p>\n

Images by Sharking for Chips & Drinks and Wanderlust Hotel.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From spicy laksa soup to chilli crab, there are a few dishes you have to sample in Singapore. Here\u2019s our guide to the best places to try them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,17,6,2,3,39,14],"tags":[40,53,112],"authors":[],"class_list":["post-75","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-asia","category-destination","category-experiences","category-explore","category-food-and-wine","category-interests","tag-foodie","tag-nablikealocal","tag-singapore","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSingapore to Savour | Expedia.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From spicy laksa soup to chilli crab, there are a few dishes you have to sample in Singapore. 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