5 Amazing Singaporean dishes that expats love
You’ve probably heard that Singapore’s mainly known for one thing – food. And Singaporeans have cultivated a very distinct local taste, favourite foods that are clear winners in our hearts. But what do outsiders think of our food? Which are their favourites?
We’ve surveyed 20 well-travelled foodie expats living in Singapore and asked them which dish they love the most from their time here in Singapore. Dishes they’d toss and turn in their sleep thinking about at night back at home.
These were the most popular dishes:
1. Chicken rice.
“It isn’t merely just chicken and rice. The rice is so fragrant! It is cooked in the stock that was used to prepare the chicken, along with some basic herbs like garlic and ginger. It comes in 2 types, steamed and roasted. Some stalls dipped the steamed version in ice after its cooked, giving it a very unique and tender texture to the meat.
My favourite chicken rice is done by the fine folks of Tian Tian at Maxwell Food Centre. The rice is fluffy and the chicken packs a mouthful of flavour.” – Jonathan, England, Accounts Executive
Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice
Address: Maxwell Food Centre #01-10/11, 1 Kadayanallur Street, Singapore 069184
Opening hours: 11am to 8pm (Tues – Sun), Closed Mon
2. Chili Crab.
“Back home the crab is always cooked in your basic crab cake recipes but over here they have chilli crab, a mouth-watering dish cooked in a chilli gravy. It is served with deep-fried buns called Mantou, which is dipped in the gravy to absorb all of its goodness to be delivered right into your mouth. No Signboard Seafood has got to be my favourite. Yup, this stall is literally called No Signboard Seafood because they do not have a signboard.” – Marshall, Philippines, Growth Hacker
No Signboard Seafood
Address: 414 Geylang, Singapore 389392
Operating hours: 11am to 1am (Daily)
3. Laska.
“Katong Laksa serves up my favourite laksa. There are several Katong Laksa outlets near my place in Singapore so I got to try most if not all the different laksa stalls there are in Katong. 363 Katong Laksa’s has to be my all-time favourite. It has a milky, savoury gravy that is beautifully accompanied by thick and soft vermicelli noodles.” – Rahim, India, Business Development
363 Katong Laksa:
Address: 29 Lor Liput, Singapore 277740
Opening hours: 10am to 9pm (Daily)
4. Popiah
“Popiah’s an all-in-one. It’s a bunch of flavours happening in your mouth at once. Packed with turnips, carrots, bean sprouts and eggs in the popiah skin. The popiah aunty at the Old Airport Road serves up my favourite popiah. It’s inexpensive too, at $1.50, the popiahs just keep coming.” – Si Neng, Shanghai, Accountant
Qin Carrot Cake & Popiah
Address: 51 Old Airport Rd, 390051
Opening hours: 10am to 10pm (Daily)
5. Oyster Omelette
“The locals here call it ‘Orh Luak’. The depth of flavour and chilli sauce on the side makes me want to throw my hands in the air! I never thought eggs and oysters could be such a great combination till I came to Singapore. I love it!” – Sally, Indonesia, Human Resource Manager
Ang Sa Lee
Address: 20 Kensington Park Road #01-33, Chomp Chomp Food Centre, 557269
Author: Sanchez Barry writes for Expat Life at MetroResidences, a serviced apartment booking platform in Singapore. He’s a coffee junkie that can’t get past a day without his daily cup of joe. Or 3.
