Warning: this is the longest food post of life. Seriously. When we went to Singapore, we wanted to dive into as much of the culture as possible, and one of the best ways is through food, right?! So we tried everything and anything! Stingray, cockles, mutton (you’re probably saying, “Say what?!”), and the list goes on and on. I’m going to share with you what we tried and some of what we thought. I couldn’t remember what I thought exactly about every dish, but if I didn’t like it, it sticks out, and I mention it below. Otherwise, I liked it! If you ever happen to find yourself on that sunny little island, this should help you navigate what to fill your tummy with, but like we tell our girls, don’t ever knock it until you’ve tried it.
Masala Thosai (Dosai) from the Tekka Market in Little India.
Wonton Noodle Soup from the Golden Mile Food Centre.
Bak Chor Mee from People’s Park Food Centre.
Clay Pot Chicken Rice from Golden Mile Food Centre.
Wanton Mee from Golden Mile Food Centre. Another delicious noodle dish.
Chwee Kueh from Tiong Bahru Market. This was the one dish we weren’t fond of. We had a bite and that was all we needed.
Soon Kueh from Tiong Bahru Market. My friend Abby brought us some for breakfast and I devoured it!
Chendol Cupcake from 40 Hands Cafe. It was different, not moist, but still tasty. There aren’t many desserts I don’t like though.
Tom Yum Seafood Soup from Golden Mile Food Centre.
Carrot Cake from People’s Park Food Centre. It’s not your American carrot cake, this is a vegetable dish, not a dessert. Ben and I both liked it and I’d like to try and recreate it at home, probably with a little less oil though.
Durian Ice Kachang, Cheng Tng, and Bo Bo Cha Cha from People’s Park Food Centre. They all tasted good, but my favorite might have been the durian one. Durian is strong, but after the initial taste, you get used to it. The burps that ensue afterwards isn’t as nice though, fair warning.
Teh Halia and Teh Masala from Tekka Market in Little India. It was hot as heck, but it didn’t stop of us from having these warm drinks. I loved the spices in them!
Otak Otak from Katong Laksa. Yes, this was delicious! It has a little bit of spice, and yes it looks a bit like spam; it is made from fish (a sort of fish cake) and has a totally different flavor from spam.
Roti John from People’s Park Food Centre.
Halwa from Tekka Market in Little India. Interesting flavor and texture, but I found it a little too sweet, and I love sweet, so this tells you this was really sweet.
Mee Goreng from Tekka Market in Little India. I pretty much loved all the noodle dishes we had in Singapore. This wasn’t saucy, but it was very flavorful.
Fish Nasi Briyani from Tekka Market in Little India.
Kambing Soup from Tekka Market in Little India.
Pulut Hitam from Island Creamery. Even ice cream in Singapore is so good!
Satay from People’s Park Food Centre. I love satay! But I guess you can already tell from this post, that I love a lot of food.
Laksa from Katong Laksa. We actually had this twice, so I can’t remember if this was from the first place or second, but both were so good. This was by far my favorite dish in Singapore. Well, it was tied with the Singaporean Ramen from Noodle Story. I have a couple packets of boxed laksa, so I can try to recreate it at home.
Ondeh Ondeh from Maxwell Centre. I wish I could have brought boxes of this dessert home with me! It’s type of a rice flour cake (I think) covered in coconut flakes. I just love how Asian desserts aren’t overwhelmingly sweet like American desserts tend to be.
Fresh Coconut from Chinatown. This was so refreshing to drink while walking around in the sweltering heat.
Ah Balling Soup from Golden Mile Food Centre. This was so good! I loved it so much that I now go to the local Asian market to stock up on frozen peanut balls to have it when I get the craving. My friend Abby shared a recipe here and I want to try it!
Chili Crab from Jumbo Seafood in the East Coast Lagoon (I think). I love crab. Give me crab, rice, and butter, and I’m in the zone, so this dish hit the right spot.
Singaporean Ramen from A Noodle Story at the Amoy Food Centre. The presentation and the flavors totally won me. I really miss this dish so much. If I ever find myself in Singapore again, I would head to the Amoy Centre as soon as I was able and get another bowl of this delicious dish. We wanted to go back on our last day there, but they were closed that day.
Dim Sum from Tim Ho Wan. We went to Tim Ho Wan for lunch this day after walking all over the place, and we were starving. I texted my friend Abby our location to see what would be the best place to eat, and this is what she suggested. I love dim sum and this did not disappoint!
Chicken Rice from Maxwell Food Centre. This was Ben’s favorite dish. I think he had it two more times when he went off by himself as I taught classes.
Sambal Sting Ray from Makansutra Gluttons by Bay. It’s similar to fish, but denser, and we love the flavors of the paste on top.
Hokkien Mee from Makansutra Gluttons by Bay. I thought it was good, but Ben didn’t like this so much.
Roti Prata from Chinatown. I would love to try and make this at home.
Fresh Coconut Ice Cream from Co Nut Ink outside of Esplanade. I enjoyed this treat as we watched the light show from Marina Bay Sands.
Obviously, we ate a lot. Looking at the pictures again, I notice there were some other dishes we ate that I didn’t get pictures of. We had 7 full days in Singapore and we enjoyed every bit of it. Ben, who is really picky with food because he likes to make sure he eats healthy (all the time), was totally game for anything, and he tried everything too! There’s only one dish above that we really didn’t like, but everything else was pretty good. We came home craving some of the food, so I immediately started recreating some of the dishes (with a healthier slant of course).
We were lucky enough to have the Bloesem team to get us started on our food quests, and our friend, Abby, was our personal tour guide 90% of the time, and she took us all over the place. When we did venture off on our own, this blog helped guide us (along with some tips a few of you shared too!). Oh Singapore, how we miss your diverse and delicious dishes!
Dear Singaporean friends,
If I got any of the dishes wrong (or spelled wrong), please correct me.
Love, Ruby
Great post! I’ve never been to Amoy food centre but will have to try soon! I think you mean to type tekka (not tikka autocorrected!) market. Glad you loved singapore.
Thank you, it’s fixed! And please have a bowl or two of Singaporean Ramen from A Noodle Story. It is absolutely delicious! I hope you like it as much as I did!
i’m drooling!! so many amazing things!
xxoo,
nikki
http://www.dream-in-neon.com
It really is a wonderful country!
Wow, I think I have to go there for the food alone..! 🙂
Oh most certainly!
Everything looks incredible! Thanks for posting the lovely colorful photos. I’ve never been to Singapore and hope I’ll get to visit someday!
Hello! I’m moving to Indonesia next month! Did you get a chance to visit? I’m looking forward to visiting Singapore and your food just made we that much more excited! Where else did you go in South East Asia?!
Looks so delicious!!! I want to try all of these!! Thank you for sharing this great post! It makes me hungry!
Wow so good to know that you guys were adventurous in trying all those dishes.
Everything looks like pictures from a magazine! but that’s not a suprise sine I know you are good in photography.
Anyway I think you meant Otak-otak instead of Otah Otah..
awesome post!! love it!!
Thank you for the correction, need to change that. We had so much fun trying as many things as we could. It gave us a deeper love for Asian dishes!
This looks amazing! I’m not an adventurous eater but there are plenty that make me want to try them. Yum! I’ve been telling my husband we need to plan our next trip (no matter where) around food.
We love trying new things! The other day we tried crickets! It was kind of salty and tasted stale. hahaha!
I’m so glad you enjoyed Singapore! 🙂 I hope you tried our kaya toast too (I’m currently living abroad but that’s one thing I miss the most about home)
-A Singaporean
that ondeh ondeh dessert is really easy to make!!!
All you need is tapioca flour, grated coconuts, palm sugar, water and a dash of salt.
Just bring to heat the palm sugar, water n salt then add in tapioca flour, stir til it turns sticky
Wait til it cools down then shape it into balls and roll it on the grated coconuts…..ready to serve!
In case you want to make it at home 🙂
Really? Could you share the proportions for each because I would love to make it! Thank you!
Epic food post! I love the colourful tables/bowls/cutlery. It’s so different from the very neutral colour palette restaurants are going for here. Looks like you ate a huge cross section of what Singapore has to offer. I haven’t been to Singapore yet but have been to many other Asian countries. How long would you recommend in Singapore to get a good taste of what she has to offer? One week?
Hi! I know I’m not Ruby but seeing that I’m a born and bred Singaporean I thought I’d just give you a heads up – I’m not sure if one week is even enough to eat everything… What she pictured here is not even a fraction of what we have to offer 😉 From her text, I gather that she has been to the more ‘famous’ hawker places, but there are plenty of hidden gems around. For starters, there are much more Malay/Chinese/Indian/Indian Muslim/Peranakan/Teochew etc food not pictured here.
We really have a very passionate love affair with our food 🙂
I know, there are soooo many places! I hope to come back and try even more!
I think at least 7 days. We did a lot, but there were still things we weren’t able to do. Of course, I was teaching in those days too, so maybe if I wasn’t, those couple hours could have gone to conquering more.
Ruby, I always have loved that you enjoy the same foods as me. Fresh, spicy foods that contain some sort of vegetable, noodles, and/or seafood are my absolute favorite!
I’ll be in Singapore in 2 weeks and I cannot WAIT to try everything!!
Ohhhh… you’ll have to let me know what you try and what are your favorites when you come back!
omg everything looks SOOO GOOD.
Please come back to Asia and hit up Hong Kong! I’d love to show you around if you want 🙂
If I ever visit Hong Kong, I will definitely let you know! And you can show me all the great eating (and shopping) spots!
Oh my gosh, this is the post I’ve been waiting for! Everything looks delicious and as I am a big fan of noodles, I’m very curious about the Singapore Rame you suggested. I only have three days in Singapore next month so with so many options, I’ll have to choose wisely!
Also, can I just add that I love love love how bright and colorful the tables (tray?) are under the delicious dishes? Something else to look forward to in Singapore! 😀
Get that Singaporean Ramen! I think that’s worth it to put on your list for the 3 days!
Hey Ruby,
Did the Ondeh Ondeh that you had have melted palm sugar in it?
if it doesnt, it should be called Kueh Ko Swee.
similar ingredients, but different way of making. and the whole eating experience.
The real ondeh ondeh has palm sugar wrapped in the sweet potato starch, boiled and then coated in grated coconut.
whereas Kueh Koswee has palm sugar mixed into the sweet potato starch, steamed and then coated with grated coconut.
Ondeh ondeh recipe – http://eatapieceofcake.blogspot.sg/2014/01/sweet-potato-ondeh-ondeh.html
Kueh Koswee recipe – http://veronteokitchen.blogspot.sg/2010/10/kuih-kosui-kueh-ko-swee.html
You can also make your own carrot cake. It’s not difficult, just a little more work.
recipes found in the link below. there are actually 3 versions of it.
http://www.recipesaresimple.com/singapore-fried-carrot-cake/
Singapore is so small yet so big.
There are really so so so many different types of food to eat!
The places you went are mainly catered for visitors.
Locals usually go to the more “economical” places which also serves food as good, or even better!
Come visit again and I’ll bring you to discover the hidden gems here in my homeland!
love,
Caroline
I think it did! Thank you for sharing these! I want to try and make it sometime. It was so delicious!!!! Well, a lot of things are over there!
Well, for chili crab, I actually found a super easy mix while we were staying in the states.
Stir fry some sliced ginger, onions, garlic and add in some sriracha sauce with ketchup. Then break an egg or two in it and just keep stirring. It taste somehow quite similar to our local delish. U can try it.
Sometimes I add in prawns instead of chili crabs or just crab sticks!
Really?! That easy?!