A Singapore travel guide for people who love food

Singapore is widely known as a food lover’s paradise and, as an Asian recipes blogger born and bred in Singapore, I figured it would be appropriate to make this a food-centric travel guide! 

Note: Singapore is a very safe country and a perfect place for solo female travellers. To learn more about the benefits of solo travel, click here.

Where to stay

I adore Warehouse Hotel and Four Seasons Hotel. 

Both hotels are very centrally located- Warehouse Hotel is near the Singapore River where there are good restaurants and bars galore. It’s also a nice place to walk in the early mornings or evenings, when the weather isn’t too hot. The river walk takes you to many different parts of Singapore, such as Clarke Quay and even all the way down to our Commercial District. As for Four Seasons, it’s located at Orchard Road, the largest shopping district in Singapore, but at the quiet end, so you have easy access to everything, but are away from the hustle and bustle. It’s also under 5 minutes from a MRT station (the local subway/ tube), so it’s a very convenient base for getting around the island.

If staying at Warehouse Hotel, their in-house restaurant, Po, is a great place for modern local food whilst the Cantonese restaurant at Four Seasons, Jiang Nan Chun, is 1 of Singapore’s best Chinese restaurants. (Another good Chinese restaurant is Summer Palace at Regent Hotel, which is also near Orchard Road.)

Note: Warehouse Hotel is much newer than Four Seasons Hotel, so the decor is more modern.

Booking.com

What to eat

As an Asian Recipes blogger, I obviously love good food. (You can find my tried and tested Asian Recipes at www.greedygirlgourmet.com) Some of my personal favourite Singaporean foods are:

Salted egg sauce is so delicious, it’s good with tofu, prawns, fried rice, pasta and so much more!

• Anything salted egg (Salted egg is like a national obsession in Singapore, and I highly recommend trying at least 1 salted egg dish!)
• Laksa (Click the link to see where famous local chefs get their laksa in Singapore)
• Mee siam (Click the link for an easy recipe you can make at home)
• Kueh dadar (Kueh are small local cakes and snacks.)

This is a Hainanese Chicken rice dish that I made at a local cooking class-  which I mentioned in my post on activities in Singapore that foodies would love. Another fun activity that I mentioned in that article is taking the boat to Pulau Ubin, a nearby island, for a foraging and cooking session (details in the link.)

1 of the foods we made s ice kachang, a local dessert, using a vintage ice grinder. You can eat ice kachang at any of Singapore’s hawker centres.

If you want an easy introduction to Singaporean cuisine, start with Singapore Hainanese Chicken rice and Chilli crab, 2 dishes that suit the tastebuds of both locals and tourists. Another popular option is Peranakan food- I usually bring foreign friends to Candlenut, a Michelin-starred Peranakan restaurant.

For those who are more adventurous and happy to try dishes that locals love, but not all tourists do, you could try:

• frog porridge (The one at Geylang, Singapore’s red light district, is delicious!)
• Rojak (A local salad that uses a fermented prawn sauce- so far, none of my foreign friends have liked this although locals adore it!)

For a taste of what Singaporeans eat at home, try this easy tau yew bak (soya sauce pork) recipe. 

What to see & do

Gardens by the Bay

A super popular place, especially amongst plant-lovers. Don’t forget to check out the Cloud Forest, waterfall and treetop walk. 

Gardens by the Bay is just across from Singapore’s famous Marina Bay Sands hotel, which was featured in Crazy Rich Asians, so you can head over for a drink on its rooftop terrace after finishing your tour of Gardens by the Bay. The hotel also offers a sunrise yoga session at the sky terrace, which is a lovely way to start the day (booking is essential.)

The view from 1 of the rooms at Marina Bay Sands hotel- I must say the rooms there are a decent size, and also very convenient (as the MRT station is linked to the hotel)

Getting ready for sunrise yoga

If you don’t mind the heat, you may want to check out the National Orchid Garden, which has over 1000 orchid species and 2000 hybrids, at the Singapore Botanics Garden, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Every now and then, there are music concerts at the Botanic Gardens, which is a nice way to spend the afternoon.

National Gallery

With over 90,000 works, it houses the largest public collection of modern art in South East Asia in Singapore’s former Supreme Court.

The inside of the National Gallery- there are also good restaurants and bars here.

Fun fact: When I was a kid, many people liked to take their wedding photos on the steps of the Supreme Court!

Kampong Glam

Have a stroll in this colourful part of town where you can find lots of cool shops and eateries.

Katong

Katong is rich with Peranakan heritage. In Singapore, Peranakan, or Straits-born Chinese, generally refers to the fusion of Chinese and Malay cultures, which occurred when Chinese traders married local women in the 15th century. However, there are also non-Chinese Peranakans such as Bugis, Indian and Arab Peranakans. (You can read more about Peranakan culture here.)

The exterior facade of Rumah Bebe- the shop on the left, Kim Choo Kueh Chang, is also very famous for its kueh. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone and visit both!

Check out the lovely Peranakan shophouses at Katong, and feast at 1 of its many good restaurants and cafes. I particularly like Rumah Bebe, which is a small cafe and shop- you can also stock up on some of its curry powder to bring back for friends! 

A hawker stall at Ghim Moh market that is famous for their savoury local cakes, chee kueh (translated as water cakes in English)

Hawker centre

You can’t visit Singapore without visiting a hawker centre and trying our local street food! Even the movie “Crazy Rich Asian”, which is about crazy rich Asians, features the famous Newton Hawker Centre. (And, if you’re wondering, yes, Singaporean billionaires love hawker food too- hawker centres are the great equaliser in Singapore and you can find an affordable car parked next to a Supercar in many of the hawker centre carparks.)

Some of our famous hawker centres include:

• Newton (it has a rep for being touristy, but it does have good food. Most stalls open at night, so it’s the perfect place to go for supper.)
• Hong Lim (I love the laksa there)
• Old Airport Road
• Tiong Bahru (Don’t forget to walk around the area, which has a vibrant cafe culture, after your meal.)
• Tekka Market
• Geylang Serai
• We even have hawker stalls who’ve received Michelin stars, such as Tai Hwa Bak Chor Mee (Pork noodles)

Note: many hawker centres close on Monday so it’s best to go on other days!

Local tip: if you see an empty table with a packet of tissue paper, umbrella, bag, wallet, handphone etc on it, that means the table is reserved and its occupants have gone to queue for food!

Things to note

• Being a tropical country, Singapore has its fair share of dengue fever cases. Do read this post on “what you need to know about dengue fever” before visiting.
• Located almost on the equator, Singapore is super hot and humid, but the AC at malls can be very cold. Bring summer clothing – I spend almost 365 days of the year in shorts- with a jacket to cover up in air conditioned places. (And some nice outfits if you plan to visit fancy restaurants- Singapore has a very vibrant fine dining scene!)
• As the weather is so hot, it’s easy to fall sick. Remember to drink lots of water and cooling drinks such as barley tea and sour plum tea. (Singaporeans believe that foods are “warming”, “cooling” or “neutral.”)

Have fun and I hope you enjoy your visit to my home country!