According to James Michener, "If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home". True! because these are all part of your traveling experience. You travel to experience the fullness of one's country and as they always say, food is a reflection of a country's culture, belief, and way of life. So, I present to you my top 6 must try food in Singapore:
1) Wee Nam Kee: Even though we already have a Wee Nam Kee branch here in the Philippines, the famous Hainanese Chicken does not give justice to the AUTHENTIC one in Singapore. We googled their first store located at the Thomson Road, Novena Ville (across Novena Church) to treat our palate with some authentic Singaporean dish. When we arrived, it was past 10 pm but it was okay since the restaurant closes at 12:30 pm. Usually this place becomes too crowded during day time because most employees from different multinational companies around the area eats here.
It is highly recommended to try their Hainanese Chicken w/ rice which ironically is not stated in their menu (solo for SGD 4 or around Php 134) and their oh so yummy Cereal Prawns (small for SGD 17 or around Php 575).
Directions: Ride the MRT going to Novena Station. Find the arrow from the MRT pointing to Novena Church. I believe we turned right heading to the exit then right again once we're out of the station. Walk towards the Novena Church which should be at your right side. This will take around 5-10 mins. Then when you see the overpass, walk over it and you'll reach the restaurant already.
2) Ice Cream Sandwiches: These delectable ice cream sandwiches are great for quick snack along Orchard Road. I'm sure after the long walks, luxury shopping and/or window shopping you will feel tired and hot! So, best thing to eat would be these babies for SGD 1. You can choose between various ice cream flavors and sandwich it with either wafer or rainbow colored loaf of bread. We also have a version of this here in the Philippines but here in Manila, we usually use hamburger buns rather than bread loaves.
3) Hong Kong Kim Gary: This restaurant is a must try because the food here is so yummy that we ate here twice in a row going to Universal Studios and Sentosa. Hong Kong Kim Gary has a lot of branches in Singapore and Malaysia but we ate at Vivo City Mall. Usually, the resto has long queues during its peak hours but don't fret because it's worth the wait! Try their specialty baked rice series like the Cheese Baked Rice w/ Porkchop (SGD 15.9), Cheese Baked Rice w/ minced beef in twin sauce (SGD 14.5) and the Black Pepper Pork w/ rice (SGD 10.5). We also tried their french toast for SGD 3.9 just because we noticed many diners order this as appetizer or dessert!
4) IKEA's Restaurant: You will be surprised when I say that the famous IKEA--makers of fantastic furnitures also serves great food at an affordable price. They have a self-service restaurant at the top level of their shop. They offer foods for as low as SGD 1 to 13. We tried their smoked salmon for SGD 5.9, Dark chocolate cake for SGD 3 and their famous Swedish meatballs with potatoes in gravy and strawberry jam for SGD 5.4.
5) Kopitiam: The perfect way to start the day is by eating a light breakfast at Kopitiam--it is considered as "Singapore's old school coffee shop and culture" in one of the blogs I've read. By definition, "Kopi" in Malay means coffee and "Tiam"in Fookien means shop therefore coffee shop! I really love their Kopi because it has a richer aroma and taste while the soft-boiled eggs (with a lot of pepper and soy sauce), crisp slices of toast with thick butter + kaya jam and hakaw were in perfect harmony inside my tummy. My food cost SGD 2 for Set A (kopi, eggs, and toast) and SGD 2.70 for the hakaw. It's not hard to find a Kopitiam kiosk or shop because it's all over Singapore! It can be found along the streets, inside establishments, or in a food court.
6) Food Courts: I have a confession to make. Whenever I travel, I honestly do not focus my research on the best food to eat because I believe that it takes time and effort to squeeze in your "must eat restaurant" in your itinerary. What we want is to visit as many places as we can in a fastest and cheapest way haha hence, I call myself a budget traveller. Food is important because it's part of the total experience and culture in traveling but a growling stomach is MORE important because we need energy to keep going.
In Singapore, I noticed there are a lot of food court establishments. We usually eat here if we're too hungry and we have no more choice. BUT don't get me wrong! Singapore's fast food is equally scrumptious as their authentic-local-hawker type restaurants. Since Singapore has a diverse culture, their food courts have so many varieties of cuisine as well. Price range may vary depending on what food you eat of course but price wise, it's not too expensive and not cheap either.
Fried Oyster with Egg SGD 7
Disclaimer: This is an old post from my Blogspot account dated August 28, 2012.
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