Singapore is a melting pot of some of the tastiest South Asian cuisines. Here are the best things we ate during our time in our time there (and where to find them).
Chilli Crab
No surprises here right? Chilli crab is Singapore’s signature dish, with a price tag that encompassed our entire daily budget. But I would happily sacrifice another whole day’s worth of food and activities just to eat this again.
A 900gm mud crab, slathered in a thick sauce that tastes like tomatoes, chilli, garlic and ginger, but somehow so much better. I could mix all those things together at home, and and resulting sauce would be nothing compared to what we ate. I can only assume that in the back of the kitchen they’re secretly siphoning the tears of angels, one teaspoon at a time.
Buns are served on the side to soak up the juice, with a choice of steamed or fried. Whenever we’re faced with a choice like this, we always opt for half-and-half, and this occasion was no exception. Without these little sauce-transporting vessels, all that crabby goodness would have been left in the pan.
The crab itself was sweet, white, delicious. Easy to crack open, easier to eat – though I won’t deny it went everywhere.
We also ordered the marinated jellyfish, which tastes like tangy rubber bands (a favourite texture of ours) and stir fried asparagus. One of the best meals ever.
Jumbo’s Seafood, Multiple Locations, $150 SGD for two.
Chicken Curry Noodle at Hong Lim Hawker Centre
We didn’t know that many Hawker centres in Singapore close at night. This one, in particular, was an extremely popular lunchtime spot, which meant that come 2pm, most of the stalls can pull down their roller doors. Luckily, at 7pm, few were left open. Including a nondescript looking chicken-curry noodle on the second floor.
Geoff ordered a $5 bowl. It was incredible. Coconut broth, springy yellow noodles, beansprouts, soft tofu and a chicken thigh (called chicken chop here). I had ordered a dark bowl of Lor Mee, which quickly became the one that neither of us wanted as we swapped the curry noodle between us.
‘Are you a local?’ One of the guys on a neighbouring table asked Geoff as we ate. ‘Do you like it?’ We told him we loved it.
As we left, I noticed a small Michelin 2017 guide sticker on the glass frontage.
Ah Heng Chicken Curry Be Hoon Mee, #02-57/58 Hong Lim Hawker Centre, Chinatown
Coconut and Black Sesame Ice Cream
Sometimes I just type ‘ice cream’ into google maps to see if there’s any outlets close by. Just to check. That’s how we found Apiary – a small boutique ice cream parlour on the edge of Chinatown. With flavours like Blue Milk, Black Sesame and a Matcha as dark as the forest floor. We opted for the almost-savoury black sesame and a light and creamy coconut. So good.
Apiary, 84 Neil Road, Chinatown
Curry Puff at Old Airport Road Hawker Centre
Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Curry puffs are a dime a dozen. But this was no ordinary curry puff. Think of an ultra-crispy croissant, each individual layer peeling away from the next, filled with either chicken curry or black-pepper chicken. (Maybe it was pork. I’m not sure). We got one of each. I wish we had got five of each.
Wang Wang Crispy Curry Puff, #01-26 Old Airport Road Hawker Centre
Soya Sauce Chicken
from Hawker Chan
This dish is the cheapest Michelin star meal in the world. Coming in an easy $5 SGD, you get a portion of chicken, a bowl of rice and a dollop of dark sauce. There’s sauces on the side for you to supplement as necessary. We got the classic chicken (twice, in fact) as well as a side of Char Siew Hor Fun and some green veggies. It’s simple, maybe unexpectedly simple judging by some of the faces in the restaurant, but it was undoubtedly delicious.
Liao Fan Hawker Chan, 78 Smith Street, Chinatown
Lobster and Ice Cream
The name of this corner store in Chinatown says it all: Lobsters and Ice cream. All they serve is Lobster rolls and Japanese-style soft serve. And both were excellent.
We opted for two half and half rolls, where the single guy manning the store expertly portioned both crab and lobster into buttered, garlicky rolls. One was sauced with chilli crab sauce: spicy, garlicy, tomatoey. The other, Maine style: herbs, butter, mayo. Beautiful. For our ice cream, we had half Milk Tea (a popular flavour in Asia), half vanilla. The perfect finale.
Lobster and Ice Cream, 191a New Bridge Road, Chinatown.
nice!