5 Foods You Must Try in Singapore

To visit my friend who has just begun to live in Singapore, I decided to bring my father and my son. The difference in age between them is 66 years. My biggest concern was how to feed them in Singapore. I was concerned that there might be only spicy Asian foods or oily tourist foods, but actually there was nothing to worry about in Singapore.

My friend researched a lot for us and the following list describes the best places to go. Singapore foods exceeded my expectations and every local restaurant and food court in Singapore is so clean and safe. I enjoyed tasty and healthy meals that were full of vegetables, rice and noodles. My family also could enjoy various kinds of spices.

1. Chicken Rice

When we visited the Katong area, we struggled to decide which Chicken Rice or Laksa to choose, but we ate Boon Tong Kee Chicken Rice. 328 Katong Laksa was another recommendation. Chicken Rice contains a tender boiled chicken accompanied by cooked rice with chicken stock. The rice is sticky, crunchy and chewy, so I couldn’t stop eating the rice. We also ordered fried chicken to enjoy different tenderness of chickens.

2. Bak Kut Teh

One of the popular local foods in Singapore is Bak Kut Teh, a meat bone soup. We went to Song Fa where they filled up our bowls with their soup so the meat was softened till the end. I am not a super fan of pork soup, but Bak Kut Teh isn’t oily and is very smooth to drink. During lunch hour, there was a long line of tourists and locals, so we came back after lunch time. My father hates to be kept waiting so I tried to avoid his short temper.

3. Chili Crab

Jumbo Seafood is one of the most popular Chili Crab restaurants in Singapore, but my friend recommended Red House. Red House is also a long-established Chili Crab restaurant. Our table was right in front of the Singapore River and we could enjoy the breeze and coolness coming from it.

My friend extracted crab meat and mixed it with the mildly hot and sweet chili sauce. My friend’s kids confirmed several times that their mother had ordered the fried bread to go with the Chili Crab. Finally, I could understand the importance of the fried bread. It was so tasty to eat the chili sauce with the crispy fried bread. We ordered steamed shrimps and mixed the Chili Crab sauce with them too.

4. Murtabak, a meat crepe

Murtabak is similar to a crepe or “Okonomiyaki” in Japan. “Okonomiyaki” is a Japanese pancake mixed with cabbage, flour, eggs and meat. We usually eat it as a snack at a summer festival. As a snack, we ate ZAM ZAM’s Murtabk, a meat crepe.

We saw not only many tourists but also local office workers having lunch there. It was a really popular place. Murtabak is served with curry sauce. The smell of the sauce made us hungry and we were competing with each other to eat. It was heavy and a large-volume for us, so we decided it was our supper not just an afternoon snack.

5. Food Courts

Department stores or office buildings have food courts on their top or first floors. They have the most reasonably priced options and it’s an easy way to grab a meal without having to brave the crowds. We can choose from Japanese, Korean, Indian, Chinese, Sandwiches and various Western kinds of foods. It is proof of the diversity in Singapore to see so many various kinds of foods. Some of these shops are chain restaurants, while others are run by one owner, but each of them has individuality.

It is also interesting to see many families come to have supper at food courts. Currently, in Japan “Koshoku”, kids are eating alone at home due to a big rise in the number of working parents, and this has become a social issue. I thought it was a good environment for families to have supper together at food courts.