The 14 Best Places to Eat in Singapore
- Waku Ghin β $$$$
Head chef Tetsuya Wakuda generates a remarkable contemporary Japanese dining experience for his patrons inside the Marina Bay Sands. Twenty-five guests maximum are seated around teppan plates in small private dining rooms. This represents an intimate dining for serious food aficionados (you can converse with the chef as he works before you), and quite possibly the costliest meal in Singapore; many clients have described it as βthe best meal of their livesβ. There is no menu; Wakuda-san utilizes the freshest ingredients available for the day and serves mostly seafood dishes, such as the standout marinated botan shrimp with sea urchin and osietra caviar along with braised Canadian lobster with couscous. At the end of the meal, guests are escorted into the common dining space overlooking Marina Bay for desserts. The sake list is second to none, and the bar serves expertly blended signature cocktails. Smart casual dress code required. Advance reservations essential.
β’ 2 Bayfront Avenue, Marina Bay Sands
β’ Nearest transport: Bayfront MRT - Candlenut β $$/$$$ Few eateries better symbolize Singaporean culture and cuisine than this laidback, minimalist place spotlighting Peranakan/Nyonya dishes. Peranakan cuisine has a very unique character; its strategies draw on conventional Chinese and Malay cooking, with plenty of warmth from sambal (chili paste), and pork and seafood meals highly featuring. Chef Malcolm Lee has gained a Michelin star for his interpretations of vintage dishes including buah beluak (black nuts soaked for 5 days), babi pongteh (pork belly in soybean gravy) and sotong sambal (squid in chili sauce). The night tasting menu (S$68) varies weekly and is worth the splurge. Make a reservation in advance.
β’ 17 Dempsey Road
β’ Nearest transport: Outram Park MRT - Tim Ho Wan β $$/$$$ This elegant spot inside Citylink mall is a notable Hong Kong export that serves fantastic dim sum. Especially sought after with Orchard Road shoppers. The menu is parted into steamed and deep-fried dim sum, noodle and grain dishes and monthly highlights. The place earned its Michelin star for its Big 4 Heavenly Kings: light, beautiful BBQ pork buns, pork liver vermicelli rolls, radish cake and steamed egg cake, but there are also such crowd-pleasers as steamed shrimp and spinach dumplings. They donβt accept advance bookings, so you have to line up outside the entrance. Come early or late for the shortest queues. The wait is worthwhile.
β’ Multiple locations, including Citylink Mall
β’ Nearest transport: Dhoby Ghaut MRT
photograph credit - Les Amis β $$$$ Stylish and refined restaurant serving contemporary French dishes with Asian nuances is beautifully decorated with works by renowned Chinese artists. Itβs been thriving for over 20 years just off Orchard Road, and chef Sebastien Lepinoyβs signature dishes include chilled angel hair pasta with caviar, kombu and black truffle along with eel with citrus compote and dashi. Well worth splurging on is the 5-course tasting menu highlighting seasonal French ingredients. Service and presentation are faultless and the wine list β over 2000 labels mostly Old World β is among the very best in Singapore, with some very rare vintages. Dress code: business casual; book ahead.
β’ 1 Scotts Road, Shaw Centre
β’ Nearest transport: Orchard MRT - Corner House β $$$$ Innovative globally-inspired nourishment is offered in a 1910 colonial mansion at the core of the Botanic Gardens. The ambiance is relaxed and tranquil, and the leafy placing is highly suitable, since chef Jason Tan concentrates on Gastro-Botanica β contemporary cuisine utilizing plenty of tubers, greens, fungi, fruit and herbs, as well as judiciously sourced meat and seafood. The 5-course Lunch Discovery Menu is specifically reasonable for a Michelin-starred restaurant β anticipate dishes like Hokkaido scallop carpaccio, New Zealand cod with chorizo and savoy cabbage and durian pudding with evaporated milk. Casual elegant; families welcomed. Reservations advised.
β’ 1 Cluny Road, Singapore Botanic Gardens
β’ Nearest transport: Botanic Gardens MRT - Jaan β $$$$ From the Murano glass chandelier that spans the whole ceiling to the floor-to-ceiling windows gazing over the Marina Bay District from the 70th floor of Swissotel The Stamford, this Michelin-starred location is intended to impress. This is where Singaporeans come if they have something to celebrate. The cuisine is beautifully offered modern French with some ingredients shipped from the British chef`s homeland. Typical dishes include 55-degree egg with chorizo, maple-cured rainbow trout with beetroot, line-caught halibut with organic chicken – simple flavors that work well together. Ivory caramel and black truffle ice cream are standout desserts and the wine list is excellent. The 3-course lunch is a deal. Dress code: refined casual. Bookings strongly recommended.”
β’ 2 Stamford Road, Swissotel The Stamford
β’ Nearest transport: City Hall MRT - Tippling Club β $$$$ This trendy yet informal restaurant and bar is popular with locals working in nearby offices and known for their creative cocktails and playful presentations of dishes in unusual ways. Diners can sit at the open kitchen counter and receive a procession of small preview dishes and carefully crafted portions served in test tubes, on slate stones, in wooden boxes, and on oyster shells. Expected menu items include lamb with pearl onions and bacon, ocean trout with beetroot, ale braised pork cheeks with cabbage and roasted chicken with clams. The tasting menu is worth splurging on. As for the cocktails, patrons choose them by smelling scented strips from the Sensory menu; the scents trigger memories and the cocktails intended to help relive happy ones.
β’ 38 Tanjong Pagar Road
β’ Nearest transport: Outram Park MRT - Muthuβs Curry β $$/$$$ Given the substantial Indian population in Singapore, itβs not surprising that excellent Indian cuisine is very much incorporated into Singaporeβs culinary landscape. However, if one Indian dish is considered quintessentially βSingaporeanβ, it`s the South-Indian-style fish head curry available at Muthuβs – a canteen-style restaurant with an open kitchen and an interior decorated in the style of Chettinadu that has been thriving for nearly five decades. The dishes are generally South Indian, with a few tandoori classics also featured. The signature fish head curry β meaty fish heads floating in a rich, tangy sauce along with okra, pineapple pieces and tamarind β is offered in three differing portion sizes. Pouring it over rice, the βsmallβ is sufficiently fulfilling for two people. Other superb dishes to try include the masala prawns β large tiger prawns cooked in a blend of chillies, tomatoes and spices β and lamb racks barbecued with pineapple.
β’ Blk 7 Dempsey Road
β’ Nearest transport: Little India MRT - Burnt Ends β $$$$ Offering βmodern Australian barbecueβ, this buzzing restaurant was rated #14 among Asiaβs Best Restaurants in 2016. Its focus is mainly on meat, cooked over coals either in the custom-made brick kiln or grilled. Specialities include flatiron steak with bone marrow and burnt onion, charred leeks with hazelnut and brown butter, and the pulled pork burger. Most of the seating is arranged along the bar, facing the open kitchen, with bearded chef-owner Dave Pynt alternately cooking and conversing with customers. The drinks list includes classic cocktails, craft beers, Australian wines from family vineyards, and vintage wines. Fun atmosphere, sociable vibe. Two seatings for lunch and dinner; reservations essential. Dress code: smart casual.
β’ 20 Teck Lim Road
β’ Nearest transport: Outram Park MRT - Maxwell Food Centre β $ This location was originally one of Chinatown`s wet markets in the 1950s, transforming into a Chinese hawker centre in the 1980s where it remains extremely popular among office workers and visitors alike. Highly recommended stalls include Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice β the chicken is perfectly cooked and the fluffy, fragrant rice winning over fans like Anthony Bourdain β and Zhen Zhen Porridge, serving thick rice porridge thatβs anything but dull: try it with century egg, fish slices, preserved vegetables; the queue is understandably long as they close once selling out. Fuzhou oyster cake at the eponymous stall is a dying art: a crispy round snack with a tender blend of oyster and mixed pork inside. Large portions of Cantonese roast meats are plated up at Fu Shun Jin Ji Shao la Mian Jia; the tender, smoky barbecued pork on a bed of spongy noodles is particularly tasty. Finally, Jin Hua Fish Head Bee Hoon has succeeded for over 30 years with its version of milky noodle soup containing delicious fish chunks.
β’ Corner of Maxwell & South Bridge Roads
β’ Nearest transportation: Chinatown or Tanjong Pagar MRT - Tekka Centre β $ Of Singaporeβs numerous hawker centres, the food stalls at this large orange-and-yellow building specialise predominantly in Indian cuisine, served on banana leaf plates on stainless steel tables. The atmosphere is busy and somewhat chaotic and the air is thick with the aromas of fragrant biriyani and tandoori meats. Ask a Singaporean what dish to go for, and most local foodies invariably say: βBiriyani!β Yakader Muslim Food does a superlative version of nasi briyani, with melt-in-your-mouth mutton. The garlic naan and chicken tandoori at the Al-Madinah Food Counter are wonderfully fresh and flavorful, emerging from their respective tandoor ovens.
β’ Corner of Buffalo & Serangoon Roads
β’ Nearest transport: Little India MRT - Chinatown Complex Food Centre β $ Located on the second floor of the Chinatown Complex, Chinatown Food Centre is one of Singapore`s busiest hawker centres primarily catering to local patrons, though also welcoming curious visitors. In 2016, the Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle stall became the first hawker fare awarded a Michelin star, generating further interest especially amongst tourists. Other beloved local dishes available include claypot rice cooked at Zhao Ji Clay Pot Rice, Malaysian spicy noodle soup known as laksa served by Terry Katong Laksa, as well as pork congee from Tian Tian Porridge. Operating hours vary between stalls, but lunchtime sees most vendors actively serving patronsβ’ 335 Smith Street
β’ Nearest transport: Chinatown MRT - LβAtelier Tiramisu β $$/$$$ Similar to numerous unique eateries in the city that specialise in just one dish and do that one dish exceptionally well, βThe Tiramisu Workshopβ centers around the classic Italian dessert. Apart from the precise classic version, they also offer five other intriguing variations. Macha (green tea) is a Singapore classic, dark cherry gives the tiramisu a Black Forest gateau twist, while pistachio is our personal favorite. Find this unprepossessing cafe on the basement level of the Central complex.
β’ 6 Eu Tong Sen Street, Clarke Quay Central
β’ Nearest transport: Clarke Quay MRT
Head chef Tetsuya Wakuda generates a remarkable contemporary Japanese dining experience for his patrons inside the Marina Bay Sands. Twenty-five guests maximum are seated around teppan plates in small private dining rooms. This represents an intimate dining for serious food aficionados (you can converse with the chef as he works before you), and quite possibly the costliest meal in Singapore; many clients have described it as βthe best meal of their livesβ. There is no menu; Wakuda-san utilizes the freshest ingredients available for the day and serves mostly seafood dishes, such as the standout marinated botan shrimp with sea urchin and osietra caviar along with braised Canadian lobster with couscous. At the end of the meal, guests are escorted into the common dining space overlooking Marina Bay for desserts. The sake list is second to none, and the bar serves expertly blended signature cocktails. Smart casual dress code required. Advance reservations essential.
Few eateries better symbolize Singaporean culture and cuisine than this laidback, minimalist place spotlighting Peranakan/Nyonya dishes. Peranakan cuisine has a very unique character; its strategies draw on conventional Chinese and Malay cooking, with plenty of warmth from sambal (chili paste), and pork and seafood meals highly featuring. Chef Malcolm Lee has gained a Michelin star for his interpretations of vintage dishes including buah beluak (black nuts soaked for 5 days), babi pongteh (pork belly in soybean gravy) and sotong sambal (squid in chili sauce). The night tasting menu (S$68) varies weekly and is worth the splurge. Make a reservation in advance. Another dining option worth exploring is the No Signboard Seafood Restaurant. Pricing is moderate, ranging from $ to $$
Itβs difficult to get Singaporeans to agree on the top spot to eat chilli crab, Singaporeβs unofficial dish, but No Signboard usually comes up as one of the top favorites. This Singapore-wide chain originally started out as a hawker stall in the late 70s and the restaurant is still no-frills β very busy and casual β , but the Chilli Crab is very skillfully prepared β the sauce hits the right balance between sweetness, tanginess and spiciness and eating it is a wonderfully messy, communal experience. No Signboard is also credited with the original recipe for white pepper crab; it has a nice peppery kick to it but doesnβt overwhelm the sweetness of the crab meat. Drunken shrimp and steamed bamboo clams are other menu favorites.
β’ Multiple Locations
β’ Nearest Transport: Aljunied MRT
photo credit
This elegant spot inside Citylink mall is a notable Hong Kong export that serves fantastic dim sum. Especially sought after with Orchard Road shoppers. The menu is parted into steamed and deep-fried dim sum, noodle and grain dishes and monthly highlights. The place earned its Michelin star for its Big 4 Heavenly Kings: light, beautiful BBQ pork buns, pork liver vermicelli rolls, radish cake and steamed egg cake, but there are also such crowd-pleasers as steamed shrimp and spinach dumplings. They donβt accept advance bookings, so you have to line up outside the entrance. Come early or late for the shortest queues. The wait is worthwhile.
Stylish and refined restaurant serving contemporary French dishes with Asian nuances is beautifully decorated with works by renowned Chinese artists. Itβs been thriving for over 20 years just off Orchard Road, and chef Sebastien Lepinoyβs signature dishes include chilled angel hair pasta with caviar, kombu and black truffle along with eel with citrus compote and dashi. Well worth splurging on is the 5-course tasting menu highlighting seasonal French ingredients. Service and presentation are faultless and the wine list β over 2000 labels mostly Old World β is among the very best in Singapore, with some very rare vintages. Dress code: business casual; book ahead.
Innovative globally-inspired nourishment is offered in a 1910 colonial mansion at the core of the Botanic Gardens. The ambiance is relaxed and tranquil, and the leafy placing is highly suitable, since chef Jason Tan concentrates on Gastro-Botanica β contemporary cuisine utilizing plenty of tubers, greens, fungi, fruit and herbs, as well as judiciously sourced meat and seafood. The 5-course Lunch Discovery Menu is specifically reasonable for a Michelin-starred restaurant β anticipate dishes like Hokkaido scallop carpaccio, New Zealand cod with chorizo and savoy cabbage and durian pudding with evaporated milk. Casual elegant; families welcomed. Reservations advised.
From the Murano glass chandelier that spans the whole ceiling to the floor-to-ceiling windows gazing over the Marina Bay District from the 70th floor of Swissotel The Stamford, this Michelin-starred location is intended to impress. This is where Singaporeans come if they have something to celebrate. The cuisine is beautifully offered modern French with some ingredients shipped from the British chef`s homeland. Typical dishes include 55-degree egg with chorizo, maple-cured rainbow trout with beetroot, line-caught halibut with organic chicken – simple flavors that work well together. Ivory caramel and black truffle ice cream are standout desserts and the wine list is excellent. The 3-course lunch is a deal. Dress code: refined casual. Bookings strongly recommended.”
This trendy yet informal restaurant and bar is popular with locals working in nearby offices and known for their creative cocktails and playful presentations of dishes in unusual ways. Diners can sit at the open kitchen counter and receive a procession of small preview dishes and carefully crafted portions served in test tubes, on slate stones, in wooden boxes, and on oyster shells. Expected menu items include lamb with pearl onions and bacon, ocean trout with beetroot, ale braised pork cheeks with cabbage and roasted chicken with clams. The tasting menu is worth splurging on. As for the cocktails, patrons choose them by smelling scented strips from the Sensory menu; the scents trigger memories and the cocktails intended to help relive happy ones.
Given the substantial Indian population in Singapore, itβs not surprising that excellent Indian cuisine is very much incorporated into Singaporeβs culinary landscape. However, if one Indian dish is considered quintessentially βSingaporeanβ, it`s the South-Indian-style fish head curry available at Muthuβs – a canteen-style restaurant with an open kitchen and an interior decorated in the style of Chettinadu that has been thriving for nearly five decades. The dishes are generally South Indian, with a few tandoori classics also featured. The signature fish head curry β meaty fish heads floating in a rich, tangy sauce along with okra, pineapple pieces and tamarind β is offered in three differing portion sizes. Pouring it over rice, the βsmallβ is sufficiently fulfilling for two people. Other superb dishes to try include the masala prawns β large tiger prawns cooked in a blend of chillies, tomatoes and spices β and lamb racks barbecued with pineapple.
Offering βmodern Australian barbecueβ, this buzzing restaurant was rated #14 among Asiaβs Best Restaurants in 2016. Its focus is mainly on meat, cooked over coals either in the custom-made brick kiln or grilled. Specialities include flatiron steak with bone marrow and burnt onion, charred leeks with hazelnut and brown butter, and the pulled pork burger. Most of the seating is arranged along the bar, facing the open kitchen, with bearded chef-owner Dave Pynt alternately cooking and conversing with customers. The drinks list includes classic cocktails, craft beers, Australian wines from family vineyards, and vintage wines. Fun atmosphere, sociable vibe. Two seatings for lunch and dinner; reservations essential. Dress code: smart casual.
This location was originally one of Chinatown`s wet markets in the 1950s, transforming into a Chinese hawker centre in the 1980s where it remains extremely popular among office workers and visitors alike. Highly recommended stalls include Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice 
Of Singaporeβs numerous hawker centres, the food stalls at this large orange-and-yellow building specialise predominantly in Indian cuisine, served on banana leaf plates on stainless steel tables. The atmosphere is busy and somewhat chaotic and the air is thick with the aromas of fragrant biriyani and tandoori meats. Ask a Singaporean what dish to go for, and most local foodies invariably say: βBiriyani!β 
Located on the second floor of the Chinatown Complex, Chinatown Food Centre is one of Singapore`s busiest hawker centres primarily catering to local patrons, though also welcoming curious visitors. In 2016, the Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle stall became the first hawker fare awarded a Michelin star, generating further interest especially amongst tourists. Other beloved local dishes available include claypot rice cooked at 
Similar to numerous unique eateries in the city that specialise in just one dish and do that one dish exceptionally well, βThe Tiramisu Workshopβ centers around the classic Italian dessert. Apart from the precise classic version, they also offer five other intriguing variations. Macha (green tea) is a Singapore classic, dark cherry gives the tiramisu a Black Forest gateau twist, while pistachio is our personal favorite. Find this unprepossessing cafe on the basement level of the Central complex.
