Top 10 Eats in Singapore
After a long hiatus I am back with a vengeance. I have been juggling my time between a new venture we opened, teaching 3 different disciplines and ofcourse never forgetting my first and foremost duty of being a wife and mother. So yes dear readers, I AM BACK! And I am ecstatic to share wonderful stories, discoveries and recipes with all of you this year.. either in my blog here or in my youtube channel : sliceofpattie so be sure to subscribe.
3. BARLEY WATER WITH WINTERMELON
I'm a sucker for natural and homemade drinks as you know so I had to give this a shot. It's a very mild flavored drink that offers a lot of heath benefits. You will find this in a lot of stalls and stores as well. Barley water has been used in many ways to improve health. It has been given as a pap for infants, a balm for digestive systems, a soothing drink for sore throat, cure for UTI, etc. I plan to do more research on it so I can make it at home! Ha!
Summer is here LAH! Being true to my promise of creating more memories and sticking to more birthday trips than parties, we celebrated my daughter S's birthday last weekend in LA-LAH-Land. It's a place very close to my heart because it was one of the last places I travelled to with my late mother when she was already sick. I wanted to bring the kids to see and experience the City.
Singapore is no doubt a fantastic destination especially as a foodie. Singapore boasts of such rich cultural heritage because it is the melting pot of Southeast Asia. Because of it's history, this bustling city prides itself with a colorful "foodscape" and hodgepodge of multicultural treasure troves.
I went out of my way during this trip to try out NEW (and reasonable) things on this recent trip and I happily compiled it into this list which hopefully can help you out the next time you find yourself there;
1. CHICKEN RICE
You can find this practically in any food court or local restaurant in the city. This is the most common thing that people order. This traditional Singaporean dish has inspired my cooking in a lot of ways. My family actually loves it when I make our Tinola (chicken cooked in ginger broth) Hainanese style complete with the three dipping sauces.
During this trip, the first meal we had was S's birthday salubong at Chatterbox located at 5th level of the Mandarin Orchard. It's an award winning place that serves this specialty. The portion is generous and the chicken meat is lean and tender. It is served with very flavorful sidings of ginger paste, thickened soy sauce and chili sauce. The catch? It comes with a bit a hefty price though, the full chicken rice set goes for $32! I know, it IS a bit indulgent BUT we had a reason to celebrate and thus having my favorite dish at a 5 Star Hotel with my most favorite people in the world was totally acceptable *wink wink*.
If you're on a budget thought, do not fret because you can find this dish practically everywhere in the city. Every foodcourt and local restaurant (no matter how big or small) would have this on their menu. It's a signature dish that you shouldn't miss.
*location : Chatterbox at the 5th floor of Mandarin Orchard, 333 Orchard Road, Singapore 238867
2. LOBSTER LAKSA
Laksa is another iconic dish in Singapore and surely you will find it anywhere. But this special laksa still from Chatterbox at the Mandarin Oriental goes beyond the usual. It's a premium or should I say UPGRADED Laksa. The lobster laksa has a very flavorful and colorful broth served with generous chunks of lobster meat, tau pok (bean curd puffs), fish cakes and sliced quail eggs. How can you possibly resist? But ya, it comes with a price tag. It's $36 per order so you must really have a reason to celebrate when you get this! Happy Birthday S!
*location : Chatterbox at the 5th floor of Mandarin Orchard, 333 Orchard Road, Singapore 238867
I'm a sucker for natural and homemade drinks as you know so I had to give this a shot. It's a very mild flavored drink that offers a lot of heath benefits. You will find this in a lot of stalls and stores as well. Barley water has been used in many ways to improve health. It has been given as a pap for infants, a balm for digestive systems, a soothing drink for sore throat, cure for UTI, etc. I plan to do more research on it so I can make it at home! Ha!
4. KAYA TOAST WITH SOFT-BOILED EGGS
This is a traditional Singapore breakfast meal and I had it twice during this trip. Kaya Toast is basically toasted bread filled with butter and Kaya (special aritsan jam made from eggs, sugar, coconut milk and pandan leaves). It is often served with soft-boiled eggs and hot tea or coffee. Ya Kun Kaya has been around since the 1940's and has been serving the same menu (consisting of this Kaya Meal set) ever since. It as over 40 outlets all around Singapore so you are sure to catch it.
I went for the Value Kaya Meal Set which is served with 2 soft-boiled eggs and a strong and full-bodied milk tea (which my kids both fell in love with!). I imitated what the locals did and put a small amount of light soysauce on my eggs and pepper before breaking and mixing them together. It
5. SAMBAL STINGRAY
I know, I know...the idea of a eating a stingray may be daunting to many but really it is something one must try even just once. This is one of the things I look forward to every time I visit a Hawkers Market. I was so excited to have it again after a long time.
Grilled stingray has a rich and fleshy texture. They cook it with Sambal sauce typically made with a nice mix of chili, shrimp paste,fish sauce, garlic, giner, shallots, sugar, scallions and lime juice. It's really this secret mix that is key to how flavorful your stingray will be. In addition, the dish is served with what they call chinchalok which is their version of our bagoong (fermented shrimps, onions and lime juice). The only downside for me is that I am forced to eat it with rice, lots of it! Oh no! I just cannot resist.
*location: Ming Yen BBQ : Stall 55-57, Lau Pat Sat Hawker's Market, 18 Raffles Quay, Singapore 048582
6. MUTTON SATAY WITH PEANUT SAUCE
Satay typically means grilled meat served with peanut sauce. It's birthplace is in Indonesia but it a popular dish around countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. We ordered different satays in one of the dinners we had at a famous Hawkers Market (chicken, beef, shrimp, etc.) but this was a real STAND-OUT because of it's unique and distinct flavor. Each bite of the meat bursts with rich spices that's been deeply absorbed by it and that mildly spiced thick peanut sauce is just a perfect compliment.
*location : Lau Pat Sat Hawker's Market
7. FRESH COCONUT ICE CREAM
I decided to treat myself with this ice cream during our last night in Siloso Beach, Sentosa Island. Co Nut Ink is actually a concept from a small stall in Chatuchak market in Bangkok and was brought to Singapore. They serve fresh homemade coconut ice cream - for those who are curious, it's made with milk so to all my vegan friends, sorry :( One order is a scoop of ice cream inside a coconut shell topped with salted peanuts. It also comes with a small shot of coconut water. It's a little piece of heaven!
*location : Co + Nut + Ink along Siloso Beach, Sentosa Island
8. TEOCHEW FISH BALL NOODLES
This was my new discovery on this trip! This is a well-loved local dish of light, bouncy and airy fisballs made from yellow tail that comes in piping hot clear broth and some spicy dry noodles on the side. Love at first bite!
*location : Foodcourt of Tang's Mall, Orchard Road
9. PENANG ROAD CHENDOL
It looks pretty weird especially with the green worm-like rice flour thingies but it's surprisingly so delightful. So it's basically this; finely shaved ice + sweetened red beans + the green "worms" + palm sugar + coconut milk. I guess you can say it's their version of Halo-Halo but less busy because ours has a myriad of different other things.
*location : Foodcourt of Tang's Mall, Orchard Road
10. YUZU HONEY DRINK
Thanks to my daughter S for this discovery. They were sampling this product at the food court of Takashimaya on our last day and S was able to taste it. She kept insisting to go back to the stall and I finally I gave in. And she was absolutely right. This was surprisingly amazing. Yuzu + Honey = Awesome :)
*location : Foodcourt of Takashimaya, Orchard Road
Well folks, that's it for now. I hope this list made you drool a little and inspire you to plan a trip to the Merlion City soon. Feel free to use it as reference should you decide to go. See you LAH!
LAHv,
Pattie
P.S.
Please do follow me on instagram @sliceofpattie and use my hashtag #sliceofpattie for any of your food adventures! I'd be happy to hear from you guys!
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