Eating and Drinking Through Singapore

The last time I was in Singapore was 25 years ago when I was a wee one, having lived there for two years. Naturally, I remembered nothing but the pool we had in our condo complex. So the six days of exploring Singapore were pretty much new for me and a refresher for my mom. Oh did I mention my mom had just landed in Singapore from the USA for our big Asian adventure? Yes she sure did!

The Singapore portion of our adventure included a couple rooftop bars, many hawker stands, a lunch with an old Columbia lacrosse pal, and more. While six days is not enough time to experience an entire city, I think it was a good period of time to slowly (very slowly because Singapore is the most American-like country in Asia from what I can tell) immerse ourselves into Southeast Asia.

Our Liquid Consumption

The Horse’s Mouth

I’d classify this one as a speakeasy because it’s situated inside of a random restaurant in a shopping plaza. It serves up some fancy ramen and such, but we opted for the drinks. At S$23 a pop (~ $17 USD), the drinks aren’t cheap. But it was a fun experience and their cocktail shaking has quite the technique.

Loof

I had found this rooftop gem on a blog I read on our first day. It’s situated across from the famed Raffles Hotel (origin of the Singapore Sling) and overlooks it from the balcony where we sat. Since it was happy hour, we decided on the S$6 (~$4.50 USD) drinks and each had two gin and tonics. Oh, and we may have also gotten the waffles fries.

Ce La Vi

If you aren’t staying at Marina Bay Sands, and we weren’t with it being over $400 a night, this is THE BEST way of getting up to that ship-like deck on top of this epic building. First of all, it’s “free” as long as you buy a drink. Basically you purchase vouchers before you head up in the elevator that entitle you to $20 each. You ride up to the top and have a choice of two seating areas where you can use your voucher for drinks or food. I opted for the Singapore Sling, I had to! Unfortunately it doesn’t give you pool access, but you’re basically right there.

Our Food Consumption

Starting with breakfast…

Brunetti

This was directly across from our hotel and we ended up going here three times because it was tasty and convenient. We tried the truffle scrambled eggs, cilantro toast (amazing) and a selection of pastries. On our last day the waiter even gave us free macaroons, which only made us love it even more.

And on to lunch and dinner...

Parkway Thai

Another destination my mom somehow remembered from our time in Singapore. Parkway Thai is now in a new location and we were the first ones there for dinner, normally a bad omen. But in fact, it was just as delicious as my mom remembered it and we enjoyed the Fried Basil with Chicken, Pineapple Fried Rice, and my favorite, Mango with Sticky Rice.

Nandos

I had never heard of Peri-Peri sauce, but oh my goodness is it tasty. Nandos is a chain that serves up chicken of varying spice levels and all kinds of sides. We opted for the wedges and they reminded us of extra tasty KFC wedges. Also anywhere that has a variety of sauces to choose from is a wonderful place. I need to go to the ones in the USA to see if they are as good!

Hawker Chan

I’ll mention this only because it supposedly has or had one Michelin star. It was crowded and a bit chaotic. I quickly realized that liking the famed soya chicken for me was based on the luck of the draw, and I drew bones. Also this isn’t exactly in a hawker center, so I wouldn’t classify it as a hawker stand. I’d say it was a no go for me.

And on to real Hawker (lunch/dinner too)...

Singapore is known for Hawker stands, which are basically tiny restaurants (if you can call them that) in a food court that often have dead animals hanging in the storefront. They are all competing for your business, serve all kinds of delicacies, and even occasionally have a Michelin star. Yes, you heard right! We visited several Hawker markets while in the lion city and enjoyed some and didn’t enjoy others.

Lau Pat Sat Festive Market

One of our first run-ins with chicken satay. There seemed to be a competition set up outside for it and we picked a random one to try. They really try to sell you on the stand even though there’s likely nothing that sets them apart. Tasty though!

Adam Road Food Centre

The Adam Road Food Centre is a short walk from the Botanic Gardens and my mom remembered going there for juice and satay back in the day. So that’s what we did a couple times - enjoy juice and satay. The juice spot we favored was Fruitopia and it introduced us to the avocado smoothie and the refreshing lychee lime juice. We also enjoyed some 10 sticks of chicken satay at another stand for S$7 (~$5 USD), which is pretty much the going rate for chicken satay.

Maxwell Food Centre

Here is where we met my old lacrosse pal, TT, who has lived in Singapore for the last three years. We tried her favorite dumpling place and she introduced us to chicken rice. Now chicken rice is supposed to be THE hawker dish to get. I greatly disliked it to honest. Tasted like rubber. But at least we had fresh juice.