The Definitive Dining Guide to Singapore

There are people in Singapore who are going to read this and get very, very mad but Max Veenhuyzen expects nothing less. Whether it’s a $3 bowl of Hokkien noodles or white-tablecloth fine dining, Singaporeans take their food seriously, with every eater harbouring strong opinions on where to find the good stuff. Veenhuyzen, who was born in the city-state, is no exception. He visits the Little Red Dot at least once a month and leans on a network of local chefs, bartenders and other trusted food informants for intel. Here is Veenhuyzen's ultimate dining guide to Singapore.

Best for chilli crab

Sin Hoi Sai
Alfresco dining under the stars. No-corkage BYO. A kitchen that stays open till 4am. All reasons why this easygoing Tiong Bahru seafood restaurant (01-59/61/63, Tiong Bahru Road) has a place in the hearts of many (including the hungry chefs and waiters who flock here for post-service supper). It doesn’t hurt that it’s also an excellent spot to sample one of Singapore’s favourite dishes: fat crabs stir-fried with a sweet, gently spiced tomato sauce. Ordering fried mantou buns and sauce-mopping is as essential to the experience as the towelettes provided to guests.

Best for views

Jaan
Perched at the top of Swissôtel The Stamford, 70 storeys above ground level, Jaan could so easily hang its hat on those widescreen views of Marina Bay and the ship-dotted Singapore Strait beyond. Yet the cooking of Kirk Westaway is just as photogenic as anything outside the window. The contemporary likes of confit egg yolk and caviar on a celeriac custard are as pleasing as the engaging service, while unexpected soundtrack choices (there will be ’90s rock) help diffuse any stuffiness. Dinner, not surprisingly, is special-occasion central but lunch offers a wider range of menu options. Want to maximise your chances of scoring a coveted window table? Book early and limit your party size to two or four.

Best for chicken rice

Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice
The discussion about Singapore’s national dish – a comforting trio of poached chook, fragrant rice and chicken soup – is a vigorous one but this veteran is a name regularly mentioned in the debate. The original restaurant has closed but its many branches continue to serve one of the island-nation’s benchmark chicken rices. Head to the Thomson Road outlet (01-08 United Square, 101 Thomson Road; +65 6255 6396 ) for reliably tender bird, garlicky rice and ginger chilli soy dipping sauce.

Best hawker centre

Satay by The Bay
This bustling outdoor hawker centre has much to offer tourists and Singaporeans alike. There is, of course, its rollcall of local food favourites, ranging from barbecued seafood to smoky chicken wings and the centre’s namesake grilled by multiple vendors. Lush plant life and the lack of disposable plates and cutlery are ticks for green thinking. After dinner, head into the Gardens by the Bay for the nightly lightshow starring the Supertrees, towering vertical gardens.

Best food court

Food Opera at Ion Orchard
As you’d expect from a food court in one of Singapore’s fanciest shopping precincts, Food Opera is a cut above the island-nation’s neighbourhood eating houses. Bentwood chairs and mosaic detailing are a nod to the country’s Peranakan history, while the food options are diverse. Local specialties include the beef noodles at multi-generational Scotts Hwa Heng and the bak kut teh (pork bone soup flavoured with medicinal herbs) at Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh. The ayam panggang (grilled chicken) at Riverside Indonesian BBQ also has its admirers.

Best heritage experience

Afternoon tea at The Clifford Pier
Once a busy terminal for tourists and daytrippers, Clifford Pier now lends its name to the signature restaurant of The Fullerton Bay Hotel. The homage doesn’t end there, with the pier’s rich hawker history informing The Clifford Pier’s menu of polished Singaporean classics. At the lavish afternoon tea, this cosmopolitan approach yields the luxed-up likes of little pink macarons perfumed with bandung (a rose-flavoured syrup) and savoury carrot cake topped with XO chilli and scrambled egg.

Best for Sunday brunch

Manhattan
The drinking is always fine at Regent Singapore’s New York-themed bar – the jurors of the World’s 50 Best Bars have voted it Asia’s best – but Sundays see the fun factor dialled right up. Free-flowing cocktails are the name of the game and seasonal fruit Bellinis plus access to a DIY Bloody Mary room ensure everyone wins. Prefer bubbles? You can add unlimited Billecart-Salmon Champagne to your menu. To dine: Maine lobster, shrimp cocktails, hand-rolled bagels and other trappings of the high life.

Best for fine dining

Iggy’s
Restaurateur Ignatius Chan and his eponymous establishment have long been synonymous with local fine dining. Following a recent makeover and the arrival of new head chef Aitor Jeronimo Orive (formerly of The Fat Duck and Spanish powerhouse Mugaritz), both are ready to take their place in Singapore’s new food landscape. Lightly smoked wild yellowtail sashimi crowned with caviar and sea urchin is typical of the restaurant’s strong Japanese bent but for something different, take the comforting pastas and small plates on the bar menu for a test drive. Matching vertical tastings of burgundy are optional but highly recommended.

Best for Chinese

Kok Sen
There are fancier places to eat Chinese food but a reputation for robust Cantonese cooking keeps this old-fashioned coffee shop crowded. While office workers flock to Kok Sen (30 Keong Saik Road; +65 6223 2005) at lunch, evenings are prime time, with diners spilling over into the alley behind the restaurant. The crowds – and this place is best for large groups – are here for the kitchen’s wok hei, the smoky “breath of the wok” that lends essential char to dishes such as black bean beef hor fun. The prawn paste chicken, meanwhile, is unmissable.

Best for cocktails

Atlas
The claim: Singapore is the world’s newest global cocktail superpower. The proof: the island state boasts six entries in the influential World’s 50 Best Bars list. The locals that have made the cut are Tippling Club (No. 43), Mo Bar (No. 36), No Sleep Club (No. 26), Manhattan (No. 15) and Jigger and Pony (No. 9). Then there’s the year-old Atlas (No. 16) which originally debuted in eighth place in 2018. A picture of lofty Art Deco grandeur and elegance, Atlas is as notable for its exacting cocktails – brisk Martinis sharpened with champagne vinegar, say – as its awesome stockpile of more than a thousand gins (and rising).

Best for craft beer

The Good Beer Company
Ice or no ice? Once upon a time, that was the extent of the choice for beer drinkers in Singapore. Then along came Meng Chao and Daniel Goh who, in 2011, opened a craft beer stall in a hawker centre and indelibly changed the drinking landscape. The original outlet has now been incorporated into sister stall Smith Street Taps (02-062 Chinatown Complex, 335 Smith Street; +65 9430 2750), while The Good Beer Company (01-23 Savourworld, 2 Science Park Drive; +65 9859 7386) has moved to new premises, offering packaged and tap beers from cult favourites to classic British ales and styles, making it possible to play all manner of beer- and food-matching games.

Best rooftop bar

Spago Bar & Lounge
Life’s problems have a knack of disappearing at Spago, one of the Singaporean interests of Austrian-born American chef Wolfgang Puck. It doesn’t hurt, of course, that the rooftop bar is on the 57th floor of Marina Bay Sands and overlooks the hotel’s infinity pool, with views of the city skyline. Cocktails are available for one or in carafes for four or eight, while the well-stocked bar and bottle service lets guests channel their inner rock star. The snacking, meanwhile, fits the brief for punchy yet casual with beef sliders, Japanese fried chicken and sushi.

Best for French cuisine

Odette
After winning over diners at the aforementioned Jaan, Michel Bras protégé Julien Royer swapped the highs of the city’s tallest restaurant for a more down-to-earth setting at the National Gallery. His aspirations, however, are no less lofty. Plush surfaces, double-dressed tables and gold accents make a suitably elegant backdrop for bouillabaisse with Irish blue lobster and Provence artichokes, heirloom beetroot teased into myriad forms and the rest of Royer’s delicate, modern French handiwork. The service is attentive while the wine list, not surprisingly, showcases plenty of Gallic names.

Best for coffee

Chye Seng Huat Hardware
Having trouble finding this low-key café in Jalan Besar? Just look for the hordes of hungry cyclists in Lycra. The semi-industrial location might be a nod to its origins as a hole-in-the-wall pop-up but the welcome and the atmosphere are far from robotic. The onsite coffee roaster ensures baristas have access to top-shelf beans, while the menu shows off flavours that are local (crisp curry puffs and sweets, known as kuehs, made from rice flour) and introduced (linguini carbonara and pizza).

Best for bar dining

Burnt Ends
There’s barbecue and then there’s barbecue, Burnt Ends-style, where guests sitting at one of the 18 bar stools enjoy front-row views of the bustling open kitchen. From grissini slathered with taramasalata to slow-roasted suckling pig, everything on the menu gets a lick of smoke from the custom-built grills.