Aside from tourist attractions like Marina Bay Sands, Supertree Grove, and Sentosa Park, Singapore also takes pride in its local cuisine that blends Chinese, Malay, and Indian influences.
To add more flavor to your itinerary, PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) rounds up the belly-busting spots that you should try in their malls or open-air food hubs, which are more popularly known as Singapore hawker centers.
MING FA
Talk about Singaporean food and a lot of people have only one thing in mind: Laksa!
This spicy noodle soup is loved all over the world for its unique blend of rich noodles, coconut milk curry, shrimps, eggs, and cockles that is sure to tickle your tastebuds.
If you want it fresh, drop by Ming Fa.
PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) interviewed Ming Fa Managing Director Jerome Lim at the Singaporium Expo on September 6, 2019, at The Podium in Mandaluyong City.
Jerome revealed their method to ensure the quality and freshness of their noodles.
"We have to cook it [early in the] morning," he said. "We buy our ingredients in the local market, this morning also. It probably takes about two to three hours to make the broth."
He swore by the uniqueness of their laksa as they themselves make the main ingredients.
He said, "Our heritage brand has proven record. We have our own recipe because we manufacture everything ourselves, including the meatballs and also the minced pork noodles, it's only from us. So our recipe is different."
PEP.ph got to try Ming Fa's Laksa first-hand and, indeed, it was flavorful.
The soup was hot, a little bit sour, but definitely spicy enough to give you a good kick the moment you eat it.
For the noodles, they used soft bihon that complemented the soup's strong flavor and the shrimps mixed with it.
Aside from Laksa, Ming Fa's best-sellers are their fish prawn noodles and mince pork noodle soup.
Price starts at 5 SGD (PHP188).
Here's 12 of its 16 outlets:
- Our Tampines Hub, 51 Tampines Ave 4 Stall 73
- 246b Upper Thomson Road, Thomson Garden Estate Singapore
- 676 Woodlands Drive 71, Kampung @ Admiralty Hawker Center #02-17
- Blk 529 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10 #01-2361
- Chinatown Blk 335 Smith Street #02-49
- Peopla Park Blk 32 New Market Road #01-1140
- SOON HONG Eating House, 17 Woodlands Link
- Holland Road Market, 1 Lorong Mambong, #01-14
WOK HEY
No time to sit down for a meal because of your packed itinerary?
Wok Hey will provide you with a fast and filling treat.
It's a take-out kiosk that serves fat rice and noodles in a box.
"The technique is we fry in front of the counter so the customer sees it fresh and hot," Wok Hey Supervisor Noel Wong told PEP.ph at the Singaporium Expo.
Wok Hey also uses halal meat for its boxed meals.
They combine the chicken, beef, or prawns with eggs, vegetables, light soy sauce, and your choice of fluffy Japanese rice or udon for a flavor that's moderately salty and tangy.
Get the finest taste of Wok Hey by ordering its bestseller, which is the Egg Fried Rice topped with either grilled chicken or seasoned prawn.
Price starts at 5 SGD (PHP188).
It is found in eight locations:
- 1 Jelebu Rd, #01-69, Bukit Panjang Plaza
- 200 Victoria Street, #B1-K03, Bugis Junction
- 1 Pasir Ris Drive 3, #B1-K05, White Sands
- 133 New Bridge Road, #B1-52C, Chinatown Point
- 53 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3, #01-36, AMK Hub
- 200 Victoria Street, #B1-36, Square Mall
- 60 Paya Lebar Rd, #01-62, Paya Lebar Square
- 1 Woodlands Square, #B1-K13, Causeway Point
STUFF'D
Who says you can't enjoy a trip abroad when you're on a diet?
It's possible with the dairy-free and gluten-free Mexican-Turkish dishes at Stuff'd.
"It's a fast-food for office people. Healthy living," Stuff'd Operations Head Matthew George told PEP.ph.
They serve kebabs, burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and their signature Daily Bowls (pasta or rice bowls) prepared with healthy oil and ingredients low in calories and high in fiber.
At Stuff'd, you are still in control of your calorie intake, as they give you the luxury to choose everything to put in your tortilla bread, pasta, or rice.
For the main dishes, they have chicken, beef, and their very own "Impossible"—a unique mixture of green leafy vegetables that tastes just like meat.
For the sauces, you can choose from their range of mayo, mayo cucumber, honey mustard, roasted sesame, barbeque, sweet Thai chili, and habanero (hot sauce).
Here are some of its outlets Singapore:
- Bugis Junction, B1-K07 200 Victoria St
- City Square Mall, 1-K1, 180 Kitchener Rd
- Tampines Mall, B1-K13 5 Tampines Central
- The Clementi Mall, B1-K10 3155 Commonwealth Ave West
- Compass One, B1-02/03 1 Sengkang Square
- Hougang Mall, 01-38 90 Hougang Ave 10
- Lot One, B1-K26 21 Choa Chu Kang Avenue 4
- Jurong Point, 01-43/44 63 Jurong West Central 3
- Jem, B1-K06 50 Jurong Gateway Road
- Clifford Centre, B-01/10 Kiosk 6 24 Raffles Place
- Terminal 2, 016-010, Kiosk K4, 60 Airport Blvd, Terminal 2
- Alexandra Retail Centre, 01-11 460 Alexandra Road
It also has branches in Malaysia, and is planning to expand in the Philippines.
"We are finding business partners [as we plan] to open in the Philippines by end of this year or beginning of next year," Matthew confirmed.
Price starts at 5.30 SGD (PHP199).
WOLF BURGER
Singapore is a melting pot of nationalities, and that makes it even better to try American-inspired food in the area.
You can't go wrong with the big ground chucks of Wolf Burger.
Each burger patty is juicy and flavorful, as it is grilled with their key ingredient, butter.
Wolf Burger Group Chef Tim Foong told PEP.ph, "Secret [ingredient] of the meat in the burger bun: Butter.
"That's why it has too much flavor. The flavor is nice when it's handcrafted."
PEP.ph got to take a big bite of Wolf Burger's hit, Original Wolf Burger, after the quick Q&A with Chef Tim.
Indeed, the saltiness and creaminess of the butter made the burger patty juicier and tastier.
Adding more flavor to the burger was the creamy, melted cheese on top of it.
It was huge–approximately three to four three inches high–and it sure satisfied our hungry belly.
Other Wolf Burger best sellers are the Succulent Terriyaki Chicken Sliders and Salted Egg Fried Chicken Burger.
Price starts at 9.90 SGD (PHP372).
Here are the locations of its outlets:
- Pasarbella, 3 Temasek Blvd, 455-456 / 459-461 Suntec City, Singapore 038983
- Changi City Point, #01-43, 5 Changi Business Park Central 1
- T Deliveroo CT Hub (Delivery Only), 114 Lavender St. #01-15 CT Hub 2