country Essentials · 12 foods
Singapore Essentials
A considered first route through Singapore: the foods that carry its everyday habits, celebrations, ingredients, and memory.
Explore all Singapore foods →THE
ESSENTIALS
The complete shortlist
12 foods to know.
Each selection includes the reason it belongs here—so this is a guide, not just a pile of names.
Singapore, China
Hainanese Chicken Rice
海南鸡饭
Singapore's hawker plate of chicken, fragrant rice, soup, and chilli-ginger condiments.
Singapore, Malaysia
Chilli Crab
Ketam Cili
Singapore-created crab in a sweet, spicy, egg-thickened tomato-chilli sauce.
Singapore, Singapore
Singapore Hokkien Mee
福建炒虾面
Fried yellow noodles and rice vermicelli simmered in prawn-pork stock with seafood.
Singapore, Singapore
Katong Laksa
Singapore's short-noodle coconut laksa tied to Katong.
Singapore, Singapore
Bak Chor Mee
肉脞面
Springy noodles with vinegar, chilli, minced pork, mushrooms, and dumplings.
Singapore, Malaysia
Singapore Fried Radish Cake
菜头粿
Savory radish-rice cake fried with egg, garlic, and preserved radish.
Singapore, Malaysia
Kaya Toast
Crisp toast with coconut-egg kaya and butter, paired with soft eggs.
Singapore, Malaysia
Roti Canai
Roti Prata
Known locally as Roti Prata: crisp-flaky griddled dough with curry.
Singapore, Malaysia
Fish Head Curry
Kari Kepala Ikan
Singapore's Indian-Chinese hybrid curry built around a fish head.
Singapore, Malaysia
Kopi
Kopi C
Singapore's sock-filtered robusta coffee and its precise C/O ordering language.
Brunei
Satay
Charcoal skewers, peanut sauce, cucumber, onion, and rice cake in the city-state's hawker tradition.
Singapore, Singapore
Singapore Sling
The Raffles-associated gin cocktail and Singapore's globally recognized drink identity.