Singapore is home to an eclectic range of fantastic (albeit expensive) restaurants and food stalls—you’ll never have trouble finding food here that satisfies your palate and cravings.
With the rising cost of living, though, prices have become an increasingly important factor in picking what we eat. However, there’s no need to sacrifice the quality of your meal—Singapore’s MICHELIN guide added 19 new eateries to its list of value-for-money restaurants.
Award Given To 19 New Eateries
If you consider yourself a food connoisseur but you’re unwilling to fork out an exorbitant amount for a meal, you can pick from 19 new eateries that were just awarded a Bib Gourmand Award by Singapore’s MICHELIN guide.
Unlike MICHELIN-starred restaurants, eateries conferred the Bib Gourmand Award must be value-for-money, so the price limit of a three-course meal at these places is capped at a reasonable SGD45.
Lower prices here don’t indicate lower quality, however—according to the MICHELIN guide, these eateries offer patrons “exceptional value-for-money gourmet experiences”.
Last year, the award was given to 67 food establishments, but this year’s selection saw the list expanded to 79 locations.
Seventeen hawker stalls were newly given this award, as well as two restaurants.
Two Restaurants Received Award
Eating out at restaurants can be expensive or even boring, if you decide to constantly patronise the same few chain eateries.
If you’d like to expand your repertoire of value-for-money restaurants to eat at, consider these two award-winning places: Kok Sen Restaurant and The Coconut Club.
Kok Sen serves local fare and unique tze-char dishes in a traditional coffee-shop atmosphere. The MICHELIN guide recommends its prawn paste chicken, pictured here:
The eatery has been running for more than 50 years, so you’re guaranteed an authentic and delicious dining experience.
Location: 4 Keong Saik Road, Singapore 089110
The other restaurant, aptly named The Coconut Club, serves coconut-themed dishes (obviously).
Opt for their best-selling nasi lemak set, served with crispy chicken, a runny egg and a generous helping of chilli, and finish your meal with a coconut cream sago pudding.
If nasi lemak isn’t your thing, the MICHELIN guide claims that the other dishes are just as fantastic, so you won’t leave disappointed.
Location: 269 Beach Rd, Singapore 199546
17 Hawker Stalls Also Recognised
Singapore’s hawker centres have become a cultural highlight, and sometimes the best food is found at these spots.
The BIB Gourmand Award was given to 17 new hawker stalls this time, serving a range of different things, so you can pick what you’re craving from the expansive list.
Soups
Although the weather’s been hot lately, a good bowl of soup is still (sometimes) worth sweating through.
Head to Bahrakath Mutton Soup for a rich bowl of herbal mutton soup made with their secret recipe. They’ve been running since 1973, so quality is assured.
Location: Adam Food Centre
If fish is more of your thing, Tai Seng Fish Soup serves a value-for-money fish soup made entirely from scratch. Pick from sliced fish, deep fried fish or even fish heads to add to your hearty bowl of soup.
Location: Taman Jurong Market & Food Centre
For those who rather have veggies, Spinach Soup (yes, that’s the name of the stall) offers patrons delicious bowls of… well, spinach soup. According to the MICHELIN guide, the broth is “tasty and sweet”, and the spinach remains crisp despite soaking in the soup.
Location: Geylang Bahru Market & Food Centre
Noodles
Noodles and soups often come hand-in-hand, but the guide recommends some places that serve dry noodles, if the weather’s really too hot to slurp down a rich soup.
If you still prefer soupy noodles, though, there are plenty of options to pick from too.
No. 18 Zion Road Fried Kway Teow sells kway teow fried with ample wok hei and served with juicy cockles and fish cake, creating a flavourful and tasty dish.
Location: Zion Riverside Food Centre
Or, get a delicious plate of hokkien mee at Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee. They fry the dish with yellow egg noodles and rice vermicelli, and it’s topped with seafood and home-made chilli for optimal flavour.
Location: Whampoa Market Place
If Whampoa is too far from your home but you’re still craving hokkien mee, head to Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee instead. The stall’s been in business since 1960, and the noodles are fried in a rich prawn broth and served with prawns.
Location: 51 Old Airport Road Food Centre
For a good bowl of wanton mee, pick Young Chun Wan Ton Noodle. The MICHELIN guide recommends having them “dry”—the egg noodles are coated in a flavourful sauce and served with wantons, of course.
Location: 115 Bukit Merah View Market & Hawker Centre
Prawn noodles are a Singapore classic, and almost every fan of the dish has a place they swear by. If you’re looking for that place, try Adam Rd Noo Cheng Big Prawn Noodle or Soon Huat. The prawn noodles are served either “dry” or “soupy”, but either way, you’ll get to taste their rich and delicious prawn soup with your meal.
Location: Adam Food Centre (Adam Rd Noo Cheng Big Prawn Noodle), North Bridge Road Market & Food Centre (Soon Huat)
If you’re searching for other seafood soups, Beach Road Fish Head Bee Hoon serves bee hoon in a milky fish broth, topped with sliced fish and condiments like fried garlic to spice up the dish.
Location: Whampoa Makan Place
You can also tuck into a bowl of ban mian at Hui Wei Chilli Ban Mian—again, you have to pick between the “dry” and “soup” options. According to the MICHELIN guide, the “dry” dish is coated in a delicious chilli sauce and generous servings of various add-ons like meatballs and minced meat.
Location: Geylang Bahru Market & Food Centre
If you want authentic Malaysian fare but don’t have time to visit our neighbouring country, Selamat Datang Warong Pak Sapari might just fulfil that craving. They serve a famous and authentic mee soto and mee rebus, and have been in business for three generations.
Location: Adam Food Centre
Get a bowl of curry chicken noodles at Heng Kee—the establishment was founded all the way back in the ‘70s, so they’ve had ample time to perfect their curry broth and custom-made tau pok. On top of that, the noodles are served with delicious curry chicken and fish cakes.
Location: Hong Lim Market and Food Centre
Rice And Others
Rice is a staple across Asian countries, and Singapore is no exception.
We’re particularly known for our local chicken rice—head to Ji De Lai Hainanese Chicken Rice the next time you crave the dish. The chicken rice sets there are affordable and tasty, and you can pick from steamed or roasted chicken served with flavourful rice, soup and vegetables.
Location: Chong Pang Market and Food Centre
If duck rice is more of your thing, try Cheok Kee’s duck rice meals, which come with aromatic duck rice and fragrant duck soup. The duck itself is tender and marinated in soy, and eat it with their special chilli sauce to elevate your meal
Location: Geylang Bahru Market & Food Centre.
Dig into another duck dish at Kwee Heng—they’ve been running for over 40 years, and serve delectable boneless duck with your choice of rice, porridge or noodles.
Location: Newton Food Centre
Of course, the guide didn’t leave out sweet treats. To satisfy your sweet tooth, head to Du Du Shou Shi for tu tu kueh. The kueh comes in two flavours, coconut and peanut, but both are delicious and worth a try at least.
Location: Jurong West 505 Market & Food Centre
This list consists of the Bib Gourmand awardees—if you’re looking for the MICHELIN-starred restaurants, they’ll be announced only later this month.
They’re actually holding a special ceremony to announce the results, but it’s invitation only. Nevertheless, the list of MICHELIN-starred restaurants will be unveiled to the public on 27 June this year.
At the event, the names of restaurants awarded one, two, and three MICHELIN stars will be revealed, in addition to other special awards recognising culinary excellence.
MICHELIN-starred restaurants are often much pricier, though, so be prepared to fork out quite a bit of money if you’d like a star-studded dining experience.
