Singapore pairs a hawker culture that earned UNESCO recognition with some of Asia's most polished fine dining. Chicken rice, laksa and kaya toast sit a short MRT ride from French and Japanese tasting rooms.
Singapore at a glance
What to eat
Hawker centres (Maxwell Food Centre, Lau Pa Sat, Tiong Bahru Market named by Radical...; Chilli crab; Durian; Yusheng and bak kwa at Chinese New Year; Kopitiam culture.
When to go
Best: February–April. Also good: May and July–November. Hardest: January and December.
Top tables
Odette, Michelin 3★ (2026); Les Amis, Michelin 3★ (2026); Zén, Michelin 3★ (2026); Seroja, Michelin 2★ (2026). This guide lists 14 award-winning restaurants in all.
Where locals eat
Local favorites off the prestige lists include Jian Bo Tiong Bahru Shui Kueh, MTR, Mr & Mrs Mohgan Super Crispy Roti Prata and Hjh Maimunah.
Markets
Amoy Street Food Centre, Chinatown Complex Food Centre, Chomp Chomp Food Centre and Lau Pa Sat.
14 award-winning14 critic-reviewed5 local favorites3 hot right now8 markets6 walking tour stops10 chef's picks5 sandwich shops10 romantic dinners5 breakfast spots10 new openings28 dish spots
Food walking tour: Tiong Bahru to Chinatown: a Singapore hawker morning5 hours on foot, 6 stops, in eating order. Add the whole tour to your trip, then give it a day.
Photos: Lau Pa Sat: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Chef Amazing picks: where to eat in Singapore
Singapore's best eating is split between a Michelin-starred hawker bowl, a few chicken rice and laksa icons, and one three-star French dining room, so the well-known five run from S$8 noodles to a tasting menu. The discoveries are old-school counters across Little India, Joo Chiat, Jalan Besar, Tiong Bahru and Arab Street where you eat for a few dollars.
The well-known five
Odette
National Gallery, Civic District
Michelin 3★ (2026)Contemporary French$$$$
Order: The seasonal tasting menu (the menu changes; confirm current format when booking).
Michelin three stars in the 2026 guide, set inside the National Gallery with its own entrance through the Supreme Court wing foyer. It is the city's formal celebration dinner, and the Michelin listing tags it as good for a date night.
Best for: celebration dinner · Reserve: reservations through the restaurant's website or by phone; book well ahead
National Gallery, #01-04, 1 St. Andrew's Road, Singapore 178957
Michelin 1★ Street Food (2026)Bak chor mee (minced pork noodles)$
Order: Dry bak chor mee (about S$8 and up) plus a bowl of soup; add the fried sole if you want more.
One of the first two hawker stalls to earn a Michelin star in 2016, and it has kept it. Toppings are generous and the vinegar-forward sauce is heavy, and queues can run up to two hours at peak.
Best for: first-timer's hawker bowl, go early · Reserve: walk-in; expect 15-20 minutes even off-peak, up to 2 hours at peak · Hours: Daily 9am-8:30pm (per Eatbook, April 2026)
Order: Steamed chicken rice; the spare-parts plate if you like offal.
The most famous chicken rice stall in the country, with moist breast meat, fragrant rice and a thick spicy chilli. Always a queue, so avoid the peak lunch hour.
Best for: solo lunch, classic hawker stop · Reserve: walk-in; queue at lunch · Hours: Tue-Sun about 10am-8pm; closed Mondays (per Miss Lobang, Aug 2026)
Stall 10/11, Maxwell Food Centre, 1 Kadayanallur Street, Singapore 069184
Order: Laksa with a slice of otah; add a soft egg if you like.
The original Katong laksa shop: coconut-rich prawn broth with the noodles cut short so you eat it with a spoon. Some regulars say it is not what it was, so go for the bowl and the neighbourhood, not a revelation.
Best for: casual lunch in Katong · Reserve: walk-in · Hours: Mon-Sun 10am-10pm (Time Out, 2018; confirm)
51 East Coast Road, Singapore 428770
Worth confirming: hours and that it is still open.
Order: Chilli crab, moonlight hor fun, sticky pork ribs with coffee gravy.
A third-generation zi char institution in an open-air coffee-shop setting with ceiling fans and round tables. The chilli crab is brighter and tangier than most, and it works for groups.
Best for: group dinner · Reserve: call or check kek.com.sg; book for groups
Order: Uddina vada, pudhi masala dosa, bisibele bhath, rava idli, masala tea; ask for extra ghee.
A Bangalore tiffin-room institution with a Little India outpost, serving crisp dosas and the rice-and-lentil bisibele bhath. Expect a queue at peak lunch and dinner, so go after the rush.
Best for: vegetarian lunch or early dinner · Reserve: walk-in · Hours: Tue-Fri 8:30am-3pm and 5:30pm-10pm (per Eatbook; appears closed Sat-Mon, confirm)
Order: Plain or egg prata, the small crunchy coin prata, with fish or mutton curry.
A family-run prata stall that has moved before and is now in a Joo Chiat coffee shop. The prata are thin and shatteringly crisp, and it is a morning stop.
Best for: breakfast · Reserve: walk-in · Hours: Thu-Tue 6:30am-1:30pm; Wednesday appears closed (per Eatbook, Feb 2026)
Order: Dry ban mian or soup mee hoon kueh, with pork-and-chive or pork-and-mushroom dumplings.
Hand-pulled noodles in the style of Kuala Lumpur, from about S$6.50 a bowl. Seating is limited, so it suits a quick solo lunch.
Best for: cheap solo noodle lunch · Reserve: walk-in · Hours: Daily 11am-11pm in the article text, Mon-Sat in its summary box (sources disagree; confirm Sunday)
380 Jalan Besar, #01-10 ARC 380, Singapore 209000
Worth confirming: hours and that it is still open.
Chwee kueh (steamed rice cakes) and hawker breakfast$
Order: Chwee kueh with chye poh and chilli; add steamed yam cake or chee cheong fun.
A stall open since 1958 selling steamed rice cakes topped with preserved radish and sambal, about S$3.50 for five. It sits upstairs in the Tiong Bahru market, so pair it with a wander through the neighbourhood.
Best for: breakfast · Reserve: walk-in · Hours: Daily 7am-8pm (per Eatbook, Jan 2026)
30 Seng Poh Road, #02-05, Tiong Bahru Market, Singapore 168898
Order: Sambal telur and bergedil are the standouts; add beef rendang, ayam goreng, sayur lodeh.
A long-running nasi padang counter where you point at trays and pay by the dish. A June 2026 review found the side dishes better than the signature fried chicken and rendang, and it dropped off the Bib Gourmand list in 2025, so order the sides and treat it as a casual stop.
Best for: point-and-pick lunch · Reserve: walk-in · Hours: Mon-Sat 7:30am-7pm (per Eatbook, Jun 2026; Sunday appears closed)
11 Jalan Pisang, Singapore 199078
Worth confirming: hours and that it is still open.
New places change fast. “Provisional” means a guide or directory lists it as new but we have not confirmed the opening date. Check hours and book ahead before you go.
Memorable breakfasts in Singapore
The top pick here; the rest are on their own page.
Tong Ah Eating House
Keong Saik
Order: Kaya toast, soft eggs and kopi
A traditional kopitiam morning in a storied neighborhood.
Picks come from romantic-dinner lists on booking and review sites. Confirm dinner service, menus and availability before you book.
Food walking tour
Tiong Bahru to Chinatown: a Singapore hawker morning
Steamed rice cakes, a famous chicken rice queue and the Chinatown Complex stalls, for under S$30 all in.
Start 8:15 at Tiong Bahru Market, 30 Seng Poh Road (the stall is upstairs, #02-05)Time 5 hoursDistance about 3.4 kmBest days Thursday to Sunday. Tian Tian is closed Monday, Hawker Chan and Shang Hai Fried Xiao Long Bao close Wednesday, and Chef Leung is closed Monday and Tuesday.
Start with the 1958 chwee kueh stall upstairs at Tiong Bahru Market, then ride one short MRT hop into Chinatown for the Maxwell chicken rice queue and the second-floor stalls of Chinatown Complex. Most dishes cost S$2.50 to S$5, so the point is to order small and keep moving.
Order: Chwee kueh with chye poh and chilli (about S$3.50 for five); add steamed yam cake or chee cheong fun if you are still hungry.
Steamed rice cakes topped with preserved radish and sambal, from a stall open since 1958. The stall is upstairs, so check the ground-floor wet market on your way up.
Around 8:15 · 30 min · S$3.50 for five chwee kueh
30 Seng Poh Road, #02-05, Tiong Bahru Market, Singapore 168898
↓ 30 min · 2000 m on foot (approx.): This is the one MRT leg. From Tiong Bahru station take the East-West line one stop to Outram Park, change to the North East line for one stop to Chinatown, then walk about 5 minutes along Smith Street to the Chinatown Complex and take the escalator to the second floor.
2
Chef Leung's Hand-Milled Rice Noodle Rolls (Chinatown Complex)
Market Chinatown
Order: Egg or char siew rice noodle rolls (S$3.70 and S$4.50); the pork ribs and century egg congee (S$5) if you want something hot.
Hand-milled rice noodle rolls from a second-floor stall; Eatbook warns of long queues, and the stall shuts at noon. The food centre also has a wet market on the ground floor.
The line: Eatbook notes long queues here; go before 10am
Around 9:40 · 30 min · S$3.20-5 per plate
Chinatown Complex Food Centre, #02-096, 335 Smith Street, Singapore 050335
↓ 8 min · 600 m on foot (approx.): Walk south down Smith Street, cross South Bridge Road, and follow signs to Maxwell Food Centre (Kadayanallur Street side).
3
Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice
Street food Maxwell Food Centre, Chinatown
Order: Steamed chicken rice, one plate between two; the spare-parts plate only if you like offal.
The best-known chicken rice stall in the country: moist breast meat, fragrant rice and a thick spicy chilli. There is always a queue, which is the reason to arrive before the lunch rush.
The line: Always a queue; shorter before the lunch rush
Around 10:40 · 35 min
Stall 10/11, Maxwell Food Centre, 1 Kadayanallur Street, Singapore 069184
Hours: Tue-Sun about 10am-8pm; closed Mondays (per Miss Lobang, Aug 2026)
↓ 6 min · 450 m on foot (approx.): Walk back along South Bridge Road to Smith Street and head up into the Chinatown Food Street end; number 78 is on the right.
4
Liao Fan Hawker Chan
Viral / queue Chinatown
Order: Soya sauce chicken rice (S$3.80 in the review we found), or the plain noodles with soya sauce chicken; share one plate.
The Michelin-starred soya sauce chicken stall that spawned the cheapest star in the world headlines. The reviewer found the weekday lunch line shorter than expected, and called the soya sauce chicken the safest order.
The line: Weekday lunch queue was short in the review we found; the date of that review is unclear
Around 11:30 · 25 min · S$3.80 chicken rice; S$5 wonton soup (older review)
78 Smith Street, Singapore 058972
Hours: 10:30am-8pm; closed Wednesdays (per Miss Tam Chiak; older article, worth confirming)
Pacing: Share every plate between two and eat half portions at stops 3 to 5. If you are full by Hawker Chan, skip it; the Maxwell chicken rice is the stronger of the two.
Plan B: Rain is fine: Tiong Bahru Market, Maxwell and the Chinatown Complex are all covered. If Tian Tian's queue is too long, Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice (Maxwell Food Centre, #01-07) is in the same hall.
Avoid: The Maxwell lunch rush from about 12pm; the Chinatown Complex gets crowded on weekend afternoons.
Bring: Cash in small notes and some tissue packets; hawker centres are cash-first. Wear a light layer as the food centres are hot and humid.
Skip it if: You do not eat pork, or you need to be sure of halal food: most stops here sell pork.
Ends at: Old Amoy Chendol, Chinatown Complex Food Centre, 2nd floor (#02-008). Chinatown MRT (North East and Downtown lines) is about 5 minutes on foot.
Walking times and distances are approximate, and opening hours change: confirm before you go.
Hot right now in Singapore
What people are lining up for and posting about this month. Entries expire after about four months unless they are reported again.
Always a lineLast confirmed Sep 2026
Jumbo Seafood
Multiple outlets · Chilli crab market price, often over S$100
The thing: Chilli crab on mud crab with egg ribbons, eaten with fried mantou.
Singapore chilli crab name; its 39-year East Coast flagship shut when the lease ended, but six other outlets remain.
Crazes move fast. “Just spotted” means one report so far, and most entries rest on a single source: confirm hours and expect a wait.
The Singapore food map
Every place in this guide, pinned. Tap a pin to see what to order, then add it to your trip.
Open the full Singapore food map: every place on our lists too (pizza, ice cream, romantic, where locals and the famous eat, cooking classes), searchable by dish.
· 13 of 28 dish places are pinned; the rest appear in the lists below. Pins are placed by address or name and can be a little off; always confirm in your maps app.
Plan my days in Singapore
Tell us what you like and we will line up the places on this page into a day-by-day plan. Only places from this guide, never anything else.
What to eat in Singapore, and where
Each dish comes with the places that do it best. Tap Add to my trip on the ones you want, or find them on the map above.
Hainanese chicken rice
poached chicken over fragrant rice, the national comfort dish
The 4 best places to eat it in Singapore
1
Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice
Maxwell Food Centre · $
Order: Steamed chicken rice, or the spare-parts plate
Tender steamed chicken, rice cooked in chicken fat and garlic, and a punchy chilli sauce.
Seen in timeout.com · worth confirming hours before you go
2
Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice
Maxwell Food Centre · $
Order: Hainanese chicken rice
Started by Tian Tian's former head chef, with a following of its own and less hype.
Weak sourcing: Lonely Planet's Singapore page was not retrievable. Radical Storage (single secondary source, 2025 data, undated): best Feb-Apr and Jul-Sep (Mar-Apr top); high season Dec plus Aug-Sep (September rates spike for the F1 weekend); shoulder late Mar-May and Jan; Oct-Nov lower-crowd/cost but wetter; Dec-Jan heaviest rain and holiday crowds; Chinese New Year hotel prices jump. Northeast monsoon Dec-early Mar (wettest Nov-Jan). Intrepid Travel: recommends Mar-Aug, humidity rarely below 80%, highs 30-34C in summer, never says avoid. Radical Storage is internally mixed: it lists Jul-Sep among the best months yet Aug-Sep as high season - treat the peak/shoulder/avoid split as our interpretation.
In season
Early durianApr
Durian main seasonJun–Aug
Chilli crab (heaviest, most roe)
Chendol and ice kachang
Mooncakes (six-week season)Sep–Oct
Bak kwaJan, Oct–Dec
Chinese New Year foods: yusheng, pineapple tarts, nian gaoJan–Feb
Hari Raya bazaar foods (putu piring)
Food events
World Gourmet SummitMarMarch-April per Radical Storage; no dates
Singapore Food FestivalJulRadical Storage lists July; search-result titles for editions suggest it has moved (October 2024 edition, September 2025 edition) - 2026/2027 dates...
TLM Food ExpoSep25-27 Sep and 2-4 Oct 2026 at Singapore Expo; price not listed (Eatbook, 7 Sep 2026)
Oktoberfest (Lau Pa Sat)Sep18-19 and 25-26 Sep 2026 (Eatbook)
GrandBite @ BayfrontOct9-11 Oct 2026; price not listed (Eatbook)
Isetan Momiji Matsuri FairOct6-18 Oct 2026, Jurong Point (Eatbook)
Closures to plan around
Hawker centres close on a rotating basis for 'spring cleaning', usually 1 day (sometimes 2) per centre several times a year; schedule varies each month (Seth Lui lists, e.g. Feb 2026: 11 centres; June 2026: 86; Sept...
Individual hawker stalls set their own rest days (commonly weekly) - not sourced in detail; check each stall
Chinese New Year: Seth Lui says cleaning closures are scheduled to minimise disruption around the festive period (2026 CNY began 17 Feb); no CNY stall-closure rules found. 2027 date not sourced
Menus marked '++' exclude 10% service charge and 9% GST; hawker centres and kopitiams add none (Smart Calculator)
Meal costs and tipping (SGD)
Casual: hawker dish 3-7, dish plus drink 4.50-7.50; food court main 5.50-9, full meal 7-13
Mid-range: casual sit-down restaurant mains 15-35, soft drinks 4-8; add ~19.9% for 10% service charge + 9% GST at sit-down places
Tasting menus from: fine dining set lunch 50-120; dinner tasting menus 120-300+; wine pairing 200-500 not unusual
Tipping: Not customary (Smart Calculator)
From published guides and tourism boards. Months are our mapping of how guides describe the seasons; 2027 event dates are expected, not confirmed. Prices come from single sources of varying age, so treat them as a rough guide. Compare cities by month
What the critics said (last 24 months)
Recent reviews from Singapore. The summaries are ours, in our own words; follow the link for the critic's full take.
Milli
New
National Gallery
Time Out Singapore · Jun 2026
New rooftop venue at the National Gallery with skyline views and chicken-rice paella
Locally loved places that are not on the big prestige lists.
market stall
Jian Bo Tiong Bahru Shui Kueh
Tiong Bahru · $
Order: Chwee kueh (steamed rice cakes) with chye poh and chilli
A family recipe dating to 1958, sold in cheap oil-paper takeaway packs from Tiong Bahru Market. Some regulars miss the old lard, but it remains a proper hawker breakfast.
Order: Nasi padang with beef rendang, sambal eggplant and paru goreng; the snails in coconut gravy are a writer's pick.
Kampung-style Malay cooking for 20+ years, partly from the owner's mother's recipes, with a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Check the branch is open; the page read dated from 2019.
Awards come from the guides named on each listing (Michelin Singapore 2026; Asia's 50 Best 2026). Researched October 25, 2026. Restaurants change; confirm hours, reservations and current stars before you go. Some addresses, phone numbers and websites come from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), so call ahead to confirm. Local favorites are editorial picks, not rankings.
