My Favourite Dishes in Singapore

When I lived in London, I used to look forward to TimeOut magazine's annual 100 best dishes list. It made me realise that I prefer Best Dishes lists over the more common Best Restaurants lists. The latter often include criteria like ambience, service and so on, which are generally less important to me.

Moreover, I like going to a place knowing the specific dish that I want to try. Some restaurants have one or two standout dishes, but the rest of the menu may not rise to the same level. For example, I go to Dishoom mainly for their famous black dal, slow-cooked over 24 hours. Their other dishes are okay, but with the possible exception of their brunch menu, they wouldn't keep me coming back.

In that vein, and before I forget, I thought I'd list my favourite dishes in Singapore. It's a relatively low-effort list – no reviews; just the basic info, and in some cases, photos. But a post like this is anyway more for my records. If it benefits anyone else, that's a bonus.

The vast majority of dishes on my list are under $10. I've eaten at fancier places too, but I'm partial to hawker-centre and food-court recommendations. So in no particular order:

1. Xiao long bao at Zhong Guo La Mian, Chinatown Complex

2. Char siew bao at Tanjong Rhu Pau, Balestier (they also have other outlets, which I haven't tried)

3. Barbecue stingray at Rong Guang BBQ Seafood, Makansutra Gluttons Bay (permanently closed). I liked this place, although Newton Food Centre is more famous for BBQ stingray and seafood in general.

4. Chicken satay at Satay, Sembawang Hills Food Centre

5. Garlic prawn at A Kitchen, Novena (they also have other outlets, which I haven't tried). This dish doesn't actually appear on the menu. But they have garlic crawfish, and we ask them to make the same dish but with prawn (imo tastier, and significantly cheaper).

6. Whampoa Food Centre has good food, such as black carrot cake at Tanglin Halt A1 Carrot Cake, and beancurd with enoki mushroom at Xiong Sheng Kitchen. The Thai stall next to Xiong Sheng does a solid Thai basil pork with rice.

7. Classic Yangnyeom burger at Phat Fingers. This was a chain, but a lot of their outlets have closed down. From a quick look, it seems the Changi outlet might be the last one standing.

8. Spicy chicken mentai don at Mentai-Ya, Toa Payoh (permanently closed). I would sometimes eat here on my way back from Toa Payoh Public Library.

9. Beef pepper rice at Pepper Kitchen (various locations, usually in mall food courts, e.g. 313 Somerset). I would eat here after visiting the late lamented Orchard Library.

10. Salted egg chicken rice, at Yuan Wei Xiao Pin Mini Wok, Funan mall

11. Teriyaki chicken rice hot plate, at Sun You Japanese & Korean Food, Eunos Crescent Food Centre. Similar dishes are available at many hawker centres and kopitiams, but the Eunos one is better and cheaper than others that I've tried.

12. There are three nasi lemak places that I'm a fan of.
Husk, Bugis Cube for their sous vide beef rendang set
Yoshi's Kitchen, Toa Payoh for orange chicken karaage (first image below)
Madness Nasi Lemak, Fortune Centre (second image) for the ayam berempah set

13. Oyako donburi at Kemuri BBQ, Balestier Plaza

14. DBJ chicken at Liu Lang Mian Noodle Bar, Alexandra

15. Tenchirashi soba at Shimbashi Soba, Paragon

16. Green chilli ramen at Liu Kou Shui, Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre. They have another outlet in Woodleigh, which I haven't tried.

17. Pandan cheese minirolls by Dorisgoz, a home baker who offers free pickup at Redhill, as well as islandwide delivery for a fee