Singapore's Travel Guide: Local Food & Drinks

You will never go hungry in Singapore. Singaporeans love to eat and to the point that they do not mind queuing for hours just for a plate of stir-fried dark soya noodle. Other than the usual 24hr fast food chain, Singapore do have a handful of independent food stalls, which open till late at night or 24 hours. Example, Boon Lay Power Nasi Lemak, Evans Road Mr Prata, Swee Choon Dim Sum, you name it.

Generally, you do not need to tip the service staff in Singapore (Unless you find that their service is extraordinary). Most restaurants will have a 10% service charge, which will be reflected on your bill at the end of your meal. As for the hawker centres, it’s all self-service. Tipping is not required.

Local Delicacies

Singaporeans are really passionate with food and in fact, two hawker stall owners were awarded One Michelin Star in 2016. Singapore shares a few common dishes with our neighbour country, Malaysia. Popular dishes for instance like, Nasi Lemak, Char Kway Teow, Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Laksa and many more.

For our popular food categories, click here:

Direction to or How to go to Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork’s Noodle (1 Michelin Star Hawker) Direction to or How to go to Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle (1 Michelin Star Hawker)

Hawker Centres / Food Streets

It is a place where you can get cheap local food and you will definitely be spoiled with choices. Most Hawker/Food Centres are managed by Government related authorities in Singapore, NEA (National Environment Agency). Based on the data from data.gov.sg, at the moment, there are a total of 110 Hawker/ Food Centres (of which, 3 are managed by social enterprise) in Singapore.

In other words, we could be looking at more 13,000 food stall holders around Singapore. This number does not include up and coming new Hawker Centres plus Coffeeshops that are operated by independent business entities.

Pubs, Bars & Clubs

Pubs & bars is a place where you can enjoy live bands, football & rugby matches. It can gets really crowded especially during the World Cup period or English Premier League (EPL) Seasons. As for the clubs, they are usually located in the central areas of Singapore (Clarke Quay, City Hall and etc…)

There is one important thing to take note. Do not get rowdy after your drinks. Business owners will not hesitate to call the police if there’s any misbehaviours. You will never want to be in that situation.

Not sure where where to get your daily booze? Check out our curated list here: Top 10 Drinking Places in Singapore.