Where to eat like a local in Singapore – by the locals!

Make no mistake, Singaporeans love to eat. Virtually every cuisine on the planet is available here and the best spots for an authentic bite are undoubtedly the hawker stalls and local kopitiams. But while the island’s most popular dishes are everywhere, it’s not easy to know which stalls and options to go for. Check out these tried and tested favourites as recommended by the locals to sip, slurp, and satisfy your hunger pangs.

Hokkien Mee

Hong Heng Fried Sotong Prawn Noodles, Tiong Bahru Hawker Centre, 30 Seng Poh Road, #02-01,168898
“I’ve been going to this stall for the last 15 years. The noodles and thick bee hoon are fried to perfection, coupled with the prawn stock, fresh prawn, sotong and egg. With the noodles and ingredients well immersed in the prawn stock and fried until semi-wet, it looks like science at its best! Expect to queue if you go at lunchtime and expect to get nothing if you go after lunchtime, meaning it’s sold out at lunchtime! Personally, I think it tastes better when you have this dish as a takeaway at lukewarm temperature. The stall has got such a reputation, and they have been honoured with a Michelin star.”
Alex Neo

Curry Puffs

Soon Soon Huat (SSH), 220 East Coast Rd, 428917
“Every puff here is handmade from scratch, from the different puff fillings to the pastry dough. I believe they use an original recipe from SSH’s founder who started out in the 1990s. I like the chicken curry and curry sardine flavours best. They’re spicy without being oily, the pastry is really buttery, and they make the perfect on-the-go snack.”
Ying Tong Soo

Chendol

Mei Yeong Yuen Desserts, 65B Temple St, 058604
“With a 50-year history behind them, this chain serves traditional Singaporean desserts including hot and cold puddings, snow and shaved ice, pastes and ice-cream. Their Shaved Ice Chendol on a hot day is a total treat with its red bean, glass jelly, attap chee and coconut milk. A bottle of (addictive) gula melaka syrup is also provided to add as you go.”
Chong Heng Poh

Mee Pok

Hua Bee, 78 Moh Guan Terrace, #01-19,162078
“This restaurant has been operating for more than 70 years, and there’s even a film named after it (Mee Pok Man). The soup portions are quite generous, filled with bouncy fishballs, fishcake, minced meat and “hu kiao” (meat dumpling) with a chilli and vinegar flavour. It’s the noodles that make me return each time – they’re really al dente, comforting, and good for a slurp.”
Li Jun Ji

Roti Prata

Prata Saga Sambal Belada, Tekka Market, 665 Buffalo Rd, #01-258, 210665
“This place has a great variety of murtabak (cooked meat in the double flour prata) which can be eaten without the curry or sambal. It’s all handmade, from the dough to the flipping part, and the result is thin prata which is crispy in the middle with little pockets of air to soak up the ingredients. I like the one doused with fish curry. It melts in your mouth.”
Ismail Hakim

Chwee Kueh

Ghim Oh Chwee Kueh, 20 Ghim Moh Rd, #01-54, 270020
“Chwee Kueh is a type of steamed rice cake topped with radish relish and Mr. Lee has been making it since he was eight years old, helping his mother and brother to push their street food cart. Today he still insists on making Chwee Kueh the old-fashioned way and rumour has it that he spends 16 hours a day perfecting it! What makes this dish so addictive is that he uses garlic and pork lard (instead of vegetable oil) which adds more fragrance to the radish. The radish also seems chunkier than the usual type and therefore provides a very nostalgic eating experience.”
Zhi Qi

Biriyani

Biriyani Express, Geylang Serai Market, #02-119, 402001
“The Briyani portions here are huge and really well-priced. You can get chicken, beef and mutton. The sauce is always thick and the rice fragrant and not too oily. There’s always a long queue, but it’s worth the wait.”
Fadhzli Osman