27 Best Restaurants in Singapore

A stretch of Smith Street that is closed to traffic, this outdoor eating area packed with stalls is the only place you'll find real "street food" in Singapore. Though it isn’t totally open-air (there is a high-ceiling glass canopy in case of rain), it makes a welcome change from the often hot and sweaty hawker centers. You would imagine a spot like this would be a big tourist trap, but it manages to deliver good food in a novel setting, albeit at slightly higher prices. Stroll up and down before making a choice of where to eat—Tiong Bahru Meng Kee Roast Duck is a good bet, as are the Sultan of Satay skewers. You can sit where you like, regardless of which stall you purchase from. Occasionally, there will be beer table service; they don’t take a commission so feel free to order your beer through them.

Based on the old-school eateries of Hong Kong, Fook Kin specializes in char siew (Cantonese-style barbecued pork), crispy pork belly, and other roast meats. Aside from the much-loved meat, the menu features a good selection of soups, dim sum, and rice bowls. A large fridge stores a range of craft beer and sake to peruse. Neon lights and flowing drinks make this a fun place to be on a Friday night in River Valley.

Be warned: The line for this one-Michelin-star eatery rarely lets up, but the wait is worth it. After just one spoonful of the juicy minced meat and springy egg noodles dressed in a secret recipe of chilli and black vinegar, you’ll understand why locals have kept this no-frills eatery a well-guarded secret for years. Best of all, it's probably the cheapest Michelin-starred meal in town. Opt for the larger bowl; you won't be sorry.

Like jade itself, this upscale restaurant in a historic hotel has both exquisite and intriguing attributes. Inside you'll find a contemporary design that follows an eclectic Asian thread, with Vietnamese hanging lamps and Chinese calligraphy. Similarly, the food is fundamentally Chinese, but with creative modern accents, such as in the rich cocoa-flavored pork ribs with spinach in a raspberry vinaigrette. Jade's lavish weekend dim sum buffet is a Singaporean institution; reservations are a must.

Located off the coast of Changi, this modern spin on the traditional kelong (floating fish farm) doles out meals to remember. You travel to it on an old-fashioned bumboat from Changi Ferry Terminal, then catch your own lunch or dinner in "sure-catch" ponds from the ship-like structure in the middle of the sea. The steamed sea bass and salted egg squid are must-tries. Tables are by reservation only, so book ahead (at least three days in advance).

This true Tiong Bahru classic has been serving neighborhood residents since the 1970s. The porridge served here is a savory Cantonese-style congee, usually with slices of pork or fish added. For those feeling brave, the mixed pork congee includes offal. Ah Chiang’s secret is that the creamy porridge is cooked over charcoal, imparting a subtle flavor. Note that at lunchtime the shop can be busy, and there may be an additional wait as the congee cooks over coals.

Hotpot meals are a big part of modern local culture, as the communal dining experience is considered a convenient way to celebrate special occasions with family and friends. Homegrown chain Beauty In The Pot is one of the country’s most popular, serving up tasty collagen-infused broth into which you can dip gourmet cuts of meat, handmade noodles, and other ingredients.

This hotpot restaurant at The Star Vista mall (one of six locations in Singapore) employs rich, fragrant broths to cook an assortment of extras waiting on the table. This branch is an easy introduction to the world of hotpot: a spacious, art deco–themed room with space for bigger groups (and you’ll need them to finish that broth!). Prices start from around S$16 for a single pot of broth, including the signature Beauty Collagen Broth (made from pork bones), but you can mix and match with smaller pots available. The build-your-own menu style makes hotpot a great choice for vegetarians—choose from a wide selection of greens, vegetables, mushrooms, and tofu (all from around S$5 per portion).

Traditional Cantonese dishes are presented with modern flair in an understated setting at this award-winning Chinese restaurant. Plush banquettes and elegant wallpaper by designer Andre Fu grace the dining room, and an outdoor seating area overlooks lush grounds. For a sampling of the best Cassia has to offer, order Chef Chan's 6-course Signature Set that can be paired with wine or tea at an additional cost.

This highly popular local hawker center is packed with stalls serving all kinds of delicious Singapore favorites, from roast duck noodles to succulent chicken and rice. As with almost all hawker centers in Singapore, it's hot and a little messy, but the food is always great—especially if you pick a stall with a long line. Popular stalls include Kian Seng Lor Mee (#01–28), where you can get a bowl of soft noodles, prawns, fish cake, and chilli; and Soon Lee (#01–50) for fragrant bowls of savory porridge (choose from chicken, pork, or fish).

With nearly 50 outlets (and counting) across Singapore, chances are you'll always be within a short walk of this wildly popular Cantonese chain. For a few years, the chain has been awarded a Michelin star, though fortunately it doesn't have Michelin-star prices to match. Order by number from a small paper menu that's 150 selections strong, including deep-fried bean curd in spice salt, sticky-rice dumplings, and crab dumpling soup. Sundays are always packed with families feasting on dim sum, so be prepared to wait. The decor is simple, but the food is always fresh and cooked to order, and the staff is almost too attentive.

Originally founded as a hawker stall in Woodlands, Feng Ji Chicken Rice is now a much-loved tze char (small, affordable plates) restaurant in River Valley. Of course, the signature here is Hainanese chicken rice, with tender chicken, aromatic rice, and flavorful broth. There is a range of other local classic dishes on the menu, though, and each one is fresh, vibrant, and kind on your wallet.

Featuring a sumptuous interior inspired by the glamour of 1930s Shanghai, this lively restaurant offers a near-encyclopedic menu of Shanghainese classics: there are multiple varieties of soups, noodles, seafood, meats, and dim sum. Some selections, such as the suckling pig, must be ordered at least a day in advance, so call ahead if you have a taste for a specific delicacy and want to make sure it's available.

Robust soup bases, gourmet ingredients, and hand-pulled noodles aside, what makes this hotpot joint one of the most popular in Singapore is its next-level service. Free manicures, a children’s playroom, and complimentary drinks and snacks are offered even as you wait for your table—a nice move to placate customers stuck in the notoriously long lines.

Located just outside Chinatown near Robertson Quay, Imperial Herbal is not your average Chinese restaurant: the enormous menu is packed with everything from braised crocodile tail and quick-fried eel to stewed deer tendon and deep-fried frogs. If, however, such unusual dishes aren't to your liking, you can order classics like glazed spare ribs or juicy pork dumplings. Service can be hit or miss, but the experience of eating at the large round tables in the huge open-plan dining room is always fun.

As the crowds that permanently pack it show, Jumbo Seafood is the place to get your hands dirty while savoring award-winning chilli and black-pepper crab, freshly snapped up from on-site seafood tanks. There's an extensive menu besides crab, including signature beef fillet with black pepper sauce and braised lobster. This riverside branch offers views of Clarke Quay and the Singapore River, so is a great spot in the evening.

Don't be fooled: soup is hardly the only thing on the menu at this popular Cantonese chain. It's an excellent spot to taste a variety of Chinese-style cuisine, from double-boiled pork ribs and dried scallops to tofu prawns and chicken rice, perhaps the most popular dish in Singapore. There are now more than ten Soup branches across the island—and all of them tend to be packed, particularly on Sundays.

Tucked away in an inconspicuous spot in Telok Blangah, this old-school Chinese eatery is loved for its hearty renditions of Cantonese classics. Signature dishes are a must, including ultraman chicken (fried chicken coated with salted egg) and pumpkin tofu (deep-fried minced pork, soft tofu, and creamy pumpkin sauce). The restaurant is always lively with local diners, and there’s a great outdoor spot for dining in the evening.

The extensive menu at this contemporary Szechuan and Cantonese restaurant includes dishes designed to be xian (salty), tian (sweet), suan (sour), la (hot), xin (pungent), and ku (bitter). Specialties include thinly sliced beef rolls with garlic sauce, spare ribs in honey sauce, and spicy rice noodles with diced chicken; dim sum and six- to eight-course prix-fixe menus are also available.

A fridge tucked away in the corner of an unassuming kopitiam (coffee shop) hides this ultra-cool restaurant in the heart of Boat Quay. Serving “guerilla-style” Chinese food, the restaurant has an atmosphere to match, with the dark entrance corridor giving way to a Chinese-style speakeasy, where old-school crockery and medicine counter drawers clash with comic-book wallpaper. The food is no less experimental—the signature "Dragon’s Claw" is a crocodile foot braised in Chinese herbs—and an impressive cocktail menu explores Chinese and Singaporean ingredients. For less adventurous eaters, there are more traditional Chinese/Western dishes, like the Irish roast duck and spicy firecracker chicken.

Among the heaving mass of eateries in Lau Pa Sat food center, this locally-renowned stall serves an exemplary version of thunder tea rice, a rice dish topped with peanuts, chilli, and anchovies and served alongside herby, green tea soup. The dish is a specialty of the Hakka people—one of Singapore’s largest Chinese dialect groups—and is apparently named after the sound the ingredients make when being pounded to make the soup. Unlike many other specialties found in hawker centers, thunder tea rice is high in fiber, low in fat, and low in cholesterol, making it a popular choice for those looking for a healthier lunchtime option.