Best Singaporean Foods
Char kway teow is one of the most popular street dishes in Malaysia and Singapore. Despite numerous regional varieties, it is usually made with flat rice noodles, shrimps, eggs, cockles, bean sprouts, chives, and Chinese sausage. All the ingredients are usually fried and coated in soy sauce, while some versions also incorporate shrimp paste, garlic, fried pork lard, and sometimes even yellow wheat noodles.
Among the numerous theories about the origin of the dish, the most popular claims that it was invented in the Singaporean Teochew community by Chinese immigrants, while the name stems from Hokkien, char meaning fried and kway teow denoting flat rice noodles.
MOST ICONIC Char kway teow
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Roti prata is a Singaporean specialty consisting of a ghee-flavored flatbread that is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It is typically served with mutton curry or various fish dishes. There are many prata stalls throughout Singapore, so the texture of roti prata ranges from chewy and flaky to super crispy.
The flatbread can also be turned into a dessert by adding ingredients such as chocolate, ice cream, or cheese.
MOST ICONIC Roti prata
View moreAs the name implies, this laksa variety hails from the Katong neighborhood of Singapore's Central Region. It is based on a spicy, shrimp-infused broth that's flavored with coconut milk and a special laksa paste consisting of dried shrimps, herbs, and spices.
Other elements include thick rice noodles and a variety of condiments and toppings such as shrimps, fishcakes, cockles, tofu puffs, fish balls, spicy sambal sauce, or coriander. The noodles in Katong laksa are always cut into smaller pieces, and when served, each bowl comes with a spoon.
OTHER VARIATIONS OF Laksa
MOST ICONIC Katong laksa
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Beef kway teow is a Singaporean and Malaysian noodle dish that can be served either as a quick meal or as a side dish to bigger meals. In order to prepare it, broad and flat rice noodles are stir-fried with vegetables and herbs, and topped with slices of beef.
There is also a version of this dish in a form of a soup similar to Thai beef soup, but it is usually prepared as a "dry" dish, in a thick gravy flavored with chili, soy sauce, and sesame oil. A variety of the dish is popular in Indonesia, where it’s commonly enriched with garlic, meatballs, cabbage, soy sauce, and black pepper.
MOST ICONIC Beef kway teow
View moreThis sweet turnover pancake comes under various names throughout Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and Singapore. Regardless of the location, it can be prepared either in a thin and crispy variety or as a thick and soft pancake. Traditional fillings typically include a combination of ground or roughly chopped peanuts, sugar, and butter, but the modern varieties may include anything from corn, chocolate chips, and raisins to grated cheese or condensed milk.
Though not much is known about its origin, it is believed that is was first introduced in Penang by the Chinese who migrated from the province of Fujian.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Black pepper crab is the unofficial national dish of Singapore, made by stir-frying crab pieces with black pepper, garlic, shallots, and oyster sauce over high heat. The dish is seldom prepared at home, but people can easily find it at numerous street stalls and seafood restaurants.
Once the crab is cooked, it is often garnished with coriander leaves and paired with rice on the side.
MOST ICONIC Black Pepper Crab
View moreOriginally invented on Hainan, a tropical island located south of China, the humble Hainanese chicken rice has evolved into one of the most popular dishes in Singapore. It consists of steamed chicken that is cut into bite-sized pieces, then served with fragrant white rice.
When plated, the dish is drizzled with soy sauce and sesame oil, and it is served with sliced cucumbers and a spicy chili sauce. Frequently, the steaming liquid is subsequently spiced and served as a soup. The recipe was brought to Singapore by Hainanese migrants in the 19th century, and the first vendor selling this unique dish in Singapore opened his stall in the 1940s.
OTHER VARIATIONS OF Wenchang ji
MOST ICONIC Hainanese Chicken Rice
View moreMAIN INGREDIENTS
Like many other dishes in Asia, chilli crab started as a street food item, but it has eventually become so popular that today it is considered to be the national dish of Singapore. It consists of a stir-fried crab covered in a succulent, spicy sauce.
The story of chilli crab's origin is a well-known anecdote - it was invented in the 1950s by Cher Yam Tian, who wanted to modify her stir-fried crab recipe by adding bottled chili sauce into the dish. The result was so delicious that her family persuaded her to start selling the dish, so chilli crab began its way to become the signature dish of Singapore.
MOST ICONIC Chilli crab
View moreKaya toast is a popular Malaysian and Singaporean breakfast consisting of two slices of toasted bread filled with kaya, a traditional spread made with sugar, eggs, coconut milk, and pandan flavoring. The dish is typically served with a slice of butter and two semi-boiled eggs on the side, paired with a cup of milk tea or hot coffee.
It is believed that the dish originated with Hainanese people who worked on British ships as cooks. Eventually, they settled in Singapore and started to sell their food to the locals, who then replaced the British jams with local coconut spreads. Today, there is a variety of kaya toasts such as cracker kaya toast, steamed kaya toast, and French kaya toast.
MOST ICONIC Kaya Toast
View moreClaypot rice is a traditional dish that’s especially popular in Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Although there are numerous variations on the dish, it’s often made with a combination of long-grain rice, mushrooms, chicken, sausage, ginger, shallots, oil, soy sauce, scallions, coriander, and sambal chili sauce.
The rice is soaked and finished in a claypot with the rest of the ingredients. If properly prepared, the rice should form a crust on the bottom. The dish is typically cooked over a charcoal stove, which imparts a unique flavor to claypot rice. Before serving, claypot rice is usually garnished with scallions and coriander, and the dish is accompanied by dark soy sauce and sambal on the side.
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 50 Singaporean Foods” list until April 13, 2025, 2,001 ratings were recorded, of which 1,532 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.