What Are the Must-Try Singaporean Dishes for First-Time Visitors? – A Culinary Experience You’ll Never Forget 

Visiting Singapore for the very first time, are you? You’re going to ask yourself why you waited until now to visit. Singapore is a small city-state. Despite its modest size, this South Asian destination has a lot to offer. There’s a food scene that brings travellers from around the world. It’s diverse and offers a whole lot of culinary delights. For a first-time visitor such as yourself, these are the must-try Singaporean dishes.

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Hainanese Chicken Rice

A must-try for anyone visiting Singapore, Hainanese chicken rice is a simple dish, but it’s absolutely delicious! It’s a plate of fragrant rice served with a generous topping of steamed chicken. The rice is cooked in chicken stock – the trick is in the chicken stock. It has to be good quality for the rice to be flavourful and aromatic. Hainanese chicken rice is even better with a bit of dipping sauce drizzled all over it.Where can you find this delicious dish? From hawker centres to restaurants, you can find Hainanese chicken rice almost anywhere in Singapore. Want to try something different while you’re here? A taste of home, maybe? Stay at a hotel like Grand Park City Hall, which features some of the best City Hall restaurants in Singapore.

Chilli Crab

 This is a classic Singaporean dish full of flavours. Try it once, and you’ll never stop craving it. You can’t use just any crab to make Singaporean chilli crab; it has to be hard-shell ones. These crabs are cooked in a tangy sauce with chilli and tomatoes. Then, the crabs are slightly stir-fried with a paste made of chilli sauce, ketchup, and eggs.Though the name is chilli crab, even those who don’t like spicy food can try it. It’s not very spicy, and the sweet and tangy flavours help offset the spiciness of the dish. Order some bread to soak up all that delicious gravy too. Also, expect to get your hands dirty – this is not a dish you can eat without going all in!

Laksa 

Another beloved dish in Singapore, Laksa is a nod to the Chinese and Malay culinary heritages of Singapore. It’s a spicy soup served with rice noodles, shrimp, fish cakes, egg, and tender chicken meat. Katong laksa is one of the standout dishes, where noodles are cut into small pieces for easy slurping. Some also like to include tofu puffs and cockles. It’s rich, creamy, and a bit spicy – a combination foodies can’t get enough of.

Char Kuay Teow 

Both hawker centres and restaurants serve Char Kuay Teow, a stir-fried noodle dish. Thick white noodles are the type of noodles used. They’re stir-fried with a delectable black sauce, fish cake, bean sprouts, clams, and Chinese sausage. You’ll notice a smoky flavour in this dish, which is achieved by cooking the noodles at a high temperature – a technique chefs use to bring out the best. Char Kuay Teow is a comforting, flavour-packed dish adored by locals, and you’re going to love it too!

Hokkien Prawn Mee

Hokkien Prawn Mee is another dish that proves Singapore’s love for noodles. It’s made with thick flat noodles. Prawns, squid, fish cake, and chicken or pork are also added, then seasoned with soy sauce, vinegar, and chilli for a rich savoury flavour. It comes with sambal sauce and a lime wedge – be sure to squeeze the lime over the noodles to balance out the oiliness, not to mention enhance the taste.

Barbequed Stingray 

Love street food? Then you must give this Singaporean street food delight a try. Barbecued stingray is loved by locals, and when tourists try it, they fall in love with it too. It’s often found at hawker centres. The classic, in other words, the very best, version includes tender stingray meat coated in a generous layer of sambal sauce, made with tomatoes, chillies, and shrimp paste. Once the fish is all thoroughly cooked, it gives off a delectable aroma, which is a hint of its heavenly flavour.