10 Local Faourites

1. Hainanese chicken rice - Steamed chicken served with fragrant rice cooked in chicken stock.
2. Laksa- Rice noodles in coconut curry gravy with shrimp, egg, chicken and cockles as garnishing.
3. Char kway teow- Broad white noodles fried with dark sweet sauce, bean sprouts, fish cake, clams and Chinese sausage.
4. Hokkien prawn mee-Vermicelli and yellow noodles fried with prawns, sliced cuttlefish and pork bits.
5. Murtabak-a local version of pizza stuffed with minced mutton or chicken tucked away inside and served with curry.
6. Fish head curry, a huge fish head and vegetables cooked in curry and served with rice. Have a glass of 'calamansi' or local lime juice to go with it.
7. Satay- meat kebabs served with rice cake, cucumber and peanut gravy.
8. Rojak-a local salad comprising a mixture of fruits and vegetables such as cucumbers, bean sprouts, pineapple, white radish, fried crullers, dried bean curd, sometimes even mango and cuttlefish, which are all tossed into a bowl and stirred in a prawn paste, topped off with peanuts.
9. Nonya kueh-a local dessert born out of a fusion of Chinese and Malay cultures which comes in an assortment of shapes, flavours and colours! Common ingredients include glutinous rice, tapioca, pandan, and tropical fruits like banana, durian and coconut!
10. Chilli crab-Hard-shell crabs cooked in thick gravy with a tomato and chilli base. Best eaten with bread soaked in the gravy. Don't be afraid to use your hands! This dish is usually ordered with other seafood dishes.

Down your food with a glass of fresh fruit juice or fresh coconut water. On a hot day, you should also end your meal with a local cold dessert like ice kacang or chendol. Ice kacang is a mound of grated ice, smothered with different sweet syrups with a base made of jelly, red beans, corn and attap seeds.

Chendol is a coconut milk drink mixed with brown sugar (gula melaka), green starch strips and red beans. If you are more adventurous, try the "king of all fruits" - the durian. Creamy and fleshy with a big seed contained in several segments of one big, thorny fruit. Some say it's a fruit you either love or hate, but an apt description goes something like this: "it smells like hell but tastes like heaven!" For sure, it's one experience you won't forget!

Beyond local fare.
Try the various dining precincts of Singapore for some of the coolest restaurants and bars in town, located in picturesque areas such as CHIJMES, Boat Quay, One Fullerton and Stadium Waterfront. All offer a great mix of international cuisine and popular nightspots. For fine dining in a cosy shophouse, stroll down to Club Street for its eclectic mix of Italian, Indochinese and Japanese cuisine.