achlee

Can anybody suggest some restaurant recommendations in Singapore? I'm going for 5 days at the end of this month.

I'm open to all budgets and types of food. I know this is an extremely broad question, but if anybody has a quick list of top 3 casual, top 3 high end, top 3 street food, etc, that would be much appreciated.

invisible

http://www.hungrygowhere.com/ should help.

achlee

I'll check it out. Thank you!

lcpteck

Do try out the recommended Hawker centers, still the best place for food.

achlee

I read about Hawker centers, and will definitely check that out. It sounds similar to the night markets in Taiwan.

SQ319

Except that unlike night markets, not all open at night. Some, like Ghim Moh and Tiong Bahru, operate predominantly during the day, while others like Old Airport Road are livelier at night.

Also if you have an idea of what cuisine you're more interested in, it allows us to give more targeted recommendations.

PeterMFL

I liked that Hawkers area but it's not really classy... For a little bit more classy check out the restaurants in Clarke Quay.
I liked Jumbo to be honest! Nice Spicey Crab and really nice view but depends what you feel like eating just take a walk by the river and you'll find something

Sixth Freedom

I visited two hawker centres, Lau Pa Sat and Old Airport. Both were excellent and extremely cheap. I can recommend the fish head, sting ray and the satays. Try the sugar cane and lemon juice too! Bear in mind though that even at the best hawker centres some outlets are better than others (source: my friends who live in SIN).

I also visited the food court at the mall next to the Mandarin Oriental, which was superb and again extremely cheap.

For more expensive food, check out Dolce Vita (Italian) and Cherry Garden (Cantonese) at the Mandarin Oriental. I had the nicest pork chop I have ever tasted at Dolce Vita and the best crispy duck and pork ribs I have ever tasted at Cherry Garden.

Here is a fish head as experienced at Old Airport! There were surprisingly few bones and I regret declining the eye...



For more on Singapore check out my trip report!

achlee

What about some upscale restaurants? Any good restaurants with good prix fixe menu's for under $200 USD/person?

I'm partial to Japanese/Chinese food, but since I go to these countries often, I'm not looking for these in particular unless they are highly recommended.

Ryvyan

For higher end dining, Mezza9 located at Hyatt in Orchard. They did serve my steak cooked medium instead of the medium-rare I asked for, but it was still incredibly delicious. Service was impeccable and many flavours of margaritas to choose from at the separate bar (we asked for bar menu at our table because we were too lazy to move). They have a set dinner that costs less than $90 I think, so if you add wine and such it should be less than $200.

For seafood, Jumbo is not as good as others like Melben or Uncle Leong! For more casual, try the 'zhi char' at food courts and hawker centres. These stores have a menu from which you choose dishes from.

For casual (and more upscale than hawker centres and food courts) Japanese dining, I like Sushi Tei (partial to outlet at Takashimaya), Itacho Sushi (located in public area of Changi T3 as well) and Koh Grill (restaurant within food court at top floor of Wisma Atrium in Orchard).

Shiok! Maki at Koh is really good, as are the grilled pork belly and soft shell crab handroll. Local flavours.

If hungry in Orchard and feeling cheap, there is a good (franchised?) fishball noodles at the basement foodcourt in Ion Orchard. Also, Ayam Penyat at Lucky Plaza/Far East and chicken rice at Lucky Plaza.

For hawker-style coffee and toast, Ya Kun has the most consistent quality. Partial to outlet at Far East. Toastbox has good local food, but their 'kopi' (coffee) and toast are not that good.

For cheap ice cream, look for the ice cream man in a stall attached to the motorcycle outside Takashimaya near the crossing to Paragon. He's the only one I know who has peanut butter flavour! Get either scoops or blocks of ice cream in a cup, cone or between bread. So artificial, so cheap ($1).

achlee

Sixth Freedom, Ryvyan, thank you for your suggestions. I'm going to do some follow up research based on your feedback, but these all sound like great options.

SQ319

I usually prefer hawker centres to food courts, but I have to say the B4 food court (Food Opera) at Ion Orchard is pretty decent. Apart from the Fishball noodles, I highly recommend the beef soup, prawn noodles (soup version, next to fishball noodles) and minced meat mushroom noodles (bak chor mee, as we call it) in this food court.

For higher end restaurants, Osteria Mozza (or the more casual Pizzeria Mozza) at Marina Bay Sands, Keyaki at Pan Pacific, Bedrock at Pan Pacific Serviced Suites in Orchard are some which I like. Keyaki does kaiseki sets, but the other 2 are pretty much ala carte, but definitely less than S$200 per pax for a full meal.

Ryvyan

These days have been so ridiculously warm that I cannot be bothered to sit out in non-airconditioned areas Otherwise, the quality of food is generally better in hawker centres where individuals man their own stalls. I prefer Bedok central and Block 85 food, but they might be a bit far off.

At Ion Orchard, I'm also partial to the dough fritters (you tiao!) near the entrance. Marina Square's food court is also decent as well. For casual-and-wont-die steak, I quite like Astons located at The Cathay.

Also, Katong Laksa! Along with a big cup of lime juice. If in the Katong area, the chicken rice stall in the basement of Katong Mall (the blue/yellow old building not far from I12 Katong, with many maid agencies in it) is FABULOUS. Especially if you like asam, because it is free-flow. Also, cheap karaoke! Or Jang Shou Korean buffet BBQ nearby at Katong Village (is it relocated?)!! Can you tell I'm excited?

And I'm not sure if they are still the same stalls, but the staff canteen off T2 at Changi Airport has decent food too.

Or spend a day at Botanic Gardens with a picnic basket (or with pizza from Holland Village). But that's more local.

ozdude

For fine dining I would check out Flutes at the Fort, at night you really feel like you are in the jungle, not 100m away from Funan Centre.

If you want super fine dining, then check out Gunther's in Purvis St. They only take one sitting so you get the table for the whole night. If you want to spend 200USD per person on food only, then order from the cart. I've only been there once but I was very happy with the service and food. But definitely very special occasion place.

There are tons of good restaurants in SG.

In terms of Steak "done-ness", I like medium rare, but most places I have been to tend to under cook the steak, so I order medium. The only place I've ordered medium rare is Morton's, who cooked it nicely.

aster

I always order down by a notch, regardless of where I am or how classy the steakhouse is. I have never made an exception to this. If I want medium-rate, I always ask for rare.

Jumbo has a nice location though at Clarke Quay, and the food is fine as well. I did prefer the seafood restaurant at Vivo (cannot remember the name), but it has nothing near the ambiance of the Jumbo CQ. Plus CQ is good because there are loads of good places to go for drinks afterwards.

Best sushi chain in town. I like the Sushi Tei outlet at Vivo the most, followed by the one at Paragon. Very good sushi though, not overpriced, and the quality is there.

Or the prawn noodle soup just to the right of the fishball place. Or just to the right of that they have the best dim sum of all foodcourts, because the stall actually belongs to a proper restaurant (Luk Yu) that can be found in Chinatown Point.