Celebrating National Day with Singapore Favourite Food

Hawker food is an unique aspect of Singapore. Whenever my overseas friends come for a visit, I will definitely bring them to a hawker centre to have a good meal. But if you ask me, what is Singapore’s national dish, that is really a difficult question. To answer that, I did a Facebook post asking my readers what do they consider as a national dish. There is no right or wrong answer. But it is interesting to understand other’s perspective of Singapore’s National Dish. So here’s what I gather from the response.

1. Chicken rice

Chicken Rice is the most unique iconic Singaporean dish. It is a dish of Chinese origin most commonly associated with Hainanese and Singaporean cuisine, although it is also commonly sold in neighbouring Thailand and Malaysia.
The chicken is usually boiled and the stock is used for rice preparation, producing an oily and flavorful rice. The succulent steamed white chicken is then cut into bite-size pieces and served with the fragrant rice.

Where to eat?
1. Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice: #01-10 Maxwell Food Centre, 1 Kadayanallur Street
2. Yet Con: 25 Purvis Street
3. Boneless Chicken Rice: Katong Shopping Centre #B1-85/87

2. Bak Chor Mee

Bak chor mee is actually a dialect for minced pork noodles. A good rendition of this popular Teochew dish will have fluffy minced pork, succulent stewed mushrooms, springy noodles in a dark vinegary sauce. As I savour my bowl of Bak Chor Mee, I like to pair it with a can of Coca-Cola to cool my tastebuds.

Where to eat?
1. Lai Heng Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle: Blk 51 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh #01-62
2. Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle: Block 466 Crawford Lane #01-12
3. Yan Kee Noodle House: BK Eating House, 21 South Bridge Road

3. Hokkien Mee

Only available in Singapore, this plate of rice noodles and vermicelli is cooked in a fragrant stock, together with prawns, egg and sometimes lard. Add calamansi lime and sambal to give it the kick!

Where to eat?
1. Tian Tian Lai: Blk 127 Toa Payoh Lor 1 #02-27
2. Ah Hock Fried Hokkien Noodles: Chomp Chomp Food Centre Stall 27

4. Chilli Crab

Another national signature, chili crab is one of the most requested dishes for anyone who comes to Singapore. It is listed at number 45 on World’s 50 most delicious foods complied by CNN Go in 2011.
Despite its name, chili crab is not a very spicy dish. The crabs are cooked with thick tomato and chilli based gravy and usually eaten with fried ‘man-tou” (fried buns). But there are more ways to do the crab now. If you aren’t a fan of chilli, you can choose to cook the crabs with black pepper, salted egg yolk, steamed with wine etc.

Where to eat?
1. Roland Restaurant: Block 89 Marine Parade Central #06-750
2. Mellben Seafood: Blk 232 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 #01-1222

5. Laksa

Laksa is a popular spicy noodle soup from the Peranakan culture, which is a merger of Chinese and Malay elements found in Malaysia and Singapore. It consists of thick rice vermicelli in a rich, spicy coconut gravy. Katong Laksa is a variant of lakes from the Katong area of Singapore. The soup is thick and made from ground dried shrimp. Stir in the dollop of sambal and fragrant laksa leaves and enjoy!

Where to eat?
1. Katong Laksa: 1 Telok Kurau Road
2. Sungei Road Laksa: Blk 27, Jalan Berseh #01-100 Jin Shui Kopitiam

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*This post is brought to you by Coca-Cola®.*