Set your first step onto Singapore and you’re probably already hearing it – there is good food almost everywhere. However, with a million foreigners living here, perhaps the Singaporean food palette has been cultivated to a very distinct local taste, dishes that are clear winners in their hearts.

So what do expats think of the food? Which are their favourite dishes?

We’ve surveyed 20 well-travelled foodie expats living in our MetroResidences’ serviced apartments. We asked them what is the dish they’ll sorely miss the most once they’ve left Singapore.

These were the most loved dishes:

“This is the dish that my hubby and I can’t stop queuing up for. Whether it is the aromatic fragrance wafting up from a steaming plate of Hokkien Mee served with copious amounts of prawns and squids, or the tangy lime and spicy chilli that packs a punch that goes alongside it.

My favourite Hokkien Mee is served at the Swee Guan Hokkien Mee, it is made wet and with gravy that mixes well with the sambal. Yum!”

– Brianne, Netherlands, Housewife.

Swee Guan Hokkien Mee
Address: 549 Geylang Road (Lorong 29), Singapore 389504
Operating hours: 5pm to 11pm (Daily)

“Katong Laksa serves up my favourite laksa. There are several Katong Laksa outlets near my place in Singapore so I got to try most if not all the different laksa stalls there are in Katong.

363 Katong Laksa’s has to be my all-time favourite. It has a milky, savoury gravy that is beautifully accompanied by thick and soft vermicelli noodles. And it’s served special – no chopsticks. It’s great for us that are bad at chopsticks. It’s ‘designed’ in a way that we can just gobble it up with a Chinese spoon.”

– Priyanka, India, Project Manager

363 Katong Laksa:
Address: 29 Lor Liput, Singapore 277740
Opening hours: 10am to 9pm (Daily)

“It’s so much more than just chicken and rice. It’s so fragrant and aromatic! The dish is cooked in the stock that was used to prepare the chicken, along with some basic herbs like garlic and ginger. It comes in 2 types, steamed and roasted. Some stalls dipped the steamed version in ice after its cooked, giving it a very unique and tender texture to the meat.

My favourite chicken rice is done by the fine folks of Tian Tian at Maxwell Food Centre. The rice is fluffy and the chicken packs a mouthful of flavour.”

– Matthew, America, Accounts Executive Director

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice
Address: Maxwell Food Centre #01-10/11, 1 Kadayanallur Street, Singapore 069184
Opening hours: 11am to 8pm (Tues – Sun), Closed Mon

“The locals here call it ‘Orh Luak’. The depth of flavour and chilli sauce on the side makes it taste great, and I can never ever get enough of oyster omelettes! I never thought eggs and oysters could be such a great combination till I came to Singapore. I love it!”

– Chiam Kee, Hong Kong, Broker

Ang Sa Lee
Address: 20 Kensington Park Road #01-33, Chomp Chomp Food Centre, 557269

“This rice-based dish is cooked with long-grain Basmati rice and served with most types of meat. Chicken, fish and mutton are the common stock to accompany Biryani but once in awhile, you get something unique like Lobster and Pork Biryani! It amazes me what Singaporeans can do with their already delicious food.

My go-to Nasi Biryani, however, is the authentic mutton Dum Biryani. Dum means that it is slow-cooked in a big pot over coals. The mutton is so soft and tender it basically melts in your mouth. It’s served at Sakunthala Food Palace, it’s so near my serviced apartment at Race Course Road. ”

– Sandra, Indonesia, Human Resource Manager

Sakunthala Food Palace
Address: 66 Race Course Rd, Singapore 218570
Opening hours: 11am to 10:30pm (Daily)

“At home, the crab is always cooked in your basic crab cake recipes but over here they have chilli crab, a mouthwatering dish cooked in a chilli gravy. Paired with deep-fried buns called Mantou, which you can dip in the gravy to absorb all of its goodness to be delivered right into your mouth. No Signboard Seafood has got to be my favourite. Yes, this restaurant is literally called No Signboard Seafood because they don’t have one.”

– Noah, Philippines, Country Manager

No Signboard Seafood
Address: 414 Geylang, Singapore 389392
Operating hours: 11am to 1am (Daily)

“Popiah’s an all-in-one. With turnips, carrots, bean sprouts and eggs in the popiah skin, it’s an explosion of flavours in your mouth. The popiah aunty at the Old Airport Road serves up my favourite. It’s inexpensive too, at $1.50, the popiahs just keep coming.”

– Akemi, Japan, Graphic Designer

Qin Carrot Cake & Popiah
Address: 51 Old Airport Rd, 390051
Opening hours: 10am to 10pm (Daily)