This was published 5 years ago
Singapore, best places to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner: Leanne Kitchen
Food and travel writer and photographer Leanne Kitchen.
THE MEAL PLANNER
THE EXPERT
Prawn mee.
Leanne Kitchen is a Sydney-based food and travel writer and photographer. She co-owns Red Pork Press, an independent publishing house producing culinary travel guides. Soon to come, Singapore in 12 Dishes. See redporkpress.com
BREAKFAST
Toasted white bread with slabs of chilled butter and lashings of kaya (a custardy coconut jam), served with runny boiled eggs and washed down with kopi (local coffee), is a beloved Singapore breakfast. Tong Ah Eating House is an old-school kopi tiam (coffee shop) that's been around for over 70 years and is famous for breakfast. Devotees love the triple toasted bread, ultra crisp and slightly smoky-tasting, the rich, home-made kaya (which apparently takes 10 hours to make) and their coffee, a secret blend of three kinds of beans, roasted with sugar and butter. (35 Keong Saik Rd)
SNACK
"Cakes" by any other name, kueh are snacks made using ingredients like palm sugar, rice, mung bean or tapioca flour, coconut and pandan. They're light (many are steamed) and moreish. Most, but not all, are sweet and the range at HarriAnns, a third-generation family business, is mind-boggling. Visit them at the wonderful Tiong Bahru Food Centre. See harrianns.com
LUNCH
Prawn noodle soup is a classic hawker dish and aficionados swear by Wah Kee Big Prawn Noodle's stock, made using wild-caught prawns (six different kinds, legend has it) and none of the pork bone used elsewhere. The resulting brew is unadulterated elixir of prawn, served either on the side of thin egg noodles and prawns … or thrown over everything in the same bowl. Either way, a dab of fiery, home-made sambal is essential. (41a Cambridge Road)
DRINK
Perched on the roof of the stunning National Gallery Singapore, and with uninterrupted vistas over the Esplanade to Marina Bay Sands, the alfresco seats are the ones to nab at Smoke and Mirrors. As for the drinks, it's next level mixology all the way, with some highly inventive tipples. They mix smoky black tea with tequila for the Smoked Up for example, cook carrot and peppercorn in gin for a riff on a martini and employ soy protein to set the pineapple bubbles that wobble atop the Old and New Sling. See nationalgallery.sg
DINNER
Nasi lemak translates as "rich rice"; expect coconuty rice served with fried peanuts, crunched-up ikan bilis (fried dried anchovies), cucumber, egg and lip-smacking sambal. The Coconut Club, an upmarket canteen on picturesque Ann Siang Hill, specialises in this iconic Singaporean/ Malay dish and their schtick is based around uncompromising quality. They only use old-crop Thai jasmine rice and buy coconuts from a specific Malay plantation, for making fresh coconut milk. The piece de resistance is the ayam goreng that comes with the dish; succulent fried chicken that's marinated in galangal, turmeric and lemongrass before cooking. See thecoconutclub.sg
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