Fried Kway Teow
A local favourite, kway teow, or flat rice noodles, are stir-fried with dark soya sauce and fish sauce to give a savoury and slightly sweet flavour. Beansprouts, and other vegetables are added in along with lap cheong (Chinese sausage), sliced fishcake and fresh cockles.
A variation of this dish which is almost equally popular is the Penang Fried Kway Teow, which features slightly thinner rice noodles, added prawns, and a more savoury and spicy flavour.
Find it here:
Fresh Cockles Fried Kway Teow - 7th Mile Bukit Timah Food Centre, 116 Upper Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 588172
From Ibis Singapore Novena: catch the hotel shuttle to Novena MRT, one stop on the North-South Line to Newton, 6 stops on the Downtown Line to Beauty World, alight at Beauty World MRT station - the food centre is right above.
From Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen: Walk for 4 minutes to Rochor MRT station, 8 stops to Beauty World, alight at Beauty World MRT station - the food centre is right above.
Chomp Chomp Fried Kway Teow Mee - Chomp Chomp Food Centre, 20 Kensington Park Road, Singapore 557269
Slightly inaccessible, but easily hail a taxi from your hotel’s taxi stand. It should cost about SGD10-15 from Ibis Singapore Novena and ibis Singapore on Bencoolen.
Sambal Stingray
Stingray is barbecued and lathered with sambal paste, a Southeast Asian chilli paste, served atop a banana leaf. Squeeze a lime over it to cut through the richness of the stingray and sambal. A true staple in Singaporean hawker fare.
Find it here:
Lucy BBQ Seafood - Chomp Chomp Food Centre, 20 Kensington Park Rd, Singapore 557269
Slightly inaccessible, but easily hail a taxi from your hotel’s taxi stand. It should cost about SGD10-15 from Ibis Singapore Novena and Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen. The food here is well worth it.
Alliance Seafood - Newton Circus Food Centre, 500 Clemenceau Avenue North, Singapore 229495
From Ibis Singapore Novena: Catch the shuttle bus to Novena MRT station, take one stop down to Newton, You’re there! Walk over to Newton Food Centre.
From Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen: Take a 4 minute walk to Rochor MRT station, Take two stops down to Newton, You’ve reached! Walk over to Newton Food Centre.
Carrot Cake
A far cry from the cream cheese frosted carrot cake, chai tow kway as it is called in Singapore, consists of fried cubes of radish cake with egg and sambal paste. Enjoyed all through the day by locals!
There are two kinds of carrot cake, both equally delicious. Black carrot cake, which uses sweet soy sauce, with egg stir-fried into the dish, and white carrot cake, which is absent of the sweet soy sauce, with its radish cubes fried atop the egg to form a crust.
Find it here:
Chey Sua Carrot Cake (Michelin Bib Gourmand Guide 2016) - Blk 127 Toa Payoh West Market & Food Centre Lorong 1 #02-30 Singapore 310127
From ibis Singapore Novena: A 15 minute bus ride away on bus 141.
He Zhong Carrot Cake - 7th Mile Bukit Timah Food Centre, 116 Upper Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 588172
From Ibis Singapore Novena: Catch the hotel shuttle to Novena MRT, one stop on the North-South Line to Newton, 6 stops on the Downtown Line to Beauty World, alight at Beauty World MRT station - the food centre is right above.
From Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen: Walk for 4 minutes to Rochor MRT station, 8 stops to Beauty World, alight at Beauty World MRT station - the food centre is right above.
Prawn Noodles
Prawn mee or prawn noodles, consists of egg noodles in a rich pork and prawn broth. Topped with sliced pork, or even pork ribs as shown above, prawns, lard and scallions, this hearty dish is a great lunch choice.
Find it here:
Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodle - Balestier Market, 414 Balestier Rd, Singapore Singapore 329806
From Ibis Singapore Novena: A 6 minute walk!
Min Nan Pork Ribs Prawn Noodle - Tiong Bahru Market, 83 Seng Poh Rd, Singapore 168898
From Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen: An 8 minute walk to Bugis MRT station, 10 stops to Tiong Bahru MRT station, Walk for 12 minutes to Tiong Bahru Market.
Hokkien Mee
Another favorite local food: Hokkien noodles. Egg noodles and rice noodles are stir-friend together with egg, sliced pork, prawns, and pieces of lard. It is garnished with sambal and lime for a spicy and tangy kick.
A popular dinner-time food, you can also balance the dish's oiliness with a glass of ice-cold sugarcane juice.
Find it here:
Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee - Whampoa Food Centre Blk 90 Whampoa Drive
From Ibis Singapore Novena: A 15 minute walk or a short bus ride (3 bus stops) away. You can take buses 139, 21, 131, or 186.
Yi Ji Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee - Albert Food Centre, 270 Queen St, Singapore 180270
From Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen: A 3 minute walk!
Hainanese Chicken Rice
Arguably Singapore's quintessential dish, chicken rice is simple and delicious. So popular is chicken rice that its served everywhere in the country: from schools canteen to large restaurants to hawker centres.
The entire chicken is poached in a flavourful broth, which is then use to cook the rice. The 'oily rice' is the star of the show, and can be served with either the poached chicken or a roast chicken. Three sauces are served on the side: a tangy chilli sauce, an oily ginger sauce, and dark soya sauce. Try a combination of these sauces or enjoy the rice on its own!
Find it here:
Tian Tian Chicken Rice (Awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand) - Maxwell Food Centre, 1 Kadayanallur Street, Singapore 069184
From Ibis Singapore Novena: Catch the hotel shuttle to Novena MRT, one stop on the North-South Line to Newton, 7 stops on the Downtown Line to Telok Ayer MRT station, a 9 minute walk to Maxwell Food Centre.
From Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen: A 4 minute walk to Rochor MRT station, 5 stops on the Downtown Line to Telok Ayer MRT station, a 9 minute walk to Maxwell Food Centre.
Boon Tong Kee Chicken Rice - 399, 401 & 403 Balestier Road, Singapore 329801
From Ibis Singapore Novena: A 6 minute walk!
Nasi Lemak
One of the staples of Malay food in Singapore and Malaysia, nasi lemak consists of rice boiled in coconut milk, served alongside fried chicken or fish, egg, begedil (a kind of potato croquette), and is garnished with peanuts, fried anchovies, and of course, sambal.
Originally a breakfast food, nasi lemak has gotten so popular that it is now served throughout the day. Get ready to queue!
Find it here:
Selara Rasa Nasi Lemak (famous islandwide) - Adam Road Food Centre, 2 Adam Rd, Singapore 289876
From Ibis Singapore Novena: Catch the hotel shuttle to Novena MRT, one stop on the North-South Line to Newton, 2 stops on the Downtown Line to Botanic Gardens MRT station, 6 minutes walk to Adam Road Food Centre.
From Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen: A 4 minute walk to Rochor MRT station, 4 stops on the Downtown Line to Botanic Gardens MRT station.
Satay
A popular dish in most Southeast Asian countries, satay is great for sharing. It consists of skewered, seasoned meats, like mutton, chicken, beef, or pork, grilled and served with a peanut dipping sauce.
The peanut dipping sauce is so popular that it has even spun-off into a dish of it's own, served with rice vermicelli and seafood, called satay beehoon.
Find it here:
Satay Sedap - Newton Circus Food Centre, 500 Clemenceau Avenue North, Singapore 229495
From Ibis Singapore Novena: Catch the shuttle bus to Novena MRT station, take one stop down to Newton, You’re there! Walk over to Newton Food Centre.
From Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen: Take a 4 minute walk to Rochor MRT station, take two stops down to Newton, You’ve reached! Walk over to Newton Food Centre.
Zaiton Satay - Adam Road Food Centre, 2 Adam Rd, Singapore 289876
Getting There
From Ibis Singapore Novena: Catch the hotel shuttle to Novena MRT, one stop on the North-South Line to Newton, 2 stops on the Downtown Line to Botanic Gardens MRT station, 6 minutes walk to Adam Road Food Centre.
From Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen: A 4 minute walk to Rochor MRT station, 4 stops on the Downtown Line to Botanic Gardens MRT station.
