After eight long years of absence, I once again arrived in Singapore with a pretty flexible itinerary, a trusty road map and an empty (and growling) stomach ready to take on Singapore’s food scene.

Singapore’s National Dish: Hainanese Chicken Rice

Our first stop was at the Maxwell Center in Chinatown. Singapore’s Chinatown is not only a popular place to bargain shop but it also has a lot of beautiful architectures that you can easily view by taking a short stroll around the area. Aside from that, locals and visitors alike make it a point to drop by Chinatown to experience what’s said to be one of the best Chicken Rice in Singapore.

It’s a good thing I did my research before taking the trip as I knew exactly where to go upon entering the food center. With numerous stalls all lined up and almost all of them bearing names written in Chinese characters, it can be pretty difficult to find the right food stall without any leads. Thanks to Anthony Bourdain who mentioned this in his New York Times article, I found Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice which was located right at the middle of Maxwell Food Center. We arrived just in time for lunch and it proved very easy to spot since there was a long line coming from this very stall.

While my companion patiently lined up for our Chicken Rice, I headed to a stall named Auntie to order a plate of Black Fried Carrot Cake. This $3 dish actually consists of minced radish cake sautéed with spring onions and sweet soy sauce. You can also opt to order it white minus the soy sauce. Just around the same time that I carried my steaming plate of fried carrot cake to the table, my companion was already busy setting our plates of Hainanese Chicken Rice and was ready to dig in.

Let me tell you about Tian Tian’s Chicken Rice and what makes it so famous. First of all, the meat. Each slice has very few bones attached to it since it uses choice cuts of native chicken, thus making each bite more tender and hassle-free to eat. Secondly, the three dips. As Anthony Bourdain wrote, “to an aficionado, chicken rice is a dish with infinite possibilities.” While I enjoy covering my chicken with the ginger puree and a dot of sweet soy sauce, my companion prefers to dunk his in soy sauce then add a generous spread of hot sauce on top. As a typical Hainanese Chicken Rice comes with a bowl of soup and three small saucers containing the hot sauce, soy sauce and ginger puree, it’s really up to you on how you would like to enjoy it. Lastly, the rice. An Asian meal is hardly complete without the presence of rice. Likewise, it is impossible to fully enjoy Singapore’s Hainanese Chicken without its infamous rice that’s cooked using a special chicken broth, making it oily and very flavorful.

Food Tripping down Orchard Road

On our second day, we spent the entire afternoon in Orchard road which is Singapore’s retail and entertainment district. Shopping was really today’s main priority but being natural food adventure seekers, we couldn’t resist the urge to try a couple of delicious and refreshing treats that we found while walking up and down the road.

One thing every traveler should know about Singapore is that it lies right along the equator, making it very warm especially during noon time. Thankfully, their efficient city government made sure that a lot of tress were planted to help lower the temperature. Furthermore, enterprising individuals did a great job by lining up the street with ice cream carts for shoppers who are in need of a cool break in between mall visits.

I chanced upon this ice cream cart that sells $1 ice cream bars and after asking the vendor to recommend his best-selling flavor, I got my Chocolate ice cream bar sandwiched in between two crisp wafers! One bite was all it took to make this my favorite Singaporean icy treat and I am willing to go back for another one...or maybe a dozen more.

After shopping to my heart’s content in three of Orchard’s biggest malls, I was ready to call it a day and to sit down, relax and have a good simple dinner the Singaporean way. Up I went to Wisma Atria’s Food Republic where I once again followed a long line leading to a stall that sells only three things: Fried Prawn Mee, Char Kuay Teow, and Fried Oyster Omelet. I took the local’s recommendation and ordered a Fried Prawn Mee.

Before heading back to the table, I stopped by the beverage cart to get myself some lemon barley juice. Now, I'm all set for dinner. I love the plump juicy shrimps that are mixed with the white stir-fried noodles. It’s no wonder people patiently wait in line as this is one of the best-tasting fried noodles I’ve ever tasted. It had a good mix of vegetables, a generous serving of shrimp, and of course, a perfect bite to the the noodles. For the brave ones, add some chili paste to perk up the flavor.

Home Décor meets delicious Food at IKEA

I couldn’t believe it was my last day and with just a couple of hours left before heading back to the airport, I took a bus to go to IKEA along Alexandra road. After hearing raves from friends and constant words of encouragement to try IKEA’s restaurant, I knew that my trip won’t be complete without checking this out.

It was a weekday and I arrived just in time for lunch. I was surprised to be greeted by yet another line and this time, it was the longest that I’ve seen as the end of the line had already reached the entrance of the restaurant. I didn’t mind this as I needed some time to decide on what to order. Browsing through the menu board, I finally chose the Fish Fillet with Chive Sauce and their infamous Swedish Meatballs.

I liked the Swedish Meatballs that came with slices of boiled potatoes and a dollop of strawberry jam. At first, I wasn’t really sure what the strawberry jam was for but after adding a thin spread on top of my first meatball, I knew that this was a winning combination! The Fish Fillet with Chive Sauce was a fun dish to eat. Deep-fried cream dory served with crispy French fries and drizzled with IKEA’s special Chive sauce. It gave a gourmet touch to our well-loved fish and chips! I’m really glad to have had a delicious lunch before I bid adieu to beautiful Singapore.

We only had three days and I know there are still a lot more hidden jewels left to be discovered. I guess it’s time to plan my trip back to Singapore soon.