Country Reviews: Five foods real Singaporeans like to eat

1) Durians

Durians, nicknamed the king of fruits by some lovers, are a very special food to Singaporeans. If you had travelled to tropical Singapore and namely Geylang or Chinatown, you would witness locals gorging in the spiky delight. However, many dislike the durian for its pungent smell and rough surface that public transports in Singapore have banned it. Singaporeans indulge in durians because they regard the aroma as fragrant and the meat inside tasty and delicious. There are many types of durians available for purchase in Singapore, from the highly popular D-24 durian to the less popular and much smaller D703 durian. If you are in Singapore, you might as well give the durian a try for it will tingle your taste buds.

2) Chilli Crabs

Chilli Crabs is second on our list. This dish which is almost unique to the Southeast Asia geography and mainly in Singapore tastes and smells extremely flavourful. It combines a taste of spiciness with a hint of sweetness, making it tolerable amongst those who aren’t into spicy food. The crab is cooked and steamed in a big plate of the restaurant’s very own chilli sauce and the crab’s meat would absorb the essence of the sauce, making the flesh both tender and tasty. Singaporeans usually use fried buns or as the Chinese says it : “Mantou” to clean the plate of its Chilli Sauce as the sauce is considered a delicacy where the chef has put in hours of effort and wasting it would not be a nice gesture to the chef.

3) Satay

Satay is a very famous food amongst all Singaporeans, especially the Malays and the Chinese. It is mainly marinated meat skewered onto a stick and being grilled for a period of time by the chef before handing it over to the customer. There are chicken, beef and mutton meats available for you to choose from. (Pork is unavailable because Muslims aren’t allowed to eat pork) The Satay would then be dipped inside a scintillating peanut sauce. There would also be “ketupat” (rice cakes) for you to savour on, les you are not full. If you want to get a taste of the Satay, you could head on down to “Lat Pa Sat” (it means old market in Chinese) to have a taste. The satays there are very sumptuous and are highly recommended.

4) Roti Prata

Roti Prata is another famous dish in Singapore mainly amongst the Indians and Malays residing here. Roti Prata is basically something like a fried pan cake where the chef would flip the dough many times in order to make it seem large and thin before folding the final product for easy packaging. The roti prata would then be heated under a hot plate; normally you would be able to view what is happening. After receiving the “Prata”, you would then be able to enjoy it with many toppings such as curry and sugar. There are also many variations to Roti Prata, there are Roti Canal which are influenced by the Malay culture, tissue variants influenced by Malaysian Mamak stalls.

5) Fish Head Curry

Fish Head Curry would be the last dish which I am going to introduce to everyone. This is a dish that is well liked amongst all communities in Singapore where Indians, Malays and Chinese would be able to enjoy this delicacy. The head of a red snapper is stewed in curry with various vegetables such as the lady’s finger and brinjal. Normally Singaporeans eat the dish with just rice but if you are feeling full or just sick of rice, you could try it with any side dishes or just bread which the restaurant would provide. The meat of the fish is succulent and soft, with the flesh just behind the cheeks of the fish head being the sweetest and most gastronomically sumptuous. If you are heading down to the Lion City, be sure to try the famous curry fish head.