Singapore has become a food and cocktail capital, here’s where you should go

You don’t need to fly to New York or London to lap up the world’s best food and cocktails. We’ve got a city that never sleeps on our doorstep.

Buzzing beneath the imposing skyscrapers of Singapore, there’s a gastronomic hive of madness you could spend your whole life getting lost in.

And, while it’s been known for years for its chilli crab, Singapore slings and hawker centres there’s a new breed of restaurants and bars that are making their voices heard among the frenetic city’s 5.6 million people.

Eating ridiculous amounts of food is a way of life of famously clean, prosperous and South-East Asian nation — where perfect storm of cultures, cuisines and hardworking chefs have created something of foodie paradise.

Singapore has become one of the world’s best cocktail destinations.

Not only that, the city is now competing shoulder-to-should with New York and London as a cocktail capital, with five of its bars making the World’s Top 50 list.

But before we get to that, we need to talk about food, because you should never drink on an empty stomach. Did your mother not teach you anything?

And you’re in luck because lining your stomach isn’t a hard thing to do in Singapore.

The only challenge is knowing where to start as unusual smells and sights beckon you in at every corner and, once you’ve been lured in, you’re confronted with a daunting array of food.

SO WHERE SHOULD YOU EAT?

If there’s one place you should go out of your way for in Singapore it’s Keng Eng Kee (KEK) — which is nestled in the housing suburb of Bukit Merah just 10 minutes’ drive from the city.

Here you’ll find a no-frills hawker-like set-up run by a family who’ve been serving up insanely delicious “Zi Char” cuisine over three generations.

The moonlight hor fun is outrageously tasty.

As are the coffee pork ribs.

Literally meaning “cook and fry”, Tze Char simply means you you’ll get home-cooked-style food, and lots of it, for price that’s not going to hurt your bank balance.

But what makes KEK special is its experimental signature dishes, such as coffee pork ribs (it shouldn’t work, but it just does) and the ridiculously tasty moonlight hor fun (stir-fried flat noodles served with a freshly-cracked raw egg that cooks into the dish on your table).

If your still feeling adventurous, you should wrap your lips around the tender stir-fried liver and tastebud-tingling salted egg prawns too.

Speaking of good eggs, Chef Wayne Liew — who’s grown up in the fire and fury of the KEK kitchen started by his Chinese immigrant grandparents in the 1950s — can point you some of the best local eateries in the city.

He’s just one of thousands of Singapore chefs who have dedicated their lives to the heat of the kitchen in pursuit of the perfect dish.

It wouldn’t be a visit to Singapore without a helping of chilli crab.

The tender stir-fried liver is a must-try.

Many of them have turned their back on city’s corporate world and the cash that comes with it in order to follow their dreams.

One of them is former lawyer turned MasterChef Asia winner Woo Wai Leong, who runs Restaurant Ibid in the heart of the city.

The 31-year-old tells me he and his team of incredibly young chefs are “punching well above their weight” in a city that’s crawling with top quality competition.

And his contemporary Chinese food, particularly the whole roast duck with charred flatbread and homemade sauce and the grilled squid with green pepper and pickled chilli, is worth donating a vital organ for.

Restaurant Ibid’s dishes are as colourful as they are tasty.

The whole roast duck with charred flatbread is a crowd-pleaser.

Leong also happens to be one of the most convivial chefs on the planet.

“You can find world class food anywhere in Singapore, but what we want to give is a unique service,” he said.

He’s not wrong and, if you play your cards right, he might even reveal where city’s secret bars — which are strictly not in the guidebooks — lie.

THE WORLD’S MOST INSANE BRUNCH

OK, I’m not going to tell you where those secret bars are, but if you enjoy a cheeky daytime drink and spectacular food, there’s a place you simply have to check out.

Within the opulent Regent building — which is just a short but sweaty stroll from the city’s must-see Botanic Gardens — there’s a grand hotel bar called Manhattan that’s been voted the second best bar in Asia.

Sure, it’s nice to look at with it’s dark, olde world New York interior and intimidatingly large collection of US whiskies — but if there’s one reason for paying it a visit, its legendary adults-only Sunday Cocktail Brunch.

It’s difficult to know where to begin once you’re surrounded by everything from freshly sliced roasted lamb, Wagyu beef, shucked oysters, lobsters, cheeses and pancakes with an enormous range of toppings.

This is the mixing room where you can make your own concoctions.

You can even customise your own bloody Marys and G & Ts with a massive range of ingredients (chilli crab sauce Bloody Mary anyone?) — not to mention cocktails, wines and beers are on free-flow.

If you’ve got a liver left after all that, there’s the “Boozy Milkshake Station” which offers three flavours, a selection of dark rum or maple-finished bourbons as well as a bar of lollies and fruits to garnish.

I was barely able to walk after all this, but if you have more restraint than me head for a stroll to check out the massive lizards and the National Orchid Garden in the Botanic Gardens.

Another place to kick your day off in style is at The Clifford Pier — which offers up a “Heritage Dim Sum Brunch”.

A breakfast of champions...

Once a rough and ready landing point for immigrants, the pier has been converted into a ridiculously good-looking restaurant boasting views over the bay.

The food is awesome too, especially the impressive array of colourful Asian cakes — which you should only tackle after you’ve washed down your dim sims and spicy chicken feet with a few glasses of champagne.

The pier was once rough and ready landing point for immigrants.

TASTE OF HOME WITH A TWIST

One of the only certainties of travelling is that you’re bound to bump into an Aussie at some point, and Singapore is no exception to the rule.

But, if there’s one Aussie you go out of your way to meet it’s Sri Lankan-born chef Rishi Naleendra — who is something of a culinary star in the city.

The Michelin star titan is putting modern Aussie food on the map at Cheek Bistro.

Along with his wife Manuela Toniolo, Naleendra serves up some extraordinary takes on Aussie grub and some of our best wines to boot.

His oysters with slushy smoked tomato ice are as refreshing as they are inventive, and they perfect to take the edge off an oppressively humid South-East Asian night.

Oysters with slushy smoked tomato ice take the edge of a sticky Singapore evening.

Sri Lankan-born chef Rishi Naleendra is cooking up a storm.

Another extraordinary dish is the sweet waffle with chicken liver parfait which is so rich you’ll be thinking about for weeks.

Seeing an Aussie chef and his team here while the bars bustle with revellers outside is a reminder of what makes eating and drinking in Singapore so exciting.

The city is a melting pot of cultures and cuisines, meaning you can taste world in a day.

If the ludicrously-rich tastes of San Sebastian are your thing, you should make your way to the captivating The Alkaff Mansion.

Sitting on a hillside overlooking the city, this romantic colonial bungalow, built in 1918, is surrounded by fountains and a quaint garden where low-key musicians ply their trade.

Inside there’s TXA, where you can taste an impressive selection of pintxos from the Basque region and some of its world-famous wines to boot.

TXA boasts an impressive selection of pintxos from the Basque region.

And, if you’re hankering for more Mediterranean grub you should check out the idyllic FOC Sentosa, where Michelin Star chef Nandu Jubany has brought a taste of Barcelona to Singapore’s beach and adventure precinct.

Life doesn’t get much better than tapas, cold beer and a massive squid ink paella by the beach.

LET’S TALK ABOUT BOOZE

OK, that’s enough about food, because Singapore has reinvented itself as a cocktail destination hosting some of the world’s most acclaimed bars.

Like with the food scene, there’s too much to choice when it comes to bars. So, here’s a few good places to start.

We mentioned Manhattan before, and if bottomless brunches aren’t your thing it’s still worth ducking in for a Singapore sling and taking in the buzz.

Now, Manhattan’s got style for sure but if you want a drink in a place that’s ridiculously good lookin’ I suggest you take a stroll over to Atlas in the Bugis neighbourhood.

A towering gilded bar strikes you as walk into this grand Art Deco watering hole which has been voted the best cocktail joint in Asia and the eighth best in the world by critics.

Atlas was voted the best cocktail joint in Asia.

There are over 1300 gins on the menu.

If that’s not impressive enough, wait until you see the drinks menu which is so big it gives Lord of the Rings a run for its money in sheer size and scope.

You would have to spend years to taste your way through the 250-plus champagnes and 1300 gins on there but you could bet your bottom dollar they’d all be delicious.

If a rooftop vibe is more your thing, you should check out The Other Roof — which boasts spectacular skyline views and hundreds of tea-infused spirits.

Yes, you read that correctly. The world’s two greatest inventions, tea and booze, have been fused to create an insanely tasty array of drinks.

How’s that for a rooftop bar view?

If it’s been a long day, try the Teaspresso Martini, a mix of patron XO, cold brew, tequila, and tiramisu tea vodka. Alternatively, you can rest your liver and sip on a bountiful range of teas from around the globe.

MAKE YOUR OWN GIN

Cocktails are, of course, nothing new in Singapore. And the Singapore sling, a classic gin-based cocktail, has become a must-try for visitors over the years.

Weirdly the drink has become famous in the part of the world that doesn’t produce any gin.

Luckily, Jamie Koh, who owns two bar-restaurants in Singapore noticed this and set up his owns distillery.

And, if you have even a passing interest in gin, you should go out of your way to check out the Brass Lion Distillery.

The dark blue Butterfly Pea gin changes colour when you add tonic.

You can even make your own gin at Brass Lion.

Set up in the up and coming Alexandra district, you can see how it’s all done and even try your hand at making your own gin.

But if you want to just sit back and sip, there’s three awesome varieties of gin you can sip on at the bar.

Most eye-catching of them is dark blue Butterfly Pea gin, which when you add elderflower tonic to, fizzes to a light shade of purple.

If it all gets too much, just find a decent cup of tea (that’s everywhere).

On March 3-5, Chef Wayne Liew from Keng Eng Kee will be teaming up with Brent Savage, Co-Owner and Chef of Cirrus Dining, to present Taste Obsession Singapore, a 9-course degustation dinner that pays homage to Singapore in Sydney.

The pair will unveil a menu that tells the story of ‘their’ Singapore through dishes like Coffee Pork Ribs, Butter Cereal Prawns and Black Pepper Balmain Bug. Tickets cost $90 per head for the 9-course degustation.

Cirrus Dining will then continue the Singapore celebrations with a six-week pop-up, featuring a Singapore-inspired special menu designed by Brent Savage including a la carte and a tasting menu.

For more information, click here.

Ben Graham was a guest of Singapore Tourism Board