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Cheap Food in Singapore

Where to find cheap food in Singapore? Go to the street hawkers on Bugis street, and the Woodlands Hawker Center, or the one in the middle of Orchard Road. Good food at a cheap price in Singapore.

How to eat cheaply in Singapore
Singapore can also be expensive to visit if you do not know the right places to eat at. I’m an American that lived in Singapore for a little over two years, and while there I found many places to eat that were very cheap for a good amount of delicious Singaporean food.

A typical way to dine in Singapore, for the locals, are at places called “Hawker Centers.” They are stalls set up to accommodate either a food or drink carrier. They are basically food courts, but on a larger scale. This is a great way to dine with locals, and really get to see their culture. This is because most Hawker Centers are filled with traditional Singaporean food.

The food is very well prepared at the hawker stands, and very reasonably priced. The more expensive hawker stands are the more well known, “Lau Pa Sat” and “Newton” Hawker Center. I suggest the Woodlands Hawker Center, or the one in the middle of Orchard Road. One of my favorite places to eat at was the Woodlands Hawker Center, it is located walking distance from the Singapore American School, and from the MRT stop in Woodlands.

Food hawkers in Singapore on Bugis street

I highly recommend the Spicy Vegetarian Mee (noodles) with a cup of lime juice. This costs roughly around 5 Sing-dollars. For desert I recommend you walk around the corner to a place called “Sweet Talk” and order a “Mango Bubble Tea.” It is milk tea with mango flavoring and tapioca “pearls” in the bottom.

If you would like to see more of the city and still have a cheap meal I suggest the Orchard Road Hawker Center. They have very good Chicken Rice, and where it is located on Orchard Road (the main street in downtown Singapore) you get a good view of the locals and tourists going on about their day.

If you’re looking for a fast place to eat and you have just gotten off the City Hall stop on the MRT then go up the stairs and to the right you can have a stop at Sake Sushi. It is a fast place to get good quality sushi, I recommend the “Dragon Sushi.”

Eating Vegetarian is very easy in Singapore, specifically at “Ling Zhi Vegetarian”, which is located in Far East Square in the heart of Orchard Road. I recommend the eggplant! Though if you are wanting to eat here on a Sunday be prepared for large crowds around Far East Plaza on Sunday afternoons, it is often a meeting spot for the Filipino workers.

If you are craving American food, then I suggest you try out “Tony Romas” in Suntec City. They have ribs, and just about any other American food you can think of. If you have never tried Nando’s then I suggest you do while in Singapore, it is located in Bugis Junction. They have wonderfully flavored chicken in their special “Peri, Peri” sauce which you can get in a range of flavors. They also have a selection of side dishes and they have 2 types of “ appetizers” they have their spicy nuts and some deliciously garlic soaked olives.

If you’re wanting Fast food then there is always McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King, and more. Mind you, you are in a non-American country, so the menu will be a little bit different than you are use to. In McDonalds instead of ketchup you can get Garlic Chili Sauce, which I recommend that you try at least once, (it’s better than it sounds). KFC also has a spicy option that I haven’t ever seen in America, it is more of an asian zing than your normal american spice. If you’re looking for coffee, there is always Starbucks, but you can also go into Coffee Bean, or Coffee Club, both reasonably priced with delicious baked goods.

A Singaporean delicacy is Chili Crab, most of the time it is expensive but at Happy Kampung Seafood, located at 81 Jalan Matu-Matu, near Sembawang Shopping Center. You gan get 2 large crabs for about 19 Singaporean Dollars.

You can also try a place called Fatty’s, it is located at Bugis Square, it is a Chinese Restaurant that many Australian expats visit. You may also want to try out Black Pepper Crab, it’s very delicious.

At night time, for eating purposes I recommend you stay away from the Clark Quay area. It is the clubbing area of Singapore and it is sometimes hard to get a table at many of those restaurants in that area. They also tend to be on the more expensive side.

For desert, I suggest any “Sweet Talk” vendor. There is nothing like a cold bubble tea to end your day walking around in the hot Singapore sun.

What did you eat when you traveled to Singapore? How much did it cost? Where did you find it? Where are the cheapest places to eat in Singapore? The best places? Submit tell us through the comment form below.

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