Cheap, Good Food in Singapore & Malaysia

The impetus for our trip was an “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” episode in which he travels to Penang. We watched that episode in awe as he visited Penang, the Pearl of the Orient. The food looked mouth-watering and we wanted in, for some cheap, good food from the night markets and hawker stations.

Recommendations

NOTE: We’re really into juicing for it’s health benefits and I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t find fresh juice on this trip. I forgot how abundant fresh fruit is in Asia. We found cheap, fresh juice every where we went.

Singapore – Far East Plaza – There are so many good choices here from dumplings to laksa to fresh juices to Korean…It’s a mall filled with little independent restaurants and food stalls, discount clothiers, cheap but fashionable shoe stores and beauty salons. This place is vastly different than the opulent stores at Tangs or ION two blocks away. Go here for budget friendly meals and shopping. Steve even got a hair cut and his first head massage for $10 USD. Head massages are the big rage in Asia.

Singapore – Restaurants near Beauty Centre – These are typical Chinese restaurants with round tables and plastic chairs on outdoor patios. The locals go here with their families. They all serve similar dishes of various meats, seafood, noodles and veggies you can’t go wrong. We just ducked into one of the restaurants with an open table large enough for a party of four.

Singapore – Chinatown Hawker Station – Go up and down the aisles and see what’s what before you order because there are just so many vendors offering similar things. Order, pay and step aside and wait for them to prepare your food.

Singapore – Little India – Ananda Bhavan at Block 663, 01-10, Buffalo Rd is a vegetarian restaurant with rave reviews. The food was good and meets the 4 stars in the views. This place is not located on Buffalo Rd. If you drove down Buffalo Rd, you would dead end into the front door of Ananda Bhavan. It is located at the “T” intersection of Buffalo Rd and Serangoon Rd.

Singapore – Food Opera at ION Orchard Food Republic – This was the most awesome-est food court ever with a huge selection of dishes from all over Asia. There’s only one vendor offering each type of food! As soon as you get downstairs, you’ll notice roast duck and chicken hanging in one of the stalls and you turn one corner, you’ll see dumplings and a dessert vendor… These vendors first started out as street vendors and the mall brought them inside. You order and pay at each station and pick up your own food when it’s ready.

Singapore – Arab Street – Zam Zam Restaurant on North Bridge Rd was really good. Try murtabak, a stuffed pancake.

Then walk to Haji Lane (approx a block away) for shopping. Rest your feet and wallet and enjoy Turkish coffee with a Kunefe dessert (shredded wheat pastry filled with cream cheese and soaked in syrup) sitting outdoors at Alaturka Mediterranean & Turkish Restaurant. For “happy hour”, have mocktails at “I am”.

Singapore – Din Tai Fung at Marina Bay Sands – As a Michelin rated chain of dumpling houses, Din Tai Fung doesn’t fit the definition of cheap, good food in Singapore but it’s worth mentioning here. Their famous signature xiao long baos bursts with rich, slightly gelatinous broth in every bite and filled my tummy with happiness. We had three different kinds: crab and shrimp meat xiao long bao, traditional pork filled xiao long bao and steamed pork and vegetable dumplings plus other appetizers and watermelon juice. Their dumplings were simply delightful. The wrappers were the perfect thickness and steamed for the right amount of time. I hate when the meat falls out of the bottom but not here. You could pick each one up delicately with your chop sticks and scoop it up with your soup spoon. Just take a small bite to puncture the skin and suck in the broth.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Jalan Alor is an awesome night market around the corner from bars and clubs. It’s open from 5pm till very late. Try to avoid the restaurants where the vendors are actively hawking. Stick with the restaurants filled with locals. We had delicious spicy crab and dumpling soup among other dishes.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Lot 10 Shopping Center’s bottom floor food court is very similar to Singapore’s Food Opera. It has many vendors indoors and all the food is delicious. We thought the food here was better than in Penang and it was so cheap! We spent $5 USD on two dishes and couldn’t eat it all.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Taps Beer Bar – Fun place for live music and cold beer and wine. They serve American food so I got a salad here. After all the scrumptious food, I just needed a salad.

Penang, Malaysia – Long Beach Night Market – Here, you order your food and tell them what table you’re sitting at. They will bring the food to you and you pay then. A drink lady will be walking around and you order beverages and pay her. I enjoyed the fried chicken wings and laksa here. Laksa is a spicy noodle soup from the Peranakan culture which merges Chinese with Malay.

Penang, Malaysia – Lorong Baru (New Lane) – This is a night market that’s mentioned in Lonely Planet but none of the locals we bumped into had any idea what we were talking about. Even the police officers we spoke to two blocks away had no clue. That’s because Lorung Baru which literally translates to “new lane” is really small. I spoke to the chicken wing vendor and he was amused that their vendors were featured in a travel book. “Uh here…? A night market with lots of food? No not here…go down the street.” So he sent us to Sin Kim San Coffee Centre.

Penang, Malaysia – Sin Kim San Coffee Centre – 168 Macalister Road – Many offerings of cheap, delicious food. I was able to get tasty duck feet here! That’s had to find these days.