The current New Yorker issue (Sept 3 & 10, 2007), a special food issue, has a great article about a New Yorker going to Singapore to eat hawker food with the man who (literally) wrote the book on teh best hawker food in Singapore. Makes for great reading - it will make you hungry!

thanks kathie...i'll get it

Some of the best food we ate was hawker food in Singapore.

Unfortunately, the book in question seems to be hard to come by in the US. I turned up just one copy, on abebooks, for nearly $50.

If you folks need recommendations on Singapore hawker food give me a shout.

It may be one of those books to pick up when you are in Singapore.

We had fabulous hawker food in Penang. We picked up two books that were highly recommended as guides to hawker food, and they were very useful. Truly the most amazing hawker fare I've ever eaten!

And, as I mentioned in my trip report, Malaysia also created hawker centers (as described in the NY article) to assure sanitary conditions for hawker food.

KMLoke -- I'm shouting!! I'll be there the last week of October and definitely want to try this.

Singapore is full of Hawker Food Centers.

Newton is the biggest and the most famous, great seafood and pepper crab not to mention the mmmm spicy sting ray. Bit grotty too although newly done up and clean enough. Good for late night dining etc till 2am especially after a few beers.

The basement of the new Vivo City shopping center is super at daytime/lunch time.

Orchard Road on the side of Meridein hotel is great, open late night too but a bit seedy area at the wee hours..

A really classy five star kind of place with a real good Hawker Style is at the Hyatt Regency on Scotts Rd, called the "Mezzanine"..

My favourite late late late night with Indian food is Adam Rd, thats where all the cabbies go.. (Try the paya roti - beef shank soup with naan roti)

Now I am feeling hungry...

The man who was referred to is Seetoh. This is his website:

http://www.makansutra.com/index.php

There's hawker food all over Singapore. Personally I do not rate the food at most air conditioned food courts found at shopping malls.

This is my personal local food blog.

http://ieatishootipost.blogspot.com/

Links to recommendations at my personal favourites. I frequent the Old Airport Road food centre as there's lots of food which are rated as the top few in Singapore and prices are good! There's a very good chilli crab to be found here.


Maxwell Road Food Centre

http://ieatishootipost.blogspot.com/...0Food%20Centre

Old Airport Road FC (years ago the airport used to be here hence the name)

http://ieatishootipost.blogspot.com/...0Food%20Centre

Chinatown (temp cos the original location is being upgrade - now relocated to a site next to the Outram MRT station)

http://ieatishootipost.blogspot.com/...0Temp%20Market

Geylang Serai - famous for Malay food. This area will be very crowded during Ramadan which starts middle of next week.

http://ieatishootipost.blogspot.com/...0Temp%20Market

A word of caution on Newton. It's perhaps the most famous to visitors hence there are some stalls especially those selling seafood who overcharge. Too touristy for me.

ttt

Thank you so much KMLoke and Mohammed, for your advice--and Kathie, too, for starting this thread. I'm <i>very</i> excited about this trip.

kathie, mahalo for the lead on the ny mag. will get it this weekend.

kmloke, thanks for all the great websites. i especially like yours as it provides alot of good info with tempting photos. i am a prawn mee junkie, and i am looking forward to going to wah kee prawn noodles next month.

evecolorado

You're most welcome. I hope you have a great time. It is accepted practice to share food at hawker/food centers. You will see most locals order dishes from various stalls to be shared. Of course if you particularly like something feel free to get one for yourself. These way you get to sample a wider variety of food. If something don't agree with you then you are not compelled to finish it!

kuranosuke

Let me know how you find the prawn mee.


Yesterday evening had a wonderful dinner at Le Wai Tian, junction of Telok Kurau and Changi Road. It's a cze-char place meaning stir-fried. Had a wonderful fish head soup, prawn paste chicken, sambal kangkong, chye poh tofu, claypot tofu and king pork ribs. For 7 adults and 2 kids came up to S$97. Wonderful.

wow, this is great. thanks for this. i hadnt seen this post when i compiled a restaurant list on where to eat on singapore for my next trip,
C

I just managed to download the new yorker article from online database at my library website. its a great read! thanks for bringing it to my attention, now if only i had at least another week in sing to get to all these places!

kmloke, sorry, never got to wah kee on this trip, so can't give my &quot;expert&quot; assessment. it was always, &quot;well, we can go tomorrow&quot;. tomorrow came too soon, and &quot;tomorrow&quot; we had to leave.

hopefully, next year.