The list of restaurants that have been awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2018 has been released.
Not to be confused with the Michelin Star, the Bib Gourmand is awarded to eateries that serve really good food below a maximum price determined by local economic standards. For Singapore, the maximum is $45.
And this year, there are 17 new additions to the Bib Gourmand list.
However, with so many eateries on the 50-strong list, how many are ACTUALLY worth visiting?
After all, food preference is subjective. So we’ve sieved through the list of 50 to pick out our 10 favourites.
Here we go.
Ah Er Soup
If you love soup like I do, then this is it.
I’ve seen many shops with the sign “老火汤”, which translates into “Old Fire Soup”, but I’ve never come across one with accolades like the Bib Gourmand.
Ah Er Soup serves up various herbal soups with offerings such as Lotus Root Soup and Watercress Soup and even their own version of Buddha Jumps Over The Wall.
Every order of soup comes with white or pumpkin rice. And the best part is, the prices are incredibly affordable, between $3.50 to $6.50.
Ah Er Soup
Address: 6 Jalan Bukit Merah, ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre #01-143, Singapore 618642
Opening Hours: Daily: 11am – 9pm
Alliance Seafood
Alliance Seafood blends into the sea of tze char stalls at Newton Food Centre very easily mainly because it looks like a generic stall.
It doesn’t really look any different from a regular tze char stall.
Like any tze char stall, the available dishes are quite standard. You can expect Chilli Crab, Black Pepper Crab, Fried Rice, Cereal Prawn, BBQ Stingray, Sambal Kangkong, and more.
Seats are hard to find due to the crowd here, so come early with a tissue packet for the chope.
Alliance Seafood
Address: Newton Food Centre, 501 Clemenceau Avenue North #01-27, Singapore 229495
Opening Hours: Thu – Tue: 1pm – 12am, Wed: Closed
Chey Sua Carrot Cake
Don’t expect to find the sweet, dark carrot cake here because Chey Sua Carrot Cake only serves the savoury, white carrot cake.
The carrot cake here is homemade from scratch, unlike most carrot cake stalls nowadays who prefer to use machine-processed carrot cake chunks.
The cooking method is also slightly different. While most carrot cake hawkers pan-fry the carrot cake chunks first before cracking and adding the eggs later, Chey Sua Carrot Cake mixes the carrot cake chunks in beaten egg mixture before pouring it on to the pan to fry.
The result is a carrot cake that resembles a pancake. Flat with each carrot cake chunk evenly coated in egg mixture.
Need your carrot cake fix? Be prepared for a wait. Especially now that they’ve received their Bib Gourmand accolade.
Chey Sua Carrot Cake
Address: Blk 127 Toa Payoh West Market & Food Centre Lorong 1 #02-30, Singapore 310127
Opening Hours: Tue – Sun: 6am – 1pm, Mon: Closed
Hoo Kee Bak Chang
Hoo Kee Bak Chang is known to be Singapore’s best bak chang (rice dumpling).
If you love salted egg, then you’ll love this too. They’re known for their Salted Egg with Chestnut Bak Chang – a traditional bak chang with the addition of salted egg yolk.
The bak changs are priced from $2.80 to $3.60 and each one is handmade.
If you know your bak chang, then you have to try this because there’s no better bak chang than this.
Hoo Kee Bak Chang
Address: 7 Maxwell Road, Amoy Street Food Centre #01-18, Singapore 069111
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat: 11am – 3pm, Sun: Closed
Contact no.: 6221 1155
Address: Blk 161 Bukit Merah Central #01-3735, Singapore 150161
Contact no.: 6222 7866
Website
Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice
Claypot rice is one of the most comforting dishes I’ve ever had. I have fond memories of having claypot rice with my grandmother when I was younger and till today it remains one of my favourite dishes.
Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice occupies 2 stalls at Chinatown Complex. Not to be shallow, but usually if a hawker stall occupies 2 units, you know that business is good. Which means the food is good.
The waiting time here is often long because each order is cooked from scratch. Each claypot rice comes with chicken, taiwanese waxed sausages, bits of salted fish, vegetables, and drizzled with sweet, dark soya sauce.
There are other sides to order as well, such as various boiled soups and blanched vegetables with oyster sauce.
Because of the long waiting times, there’s the option to call ahead to place your orders so piping hot claypot rice will be ready when you arrive.
Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice
Address: 335 Smith Street, Chinatown Complex #02-198/199, Singapore 050335
Opening Hours: Fri – Wed: 4.30pm – 10pm, Tue: Closed
Contact no.: 6227 2470
Na Na Homemade Curry
I remember there was a stall in Bukit Panjang Plaza’s Kopitiam that sold really good Chinese-style curry.
I love Chinese-style curry. It is usually spicier and comes paired with either white rice or baguette.
This is what you’ll find at Na Na Homemade Curry. They serve a variety of Chinese-style curries, with options such as Curry Chicken ($3), Curry Vegetable ($3), Curry Fish Head, and even Curry Mutton ($4) and Curry Pork Ribs ($4).
Order yours with a side of white rice or toasted baguette slices because you’ll definitely need a buffer for the incoming spice hit.
Na Na Homemade Curry
Address: 115 Bukit Merah View, Singapore 151115
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat: 11am – 7pm, Sun: Closed
Contact no.: 9106 4316
Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee
Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee always has a long queue, but don’t worry, it clears pretty quickly because every plate is cooked and served with surprising speed.
Even though it says “Kway Teow Mee” in the name, what they serve here is basically Char Kway Teow. However, the version here isn’t as oily as the ones you’d find elsewhere, with plenty of egg, lard, beansprouts, and cockles.
They’re also not heavy-handed with their dark soy sauce so the Char Kway Teow is more savoury than sweet.
You can order the spicy version and your order will be fried with chilli instead of the typical scoop of chilli on the side.
This is probably the best Char Kway Teow you can find in Singapore at the moment.
Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee
Address: #02-18 Hong Lim Market & Food Centre, 531A Upper Cross Street, Singapore 051531
Opening Hours: Daily: 7am – 9pm
Sin Kee Famous Cantonese Chicken Rice
Chicken rice is probably Singapore’s most iconic dish. Everyone can learn to cook chicken rice, but few can make GOOD chicken rice.
However, that’s what Sin Kee Famous Cantonese Chicken Rice has managed to achieve. The chicken is tender and full of flavour, so no complaints there. The chicken rice, however, could do with a stronger flavour.
At this point it just seems like white rice flavoured with a bit of chicken stock and is a little mild. I prefer the chicken rice to be full of flavour.
And now the aspect of chicken rice that can make or break the dish, the chilli. Once again, flawless execution. Spicy with a hit of tanginess, thanks to the lime and vinegar.
You want good chicken rice? This is where you should be going.
Sin Kee Famous Cantonese Chicken Rice
Address: Blk 40 Holland Drive, Singapore 270040
Opening Hours: Tue – Sun: 11am – 8pm, Mon: Closed
Shi Hui Yuan Hor Fun Specialty
Ipoh Hor Fun is a magical dish. It’s neither kway teow or hor fun. It just toes the line between the 2 and is so simple yet delicious.
The ones served at Shi Hui Yuan come with either duck, chicken, braised spare ribs, or a mixture of all 3.
The recommended one is the Blissful Combination ($5), which has braised shiitake mushrooms, roast duck and chicken slices, as well as braised spare ribs.
A worthy mention is the sauce that they pour over the hor fun. It’s a magical concoction of the braising liquid of the mushrooms, spare ribs, and chicken.
The biggest problem you’ll encounter here is finishing your hor fun before you can finish the sauce.
Shi Hui Yuan Hor Fun Specialty
Address: 159 Mei Chin Road, Mei Ling Market & Food Centre #02-33, Singapore 140159
Opening Hours: Wed – Sun: 7.30am – 2pm, Mon – Tue: Closed
Zai Shun Curry Fish Head
Zai Shun Curry Fish Head looks just like a regular cai fan stall albeit slightly more upscale, with their rather impressive display shelves for the dishes.
While their name suggests that they’re known for their Curry Fish Head, it’s their Steamed Fish that fares better and is more popular.
The steamed fish depends on the catch of the day which ranges from red snapper to grouper.
Aside from their signature Steamed Fish, other must-orders include the Salted Egg Minced Pork, Fried Egg with Bittergourd, Har Cheong Gai (Prawn Paste Chicken), Braised Pork Belly, and Herbal Chicken.
There’s a lot more that’s worth trying so our advice is bring more people so you’ll get to try everything once.
Zai Shun Curry Fish Head
Address: 253 Jurong East Street 24 #01-205, Singapore 600253
Opening Hours: Thu – Tue: 7am – 3pm, Wed: Closed
Contact no.: 6560 8594
So there you have it. 10 of the best eateries, out of the 50 chosen by the Michelin inspectors, that’s actually approved and loved by locals.
Are any of these eateries already a favourite of yours? Or which are you going to try next? Let us know!
Also read Beyond Char Siew Siew Yoke – Cantonese Words & Phrases You Can Impress Your Grandma With
(Header Image Source: Burppler Marvin Lowe and Burppler I Makan SG)
