Popular Noodles in Singapore (the must try)

Just like its other asian neighbors, Singapore share the same eating habit for rice and noodles. The local diet is largely comprised of these two major staples with the latter as the most common choice for a meal. From its very affluent culinary pot, noodles definitely stands out as a food category. You normally see it in all forms and variations in the local food centres and Kopitiams. In fact, the range of choices is so diverse that sampling its taste equates to being a cultural attraction. It's typically slurpped and enjoyed piping hot either in soup or stir-fry. Many of these dishes are adaptations or inter-cultural fusions of the multiple ethnic groups who migrated to the country. This gave birth to the Chinese-Singaporean, Indian-Singaporean, Malay-Singaporean, Indo-Singaporean and other mix and matches of multi-racial cuisines. Likewise, by and large, this makes the noodle dishes in this country far from being lifeless and boring. As such, it is a culinary pride. Here are my top picks for the must try.

Prawn Hokkien Mee - a dish brought to Singapore by immigrants from Fujian (Hokkien) Province in China; it's rice vermicelli and round yellow noodles fried with prawns, cuttle fish and bits of pork fat; creamy, oily yet pleasingly tasty!



Char Kway Teow - "char kway teow" means stir-fried ricecake strips which generally refers to flat rice noodles; usually stir-fried in very high heat with chinese sausage, beaten egg, fish cakes, bean sprouts, green chives, chillies and some vegetables; tales had it that this is the most fatty noodle dish since it's fried in pork fat (no wonder it is very oily in mouthfeel) nonetheless, the wok taste is something to crave for

Mee Rebus - yellow egg noodles served in a thick, sweet-spicy curry like sauce made from fermented soy beans; usually served with hard boiled eggs, tofu bits, chopped spring onions and fried shallots; the sauce puts a characteristic taste into this dish; it's a mild curry note that blends well with the flavor of dried shrimps, peanuts and soy beans

Laksa - a noodle dish that's of Peranakan origin; made up of rice noodles in a rich, thick coconut curry gravy with shrimp, fish cakes, sometimes with tofu and bean sprouts; it can be considered the most adapted noodle dish in asia; there are just so many variations to try; if you're craving for something rich and spicy this is a good pick!

Fish Head Bee Hoon - a creamy noodle soup consisting of rice vermicelli, fried fish cake, tofu, vegetables and seaweed; normally prepared using fish broth and milk; this noodles is so comforting that I likened it to a typical rainy day soup

Mee Siam - also known as "siamese noodles"; a thin rice noodles in a sweet, sour and spicy sauce served with hard boiled egg; for the lover of fiery dishes, this is something you must have

Lor Mee - a noodle dish of Chinese origin; made up of flat yellow noodles, ngo hiang, fish cake, pork meat and hard boiled egg all soaked in a thick, starchy, soy sauce based gravy; (this is a reminiscent of Philippines Lomi noodles); it's something to enjoy for that plain, mildly tasty noodle character

Call these dishes the must try or the must sample; undoubtedly, the list of the best can even have more. But clearly, noodle hopping in Singapore is synonymous to a delectable heritage trail. And it's always a pleasure to partake.