What's for breakfast? Singapore's Iconic Morning Meals
If you’re on the lookout for local breakfast treats that bring back memories, you’ve come to the right place. For this first installment, Yahoo! Singapore has Annette Tan – food writer, The Miele Guide editor and author of Savour Chinatown – to point us in the right direction. “I’m a breakfast person who usually has her meal with teh-o peng,” she admits. But great food aside, there are other things to consider too. “The people that I’m with also matters; they’re the first persons you see and being with them is a good start to your day.” So choose to have the following with friends or loved ones.
Kaya toast
“This breakfast item has been around since the ‘40s or even before that. It was sold in carts and there was just toast in the beginning; butter and kaya were only added later on. My favourite is the one at Chin Mee Chin along East Coast Road. It’s one of the oldest Hainanese coffee shops and nothing about it has changed. The toast is actually a bun, and the kaya is still stirred and made by hand.”
Roti prata
“Brought by Indian immigrants, this is something you can eat any time of the day, not just for breakfast. I like Moghan’s Prata, which is run by Mr and Mrs Moghan, in Poh Ho Restaurant along Crane Road. They have the best prata. They serve it with dahl and sambal ikan bilis for free, which is unusual.”
Chwee kueh
“This steamed savoury cake is made of rice flour and topped with chopped preserved radish. It’s comfort food that’s steamed, hot and salty. Get them at Tiong Bahru.”
Rickshaw noodle
“This is a quintessential Singapore breakfast dish. It’s fried bee hoon which most serve with a slice of luncheon meat and egg sunny side up. I go for the ones by the stall beside Moghan’s Prata in Poh Ho Restaurant.”
Fried carrot cake
“Chai tao kway is a white radish dish that looks a bit like carrot. Bee Bee Carrot Cake on Block 508, Marine Terrace has theirs with a lot of preserved radish and preserved chopped turnip. It’s cut small and very smoky; a lot of it is charred, but the parts that aren’t are creamy on the inside. The black carrot cake is actually much better.”
Nasi lemak
“This has many permutations, and you can have it from any Malay or Chinese food stall. One that has a little slice of omelette, a small piece of fish, sambal, and rice the size of your palm in a banana leaf is already good, because that’s it and it’s not too much.”
Think this list missed any other iconic Singapore breakfast staples? What are your top local breakfast picks and must-haves?
