When I travel, I make it a point to taste the local food a place offers. I would never leave without trying something new to my taste buds. While some of them kind of disappointed my palate(Hello Tamilok!), the others really tasted delicious(Hello Crocodile Sisig)! But then, Singapore is a different matter. It's an expensive city and I just can't go eat everything without taking the price to account. Eating at a decent restaurant there would burn holes on pockets for small time tourists like me. Thank God, they have things called HAWKER CENTERS.
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| This food stall has around 20 people lining up! |
If you haven't heard of them, hawker centers are food court-type of spots that offer authentic Singaporean food for a way cheaper price. They are like eateries. The ambiance might not be that good as compared to restaurants with the aircondition and all. But hawker centers will take you to the deepest and most delicious Singaporean dishes. Some of them are awarded Michelin stars! Even the locals eat there. They are a thing in Singapore and you should never miss trying them out.
One of the best hawker centers in all of Singapore is said to be, Makansutra Gluttons Bay.
HOW TO GET THERE:
Via Train: You need to alight at the City Hall MRT Station so you need to take either the North South Line(Red) or the East West Line(Green)Via Bus: There is a bus stop quite near Makansutra Gluttons Bay so if you don't want to walk, then you can take the bus. Refer to the image below to check which bus numbers you could take to reach Makansutra.
Makansutra Gluttons Bay sits close to Marina Bay Sands. Unlike other hawker centers, Makansutra Gluttons Bay is fancier and a bit more expensive. The ambiance is more comfortable and fresher as compared to the first hawker center we've been to. Not to mention, you get to see the iconic Marina Bay Sands since it is an outdoor dining kind of hawker center. You can also dine in there while waiting for the light show that Marina Bay Sands has every night.
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| Look at the upper right portion, there's Marina Bay Sands! |
It is known to serve heritage dishes of Singapore(which is why we opted to dine here). Singaporean food is very diverse hailing from Chinese, Indian, and Malaysian roots. So in Makansutra Gluttons Bay, or in any other hawker center in Singapore for that matter, you'll see noodles, curry, satay, and others related to those three races posted on their menu. If you wanted to try it out but don't want to leave the Philippines, don't worry, they're already here in Manila. But if you want to take a glance of the food you should try in Makansutra, then just keep reading. ;)
1) Prawn Hokkien Mee from Soon Lee
Rating: 3.5/5
Price: 5/7/9 SGD
Hokkien Mee is one of the national dishes of Singapore. The dish hailed from Chinese and Malay roots. It is stir-fried yellow noodles mixed with prawns, squid, egg, and herbs.The taste of Hokkien Mee is far from our local version of "Pansit" but I love that I get to explore a different taste of noodles. This is less salty and I guess healthier since the meat is seafood. You can even customize the acidity and spiciness of the dish because it is served with lime and chili paste on the side.
2) BBQ Chicken Wings from Huat Huat
Rating: 4/5
Price: 1.30 SGD/piece
Out of all the dishes we tried, this one is the closest to home. While in the Philippines, most wings are served fried, in Singapore, they are mostly served grilled. Me and my sister love these to bits! I think it's even better to get a bottle of beer when munching these. Huat Huat Chicken BBQ Wings are grilled to perfection. There are not much burnt skin so we are able to enjoy them without worrying too much on Carcinogens. Also, the wings are somehow meaty and very juicy!
3) Satay Platter from Alhambra Padang Satay
Rating: 4/5
Price: I forgot LOL
It's my first time to try a Satay. Satay is like our local version of street barbecue. But unlike ours that has dips made of vinegar, soy sauce, onion, and chili, their satay platter has a sauce that tastes like curry. In addition, their marinade is different with stronger Indian flavors. This satay platter consists of pork, chicken and beef satay with sticky rice as the side. I love the beef satay more than the two. It is more flavorful and I love that I can just bite on the sticky rice like eating bread.
4) Sambal Prawns from Redhill Rong Guang B.B.Q Seafood
Rating: 3/5
Price: 20 SGD
Sambal, in case you don't know, is a chili sauce, so Sambal Prawns is expected to have that kick when you try them. Aside from that, there's nothing special about it. Just marinated grilled prawns served with Sambal on top and lime on the side.
5) Cereal Prawns
Rating: 4.5/5
Price: Less than 20 SGD
This is my favorite among all of the dishes we ate. It is prawns mixed with cereals that I don't know of. The prawns are sweet on the outside and juicy on the inside. I just wish they could have a version of this without the skin of the prawns so the sweetness can penetrate the meat. But overall, I love this more than the others.
6) Chili Crab from Redhill Rong Guang B.B.Q Seafood
Rating: 2.5/5
Price: 30 SGD(Not worth it)
Chili Crab is a popular dish of Singapore. I even saw a poster of a show in Singapore with the face off of Chili Crab and a Korean dish as the topic. So I saved this for last. Unfortunately, I can't say "Save the best for last" because the Chili Crab we ate isn't. The sauce is overpowering but you could really taste the chili without begging for water. The spiciness is bearable.
We also bought bread from the same stall to dip them on the Chili Crab's sauce. As for the crab, both me and my sister cringed as we disected the crab bit by bit. We can't see any meat! I'd like to assume that those are the white ones smothered with the sauce but we're very disappointed of how the dish turned out. I'm not sure if that's how the Chili Crab should be served but I really didn't like it. But I would still want to try it out next time but never again from this stall.
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| BBQ Wings! Yum! |
We had our fair share of highs and lows in Makansutra Gluttons Bay but I still recommend you guys to go there for a gastronomic experience of Singapore's authentic food. The service there is fast despite a lot of people coming in. If you're missing Filipino food, Gerry's Grill(Yes! Gerry's Grill!) has a stall there you could check. But of course, their food is more expensive there. We spent almost 100 SGD(there were 5 of us) including the bread(5 SGD) and rice(8 SGD). We're stuffed afterwards and we even took home some leftovers. Then, we headed to see light shows from Marina Bay Sands and SuperTree Grove.
Have you tried Makansutra Gluttons Bay's Gastronomic Experience too? Share it on the comments box. I'd love to hear about it! If you haven't, I hope you'll try it out. ;)
