Unpopular Opinion: Singapore’s food is overrated – here’s where to go instead

Singapore has a reputation as a foodie paradise, but for almost a decade, I’ve been holding on to a terrible secret: I’ve never had a good meal in Singapore. Singapore’s food is overrated, plain and simple.

When Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” episode aired in 2008, I took studious notes of all the places he visited and recommended.

I also read countless travel blogs and solicited recommendations from peers who had visited Singapore, to ensure I went to the best dining establishments in town.

I love food and am not a picky eater at all. Put some meat on a stick, give me a bowl of carbs, and douse a half-decent dressing on some lettuce, and I’ll eat it. But as hard as I tried, I have yet to enjoy the Singapore food scene.

Here’s why the Singapore food scene is overrated and why Seoul is a better destination for food tourism.

Why is Singapore a food haven?

Singapore is considered a food haven because of its diverse offerings and the locals’ affinity for dining out. You can enter a hawker center at almost any time of day and load up on an array of cuisines, including Indonesian, Malaysian, Chinese, and Thai.

The food in Singapore is also fairly cheap, making it accessible and convenient.  Popular Singaporean dishes include Hainese chicken and rice, chilli crab, satay, laksa, and countless others.

Chicken rice is perhaps the most well-known dish in Singapore, and at least two hawker stands have earned Michelin stars for it. I’ve tried both and was left underwhelmed. The chicken and rice were both flavorless—I don’t care for boiled chicken to begin with, so the dish wasn’t my favorite.

I enjoyed a crab noodle dish at Satay By the Bay and drank my weight in sugar cane juice every day of my trip, but that’s about the extent of my positive experience eating in Singapore. Everything else was average.

Why Singapore’s food is overrated

I visited Singapore for the first time in 2015 and then again for the Eras Tour in March 2024. During both visits, I made the rounds at renowned hawker centers and restaurants. I tried all of the popular local eats at various establishments, ranging from hole-in-the-wall to high-end.

I followed recommendations from local Uber drivers and went to restaurants with lines around the block on rainy afternoons. I did not have one good meal. Not “memorable” or “exceptional” – but not even baseline good. Singapore’s food is overrated to a ridiculous degree.

Whenever Singapore comes up, the acceptable response is to rave about the food. Your favorite travel blogger will say something along the lines of “Singapore has the best food!” or “You’re going to be in foodie paradise!” But when I dig further and ask what their favorite dish or eating establishment is, I often get vague responses. 

This makes me think I can’t be alone in finding Singapore’s food scene overhyped. There must be others who don’t share the herd mentality in revering Singapore as a food destination.

Seoul is the true king of food destinations

On that same trip to Asia this past March, we stopped in Seoul, South Korea. I was absolutely blown away by the food scene in Seoul. Over the course of four days, I did not eat one bad meal or snack. 

I walked down the Myeongdong Market with the equivalent of $100 and ate until I ran out of cash (most vendors didn’t accept credit cards). I devoured everything.

Trips to 7-11 became the most exciting part of our day, where we discovered some of our favorite foods. We’d grab all the snacks we could carry and make a little buffet out of our findings.

Some of the best things I ate in Seoul included hotteok (Korean sweet pancakes), tteokbokki, the Myeongdong burning steak, sweet and spicy Cheetos, any and all skewers, the iced coffee-in-a-bag, green apple lemonade, and really everything else.  

At the airport, we stopped at a convenience store and loaded our carry-on bags with iced coffee and our favorite chips.

Needless to say, Seoul was an absolute food paradise and deserves to be recognized as a food destination more so than Singapore.

I’m not trying to be a grinch

In writing this, I knew I’d probably get flack for saying Singapore’s reputation as a food haven might be undeserved. When your opinion doesn’t align with the masses, you’re prone to get pushback. I have a tendency to go against the grain in this space, but I’m not doing it to be a grinch.

As a travel blogger, I think it’s important to share my honest opinion. People rely on information online to make travel decisions and end up having certain expectations.

In my experience, most travel writers aren’t even writing unique content – they’re simply regurgitating the same Top 10 lists they’ve seen on other sites. Even worse, some haven’t traveled to the destinations they’re writing about and recommending.

Some bloggers are also afraid of offending people by being critical of a destination. This is more common among American travel bloggers, who want to avoid “ugly American” tropes. I personally don’t care about any of that: Travel writing shouldn’t be an echo chamber.

When everyone is saying the same thing, it means one of two things: They’re either repurposing opinions they’ve heard elsewhere or they’re afraid to go against the grain. Neither of those things benefits readers.

I still love Singapore

Food complaints aside, I love Singapore. It was one of the first destinations I visited abroad that really impressed me. I grew up in Germany, so everything in the U.S. seemed bigger and better compared to Europe. But Singapore was the first country where I thought, “Wow. This place is better and more advanced than the U.S.” 

It’s not only one of the cleanest countries I’ve visited, but it’s also incredibly beautiful, thanks to its abundant gardens everywhere. The people are nice and the vibe is laid-back.

It has a wholesome quality that I find so comforting. One of my first thoughts upon touring Singapore in 2015 was, “I have to come back here and bring my nieces—they’ll love it.” And they did. 

So will I travel back to Singapore, even if I find the food scene to be overhyped? Absolutely. But you better believe I’ll be hopping on a flight up north to get my fill of steak and hotteok from Seoul.