This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to Singapore
In workaholic Singapore, late dinners are common practice with people putting in extra hours. And even if you have burnt through your three meals a day, a final round of food and drinks with friends is always popular, especially given the plethora of eateries that remain open well into the evening.
Typically, supper fare here is likely to be fried, toasted or grilled over a hot stove. Dishes range from a plate of crispy roti prata — an Indian-style pancake served with a side of fish curry, which is offered by many late-night food stalls — or a serving of Chinese-style noodles flash-fried in a wok and dripping with gravy.
I lean on the side of living dangerously and prefer to risk putting on a few extra pounds if it means I can dig into a plate of prata, topped with generous amounts of sugar and soaked in curry. So if you are in Singapore, here are some places where you can get your fix if hunger pangs suddenly strike at odd hours. Beyond the food itself, some of them are also interesting spots in which to greet the early hours.
Kim’s Famous Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee
62B Jalan Eunos, Singapore 419510
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Good for: A variety of wok-fried dishes
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Not so good for: Dining in the wee hours
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Opening times: Daily, 11am–midnight
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FYI: By MRT train, alight at Eunos station, cross the two-way Jalan Eunos and turn left
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Directions
Above this supper spot, there used to be a neon sign for “Rolex Mee Master Tan Kue Kim”. Mee is a term that locals use to refer to noodles, and Master Tan, the late patron of Kim’s Famous Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee, was often seen at night frying up wok-fried delights for his customers. Tan, who died this year, was known for dishing plate after plate of fried noodles in the Chinese Hokkien style. His capable assistants have since taken over the kitchen.
While one may question the wisdom of donning a luxury timepiece worth thousands of dollars in a greasy kitchen, but the charismatic Tan made it his calling card, as you can see in the articles about the restaurant plastered proudly across the walls.
The noodles are a calorie-laden adventure, coated in a savoury prawn-infused seafood stock, with shredded egg, squid, shrimp, deep-fried cubes of pork lard and sambal (chilli paste), accompanied by sliced lime on the side. The way to do it is to mix the noodles with the paste and squeeze out all the juice from the lime. For foodies looking for a late-night meal with some heat, this is a fine spot. Those not in the mood for noodles will find plenty of alternatives, from fried mussels to steamed fish head and crabs cooked a variety of ways.
Café de Muse
350 Orchard Road, Shaw House, #01-K5/K6 & #02-K4 Orchard, Singapore 238868
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Good for: Hungry late-night shoppers wanting to feast on Korean-style dishes.
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Not so good for: Singaporean fare
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Hours: Daily, 24 hours
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FYI: The nearby Connoisseur Concerto café stays open until 3am if you’d like an alternative
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Website; Directions
Orchard Road, the city-state’s main shopping street, is usually on the list of places to visit in Singapore. Café de Muse, situated on two floors of the Shaw House mall, is a useful pit-stop for those on a night-time buying spree. Shops typically close around 9pm, but this place remains open round the clock.
The café offers Korean-inspired Asian fusion food, with dishes such as bulgogi pasta — spaghetti cooked with slices of beef in a tangy-sweet sauce — and kimchi fried rice. Western fare is also available, from duck confit to chicken roulade, as well as lighter dishes such as Caesar salad and a range of teas and coffees.
Kampong Glam Café
17 Bussorah Street, Singapore 199438
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Good for: Alfresco dining in good weather, and a spread of popular dishes from Singapore’s ethnic Malay community
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Not so good for: A quiet supper — it’s surrounded by touristy thoroughfares
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Opening times: Tuesdays–Sunday, 7.30am–2am
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FYI: At weekends it can get really crowded, and you might have to wait for a table
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Website; Directions
This café occupies a strategic location at the intersection of busy streets in Singapore’s Muslim quarter. It has some alfresco seating, which makes for a pleasant supper on a clear balmy night.
Kampong Glam Café specialises in Singaporean Malay comfort food such as nasi goreng pattaya daging, or fried rice with beef, hidden under a thin egg omelette drizzled with sweet chilli sauce, and nasi lemak — coconut-flavoured rice paired with fried chicken, egg, cucumber, deep-fried crispy fingernail-length anchovies and a glob of sambal.
Try a cup of hot or iced teh cino, which is an extremely sweet tea and milk drink loosely based on cappuccino. For something more refreshing, go for teh o limau, sugary black tea infused with chunks of lime.
If you pick the right seat, you can have a fabulous view of the golden dome of the Sultan Mosque, the centrepiece of the Muslim quarter. This is a popular tourist spot, so it is maybe not the place for a relaxed meal.
Fujiwara Tofu Concept Shop Singapore
169 Sims Avenue, #01-02, Singapore 387488
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Good for: Car-spotting, as people with flashy motors use the café as a backdrop for their photos
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Not so good for: Ironically, parking is limited directly outside the car-themed eatery
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Opening times: Tuesday–Thursday and Sunday, 5pm to midnight; Friday–Saturday, 5pm–2am
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FYI: The nearest MRT stop, Aljunied, is about a 10-minute stroll away
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Website; Directions
Those with a passion for motoring will probably find this supper spot right up their street. The Fujiwara Tofu Concept Shop is modelled after the Japanese street-racing manga series Initial D, which has an avid following and was made into an Asian action flick in 2005.
Its façade looks as if it has come straight out of the comic, bearing the same name as the tofu store operated by Bunta Fujiwara, the father of Takumi Fujiwara, who is the main protagonist of the series.
No visit is complete without ordering a side of the titular Fujiwara tofu, deep-fried and topped with mildly spicy chilli. The store mainly serves finger food, from Japanese scallop sashimi to skewers of barbecue-glazed yakitori chicken thigh — ideally paired with a pint of Sapporo beer, or rounds of soju and sake.
Fans of Japanese-style izakaya dining are likely to feel at home here. But the real attraction is the cars that pull up to this eatery on a regular basis — the type of exotic motors often seen in posters on young petrolheads’ bedroom walls. Their drivers like to live out their Initial D fantasies by using the café as a backdrop for photos, although ironically parking spaces are limited.
Simpang Bedok
288A Bedok Road, Singapore 469445
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Good for: Hopping from one supper spot to another
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Not so good for: Low-calorie options
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Opening times: They vary — some places are open until 2am, others 24 hours
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FYI: Eateries at ground level close later than those above the supermarket
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Directions
Simpang Bedok is a legendary location for late-night food in eastern Singapore. It is not one restaurant, but a collection of places concentrated in one area offering a range of different cuisines.
Here you will find the Bedok Market Place, sited above a supermarket, where a variety of stalls serve up quick eats showcasing Singapore’s street- food culture. These are fine for dinner, but the market largely closes after 9pm. Surrounding the supermarket is a cluster of eateries where locals head for real supper food. These close later, after midnight, while some are open around the clock. One of the latter is the Indian-Muslim New Mahamoodiya Restaurant, located across the street from the Bedok Market complex. It has a seemingly endless menu of roti prata — Indian-style pancakes, prepared in a variety of ways. Roti prata paired with curry is a favourite supper dish with locals, and you can choose between sweet or savoury, stuffed with anything from egg to cheese to mushroom, or just on their own with the curry.
Roti prata is a crispier version of naan flatbread, and New Mahamoodiya’s creations are known to pack a crunch. One of the crunchiest is “tissue prata”, thin fried dough twisted into a shape resembling a wizard’s hat, and coated in sauces from caramel to honey and condensed milk.
Wash it all down with “Milo dino”, a cloyingly sweet chocolate-based drink topped with cocoa powder and sprinkles. Food at Simpang Bedok is greasy, sugary, spicy heaven.
Where do you go for late-night food in Singapore? Tell us in the comments below. And follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @FTGlobetrotter
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