Here’s a common conversation I have when talking to restaurateurs.

Restaurateur: “We’ve been thinking about building an iPhone app for the restaurant, but we’re just not sure how helpful it’ll be.”

Dixon: “When was the last time you downloaded a restaurant app?”

Restauranteur: “Actually, I never have. Hmm.”

If you are one of such restaurateurs, this article could be useful for you. As I lead the business aspects of Burpple, I’ve the wonderful opportunity to meet many merchants from the Food & Beverage (F&B) industry in Singapore. You’ve probably met about 7 mobile app developers - all of whom have pitched to you the extreme need for a mobile app, that apps are the future, and is the only way to engage the Instagram generation.

Specifically in Singapore, app developers will also tell you that app development is PIC-qualified, where you’re required to pay only 40% of the entire cost. I’ve heard that some pitches even say that building an app actually ‘earns’ you money when wrapped around tax incentives. Quotes range from the lowest of $5,000 to a high of $35,000, depending on the the perceived size and depth of your pockets. You can read more about the PIC program here.

Here Are 5 Reasons Why Your Restaurant Doesn’t Need To Build A Mobile App

1. Not a natural mode of discovery

After a year of building Burpple, we have collected millions of data points on customer behavior. The most typical ways people would discover your restaurant online are through the following modes:

A. Searching or browsing food specific networks such as Burpple, Yelp or Foursquare

- Decision is made based on results and relevance
- This customer already had a sense of where they want to go

B. Using a good search engine such as Google

- Will search with nothing specific in mind “great places to dine in Singapore”
- This customer has no sense of where they are going

C. Going to your website to for information

- This customer already knows you and plans to visit

There is almost zero opportunity for people to download your restaurant app. You can give discounts, a free soup for every download, or use Google AdWords, but essentially, you’re paying to advertise something that you’ve spent time and money to build that was supposed to increase your productivity and reduce cost in the first place. It just doesn’t add up.

2. Only regulars will know about your app

People who download your app are people who already know about you. Which means a mobile app is a really bad marketing tool- if your goal is to capture new users. Building a community on your app is never your metric, while it is the sole focus of social networks like Facebook or Burpple. Instead, you should utilize and engage the communities that these social networks have already built.

3. No restaurant app is ever in the top 10

There are exceptions like Starbucks or Pizza Hut. To once again prove that there is little or low likelihood for people to download restaurant apps, take a look at iTunes. On the day this article is published, there are no restaurant apps (other than those 2) sitting in the Top 10 of the Food & Drinks category.

4. Save your money

Developing mobile apps is not cheap. As mentioned, it can cost you anywhere between $5,000 - $35,000 to create an iPhone app, and don’t forget, you need apps for Android or Windows platforms too. Besides, many developers charge a retainer fee to maintain and update your apps. This can turn out to be really pricey.

5. Save your time

You will need to spend time laying down the product specifications, and working closely with developers to build the app. Feature customization will also be limited, as developers are working off templates (modules). It is better to work off current platforms such as Facebook or Burpple, as they offer greater flexibility for your content, and allow you to engage existing communities.

What else should I consider?

a. The goals of building a mobile app

b. Utilizing current platforms

c. A solution that is cheap, fast, and already has a good customer reach

So, what should I do?

At Burpple, we offer tools that help businesses promote their restaurant online, and instantly gain access to an existing community of food lovers through mobile and web platforms. It’s like owning your app, but cheaper, faster and better. You should check it out here.

     “I don’t think there’s anything better than being high on food!”

With almost 3000 food moments on Burpple, Alain is no doubt a ‘hardcore’ foodie! Apart from being in the Travel business, Alain’s love for food is undeniable. Let’s see what this self-professed dessert enthusiast has to say! 

Do you have any strange or unusual eating habits?

There are a few actually. I like to pick and choose what I like to eat first in a meal, and I would separate my favourite food. For example, a McDonald’s meal, I would finish up the fries first before eating the burger.

If I’m cutting up steak or a piece of meat, I would cut them up all into bite-sizes and devour them one by one. I can skip my meals sometimes, and eat desserts as my main course. 

If you could choose a dessert to best represent yourself, what would it be?

I would choose the one dessert that I could eat for the rest of my life - Chocolate ganache cake.

And if you ask me why, my answer to you is that I want my life experiences to be “rich like chocolate ganache”. Simple as that!

Lastly, you’ve been on Burpple for 8 months now. So far, what do you like most about Burpple?

The capabilities of the Burpple app, or what most people call the Social Food Guide, have proven to me that it’s one of the best, and my favourite social media platform which I use most frequently.

The posting experience and its features speak for itself, and it is the fastest way for me to share information to people without the needing to explain too much. Pictures and actions speak a thousand words. That’s my “like most” about Burpple!  

Thanks for sharing with us Alain, and for being such an awesome Burppler! Follow Alain’s amazing daily food adventures on Burpple@Alain Foodology ;)

To see what other tastemakers are tasting, go here!

Get the free app at www.burpple.com/getapp today :)

The Book Cafe

Hi Seth! Tell us a little about yourself.

Hi guys, I’m a food writer, entrepreneur and F&B marketing consultant. You can frequently find me munching away and taking photos at a restaurant, or making milkshakes at my outlet. I contribute to Singapore Business Review, soshiok.com, Business2community and many others as well as starting up my own blog this year in July 2013. 

You can follow Seth on Burpple here. 

If you could eat only 1 thing for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

Tough call, its between good steak and fresh Sashimi. I’ll probably go with Sashimi because its tasty AND healthy. Salmon, swordfish or yellow tail is all good stuff.

What is it about Burpple that you love? 

30 FAMOUS LOCAL FOODS TO EAT IN SINGAPORE BEFORE YOU DIE

Singapore is a hot pot of cuisines to eat, incorporating a rich heritage of food dishes consisting of Chinese, Indian, Malaysian and Indonesian influences. If you are a local Singaporean, you would have seen these dishes in the hawker centres below your void deck, in the food courts of shopping centres and in the quaint shop-houses decades old.

These are the real dishes you need to eat in Singapore before you die. I know there are still dozens of dishes in Singapore that are true to our heritage, but if I were to cover them all, this list would take you 2 years to finish reading.

As a Singaporean, there is no excuse to not trying these time-tested foods we all grew up with. As a tourist, this is a good check-list of authentic local cuisine in Singapore. These are the foods to eat in Singapore when you visit.

Many others have tried to cover Singapore’s food and although I appreciate Chef Anthony Bourdain for his wonderful exploration of Singapore food in his travel journals, I feel only a local can truly express the adequate love for our unique cuisine.

*note that most restaurants close on Mondays

1. Bak Kut Teh (肉骨茶 lit. Meat bone tea)

One of the many stories of Bak Kut Teh’s invention was that during the olden days of Singapore, a poor, starving beggar came by a road side pork noodle store to beg for food. The stall owner was in poverty, but wanted to help him. He boiled some of his left over pork bones and added whatever cheap spices he had to flavour the soup, including star anise and pepper which created a soup resembling tea in colour. Thus pork bone tea was born. Another canon states that this was a tonic invented to ‘reinvigorate’ the Chinese coolies that worked in the Clark Quay area.

Bak Kut Teh has been in Singapore since we were still a developing country and deserves its recognition as a simple, humble dish. Most of the Bak Kut Teh here are the pepper variety with mild use of herbs like Star Anise. Choose pork ribs meat in your soup for a more tender bite. The other variant would be the Klang Bak Kut Teh, a dark and highly flavoured herbal soup originating from Malaysia.

Best Bak Kut Teh stalls: 

Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh: 7 Keppel Road, #01-05/07, PSA Tanjong Pagar Complex, Singapore 089053

Song Fa Bak Kut Teh: 11 New Bridge Road #01-01, Singapore 059383

Ng Ah Sio Pork Ribs Soup: 208 Rangoon Road, Hong Building Singapore 218453

Leong Kee (Klang) Bak Kut Teh: 321 Beach Road, Singapore 199557

2. Wanton Mee (云吞面)

The Singapore Wanton noodles was probably influenced by Hong Kong cuisine, but has become entrenched in our culture over the years. The Singapore version is typically eaten ‘dry’, drenched with some light sweet sauce, slices of pork char siew and wanton dumplings filled with pork, with a small bowl of soup on the side. Auntie will also ask if you want spicy or not. The spicy type sees chilli being mixed into the noodles, while the non-spicy kids version will have tomato sauce mixed in. Wanton dumplings may be either deep fried or come in soup dumplings.

The Malaysian variant is a darker colored sauce, sweeter tasting mee.

Best Wanton Mee stalls:

Fei Fei Wanton Mee: 62 Joo Chiat Place, Singapore 427785

Kok Kee Wanton Mee:  380 Jalan Besar, Lavender Food Square, #01-06, Singapore 209000

Parklane Zha Yun Tun Mee House: 91 Bencoolen Street, #01-53, Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652

3. Fried Carrot cake (菜头粿)

Photo credits: thesilverchef.blogspot.com

No, this isn’t the American Dessert. This is far from it. The Singapore Fried Carrot cake is made with eggs, preserved radish (chai poh) and white radish flour cake, which resembles a ‘white carrot’ and how the name comes about.

This is a teochew dish popular both in Singapore and Malaysia. Variants include the ‘black’ version, which is with sweet sauce (molasses) added, or a crispy version with the cake fried on top of a beaten egg to create a crust and chunks of cake. Most commonly seen in Singapore though is the chopped up version with individual radish cake cubes.

Best Fried Carrot Cake Stalls:

Carrot Cake 菜頭粿 (that’s the literal name of the store): 20 Kensington Park Road, Chomp Chomp Food Centre, Singapore 557269

Fu Ming Carrot Cake: Blk 85 Redhill Lane, Redhill Food Centre, Singapore 150085

Hai Sheng Carrot Cake: Blk 724 Ang Mo Kio Ave 6, Market and Food Centre, #01-09, Singapore 560724

4. Dim sum (点心)

Another Hong Kong/ Shang Hai inspired type of dishes available in Singapore is the Dim Sum or ‘Dian xin’. This is not exactly 1 dish, but a set of small dishes to be savoured in a group- a typical Chinese dining sharing custom. Popular dim sum dishes include the BBQ Pork Bun, Xiao Long Bao, Siew Mai, Chee Chong Fun and many more.

Best Dim Sum Stalls:

Swee Choon Tim Sum:  191 Jalan Besar, Singapore 208882

Tim Ho Wan: 450 Toa Payoh Lorong 6, #02-02, ERA Centre, Singapore 319394

Wen Dao Shi (搵到食):  126 Sims Ave, Singapore 387449

5. Kaya Toast and Soft-boiled Eggs

Photo credits: easyfoodrecipesandcooking.blogspot.com

The one and only traditional Singaporean breakfast- Kaya toast with soft-boiled eggs. The traditional bread is an old school rectangular white loaf, toasted with a bread grill, lathered with coconut or egg kaya then slapped with a thick slice of SCS butter to slowly melt within 2 slices of warm bread. This is the classic kaya toast. Variations include using thinly sliced brown bread, round buns or ‘Jiam Tao Loh Tee’ like a French baguette.

For the eggs, it’s usually put in a large hot water metal pot and covered with a plate. Then you time it and take out the egg when it’s ready (about 7-10 minutes depending on how well you like your egg). Trying not to scream like a little girl, crack open the eggs with your bare hands onto 1 of the 2 plates given and throw the shells on the remaining plate. Season with pepper and dark/light soya sauce.

Best Kaya Toast stalls:

Killiney Kopitiam: 67 Killiney Road, Singapore 239525

Chin Mee Chin Confectionery: 204 East Coast Road, Singapore 428903

Good Morning Nanyang Cafe: 20 Upper Pickering Street, Hong Lim Green Community Centre, Singapore 058284

Ya Kun Kaya Toast: 18 China Street #01-01, Far East Square,  Singapore 049560 (there are like over 30 outlets of Ya Kun in Singapore now)

6. Crabs (Chilli or Pepper)

The 2 most famous styles of crab cooking in Singapore are with a sweet, spicy tomatoish chilli sauce, or with black pepper sauce. Chilli crabs are usually eaten along with fried mantous (buns), which are dipped in the luscious chilli sauce. Well prepared crabs go through a 2 step cooking process, boiled first then fried so that the meat doesn’t stick to the shell. Recently, many popular styles of cooking have surfaced as well, like salted-egg crabs or crab bee hoon.

Best Singapore Crab stalls:

Red House Seafood Restaurant: 68 Prinsep Street, Singapore 188661

No Signboard Seafood: 414 Geylang Singapore 389392

Long Beach Seafood: Blk 1018 East Coast Parkway, Singapore 449877

Crab Party: 98 Yio Chu Kang Road, Singapore 545576

Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood: 122 Casuarina Road, Singapore 579510

7. Laksa

Photo credit: sgfoodonfoot.com

Laksa is a dish merged from Chinese and Malay elements otherwise known as Peranakan culture. There are 2 main types of laksa- curry laksa and asam laksa. Curry laksa is more predominant in Singapore, while assam laksa is found more in Malaysian regions like Penang Laksa. In fact there loads of variants of Laksas differing in fish type, broth and even noodles.

Traditional Singapore Curry Laksa uses vermicelli, coconut milk, tau pok (beancurd puffs), fish slices, shrimp and cockles (hum). Due to cost cutting or taste preference, some stalls might opt out of shrimp and cockles. A unique Singapore variant known as Katong Laksa has it’s vermicelli cut into short ends and is eaten only with a spoon. There is much debate on who is the original Katong Laksa.

Best Laksa Stalls:

328 Katong Laksa: 51/53 East Coast Road, Singapore 428770

Sungei Road Laksa: Blk 27 Jalan Berseh, #01-100 Singapore 200027

Janggut Laksa: 1 Queensway, Queensway Shopping Centre, #01-59, Singapore 149053

8. Curry Fish Head

Is it Chinese, Indian or Malay? This is another ambiguous dish with probably a South Indian origin, but heavily influenced by the various ethnicities in Singapore. What I do know, is that it’s delicious. Either half a head or the whole head of a Red snapper is stewed in curry with assorted vegetables like Lady’s Finger (okra) and brinjal. The Indian style of curry has heavier spices and flavours, while the Chinese styles are lighter and sweeter.Variants include the Assam style fish head curry, which adds in a tinge of sourness with Tamarind fruit (assam).

Best Curry Fish head stalls:

Ocean Curry Fish Head (assam style): 92 Lorong 4 Toa Payoh, Singapore 310092

Bao Ma Curry Fish Head (chinese style): #B1-01/07, 505 Beach Road, Golden Mile Food Centre, Singapore 199583

Zai Shun Curry Fish Head (chinese style): Blk 253, Jurong East St 24, #01-205, Singapore 600253

Karu’s Indian Banana Leaf Restaurant (Indian style): 808/810, Upper Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 678145

Muthu’s Curry (Indian style): Blk 7, Dempsey Road, Singapore 249671

9. Bak Chor Mee (肉脞面 lit. Minced Meat Noodle)

Photo credit: toseetofeeltoeat.blogspot.com

Colloquially known as Bak Chor Mee, this is a noodle dish with minced pork, liver, meat balls/ fish balls, fish cake slices and a signature vinegar braised sauce that adds some wetness. Typically, the dish is ordered ‘dry’ to savour full flavours of the sauce and you can choose between chilli or ketchup, and the type of noodle to use. Noodle choices are normally either Mee Pok (a flat noodle) or Mee Kia (thin noodle), while some stalls offer bee hoon, mee sua or mee tai mak as well. Variants include an exclusively soup version with home-made noodles famous at Bedok Blk 85.

Best Bak Chor mee stalls:

Tai Hwa Pork Noodle: Blk 466 Crawford Lane #01-12 S(190465), Singapore 190465

58 Minced Meat Mee: 3 Yung Sheng Road, #03-150, Taman Jurong Market and Food Centre, Singapore 618495

Seng Hiang Food Stall (soup variant): Blk 85 Bedok North Street 4, Fengshan Market & FoodCentre, Singapore 460085

Seng Kee Mushroom Minced Pork Noodles: 49A Serangoon Garden Way, Serangoon Garden Market & Food Centre, Singapore 555945

10. Oyster Omelette (Orh Lua)

Photo credits: jugorum.wordpress.com

A dish popular in Singapore Hawkers as well as Taiwan Night markets, this is a dish many foreigners and locals love. Stalls that sell carrot cake typically also sell Oyster omelettes as it’s a similar cooking process as well as utilizing a common ingredient: Eggs. Potato starch is usually mixed into frying the egg and gives a thicker, fuller taste. Variants include a version without the starch, which is priced slightly higher due to more eggs needed instead. A special vinegar chilli is also paired exclusively with oyster omelettes in Singapore.

Best Oyster Omelette stalls:

Simon Road Oyster Omelette: 965 Upper Serangoon Road, Mee Sek Coffeeshop, Singapore 534721

Ang Sa Lee Oyster Omelette: 20 Kensington Park Road, Chomp Chomp, Singapore 557269

Bedok 85 Fried Oyster Omelette: Blk 85 Bedok North Street 4, Fengshan Market & FoodCentre, Singapore 460085

11. Hokkien Prawn Mee

Photo credits: www.camemberu.com

The Singapore Hokkien Mee fries a combination of egg noodles and rice noodles in a rich prawn stock with cubes of fried pork fat, prawns, fish cake and squid. Some vendors add pork strips as well to add more flavour. This dish was a product of post-war Hokkien noodle factory workers who would gather along Rochor road and fry any excess noodles they had. Another version easily confused by the same name is called the Hokkien Char mee, which is covered in a signature thick dark sauce and uses only 1 type of egg noodle.

Best Hokkien Prawn Mee stalls:

Eng Ho Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee: 409 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, #01-34, Teck Ghee Square Food Centre, Singapore 560409

Ah Hock Fried Hokkien Noodles: 20 Kensington Park Road, Chomp Chomp, Singapore 557269

Chia Keng Fried Hokkien Mee: 20 Kensington Park Road, Chomp Chomp, Singapore 557269

Original Serangoon Fried Hokkien Mee: 556 Serangoon Road, Singapore 218175

12. Satay

Satay is a dish of skewered, Turmeric marinated meat that is grilled on an open fire. It originates from Indonesia but has become a common hawker fare in Singapore. Stalls are not restricted to any race and may be operated by Chinese, Malays or Indians. Typical meats include chicken, beef, mutton and even pork which is sold by the Chinese stall owners. Ketupat (rice cake), onions and cucumbers usually accompanies Satay. A spicy peanut dip is also provided for the Satay and sides as well.

Best Satay Stalls:

Kwong Satay: 549 Lorong 29 Geylang Road, Sing Lian Eating House, Singapore 389504

Haron Satay: 1220 East Coast Parkway, East Coast Lagoon Food Village, Singapore 468960

Chuan Kee Satay: Block 51 Old Airport Road, #01-85, Old Airport Road Food Centre  Singapore 390051

13. BBQ Sambal Sting Ray

Photo credits: hungrygowhere.com

In the past, having a fridge/freezer was as rare as winning Toto; Barbecuing or frying fishes to musk the fishy odour after being left out in the open for days was a popular cooking choice.

Also known as Ikan Bakar (barbequed fish), Stingray used to be unpopular but has risen in price since Singaporean Malays figured out that Sambal on top of Sting Ray = delicious. It is traditionally wrapped in banana leaf and barbecued, then a sambal paste made with belachan, spices, shallots and Indian walnuts is smothered generously all over the top. Lime is usually squeezed in right before eating as well.

Best BBQ Stingray stalls:

Star Yong Kwang B.B.Q. Seafood: Blk 127 Bukit Merah Lane 1, Alexandra Village Food Centre, #01-230, Singapore 150127

Chomp Chomp Hai Wei Yuan Seafood Barbecue: 20 Kensington Park Road, Chomp Chomp, Singapore 557269

B.B.Q. Seafood: 3Yung Sheng Road, Taman Jurong Market & Food Centre, #03-178, Singapore 618499

14. Tau Huay (Dou Hua 豆花)

Photo credits: bakingquinn.blogspot.com

Tau Huay is a Chinese dessert made with beancurd tofu that is sweetened with sugar syrup. The traditional type is very soft, slightly grainy and soaks in syrup to be eaten together. This Tau Huay can be eaten hot or cold, sometimes with Tang Yuan, grass jelly or Soya bean milk added as well.

In recent times, a popular more gelatine, jelly-like version of Tau Huay has surfaced and for a period, drove Singaporeans to queue like ants to sugar. This version is smoother and can incorporate pretty much any flavour like mango, melon or sesame. The texture is distinctively different from the traditional types and some camps advocate against it due to unnatural stabilizers used. This is eaten cold as heat would break the structure.

Best Tau Huay stalls:

Rochor Original Beancurd: 2 Short Street, Singapore 188211

Lao Ban Soya Beancurd (gelatine type): #01-127 and #01-107 Old Airport Road Hawker Centre, 51 Old Airport Road

Selegie Soya Bean: 990 Upper Serangoon Road, Singapore 534734

15. Ice Kacang (lit. ice beans)

A grinding machine is used to produce the shaved ice mountain on top of a bowl of assorted ingredients like red bean, attap chee (palm seed), agar agar jelly, chendol, grass jelly or any other filling desired. Evaporated or condensed milk is then drizzled on the top along with red rose syrup and sarsi syrup to produce the multi-coloured effect. Variations may include drizzling with gula melaka, adding ice-cream or other novelty toppings like Durian or chocolate syrup.

Best Ice Kacang stalls:

Annie’s Peanut Ice Kacang: 20 Ghim Moh Road, #01-35, Ghim Moh Market & Food Centre Singapore 270020

Mei Heong Yuen: 65-67 Temple Street, Singapore 058610

An Ji Xiang Hua Ice Jelly: Blk 335 Smith Street, #02-183, Chinatown Complex Market, Singapore 050335

16. Chwee Kway (水粿 lit. Water Rice Cake )

Photo credits: aromacookery.com

Another breakfast dish seen regularly in Singapore and Johor, most stalls only open in the morning and close by lunch. Rice flour and water are mixed together to form the rice cake, then put into little saucers and steamed to produce the typical Chwee Kway bowl-like shape. It is topped with chai poh (preserved radish) and chilli. Chwee kway is a dying trade that the young generation does not want to carry on, so try it before its gone forever.

Best Chwee Kueh stalls:

Ghim Moh Chwee Kueh: 20 Ghim Moh Road #01-31, Ghim Moh Market and Food Centre, Singapore 270020

Bedok Chwee Kueh: blk 207 New Upper Changi Road #01-53 Singapore 460207

Jian Bo Shui Kueh: 30 Seng Poh Road, #02-05, Tiong Bahru Market and Food CentreS(168898)

17. Durian

Photo Credits: www.mrstyleking.com

Widely regarded by many as the ‘king of fruits’ in Southeast Asia and the national fruit of Singapore, Singapore even has a building modelled after one (Esplanade). Most foreigners are turned off by the strong ‘pungent’ smell, while locals adore the flesh so much they turn it into desserts, cakes, tarts and even shakes.

Many expensive and popular strains of Durian have surfaced like D24 or the Mao Shan Wang (猫山王), which are even stronger in fragrance. There is a taste preference for either the more bitter variety or sweeter flesh. Whether you love it or hate it, you can always smell it when it’s in the room, leading to bans in many public areas like the train or bus.

Best Durian stalls:

Wonderful Fruit Enterprise: 147 Sims Avenue, Singapore 387469

Ah Seng Durian: Blk 20 Ghim Moh Road, #01-197, Singapore 270020

Hoe Seng Heng Durian Centre: 49 Sims Ave, Singapore 387413

18. Biryani

photo credits: hyderabadbiryanispecial.blogspot.com

Biryani is a fried rice dish of Indian Muslim influence made using distinctive long grain rice, usually with Basmati rice. Meats can be added to make it a Chicken, beef or fish Biryani. Spices used are also heavy in flavour like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and bay leaves. The resulting rice grains is usually very dry and can be accompanied by curry or chutney.

Best Biryani stalls:

Bismillah Biryani: 50 Dunlop Street, Singapore 209379 

Taj: 214 South Bridge Road, Singapore 058763

19. Nasi Lemak (lit. coconut rice)

Photo credits: www.seasaltwithfood.com

Nasi Lemak is a very versatile dish and what was once a breakfast item, is now eaten during lunch and dinner too. Traditionally wrapped in banana leaves, Nasi Lemak is a deeply rooted Malay coconut rice dish. The rice is steamed with coconut cream to give it a sweet fragrance. The typical Nasi Lemak set comes with Ikan Bilis (anchovies), peanuts, egg and sambal. A good sambal is arguably the mark of a good Nasi Lemak.

Nasi Lemak is so popular in Singapore, the other races have adopted Nasi Lemak in their own variations of the dish and offer a wide selection of ingredients like fried chicken drumsticks, luncheon meat and sotong balls.

Best Nasi Lemak Stalls: 

Ponggol Nasi Lemak: 965 Upper Serangoon Road, Singapore 534721

Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak: 2 Adam Road, Adam Food Centre Singapore 289876

Chong Pang Nasi Lemak: 447 Sembawang Road, Singapore 758404

Mizzy’s Corner: 2 Changi Village road, #01-55, Changi Village market and food centre, Singapore 500002

20. Mee Siam

Popular among the Muslim community as well as Chinese, Mee Siam has been absorbed into Singapore’s Nonya culture. Mee Siam means “Siamese noodles” and is vermicelli soaked in a sweet and spicy gravy flavoured by Tamarind (assam), dried shrimp and Tau Cheo (fermented bean paste).  It usually comes with a boiled egg, bean sprouts, tau pok (beancurd puff) and is garnished with chives.

Best Mee Siam stalls:

Dju Dju Indonesian Food: Blk 304 Serangoon Ave 2, #01-14, Singapore 550304

Robert Mee Siam Lontong: Blk 91 Whampoa Drive #01-43 Makan Place, Singapore 320091

Wak Limah Stall:  320 Shunfu Road, #02-15, Shunfu Food Centre Singapore 570320

21. Mee Rebus

Photo credits: justeatla.blogspot.com

In the past, mobile hawkers would sell Mee Rebus on the road using a pole hanging 2 baskets- 1 basket would hold the ingredients, 1 with the stove and boiling hot water. Mee Rebus is a noodle dish using egg yellow noodles like the type in Hokkien prawn mee, with a brown, sweet curry gravy. Compared to Mee Siam, the Mee Rebus gravy is much thicker and viscous, lacking in the sour assam taste. The gravy is made from potatoes (starch makes it thicker), curry powder, peanuts, dried shrimp and salted soy beans.

Best Mee Rebus stalls:

Afandi Hawa & Family Mee Rebus: Blk 14 Haig Road,  #01-21, Haig Road Food Centre Singapore 430014

Inspirasi stall: Blk 207 New Upper Changi Road, #01-11, Bedok Town Centre Market and Food Centre, Singapore 460207

Selera Kita: Blk 58 New Upper Changi Road, #01-182, Block 58 Market adn Food Centre  Singapore 461058

22. Roti Prata

Photo credits: look-see-eat.blogspot.com

Yet another cross cultural food that has been popularly adopted by Singaporeans is the Roti Prata. Roti Prata is of Indian origin, has a Malay name, and is eaten by the Chinese! That’s what Singapore racial harmony is all about.

A fried flour-based pancake, Roti Prata popular variants include adding cheese, eggs, mushroom, onions or even chocolates inside the batter. The dough is flipped multiple times into a large thin layer before folding the edges in. Some outlets also flip the dough so thin it turns crispy when fried on the metal pan. These are called ‘paper’ or ’tissue’ prata. Prata is served with fish or chicken curry while some people like myself like to sprinkle sugar with it.

Best Prata Stalls:

Thasevi Famous Jalan Kayu Prata Restaurant: 237 & 239 Jalan Kayu, Singapore 799461

Casuarina Curry Restaurant: 138 Casuarina Rd, Singapore 579526

The Roti Prata House: 246M Upper Thomson Rd, Singapore 574370

23. Fish Head/fish slice Bee Hoon

Photo credits: expatedna.com

What originally started as fish head bee hoon in the 1920s has slowly advanced to using fish slice or fish meats in this age of abundance. In the past, meat was scarce and food sellers had to maximise every part of the fish including the head. The fish head was fried to musk the fishy odour after a few days, as back then refrigeration wasn’t as accessible. With fresher stocks, boiled fish slices are now an available option.

Fish soup bee hoon’s broth is made from fish or pork bones boiled for several hours, and some stalls might add evaporated milk for a fuller taste. Variants include adding XO cognac or brandy.

Best Fish Soup Bee Hoon Stalls:

Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon Restaurant: Blk 19A Dover Crescent #01-05, Dover Coffee Hub, Singapore 131019

Bao Gong XO Fish Head Bee Hoon: Block 713 Clementi West Street 2 #01-115, S(120713)

Jin Hua Fish Head Bee Hoon: 1 Kadayanallur St, Maxwell Road Hawker Centre, Singapore 069184

24. Rojak (lit. mixture)

Singapore Chinese/Malay Rojak is a mixture of of You tiao (dough fritters), bean sprouts, tau pok (beancurd puffs), radish, pineapple, cucumber and roast peanuts. It is then all mixed together with a black, fermented prawn paste sauce. Chilli is optional. The ingredients in Chinese/malay rojak is quite standard.

The other distinctive variant is the Indian version. Indian Rojak allows you to pick what ingredients to be added and usually doens’t include you tiao. Red gravy made with potato and spices is used in Indian Rojak. It is also tossed in peanut sauce.

Best Rojak stalls:

Al Mahboob Indian Rojak: Blk 506, Tampines Ave 4, #01-361, Singapore 520506

Toa Payoh Rojak: Blk 51 Old Airport Road, #01-108, Old Airport Road Food Centre, Singapore 390051

Hoover Rojak: 90 Whampoa Drive, #01-06 Whampoa Food Centre S320090

25. Chicken rice

More accurately known as Hainanese Chicken rice, this is one of Singapore’s most well-known and celebrated dish. No coffee shop in Singapore is complete without a chicken rice stall. The whole chicken is steeped in sub-boiling pork and chicken bone stock to absorb the flavours and cook. Some shops will also dip the bird in ice after cooking to create a jelly-like finish on the chicken’s skin. Variations also include roasting the chicken which is called ‘black chicken’, in contrast to the ‘white chicken’. The stores with better service will de-bone the chicken for you.

The rice used in chicken rice is cooked with chicken stock, ginger, garlic and occasionally pandan leaves for added fragrance. Chilli sauce made with garlic and red chilli is served with chicken rice, as well as being topped with dark sauce and heaping spoons of chopped ginger.

Best Chicken Rice stalls:

Boon Tong Kee: 401 Balestier Road, Singapore 329801

Ming Kee Chicken Rice & Porridge: 511 Bishan Street 13, Singapore 570511

Tian Tian Chicken Rice: 1 Kadayanallur St, #01-10, Maxwell Road Hawker Centre, Singapore 069184

Wee Nam Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice Restaurant: 101 Thomson Road ,#01-08, United Square, Singapore 307591

26. Duck Rice

Photo credits: pufflist.blogspot.com

Sometimes chicken rice stalls will sell duck rice as well, but the real good ducks are in specialized duck rice only shops. The common version of duck rice, influenced by roast meats in Hong Kong, uses plain white rice with ruby red roasted duck, and is drizzled with braised sauce. The other Teochew version uses braised yam rice and braised duck meat, along with some tau pok, eggs and peanuts on the side. Teochews just love braised sauce. Both are equally yummy  and have distinctively different taste profiles.

Best Duck Rice stalls:

Lian Kee Braised Duck: 49 Sims Place, Sims Vista Market and Food Centre, Singapore 380049

Sia Kee Duck Rice: 659 Geylang Rd, Lorong 35 , Singapore 389589

Hua Fong Kee Roasted Duck : Blk 116, Lorong 2 Toa Payoh #01-62, Singapore 310116

27. Char Kway Teow (lit. fried rice cake strips)

Photo credits: ieatishootipost.sg

Char Kway Teow is another signature Singapore noodle dish made with flat rice noodles (河粉) with sweet dark sauce. Stir-fried with egg, pork lard, Chinese sausages and fish cake, Char Kway Teow was intentionally made to be loaded in fats because labourers in the past needed a cheap source of energy, and what better way than to get it from fats. Cockles are also usually added in, as there was plenty of it in Singapore’s port island. A Penang Char Kway Teow variation exists as well, using chives and prawns and lacks the sweetness that is distinctive of Singapore style Char Kway Teow.

Best Char Kway Teow stalls:

Hill Street Char Kway Teow: Blk 16 Bedok South Road, #01-187, Bedok South Road Market & Food Centre, Singapore 460016

Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee: Blk 531A Upper Cross Street, #02-17, Hong Lim Food Centre, Singapore 510531

Zion Road Fried Kway Teow: 70 Zion Road, Zion Riverside Food Centre, Singapore 247792

Guan Kee Fried Kway Teow: Blk 20 Ghim Moh Road, #01-12, Ghim Moh Market And Food Centre, Singapore 270020

28. Sugar Cane Juice

Sugar Cane Juice is extracted from, no prizes for guessing right, Sugar cane. Upon order, sugar cane is repeatedly run through a small mill that grinds and juices the hard cane. The vibrant green colour with a bit of froth is how you know it’s fresh and not pre-juiced that turns brown after being left out too long. The mill used to be hand cranked, but now there are automated models. After the initial grind, the juice is further filtered to remove the residue fibres. Most stalls have an option to add lemon juice for a slight zest to break the sweetness.

Best Sugar Cane Juice Stalls:

Victory Sugar Cane: Blk 409 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, #01-08, Singapore 560409

Seng Huat Sugar Cane: 7 Maxwell Road, #01-22, Amoy Street Food Centre, Singapore 069111

甘蔗汁 Fresh Sugar Cane Juice: 20 Kensington Park Road, Chomp Chomp, Singapore 557269

29. Fish Head Steamboat

Photo credits: www.misstamchiak.com

Being an island port, Singapore used to have many fishermen who would bring their fresh unsold catch to be sold as dishes instead. Teochew Fish Head Steamboat is another such result of our geographic situation. The soup typically contains a controlled mix of fried yam, sour plums, fried fish bones and vegetables which add flavour to the soup. Raw fish slices are added in later. Grouper, red snapper or promfert are the usual choices available in Fish Head Steamboat.

Old school steamboat still uses hot charcoal as it’s heat source, which apparently adds more flavour as compared to just using a electric or fire stove. Be warned, good and popular fish head steamboats in Singapore have fervent customers queuing for more than an hour regardless of how nonchalant the restaurant service is.

Best Fish Head Steamboat Stalls:

Nam Hwa Chong (Ah Chew) Fishhead Steamboat: 808/812/814/816 North Bridge Road, Singapore 198779

Tian Wai Tian Fish Head Steamboat: 1383 Serangoon Road, Singapore 328254

Whampoa Keng Fishhead Steamboat: 556 Balestier Road, Singapore 97694451

30.  Popiah

Photo credits: www.biginsingapore.com

And finally, our last food to eat in Singapore before you die, is Popiah. The Teochew call it 薄餅仔 (thin wafer) or 薄餅 in Mandarin, which in the Teochew dialect reads as ‘Bo-BEE-ah’, thus resulting in the English name Popiah. The round Popiah skin is a thin paper-like wheat crepe that rolls up all the ingredients. A sweet sauce called hoisin is lathered on the laid out flat skin thereupon fillings are added. Ingredients within a Popiah typically include small prawns, boiled eggs, Chinese sausage, lettuce, bean sprouts and majority filled with cooked carrot and turnip strips.

Best Popiah Stalls:

Glory Catering: 139 East Coast Road, Singapore 428829

Jit It Thai San Popiah 日益太山薄饼: Blk 449 Clementi Avenue 3, Singapore 120449

Qi Ji: 109 North Bridge Road, #01-17, Funan IT Mall Singapore 1799097

Miow Sin Popiah & Carrot Cake: 380 Jalan Besar #01-04, Lavender Food Square, Singapore 209000

*Editor’s end notes*

This is in no way an exhaustive list of classic Singapore dishes. This article has generated a lot of passionate comments from Singaporeans, with their own take on who is the ‘best’ or the history of our dishes. The ‘best’ listed here is my personal bests, and definitely you are entitled to your own opinions as I am to mine. Any factual correction will be taken into consideration if you can provide a formal citation or reference to the information, instead of quoting it from your grandma. My grandma disagrees with your grandma.

Many of the Singapore dishes were invented out of poverty and whatever ingredient was available at the time. The high number of immigrants from predominantly China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Indonesia also shaped how our food culture mingled and interacted to create many of these dishes. Some people disagree that certain dishes listed here are not Singaporean, but as mentioned, Singapore takes dishes from overseas and assimilates it into our culture. We’re shameless like that.

The hawker trade is a greying population with low interest from the more industrial driven Singapore youths today, so do support our hawker heritage before it slowly fades away.

What inspired me to write this article was that I was pissed. I came across an article by I-S magazine titled ‘50 things to eat in Singapore before you die‘ and happily clicked it expecting to find my favourite, local Singaporean foods to eat. Foods I have grown up with, that you really MUST eat as a Singaporean before you pass on to a better place.

To my horror, I saw absolutely pretentious dishes like ‘Bak Kwa Mac & Cheese’, ‘Beet Risotto’, ‘Potato Puree’, ‘Tagliatelle Bolognaise’ and a whole 50 list of dishes that were distinctively NOT Singaporean. How does ‘French Toast with Rum Sabayon’ sound anything remotely Singaporean with another country’s name in front of it?

Most of the restaurants listed in the above mentioned article have only opened for barely a year and do not have the right to claim their place as must eat foods in Singapore.

I don’t blame the restaurants listed; there are many new restaurants opening with new fusion cuisines every year and they should come under a list of new restaurants in Singapore.

It is poor journalism and a misleading headline designed to draw attention regardless of the content that is sacrilegious to me as a Singapore food writer.

No matter if you are a local or a tourist, I hope this guide I’ve compiled serves you a better, authentic picture of what is local Singapore food.

1. Explore a New Cuisine

Had one too many eggs ben and baskets of truffle fries in 2013? Maybe 2014 could be the year of trying something you never thought to try before. Singapore is chock-full of amazing cuisines, perhaps it’s time to try an Indian dish you’ve never had (instead of butter chicken and garlic naan again), or that dimly-lit Middle Eastern place along Haji lane you’ve walked past a million times. Don’t be afraid, life’s an adventure after all!

Image credit: theguardian.com

2. Have More Food Parties

If you have that bunch of friends you’ve been promising to catch up with in 2013, it’s time to catch up by sharing a meal at one of your homes. Yes, dining out is awesome, but sometimes sitting around at home with a table full of food, and laughing with old friends is the best way to spend a night. Have a potluck every once in a while, you don’t have to wait for the festive season! Bring all your favourite foods and share the love. 

Image credit: bonappetit.com

3. Eat Slower!

It’s so easy to shovel food in your mouth non-stop when it’s so damn good, and BAM your plate is clean in 3 minutes. But there probably have been moments of regret, and groans of “ermagad so fullll” after lunch. Don’t worry, no one is advocating letting your food get cold here. Simply set your fork and spoon down after you’ve stuffed a big spoonful of cai fan in your mouth, and chew. Then, swallow. Maybe add a line to the conversation your colleagues are having, THEN put the next mouthful in. Sounds doable, right? If you need some convincing, here’s 5 powerful reasons to eat slower.

Image credit: animal-animal-animal.blogspot.com

4. Take a Walk to or From Your Meals

A slow walk on a Saturday morning is the perfect way to work up an appetite for your weekend brunch. If the weather permits in our crazy Singapore heat and rain, you can even get off one station or bus stop earlier than you usually would, and stroll to your brunch spot. Alternatively, take the stairs after lunch! 

Image credit: telegraph.co.uk

5. Work Through A List of Dishes and Places to Try

There are so many awesome places to eat. If you have a list of places you’ve been meaning to work through, make it a point to tick one off your list once a month. If you need some inspiration, here’s my box of “To Try” dishes. Can’t wait to get through them!

Image credit: documentingtheordinary.tumblr.com

6. Learn How to Make a Simple Meal for Yourself

Be it perfect half-boiled eggs for breakfast, spaghetti and meatballs for lunch, or a simple dish of fried rice for dinner, learning how to cook comfort food is definitely a level-up in life. If you’re a first-time cook, getting into the kitchen may take some time getting used to. Might as well dive right into making your favourite foods, right? Soon, you’ll be cooking dinner for your mom. Now doesn’t that sound nice.

Image credit: bonappetit.com

7. Don’t Overdo It

It’s so hard to resist a menu with so many tempting items, but sometimes, you gotta remind yourself how little food it takes to actually fill you up. Also, cutting out excess means leaving some space in your heart, tummy, and soul - for desire. How many times have you eaten too much that it your stomach hurt from over-expansion, and you ended up being sick of that dish? Perhaps this could be a year of sharing more, eating in smaller portions, and always leaving something to be desired. And this doesn’t just apply to food, life is always better without excess.

Image credit: trenchwars.wordpress.com

Happy 2014, friends! Here’s to a better year for everyone :)

- Jayne (your forever hungry Community Manager) & the Burpple team

UPDATE: Check out our 2014 Cafe Guide HERE. 

Get the free Burpple app, available on iPhone and Android.

1. For A Gorgeous, New Experience: Necessary Provisions

This new kid on the block is one surprising little hidden gem. Tucked away in the depths of Upper Bukit Timah, Necessary Provisions is everything you’d want from a cafe. Surreal lighting, dark walls, streaming sunlight, plants, gorgeous bakes, killer iced espresso and milk, and beer on tap. It’s worth the trek. 

Photos by: Jayne Tan & Kenneth Loy

2. For A Happening Arts Scene: Artistry

Artistry is known for being a happening hotspot for arts events. It’s where budding artists share their work, and aspiring artistes take the stage at night. This is probably the only cafe you could get service from a “cute angmoh” ;) Remember to give him a pat on the back for his passion to support the local arts scene, and of course, for serving gorgeous cups of coffee.

Photos by: Eleanor Tay & Alain Foodology

3. For All Things Coffee: Chye Seng Huat Hardware

While quickly becoming a coffee institution, CSHH still manages to be a cosy space. The gorgeously modified industrial-chic interior of this old hardwarestore provides the perfect setting for enjoying a good cup of coffee. If you’refeeling adventurous, give their galvanized ale a try- literally coffee beer. It’s strangely good!

Photos by: Eskay Kang& Yingxuan Quek

4. For Excellent Coffee, Eggs, and Hospitality: The Plain

The Plain aims to be the kind of place that feels like “stepping into a friend’s home”. You’d be hard-pressed to find better service than what you’d get here,and that goes for the quality of your coffee too. Don’t miss out on their Humpty Dumpty- come on, what’s better than 2 perfectly runny eggs sitting in little cups, beckoning you to dip your little Vegemite toast soldiers in? If you’re not a Vegemite fan, try their Pastrami Ciabatta.

Photos by: Jayne Tan& Zippy Lee

5. For An Escape From Your Social Life: La Ristrettos

Located in the most obscure place ever,  La Ristrettos can be found within the maze of private clinics at Novena Medical Centre. You are in for a treat, with one of the best coffees, and latte art around. The kick - the mobile reception here is really poor (hey, it’s a good thing sometimes!). Rest assured, no one can disturb your escapism. More details here!

Photos by: Candice Cai& Cafehoppingsg

6. For Fantastic Dessert & Old-School Ambience: Carpenter & Cook

With desserts that are not too-perfect-to-eat but just perfectly delightful, Carpenter & Cook manages to transport you to the 50s in an unpretentious, cosy way. The old benches and their authentic cutlery creates a lovely ambience for a peaceful afternoon. Don’t miss out on their Passionfruit Meringue Tart- a perfect balance of sweet and tart.

Photos by: Rachel Xie& Yvonne Y

7. For The Intentional Brunch Out: The Book Cafe

The Book Cafe isn’t exactly easily accessible, but its extensive brunch menu, and its consistency in food quality are the drawing factors for its regulars. A veteran in the cafe industry, it has definitely lived up to the expectations of its customers with its hearty, satisfying dishes. If you are a beginner in cafes, The Book Cafe should be your first stop. FYI, it’s also one of the few places Burpple co-founder Elisha, loves to work from.

Photos by: Poh Peng Ric Wang & Elisha Ong

8. For a Darned Good Cafe in the East: Penny University

The warm, earnest attitude at Penny U is something you pick up on quickly once stepping into this homey space. These guys don’t believe in mass production, and have a small, rotating selection of desserts from artisanal bakers around Singapore. Inspired by the cafes in London, Penny U spearheaded the cafe culture in the East, and is already highly regarded by cafe lovers- Easties and Westies alike. Read here!

Photos by: Zhan Hao Peh & Shurong Lo

9. For A Hearty Breakfast & Sweet Waffles: Department of Caffeine

This new-ish cafe in Duxton has some of the best cafe food around, with their satisfying breakfast platter, pulled pork sandwich, and the all-time Burppler favourite- D.O.C banana rum waffles with vanilla bean ice cream. The clean, industrial look with a warm, welcoming feel makes you wanna spend the whole day here.

Photos by: Gavin Chan& Alain Foodology

10. For the Best Coffee Cookies, and Cakes: Commune Cafe

This is probably the fifth time cafehoppingsg is raving about Commune cafe, probably because they simply deserve the praise for their wonderfully crafted cakes, cookies and coffee. With extremely affordable prices, you should just try everything on display, and don’t miss out on their Caramel Latte. Pop by for a break if you’re at Millenia Walk!

Photos by: Lina Yong& Cafehoppingsg

11. For A Chilled-out Weekend: Loysel’s Toy

Loysel’s Toy by Papa Palheta is one of those places you never would expect to find in a warehouse at Kampong Bugis, but it’s a lovely place for breakfast, brunch or tea. With excellent coffee and a simple but wholesome menu, Loysel’s is just an awesome place to chill. More details here.

Photos by: Andy Fong & Geraldine Tay

12. For An Artsy Ambience: Cups N Canvas

The idea of combining an art class centre and a cafe, is ingenious. This is how Cups N Canvas has set itself apart from the hundreds of other cafes. If you think arts is the only thing they specialize in, you’d be pleasantly surprised with their delicious Blanc Bacon pasta, and fragrant Cafe Latte. Cups N Canvas seems to have it all. You can literally smell art in this cafe. Get the full scoop here!

Photos by: Nerissa Ng 

13. For Buttermilk Waffles & Gorgeous Latte Art: Stranger’s Reunion

We have to say that Strangers’ Reunion simply does the best waffles in Singapore. Don’t let that distract you from the amazing cup of coffee you’re bound to get here, seeing it comes from our National Barista Champion, Ryan Tan. You won’t be disappointed. See what Cafehoppingsg has to say!
* Strangers’ has recently renovated, go check out their new menu and bigger space!

Photos by: Cafehoppingsg& Gninethree

14. For Chocolate Heaven: Laurent’s Cafe and Chocolate Bar

This is a chocolate lover’s heaven- a cosy and intimate cafe in Robertson Quay that serves to-die-for chocolate treats. From their famed soufflé, to their tarts, hand-made ice cream and cakes, you’re sure to find something that will satisfy. Although the soufflé needs a baking time of 15- 30 minutes, remember that good things are always worth the wait. 

Photos by: Veelynn Chew 

15. For Green Grass and Fresh Air: Riders Cafe

Although slightly pricier than a usual cafe, it’s easy to understand why. It’s always a privilege to be able to spend your Saturday morning watching horses in a vast green expanse, while digging into a refreshing bowl of bircher museli and fresh berries. Coming to Riders is always a nice treat after a week of hardwork.

*Riders was closed in the month of July, and is reopening in August, yay!

Photos by: C L& Nerissa Ng

16. For the Best Gourmet Cakes in Singapore: Patisserie G

With each cake like an artpiece, it takes a Burppler about 20 shots before willing to dig in. Each mouthful tastes like heaven, and every single detail is meticulously taken care of, contributing to the burst of sensations on the tongue. Don’t miss their playfully named G-Spot chocolate cake, or the awesome-sounding Triomphe caramel cake. Read more here!
* Tip: If you specially request for the rare 3D latte art from the head barista, you might just be lucky enough to get it ;) 

Photos by: Gavin Chan & Cafehoppingsg

17. For A Retro Getaway: Orange Thimble

Located in the retro-hip Tiong Bahru, Orange Thimble is a true gem, with amazing interior and delightful snacks. With a story behind its founding, you’d be glad to discover some footprints of the past in Tiong Bahru. This is the place to enjoy some teatime snacks, and awesome ice-blended coffee on a hot day in a quaint neighborhood. More here!

Photos by: Shurong Lo & Ivan Kuek

18. For a Quiet Hideout: Oriole Coffee Roasters

You’ll almost always get a perfect cup of coffee at Oriole’s. Just off the Keong Saik stretch, this hidden gem is a nice, quiet hideout perfect for some studying, reading, relaxing or catching up with a good friend.

Photos by: Nerissa Ng & Isaac Timothy T

19. For a Lively Hangout: Dutch Colony Coffee Co.

Serving authentically delicious coffee, Dutch Colony is a true hidden dragon in the mass of specialty stalls in the modern wet market, PasarBella. After a day of shopping for groceries, and browsing through tons of fresh food, grab a coveted seat amidst the crowd, and unwind in this indie setup. 

Photos by: Uncle Oonteng& Raymond Tan

20. For The Cafe Antagonists: 49 Seats

For those of you who have never quite believed in the “fluffy” cafes, you can have exactly what you want in 49 Seats - pure good “Western” food. Their Chicken Chop with Black Pepper Sauce is one dish that can never go wrong, along with their famed Tom Yam Seafood Pasta. Read more here!

Photos by: Rachel Pek & Dixon Chan

Dear friends,

We’ve heard the cries for a Cafe guide! For this edition, we were very happy to collaborate with one of our awesome Burpplers, Jovena of Cafehoppingsg, to bring you this list of cafes you should visit. If there’s anyone who’s a cafe guru, it’d be Jovena. Check out her lovely blog here!

We hope you enjoy this collection, don’t forget to save them to your Burpple Wishlist! Head over to Burpple now and try Burpplin’ for more places to try. 

We think you should follow us on Facebook too ;)

Cheers,

The Burpple Team

Get the free Burpple app, available on iPhone and Android.

Burpple Tastemakers are a group of hand-picked individuals who recommend the best places to eat, and essentially form the heart of the Burpple community. While there is no set criteria for what makes someone a Tastemaker, we generally look out for Burpplers who share genuine reviews, have an enormous passion for food, and enjoy interacting with the community. See all tastemakers ›

Why Be a Tastemaker?

1. Influence the Community
A chance for your lists to be featured on the Burpple homepage and under specific categories for others to discover easily. YOU can influence where others eat.

2. Receive a Tastemaker’s badge
Everyone will know you’re awesome, you’ll even get a shiny pink badge beside your name!

3. Attend exclusive Burpple meetups
Meet and eat with fellow Tastemakers and members of the forever-hungry Burpple team! Rub shoulders with the hungriest people in town, we make fantastic dinner company ;)

How YOU can become a Tastemaker

1. Be an active Burppler
To begin your road toward Tastemaker-hood, you need to be an active member of the Burpple community. From posting great photos and reviews, to commenting and interacting with others, you need to grab our attention!

2. Be hungry
Eat frequently! This means you’re someone who has tons of local knowledge of the best places to eat - which is exactly what we’re looking for. (maybe we should offer a Tastemakers’ gym membership…)

3. Have an opinion
Enjoyed your meal? Post that photo you took (yes, you’re the kinda person who takes photos of your meals), and describe in few short lines why people should order that dish or eat at that place. Don’t forget to tag it to a location! A simple, great post would look something like this.

4. Create organized lists
Categorize, title and describe your lists, so that you can organize your recommendations in a useful way. If you have knowledge in a particular area, here’s your chance to recommend places in a unique way that helps others decide where to eat and for what occasion.

Here’s an example of a kickass Tastemaker’s list.

How long can I be a Tastemaker for?

Every 6 months, Burpple Editors will review your contributions as a Tastemaker, and if you deserve to hold on to that shiny badge!

If you know someone who has not yet been noticed by us and you think they deserve to be a Tastemaker, nominate them! Yes, you can nominate yourself too ;) Our Editors will take a look and see if the nominee has what it takes.

See all tastemakers ›

Wanna be a Tastemaker, and join in all the fun? Here’s how. 

Till the next Tastemakers’ Meetup!

Lotsa love,

Jayne

Your forever-hungry Community Manager

Burpple releases its inaugural “Burpple Hot 100” in conjunction with upgrading Burpple as a new and improved way people discover local flavour in Singapore  

Monday, 23 June 2014 - Today, Burpple is releasing it’s first ever “Burpple Hot 100™” showcasing Singapore’s top hot spots over the past month. Burpple, powered by the tastes of real locals, is Singapore’s popular mobile and online discovery guide for everyone who likes to eat and drink. Along with the Burpple Hot 100, Burpple is also announcing the launch of the new Burpple, with new features that make it easier and more fun than ever to discover local flavour.

The Burpple Hot 100

The Burpple Hot 100 is based on actual app and site activity data generated by over 200,000 locals in Singapore alone who use Burpple every month to discover and rediscover great places to eat and drink in the Red Dot.

The “Burpple Hot 100” shows the hottest places in the city, a simple way to show off where the latest action is. Whether they are good, great or awesome, we leave it to your own tastebuds. Because, when it comes to eating, everyone’s an expert. We use an objective set of data including recent reviews, lists that have been created, views, and other relevant factors. Burpple users (we affectionately call them “burpplers”) are the ones who determine what’s hot by photographing what they eat, and writing all about it.

Burpple Hot 100 (May 2014)

Burpple is all about Local Flavour.

Today Burpple is also announcing a major upgrade to Burpple, making it easier and more fun to discover local flavour, along with new and improved iOS and Android apps. The new Burpple offers both curated guides written by food industry insiders as well as lists crafted by everyday Singaporeans who share their raves about where they have eaten. Because, when it comes to eating, everyone’s an expert.

What’s On Burpple

There are already half a million lists created by tens of thousands of hungry and thirsty burpplers. Here are some fun examples:

Steve’s Street Michelin

Steve, an accountant by day and foodie by birth, shares his favorite street food found in Singapore.

(Link: http://www.burpple.com/list/3042/sg-s-street-michelin)

Veronica’s Café Discoveries

Veronica, creative director, shares her favorite cafés found in Singapore and Hong Kong.

(Link: http://www.burpple.com/@veronicaphua)

The Wedding Scoop’s 12 Totally Hip Restaurants For Weddings

The Wedding Scoop, Singapore’s leading wedding portal has created a list on Burpple for hip and cool restaurants to celebrate your nuptials. Brands are using Burpple in creative and inspiring ways. Selected world class brands include Standard Chartered, Marina Bay Sands & Between.

(Link: http://www.burpple.com/list/455386/12-totally-hip-restaurants-for-singapore-weddings)

“Our vision is that with Burpple, you can eat like a local in any city around the world. It’s exciting to see the strong adoption in Singapore. It’s an eventuality that people will switch from searching on traditional directories to being easily guided on Burpple.

With learnings and valuable data collected over the last 2 years, we already have over half a million lists created in thousands of cities. Starting with Singapore, we aim to guide people to the best food through a smart and modern platform.”

Dixon Chan, Co-founder of Burpple

For More Images

For images of product, screenshots, graphics, please click here.  

About Burpple

Burpple is all about Local Flavour. Founded in 2012 by three Singaporean entrepreneurs, Burpple is Singapore’s city guide for locals who like to eat and drink. Burpple’s mission is to connect people to local businesses. Burpple smartly surfaces and organizes expert opinions ranging from food industry insiders to everyday locals with simply good taste. Burpple is available on the web (www.burpple.com/sg) and with a native app for both iPhone and Android.

This month, the Tastemakers gathered at East 8, a lovely spot that aims to bring a little bit of the New York vibe to Singapore, along with lovely small plates that have influences from just about everywhere. A great space for small gatherings, East 8 kindly set up tables for 15 of us. 

Photo by Alain Foodology

The night started off with a bling tasting, pretty interesting! 5 lucky Burpplers had to be blindfolded while eating the first dish, and had to later guess as many ingredients as they could. Funnily enough, all 5 turned out to be guys, check out their accidentally gangster photo:

Photo by Dixon Chan

The dish up for tasting was a lovely scallop with yuzu, honey, miso, ikura and chive. I must say, it was pretty hard to guess all the ingredients without looking at it! 

Tastemaker Jason Wong (above) and Alain Foodology (below) were the eventual winners, guessing the most ingredients!

Of course, the main event was the food, which everyone pounced on to photograph and eventually devour. Tastemaker Celest captured it perfectly:

Check out the what the Tastemakers thought of the food:

To spice things up even more, East 8 ran a photo competition for the Tastemakers. The person with the winning photo wins vouchers to East 8, and that really set tone for the rest of the night - some of the lengths to which these Burpplers went to for a good shot was downright entertaining. Now that’s what we call dedication:

The eventual winner was Tastemaker Geraldine Tay, with this stunning photo of our gloriously decadent dessert of Molten Peanut Butter & Chocolate:

This dessert was so good, we ordered 3 more! A must-try if you do visit East 8.

See Geraldine’s full list of what we ate!

A big thank you to the awesome people of East 8 who made our Tastemaker’s Eatup so much fun, and not forgetting the amazing food we had that night!

Till next month ;)

Cheers,

Jayne

Your forever-hungry community manager

Dear Burpplers,

Thanks for hanging on! We really appreciate your kind understanding and patience over the last couple of days, we’re happy to inform you that the location issue has been resolved! Simply download the latest update for your Burpple app, and you’ll be able to burp away ;)

If you’re looking for something new to try this weekend, check out our brand new Hot 100: Burpple.com/sg/hot for inspiration !

Cheers,

The Burpple Team

Get the free Burpple app, available on iPhone and Android.

For A Breath Of Fresh Air: The Bravery

Opened by the good people of The Plain, it’s nice to sit in this space right opposite the Jalan Besar Stadium with a perfect flat white, a constant reminder that you are in fact, still in Singapore, despite the exceedingly Australian ambience. With bare-bones tables and chairs, this new kid on the block gives off an earthy-cool vibe with an energy that makes you wanna go back and make great things happen. The coffee and service is fantastic, nothing short of what you would get at The Plain. Look out for the gold door!

Order this: Cold Cuts Platter & Scotch Eggs, and  Classic Bread & Butter Pudding

#01-16, 200 Turf Club Road

Burpple-d by: Jasper Aston Lim and Rachel Xie

 

 

For Good Ol’ Local Breakfast: Chin Mee Chin Confectionary

 

This place doesn’t need a recommendation, what with its history, and enthusiastic word of mouth doing it for them. There’s no better place to head down in your shorts and slippers with a few good friends you’re too busy to catch up with during the week, and have a comforting breakfast of kaya toast (extra butter pls) and kopi siu dai. Grab as many buns as you can and share! Sometimes nothing beats tradition.

Order this: Kaya Toast, Eggs, and Custard Puff

204 East Coast Road

Spending too much time deciding where you and your friends should eat? Burpple helps you find a place to eat, in any location. Be visually enticed by photo reviews so drool-worthy that you instantly make a decision.

1. Find a place to eat from over 100 categories and neighbourhoods

With over 40 categories to choose from, you can find anything you might be craving for, from Cafes & Coffee to Mookata, Dim Sum to Pasta.

You can even select a specific neighborhood within a category. 

From Cafes & Coffee in Bedok…

…to Halal eateries in City Hall.

2. Decide from drool-worthy photo reviews

Let photo reviews of different places help you to decide where you should eat.

3. Discover new places

Unearth hidden gems and the newest cafes, restaurants and bars.

4. Post your own reviews on places you’ve tried

Share what you loved about your meal on Burpple, or sync your posts directly from Instagram. It’s really easy!

5. Save your photo reviews into lists

Organize your photo reviews into useful lists (e.g. Japanese Places for Lunch, Desserts I Crave For) that you can refer to at any time.

The Brand New Explore is first available on the iPhone. Get the latest Burpple now! 

Learn about our upcoming updates and say hey!

VISIT US: burpple.com/sg

EMAIL US: feedback@burpple.com

FOLLOW US: instagram.com/burpple

LIKE US: facebook.com/burpple

What is Instagram Connect?

Hashtag #burpple on your Instagram posts to sync your Instagram photos to Burpple. 

No need to double-post your photos!

Four Easy Steps:

1. Turn Instagram Connect “On”

Go to your Profile > Settings on Burpple, and turn Instagram Connect “On”

2. Fill in Login Details

Simply fill in your username and password

3. Hashtag Photos to Sync

Hashtagging #burpple on any future Instagram photos will sync them to a list called “Instagram” in your Burpple Profile.

4. Edit / Add Reviews to Photos

Once synced, you may edit / add your review to the photos to finish your Burpple post. You can also move each post out of the Instagram list into any list you like. 

That’s it! Happy Burpplin’, Instagrammers :)

(Singapore, 14 May 2015) Today, we’re excited to announce a major update to Burpple to help you to discover and re-discover great places to eat. Since Burpple’s launch three years ago, it has been our goal to bring you simple yet powerful tools to help answer the tiresome question: Where should I eat today? In this update, you will be able to browse categories and neighbourhoods with more ease than ever, and see which places are best, trending, and new.

What Burpple is All About

Burpple is your guide to good food, based on 1.5 million photos and reviews of 150,000 places shared by a passionate community of food-lovers. Founded in Silicon Valley by three Singaporeans and now headquartered in Singapore, Burpple is a mobile app and website that helps people decide where to eat (available on iPhone, Android and at Burpple.com). Whether you are planning ahead or finding a place to eat nearby, Burpple guides you with beautiful photos and concise reviews of places. Over 2 million people used Burpple in 2014 to find good food in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

What’s New with Burpple

1. Instantly see Trending places

When you open the app, your homepage will now show places that are trending on Burpple based on what the community is recommending. Easily swipe left and right to browse photos and reviews of these places.

2. Browse Categories and Neighbourhoods on the same page

Categories and neighbourhoods are now on the same page. You can discover “Waffles” in “Bedok” within seconds!

3. Best, Trending and New places

Toggle to find what’s “Best”, “Trending” and “New” for any category or neighbourhood.

l4. Improved Wishlist feature

The Wishlist is smarter than ever, and can now remind you of places you want to try within the category or neighbourhood you are browsing. Saves you time and effort!

You can also filter your Wishlist by any category or neighbourhood.

The Burpple Community

Burpple is home to real people who love good food and real experiences. This passionate community of food-lovers shares beautiful photos and honest reviews of food they love. The ease of sharing reviews and reaching millions on Burpple has attracted thousands of people to share their opinions and recommend great places. This rich and diverse library of reviews has made it possible for anyone with a smartphone to use Burpple to keep up with the newest cafe opening, unearth forgotten hawker gems, and be reminded of old favourites. This year we have been excited to see Burpple’s enthusiastic community in Kuala Lumpur growing stronger each month, with already 48,000 reviews from over 10,000 places!

Download the Burpple app for iOS and Android, and visit burpple.com now to find great places to eat!

Access the full press kit here.

Words by Rueann Dass

Check out Burpple’s Guide to the Best Street Eats in Jalan Alor.

5PM

It’s almost sundown and signs of life are scant along Jalan Alor, save for a quiet few. There are a few Thai masseuses seated at a corner stall for warm curry noodles — strength for those seasoned hands. Behind the stalls, workers prep for service, chopping onions, slicing ginger and dropping crushed ice into the metal displays, while restaurant owners count stacks of small change in their handy waist pouches. Tourists begin to step out from the budget hotels that fill the floors above, eager to spend the evening exploring bar haven, Changkat down the road.

Curry Noodles, at Alor Corner Curry Noodles

I order a bowl of curry noodles and find myself a spot next to the group of Thai masseuses. At this hour, this streetside spot was one of the few places open. The aunty breaks the news to me that there are no cockles today and though devastated, I went ahead with the order anyway. Cockle-less curry noodles was better than no curry noodles. As I ate, I watched cars inch along what’s left of the mostly barricaded road to leave the city at the end of a working day. And as I slurped up the last spoonfuls of the milky white curry broth, Jalan Alor was just waking up.

7PM

The sky turns a just hue darker and the heat of a crimson sunset was now upon us. By now, establishments are up and running in anticipation of the first influx of crowds. Plastic tables and chairs are sprawled in ordered chaos from one end of the street to the other. White, red, yellow, brown — these colours outline an invisible border between competing neighbours, though for some, the sheer competitive aura is sufficient to mark territories.

Some patrons like to drop in early, before the hustle-bustle, before tour groups alight from double decker buses bringing noise and commotion, before tipsy bar crawlers wander in to fill the seats. There’s no telling which stall would do better tonight. Some nights, diners crowd the tai chow stall to peel through salted egg yolk prawns; other nights they devour plates of oily char kuay teow brimming with wok hei. Maybe Lady Luck’s shining on the grilled stingray stall tonight. Whatever the choice of grub may be, there are plenty tempting local eats at one’s beck and call to keep the crowds coming back once the sun has set.

Midnight

While the rest of the word is tucked into bed, that is when the neighbourhood finally flurries into full swing. Waiters would have long left the comfort in the back of the restaurant to double as fervent ambassadors out front. Armed with laminated menus, their loud, confident and persuasive chants fill the night air. “Come, come! Cheap cheap!” These waiters play pivotal roles in contributing to the unique pandemonium that defines this street. Tables are filled with food, drinks, soft chatters and loud laughs.

This is after all Jalan Alor at night, a place where foreign servers speak more Cantonese than a regular Malaysian Chinese, yet understand enough English to steer tourists onto their coloured seats; where a piece of smoky barbecued chicken wing can never be bland, not when eaten while taking in the street’s charming character. A simple stroll down the street offers wondrous sights, sometimes unfamiliar, but wondrous all the same.

A slew of street acts commences on the sidewalks. Amateur singers breathe life into echoey microphones, an ice cream man pounds the bucket to entertain, and fruit sellers perform stunning acts, like cracking open durians with brute force — all as night owls, both tourists and locals, watch on, the company of cheap beer and tasty munchies fuelling them till the early hours.

Along Jalan Alor in the deep of night, the lights never go out.

Experience a night in Alor yourself, with
Burpple’s Guide to the Best Street Eats in Jalan Alor.

Our Tastemakers are a diverse bunch of foodies, each with their own opinions on food across a wide range of cuisines. The Tastemaker we invited to lead our third Tasty Tastemaker Tour was none other than Eileen Ong, one of our most adventurous eaters and a lady who gets excited to try out all manners of meat!

When Eileen isn’t busy nurturing Singapore’s future leaders as a private tutor, she likes to describe herself as a part-time, self-employed foodie cum food photographer. As a lover of Singapore’s hawker culture, there was no hesitation when Eileen had to decide where her tour was to be held – Old Airport Food Centre, a favourite spot of hers and also a giant hub of some of the best hawker food in Singapore!

Old Airport Road Food Centre is an age old institution that has seen some of the best hawkers our nation has to offer. At a time when we’re hearing stories of Singapore’s dying hawker trade with traditional kopitiams getting pushed out by upmarket F&B outlets and famous hawkers retiring with no successors, we were heartened to hear some very inspiring stories during this tour! Gwen Teng from Dong Ji Fried Kway Teow and Randell from Roast Paradise are two upcoming hawkers who were very excited to speak with our Tasty Tastemaker Tourists – read all about it about below!

First stop: Old Airport Road Food Centre, 11am, A Foodie’s Paradise

With Burpple tissue packets strewn across the tables, we chope-d our tables, all ready to get the eating started on this laid-back Saturday morning. With a 100-watt smile on her face, Eileen was going to bring these foodies on a hawker trail they would not forget.

Before long, the tables were filled with our Tasty Tastemaker Tourists chit-chatting and armed with their spiffy new Burpple drawstring bag, T-shirt and stickers. Eileen began by sharing why she had chosen Old Airport Road Food Centre for her tour.

“I’m so thrilled to be able to share some of our local dishes at one of my favourite hawker centres, as well as a rare find of hand-made paus. I hope you guys have come with an open mind for some adventurous eats (deep fried rectum, anyone?). Expect to hear some true hawker stories and tips on how to spot a good hawker stall. And of course, we are going to have heaps of fun together!”

Indeed, this TTT was more than just a great hawker feast. We found two young hawkers who are carrying on Singapore’s proud hawker ways and they were eager to share their stories with our Tasty Tastemaker Tourists.

Gwen Teng is no stranger to the heat of a commercial kitchen, having worked in many cafes and is fluent in cooking western food. However, she’s given all of that up to be the successor at her father’s hawker stall — Dong Ji Fried Kway Teow.

“It’s definitely not easy work and even with my kitchen experience, I’m not allowed to cook for customers yet until my char kway teow is up to my Dad’s standards,” Gwen shared.“But I’m doing this to keep my father’s legacy and Singapore’s hawker culture alive!”

You can’t help but be touched by Gwen’s sincerity and her passion to continue on her father’s work. With cheers of support from our Tourists, Eileen thanked Gwen for her heartfelt sharing session with a Burpple goody bag! As if right on cue, the official Burpple Queue Team (that’s right, we served everything right to your seat) descended upon the tables bearing goodies from some of the best stalls in Old Airport Road Food Centre:

• Xing Dong Fang (#01-112) Fried Intestines ($6) Ngoh Hiang ($3)

• To-Ricos Guo Shi (#01-135/136) Kway Chap (2-person set, $12)

• Dong Ji Fried Kway Teow (#01-138) Char Kway Teow ($3)

• Lim Hin (#01-36) Soursop Juice ($2.50)

The looks of anticipation on our Tourist’s faces were impossible to hide. Who could blame them? But eating would have to wait as with every TTT, the session began with an epic photo taking session.

Despite famous mainstays like To-Ricos Guo Shi Kway Chap with their wide range of perfectly braised tender pork parts and Dong Ji with their Char Kway Teow chock-full of fresh seafood, the dish that stole the hearts of our tourists was surprisingly from the lesser known hawker stall — deep fried intestines from Xing Dong Fang! Our tourists loved them so much that Burppler Suyin and Tastemaker Xing Wei declared it as their favourite dish of the tour (much to the pleasure of our adventurous eater, TTT guide Eileen)!

“The fried intestines from Xing Dong Fang were oh-so-GOOD,” Burppler Suyin shared. “It has everything I love – flavour, bite and texture! If only I had a nice cold cider to go with this.”

Bellies half filled and happy faces all around, it was time to move on to the second wave of food! But not before Eileen introduced Randall from Roast Paradise, a new generation hawker in his early twenties who learnt his trade from Famous Seremban Favourites — one of the top roast shops at Petaling Jaya in Kuala Lumpur (KL).

Giving up their corporate jobs, Randall and Kai (his partner at Roast Paradise) spent four months picking up the skills needed to perfect the KL-style roasted meats. It’s a tough routine they’ve chosen — waking up at five in the morning to make sure they are ready for the crowds by 11am.

“We know being a hawker isn’t easy but we were looking for a change in trade at that time,” Randall shared.“Besides that, we also want to maintain the hawker lifestyle because we know that people nowadays don’t want to take on such jobs.”

Indeed, a lot of care and dedication goes into Randall’s work. Before digging into the fragrant, roast-y char siew, Eileen shared that they meticulously shape the length of each char siew  before roasting so that each piece has the same thickness and cooks evenly.

But enough of tormenting our Tourists with just talks of their signature meats, it was time to taste! Together with Roast Paradise’s platters came a slew of some of Eileen’s other favourite dishes brought right to our Tourist’s tables by the Burpple Queue Team:

• Roast Paradise (#01-122) Char Siew (200g, $8.50), Sio Bak/Roast Pork (200g, $8.50)

• Albert Street Prawn Noodle (#01-10), Prawn, Rib and Tail Noodles ($8)

• J & J Beef Noodle (#01-162), Mixed Beef Soup ($3.50), Braised Tendons ($6.50)

Once again, our tourists dug into the dishes with gusto once the pictures were snapped. This time around, the favourite dish was not as clearly defined. Tourist Anna from London really liked Albert Street Prawn Noodle’s rich, slurp-worthy stock, while Tastemaker Xing Wei enjoyed the chewy and soft braised tendons from J&J Beef Noodles. However, everyone agreed that Roast Paradise’s melt-in-your-mouth char siew was unexpectedly moist and juicy.

“The char siew left me grinning with satisfaction with its crisp outer layer but what was so remarkable was how the meat looked deceptively lean yet tasted so juicily fatty,” said Burppler Jason as he nodded in approval.“Roast Paradise’s passion is evident from the quality roast meats they serve!”

After conquering some of the best stalls in Old Airport Road Food Centre, Eileen wasn’t about to stop there! Bags packed, tummies almost full and the Tasty Tastemaker Tour flag high up in the air, Eileen marched forward leading a group of foodies to the next destination.

Second stop: Home-made Pau Specialist, 12:20pm, Paus Galore!

Just a stone’s throw away from Old Airport Road Food Centre, Home-made Pau Specialist is nestled in a cozy little coffee shop just five minutes away. As we marched up to the store front, Eileen explained that this was one of the few places she could find that still made and steamed their own paus.

We watched, enraptured, as the uncle deftly peeled egg after egg with surprising ease. Beside him, a cheerful lady was dolloping out minced meat and rolling them up in the pau dough before arranging them neatly into the steamer.

Offering a variety of paus and even their own siew mai, of course we had to try each one! Besides the usual offerings, they also serve a coffee pau that might interest those with more of a sweet tooth.

Home-made Pau Specialist

- Big Pau ($1.40)

- Char Siew Pau ($0.70)

- Bean Pau ($0.60)

- Lotus Pau ($0.60)

- Coffee Pau ($0.60)

- Siew Mai ($0.60/each)

While ripping into paus and popping a couple of siew mais into our mouths, Eileen explained to us how to spot a pau place with high standards using a big, meaty pau as an example.

“First, you need to tear it into half and check that the skin isn’t too thick”, Eileen said as she gestured around the cross-sectioned pau. “Then look at how all the meat juices have soaked into the skin without going all the way through. That’s how you can tell they know what they are doing.”

Over bites of pau, we also had time to get to know each and every one of our Tasty Tastemaker Tourist a little better. Who knew that we had a female navy officer, a lawyer and even a foreign friend from London who’s writing a travel blog amongst us! It really goes to show that the love of food in the Burpple community transcends occupations and geography!

Alas, with the final paiseh piece of siew mai gobbled up (after much coaxing), it was time for the Tasty Tastemaker Tour to end. It was an exciting afternoon with many firsts for our daring tourists. But more than that, we got to learn about the inspiring stories and effort that goes into each plate of food that our hard working hawkers dishes out.

We’d spent the afternoon together in a flurry of food and pictures, yet we still had much to talk about. When Eileen casually mentioned that she’s heading down to one of her favourite cafes, Brawn & Brains nearby, for coffee and that we were welcome to join her, everybody promptly packed their bags and followed the pink flag that was once again bobbing up and down in the air. If there’s one thing that unites the Burpple community, it is that we really are #ForeverHungry!

Things to expect if you sign up to be a Tourist:

• Eat great food curated by our Tastemakers
• Meet like-minded foodies who LOVE taking photos of their food (no more impatient friends telling you to hurry up!)
• Learn about different facets of the F&B industry
• Get great bang for your buck
• Feel like a Tastemaker for a day

Want to be a part of the next Tasty Tastemaker Tour? Email community@burpple.com with your 

1) Name

2) Burpple username

3) Shirt Size (unisex)

4) Contact number

5) Dietary restrictions / Food allergies 

*Slots are limited, so we will only contact successful participants.

Think you have the chops to be a Tastemaker? Find out how you can get started here!

This week we talk to Chewyeng, co-owner and chef of the aptly-named THIRDWAVE, a cafe founded when the specialty coffee movement swept across KL. Their coffee beverages are impeccable and their interiors cosy yet modern, but what impresses us most is their imaginative, Asian-inspired take on classic Western dishes — think Green Shakshuka with spinach curry sauce). Chewyeng took a break from preparing for an upcoming Japanese language examination to speak to us about her favorite places to eat and drink, and the pleasures of travelling.

Job Title: Co-owner of THIRDWAVE Cafe.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m a law graduate turned co-owner of Thirdwave, Q-grader (a Q grader is qualified to give a coffee an SCAA score out of 100 and can therefore classify it as being speciality or non-speciality. Reference: link) and a self-taught home cook.

2. What’s the weirdest thing in your fridge right now?

Kombucha I brewed one year ago… or maybe longer.

3. Favourite ingredient to cook with?

Eggs!

4. How do you like your eggs?

Can I say perfectly boiled?

5. Haha yes you can. What do you think is a recipe that is guaranteed to please any kid?

A good, moist chocolate brownie.

6. Person you would most likely cook for?

My pet and my future half.

7. Where do you find inspiration?

Travelling. More precisely — London, where I used to live for years. There’s so much to see, so much to get inspired by. Thus, I am always looking forward to a long vacation there after each launch of THIRDWAVE’s new menu.

8. What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced being a barista/chef/owner?

To attract more talents to the industry. I think the coffee industry is all about people. Generally, the food and beverage industry suffers from a perception that working behind the bar/kitchen simply means that you’re incapable of being a working professional or, that you’re poorly paid. Increasingly when I interview high-potential young people, they are uncertain about their decision simply because such decisions are not supported by their family members. Given that, it’s challenging not only in the terms of our ability to hire the right kind of talents. It is also apparent that we have to do more to promote the coffee industry as a viable and rewarding career.

9. Which coffee roasters are on regular rotation at your shop? How do you decide which roasters to offer?

Artisan Roast for our espresso bar, The Roast Things and various other roasters for our brew bar. We shelf coffee beans according to regional coffee harvest seasons in order to serve the freshest beans possible. It has to be fresh coffee! We only pick roasters who offer specialty grade fresh arabica coffee.

10.  What’s your take on KL’s food community?

Exciting and energetic.

11. What do you think the Malaysian F&B industry needs in order to grow and become a food destination in the world?

Malaysia is already a food destination in the world with our very own diverse and unique food options. However, I wish to see more local chefs incorporating fresh local produce in contemporary cooking.

12. Any pet peeve food trends?

Artificially coloured and flavoured food and beverages.

13. What is your favorite place to eat, drink, or hang out in your neighborhood?

Coffee and tea at Cream by The Roast Things when I need to get some work done.

14. Favourite spots to eat:

Close to Mama’s cooking

B & Best Restaurant for fresh fish and fishball noodle soup.

Worth saving money for

Dewakan because it’s a local culinary gem. In my opinion, you get to experience the true beauty of Malaysian food at its highest standard.

Imbibe after a long day

Eau De Vie because it’s right below THIRDWAVE. How convenient! Also, the bar has a diverse selection of drinks which are fairly cheap as it’s owned by one of the main alcohol wholesaler in town.

15.  Any exciting plans for Thirdwave coming up?

We have a new opening. Soon!

Keep up with Chewyeng and THIRDWAVE on Instagram, and check out what the Burpple community has to say about THIRDWAVE here! Thanks Chewyeng for the inside scoop! Stay tuned for more ;)

Interview answers by Ming Tan, on behalf of team PBD 

Check out what Burpplers love at Park Bench Deli.

1. You’re turning one, congrats! If you were to make a birthday cake to celebrate, what would it be?

Ideas that we have come across are a stacked fried chicken cake with mac and cheese icing, and sashimi cake layered with hamachi, mekajiki and lots of perfectly cooked kohishikari rice. With regards to the team, which is integral to everything we do, I’m happy to get onboard with any combination of ideas they think will give them a good time. It’ll need to be Instagram worthy though — gotta milk that Instagram stuff.

Ming, Aamir and Drei of team PBD

2. What’s one (or more) ridiculous sandwich combo you’re dying for others to try?

Without revealing too much, we have been toying with a whole host of sandwiches that include favourite foods that the team enjoys eating. We especially enjoy the process of building these sandwiches up from the ground, finding the right combination of over-the-top-ness, texture, flavour, craft and size. We always call our sandwiches big-kid-sized, as they are fun things to hold and eat. 

3. What’s the most common misconception of the sandwich?

That they are simple items that are convenient and easy to eat, and that one should not expect too much by way of quality. This is in part due to the amazing depth of accessible hawker food found locally — the sandwich is still considered an outlier in our food scene. People will zoom in on rice and noodles for a quick, fast and satisfying lunch. We are trying to change that, one well-made sandwich at a time!

4. What’s the wackiest thing you guys have created in the PBD kitchen?

It depends on what you consider wacky! We aren’t into the weird stuff for the sake of it, but inevitably you’ll get some ideas that don’t really make sense. We once made an Asian vegetarian sandwich from scratch replacing a crowd favourite vegetarian item that everyone liked. That had tonnes of effort and craft in it, but the flavour profiles were not well accepted by our usual clientele. People were messaging us in anger and utter frustration!

5. Best bread and protein combo?

In my opinion, properly brined and simply cooked turkey (like the one we do in the shop via sous-vide) makes for a refreshing cold sandwich on a hot day in Singaporean weather. You can find this in our Turkey RBC. So enjoyable.

6. Why the name Park Bench Deli?

That’s where the idea came from. One night after service, before we started this, we sat down at a park and mulled over what to christen our joint. It was a late night and we were tired and hungry.

7. Your food is obviously fun, yet you take serious care in making sure it’s consistently good (we’ve been here countless times). How do you maintain this consistency?

It starts with a ground-up approach with every item on our menu. We ask ourselves questions like ‘Would I eat this?’ ‘What does this need to be even better?’ These force us to be realistic with our food, and we care a great deal about how people view every item that comes out of our kitchen. There is a large amount of pride involved in what we do.

8. You guys must be quite tired of sandwiches…or not?

We are most certainly not. I imagine the sandwich as a food item, to be like an entire hawker centre: I can try so many different things and be happy with variety, OR I can keep going back to the things I know I really like and hit them over and over again. The sandwich is a platform that leads to a tasty experience, which ultimately makes people happy.

9. Where do you guys go to eat / drink after work?

We are really fortunate to be located right next to Amoy Hawker Centre, Maxwell is nearby and so is Chinatown. Awesome beef kway teow, curry puffs, chicken rice, nasi padang and prata. There are so many places we eat at. We even eat next door — they have got some real solid economical rice.

10. Oops. The whole country has run out of bread. What do you serve?

Rice bowls, we’ve done that before. And fries — you can put almost anything on top of fries and have a good time.

11. If you could only pick one sandwich from the menu to serve for the rest of PBD’s life, which would it be and why?

I’d choose a personal favourite of mine, the PBD Patty Melt. We built this sandwich with an idea in mind, then found the ideal components to bring the entire thing together. We grind our own meat for our patties, controlling fat content, texture and flavour.

Everything inside the sandwich is controlled so that the final outcome is a cohesive unit that has multiple stars. Crisp, grilled buttered rye bread. House-made bread and butter pickles. Slow cooked caramelised onions. A multi-component PBD sauce. Warm, gooey American cheese. Every bite of this damn sandwich has a bunch of things going on, and I smile every time I have it. I eat this very often.

Reviews on Burpple of the Patty Melt

12. Let’s imagine PBD as a noodle joint. What kind of dishes would it serve?

We are Asian at heart, so there’s gonna be some curry going, a strong Japanese bent perhaps, chewy al-dente noodles, lots of house-made thick meat broth, fried chicken skins. And some spring onions.

13. If there’s one thing people don’t know about PBD or about what happens in your kitchen, what would it be?

We are sadists. We consciously avoid simpler methods of doing things, if it means an unacceptable drop in quality. I can’t tell you how many times we insist on carrying on with an extremely labour or time intensive process because we feel it simply gives the best result. Our patrons don’t see this effort, but we sure hope they taste it!

14. PBD’s food makes people happy, and that’s pretty darn obvious from the reviews our community has shared on Burpple:

“somehow PBD made it so shiok that I don’t feel too bad spending $8 on it + it made my busy Tuesday a little better”

“It was harmony! Leaves me craving for more…I guess I shall return again tomorrow”

“Overall, it was a delicious meal, and a great way to end a tiring work week. Will I come again? YES.”

“Every time I think they’ve recreated the best sandwich, it always tastes better on my next visit. Every, single, darned, time”

How does it feel to know you’ve made people feel this way as you celebrate your 1 year mark?

We feel extremely humbled. We are grateful to everyone who has supported us, dined with us, collaborated with us and assisted us in any way through the last 12 months. We haven’t always gotten things right, but we work damn hard to improve every single day. It is a testament to our team at PBD that we’ve managed to accomplish what no one has done thus far in this country — create a sandwich experience like ours, with an emphasis on quality and speed at an accessible price point. 12 months simply means we have a year’s worth of experience to now use to make less mistakes and make tastier things!

15. You’ve got two rules: do it big and do it right. What’s the next big thing for PBD?

We have options ahead of us. So coy right?

We won’t go into anything unless it feels 100 percent right and works for PBD. And it’ll be big, so you’ll definitely know about it.

Thanks for the interview guys! Had a great time answering your questions.

Remember to come by PBD on 30th July Saturday for our Anniversary Celebrations!

What you should order at Park Bench Deli the next time you visit:

Park Bench Deli is located at 179 Telok Ayer St, S068627. T: 6815 4600.

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