PRESERVING TRADITION
Let’s start with Daisy’s Dream Kitchen, a little family-run eatery devoted to preserving the art and tradition of Peranakan food. It’s a cuisine I know little about, so an insider tip from the wonderful Michelle Wan at Raffles Sentosa made me curious. The otak otak fresh mackerel fried fish cakes made with the signature spice paste are spicy, tangy, coconutty and could become highly addictive. As for the classic babi buah keluak – made from buah keluak seeds that take days to process by soaking, cracking and cleaning – it is tender pork in a deeply delicious, softly spiced gravy with a beautiful hint of tamarind. Nonya chap chye is a flavoursome bowl of slowly braised cabbage and vegetables that goes straight to the essence of Daisy’s – a mother feeding her family straight from the heart.

At the age of 60, Daisy Tan realised her dream and opened her own hawkerfood stall at Tiong Bahru Market in central Singapore. Today Daisy’s is a small restaurant run by her son Roy and his wife Pauline, operating within the Temasek Club in Bukit Timah to the west of central Singapore.

This is simple, authentic home-style goodness, designed to celebrate the friendship that the sharing of good food can bring to the table. Using ingredients from the surrounding Malay Peninsula, this casual eatery delivers bold and delicious flavours and a valuable lesson in the importance of creating comfort through shared memories and traditions. daisysdreamkitchen.oddle.me

To learn more about Peranakan cuisine, find some of Connie Clarkson’s delicious Peranakan recipes

SINGAPOREAN SUPER-SIZZLE
Coming in at number 38 on Asia’s 50 Best list, placing 93 in the World’s 50 best (51-100) and holding its one Michelin star since 2018, Burnt Ends is definitely a book-ahead destination. It’s also the perfect spot if you are dining alone and can snag a seat at the chef’s pass. The snack game here is high, the energy is electric – or should I say ‘smokin’ as the theme is full-on Aussie barbecue – and within the complex there is a bakery, wine cellar, private dining room and cocktail bar.

However, it’s the chef’s counter, extending the length of the open kitchen, where you will find the main action and, boy, does this team go hard! Executive chef Patrick Leano works alongside chef/owner Dave Pynt with almost every dish led by fire through the grill or oven pit.

The menu is constantly evolving and the Burnt Ends classic snacks such as smoked quail egg and caviar, steak tartare on frites, beef marmalade with house pickle and grissini and  taramasalata are all winners. Obviously, you’ll need to hit the outstanding grilled meats on offer, however the salt-baked coral trout with fragrant tomatoes was excruciatingly beautiful and a thrill to watch as chef Patrick cracked open the crust, gently pulling out that sweet, delicate prize. À la carte is on offer, but you can’t go wrong with the chef’s selection of the best of that particular day. Reservations are hard to get, but if you fail try for a booking in the cocktail bar where a substantial menu is also served and cocktails promise to be intriguing and revitalising. burntends.com.sg

ULTIMATE ZI CHAR

A little out of the way in Bukit Merah Lane in Alexandra Village, Keng Eng Kee Seafood (affectionately known as KEK by the locals) is not exactly a hawker centre as there is also an indoor seating area. With its extensive menu designed for sharing it’s perhaps not the best place to go it alone, although I put on my big-girl solo pants and absolutely loved it.

The stir-fries here are outrageously good with a huge nod to Singapore-stylezi char dishes (cook and fry) and just about everything begs to be ordered. The salty-sweet coffee pork ribs are a must and if you are going to do a chilli crab while in the Lion City then this is a great place to start – mine was milder than I’d imagined but the sauce was thick and delicious, served with fluffy steamed buns that were perfect to mop up that gravy. Claypots are also popular with the claypot liver being the locals’ favourite and the crispy prawn and pork rolls wrapped in beancurd skin are the business. Unfortunately for me I did not order the moonlight hor fun and was filled with that horrible feeling of missing out when I smelt the addictive smoky wok hei flavour (slightly charred, savoury aroma) as a bowl of flat rice noodles in a deep, dark sauce, topped with a raw egg flashed past on its way to a customer who obviously knew how to order better than me. Unashamedly casual, with a team that is determined to please, Keng Eng Kee has been endorsed by Michelin, 50 Best and Time Out and is well worth the side-trip. It’s the real Singapore deal. kek.com.sg

UNFAILINGLY TERRIFIC

I owe a huge thank you to Amisfield head chef Sun Peng for the suggestion to visit Seroja where chef/owner Kevin Wong has come a very long way from his beginnings in a little town in the south of Klang in Malaysia. Kevin now proudly delivers a restaurant in Singapore that is currently number 40 on Asia’s 50 Best list, and holds one Michelin star, plus a sustainable Michelin green star. In addition, Kevin was awarded two prestigious knives at the Best Chef Awards in Milan in 2025. He tells me that while all of this is magnificent recognition of their hard work and dedication, his greatest pride is in the collaborations with, and support of, the growers, fishers and artisan producers of the Malay archipelago through the menu that he and his team create for a loyal and ever-growing customer base. Their small wine list has also won numerous awards and the non-alcoholic pairings such as the fizzy oolong with lemon oil shrub and smoked seaweed broth are a pleasure to play with.

A trio of snacks to start set the pace for my most memorable meal in Singapore for 2025: fish floss in raita; slow-cooked octopus in shrimp sambal; and an exquisitely tiny potato tartlet topped with tuna marinated in tamarind and seaweed, ginger kerabu sauce and caviar. A tropical landscape unfolds on a single plate, in the form of more than 20 tiny tastes of vegetables, fruits and herbs dressed in mustard oil and peanut. The team’s tribute to the bountiful harvest around the tropical region showcases that it has truly taken a village to make the dreams for Seroja come true. Eight more courses followed, which included braised beef cheek and tripe, silver pomfret and abalone, blue lobster ever-so-gently charred over mangrove wood with laksa leaf sauce, and duck percik basted with an aromatic sauce. The palate cleanser of basil sorbet on pineapple granita with lychee and bandung pearls could have happily been my dessert, but then came the most extraordinary sweetcorn wafer/cake that took my breath away.  The standout for me came before the mains: cold betel-leaf noodles flecked with Selangor mudcrab and tiny bits of crispy tempura batter, tossed with an ulam dressing and a drizzle of galangal vinegar, so light and sharp. A knockout.

However, I must warn you about the bread course of roti paung with Johorean milk butter. Razor-thin, lace- like curls of silken butter immediately melt into the bread that has been steamed and then fried into fluffy, white, crispy, puffs of heaven. They are supposed to be there to mop up the sauce from the dishes that follow, but good luck with that. I wanted to stop eating, but my brain would not let me. Consider yourself warned. seroja.sg