Photo Credit: Tanglin Gin Singapore

Perhaps one of the first few cocktails you’d start with when you first hit a club would be the classic Gin and Tonic: a highball cocktail made with Gin and Tonic water poured over ice.

While we might have never actually given much thought to the origins of the spirits served— granted, alcohol is usually imported—you’d never actually expect to find a distillery on home ground.

Situated among dozens of other mini factories that churn out baked goods is where Tanglin Gin—a micro-distillery—produces what can be considered Singapore’s very own homemade gin. It’s rather surprising; really, how long it took for our first distillery to appear, considering how much of Singapore’s nightlife centres around drinking?

Photo Credit: TheDrinkSeeker

Named after “Twa Tang Leng”, meaning “Great East Hill Peaks”, Tanglin was once home to plantations growing pepper, nutmeg and ginger. Tanglin Gin can also be believed to be continuing this tradition of growing such flavours in their own unique way.

As Singapore’s only hand-crafted spirit that’s distilled in Singapore, it’s absolutely crucial to the team that it bottles the spirit of Singapore in it, and they have done so by articulating 11 different botanicals that define and represent the multitude of cultures and ethnicities in our city.

Photo Credit: Tanglin Gin Singapore

So what it is that makes up a bottle of Tanglin Gin? Of course, it’s impossible to have gin without juniper berries, with a twist in the form of Indian Amchoor—unripe green mango in a powdered form—which adds an extra citrus note to it, and of course, what really makes it Singaporean, Orchid flowers.

To be more specific, it’s the dried stems of the Dendrobium Orchid—more commonly known as the Chinese immortality herb, Shi Hu, and the vanilla beans extracted from the fruit of the Vanilla Orchid.

Photo Credit: Tanglin Gin Singapore

They also add organic oranges to give an added touch of sweetness from citrus. Taking inspiration from Australian gins, they make their own unique flavour profile by placing said oranges directly below the vanilla.

The resultant taste is unlike your regular varieties. It’s sweet from the vanilla and liquorice while giving a full-bodied creamy mouthful that goes even further with a dash of tonic and a squeeze of orange for a citrusy lift.

Photo Credit: Tanglin Gin Singapore

Tanglin Gin continues to aim to push for more recipes that would tie in with local flavours while proudly saying they are the definition of a good quality gin, and one that is made in Singapore.

While the distillery is not open to the public, you’re still able to purchase a bottle of the spirit online.

Singapore is a foodie paradise. It is not exaggerating to say that eating is part of the Singapore Spirit. Since we will be celebrating National day in a month’s time, I thought it would be nice to write about some of the must-eats in Singapore.

Here’s my list of 10 Things to Eat in Singapore.

For first time visitors, it is a must to try all the popular hawker food from places like Chomp Chomp Hawker Centre and Old Airport Road Market. If you are willing to spend more on food, Singapore has many excellent fine dining restaurants, like Les Amis and Iggy’s. And of course, we mustn’t forget about the Celebrity Chefs Restaurants like Waku Ghin, Santi, CUT at the swanky Marina Bay Sands; Osia and L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon at Resorts World Sentosa.

However, I’ll not be including Singapore’s best restaurants in this post. Instead, I want to share about some of the food that I miss whenever I am out of town. For non-food recommendations, please read my list of 10 Things to do in Singapore.

Chicken Rice

If you ask around which is the most famous Singapore food, chances are, people will reply with either chilli crab or chicken rice.

Amongst the many good chicken rice stalls in Singapore, I’d suggest going to either Tian Tian Hainanese chicken rice or Boon Tong Kee. I like Tian Tian’s chicken rice, but I hate the queue. If you are lazy to queue like me, go to Maxwell market before or after lunch hour. Tian Tian is definitely one of the best chicken rice in Singapore.

Boon Tong Kee, on the other hand, is a tricky one. Many people would argue that it is a commercialised restaurant, and there are probably lots of places that have better chicken rice. Let me explain. With six branches around the island, Boon Tong Kee is much more accessible, and you can have your chicken rice in a clean environment (not everyone is willing to brave the heat in hawker centre). It is a relatively safe option to bring your overseas visitors there for their first taste of our famous Singapore chicken rice.

Boon Tong Kee
425 River Valley Road
Tel: +65 6736 3213

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice
Maxwell Road #01-10 Maxwell Food Centre

Chilli Crab

As mentioned, Chilli Crab is probably the most famous Singapore food. It is the face of Singapore Cuisine, the must-try food for tourists. You cannot visit Singapore without having Chili Crab. There are many Chinese seafood restaurants in Singapore serving this popular dish, but my favourite is No Signboard at Geylang.

Fresh meaty crabs in a spicy-sweet chili sauce with deep-fried mantou – this is one of the most satisfying experiences in life.

No Signboard Seafood
414 Geylang Road
Tel: +65 6842 3415

Kaya Toast

Kaya is a coconut jam made from coconut milk, eggs which are flavoured by pandan leaf and sweetened with sugar. It is easily one of the best jam spread ever created.

Spread the kaya on the toast with a generous slab of butter – this is a very delicious thing for breakfast, tea, or supper. All you need is kaya toast, soft-boiled eggs and a cup of coffee. This is the best local breakfast.

Chin Mee Chin Confectionery
204 East Coast Road Singapore

Ya Kun Kaya Toast Singapore
18 China Street #01-01
Far East Square Singapore
Tel: +65 6438 3638

Tropical Fruits

There are plenty of tropical fruits to eat in Singapore, so it is a good idea to head to the markets if you are not from the region. Some of the must-try fruits are: rambutans, mangosteen, longan, lychee, durian, and mango.

Even though I hate durian, I think it’s a pretty cool experience to visit Geylang and sit by the roadside to try the king of fruits.

Fish Head Curry

Fish Head Curry is a dish created by Singapore’s Malayalee. Cooked in a hot and spicy Indian curry, the large fish head is usually eaten with white rice or bread. Try the one from Muthu’s Curry at Race Course road.

Muthu’s Curry
138 Race Course Road #01-01 Singapore
Tel: +65 6392 1722

Laksa

Laksa has a rich coconut-based curry soup with rice noodles alongside ingredients like cockles, shrimp, tau pok and fish cake.

The first time I had a bowl of laksa (many years ago) was a total revelation. It was like taking a plane for the first time; the first sip of champagne, or having the first ever taste of foie gras. It was something very special.

Without a doubt, Laksa is one of the Singapore’s must-eats.

328 Katong Laksa
51 East Coast Road Singapore
Tel: +65 9732 8163

Zi Char

Zi Char (also known as Zhi Char/Cze Char/Tze Char) is a Chinese stall (in a coffee shop) that serves a variety of ala carte dishes at affordable prices. Different ‘restaurants’ have their own unique signature dishes, but a typical zi char place will usually has the following: meat items – pork ribs, har cheong gai ($8 – $20); vegetables – sambal kangkong, kailan ($6 – $12), side dishes – beancurd, noodles, rice ($4 – $20) ; and seafood – prawn, fish, crabs ($15 upwards).

There are many good zi char places in Singapore, but I’d recommend Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon (for har cheong gai), Keng Eng Kee Seafood and for a slightly more upmarket option, Ming Kee Live Seafood.

Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon
Jumbo Coffee Hub
Blk 19A Dover Crescent

Keng Eng Kee Seafood
Blk 124 Bukit Merah Lane 1
#01-136 Alexandra Village Singapore
Tel: +65 6272 1038

Ming kee Live Seafood
556 Macpherson Road Singapore
Tel: +65 6747 4075

Peranakan Cuisine

Peranakan Cuisine, also known as Nyonya food, is the result of blending Chinese ingredients and wok cooking techniques with spices used by the Malay/Indonesian community. There are plenty of Peranakan restaurants in Singapore serving fantastic nyonya food, you can check out the fairly new Candlenut Kitchen by Malcolm lee – one of the up and coming chefs in Singapore; and Ivin’s – a popular and no frills place for families to have dinner.

Candlenut Kitchen
25 Neil Road Singapore
Tel: +65 6226 2506

Ivin’s
19 Binjai Park Singapore
Tel: +65 6468 3060

Dim Sum

Hong Kong might be the land of dim sum, but I feel that some restaurants in Singapore serve very good dim sum too. I’m sure everyone knows by now: my favourite dim sum restaurants in Singapore are Royal China at Raffles Hotel, Yanting Restaurant at St Regis, and Taste Paradise at Ion Orchard.

Royal China
1 Beach Road
#03-09 Raffles Hotel
Tel: +65 6338 3363

Taste Paradise Ion Orchard
2 Orchard Turn
#04-07 ION Orchard
Tel: +65 6509 9660

Yan Ting Restaurant
29 Tanglin Road
The St Regis
Tel: +65 6506 6888

Char Kway Teow

“What food do you miss the most when you are away from Singapore?”

This is a simple question. My answer is definitely Char Kway Teow. The stir-fried noodle is artery clogging, but it is very, very tasty! For me, the best char kway teow in Singapore will be the one from Zion Road. You MUST EAT it!

No 18 Zion Road Fried Kway Teow
Zion Road Riverside Food Centre

I wrote this list of 10 Things to eat in Singapore for the NDP 2011 Official Website, but this is not a sponsored blog post and I have not received any monetary benefits in return. That said, I got two tickets to the NDP preview and I’ll be writing a second post to share more about the Singapore spirit during the parade.

Besides all the good food, what do you think defines the Singapore spirit? Share your thoughts at the NDP website and NDPeeps Facebook page!