Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
96
ORGANIZATION OF RESTAURANT LISTINGS
I've organized the restaurants in this
chapter in a fe w different ways. First, I've grouped them in a simple list b y style of cui-
sine, so if you decide you want a nice Peranakan dinner, for instance, you can scope out
your choices all together befor e referring to the individual r estaurant reviews. Second,
I've arranged the r eviews into four basic neighborhoods: the H istoric District, China-
town, Little I ndia, and the O rchard R oad ar ea. Within these divisions, I' ve arranged
them by price. Keep in mind that the divisions b y neighborhood are almost as arbitrary
as they were when Stamford Raffles created them in 1822. Everything in the city is rela-
tively close and easily accessible, so don't think you should plan your meals by the neigh-
borhood your hotel sits in, when a shor t taxi ride will take y ou where you really want
to go.
Also, it has become the trend if you've got a terrific restaurant that people love, to open
branches in other locations. Some may believe this dilutes the unique appeal of a special
restaurant, but in Singapore, generally I find that good restaurateurs retain the consistent
quality of food and service for all their outlets. You'll notice many restaurants in the sec-
tions that follow have branches in other parts of the city, which I have also listed.
I've selected the r estaurants listed her e because they hav e some of the best food and
most memorable atmospher es, but ther e are hundreds of other r estaurants serving any
kind of food in a v ariety of price ranges. M any magazines on dining in S ingapore are
available at newsstands and can help you find other favorite restaurants.
LUNCH COSTS
Lunch at a hawker center can be as cheap as S$4.50 (US$3/£2), truly
a bargain. M any places hav e set-price buffet lunches, but these can be as high as S$48
(US$32/£22). Indian restaurants are great deals for inexpensiv e buffet lunches, which
can be found as reasonably as S$10 (US$6.70/£4.50) per person for all y ou can eat.
DINNER COSTS
In this chapter, prices for Western restaurants list the range for stan-
dard entrees, and prices for Asian r estaurants list the range for small dishes intended for
two people to share. As a guideline, here are the relative costs for dinner in each category
of restaurant, without wine, beer , cocktails, or coffee, and or dered either a la car te or
from a set-price menu:
•
Very Expensive ($$$$):
Expect to pay as much as S$160 (US$107/£72) per person.
Continental and J apanese cuisines will be the priciest, but a full-course Cantonese
dinner, especially if y ou throw in shar k's fin, can be w ell over S$150 (US$101/£68)
per person.
•
Expensive ($$$):
E xpect dinner to r
6
un betw een S$50 (US$34/£23) and S$80
(US$54/£36) per person.
•
Moderate ($$):
A t a moderate r estaurant, dinner for one can be as lo
w as S$25
(US$17/£11) and as high as S$50 (US$34/£23).
•
Inexpensive ($):
Some inexpensiv e dinners can be under S$5 (US$3.35/£2.25) at
hawker stalls and up to around S$15 (US$10/£6.75) for one if you eat at local restau-
rants. Fortunately, Singapore is not only a haven for cultural gastronomic diversity, but
it's also possible to eat exotic foods here to your heart's content, all while maintaining
a shoestring budget.
