Singapore, not only the most gorgeous city jam packed with ‘things to do’ check out my travel guide for more about that but also a city home to REAL good food. As with many cities nowadays, finding vegetarian food is becoming a lot easier and we certainly found it no issue in Singapore. The city is a melting pot of different cuisines from around the world and you will be sure to find an option to suit.
All of the below were places we found on a backpacker budget and in Singapore that is a feat in itself. I should also mention a lot of the below recommendations are vegan friendly. From insanely good veggie burgers, delicious paneer curries, to the best veggie Chinese food we have ever eaten. Without further ado, here is your guide to being vegetarian in Singapore.
Yi xin vegetarian
First up would have to be our favourite Chinese restaurant, we have now been to Singapore three times on our trip and we have been to Yi Xin every time! Located in China town, Yi Xin is in a great location and only a stones throw from the Quayside. The menu is full of mock meat options and honestly the food is just delicious and super affordable, the below cost us less than 20SGD so less than 12GBP for two!!
Recommended dishes: Satay Skewers, Sweet and Sour Mock Chicken and the Pineapple Fried Rice.
NomVnOM bistro
A whole range of delicious vegan burgers at super affordable prices! Again, every time we have visited the city we have returned to NomVNom and the food never disappoints. There are a couple of branches in the city but the one overlooking Clarke Quay is our favourite. The menu is HUGE like 2o+ different burgers huge. Again, it is pretty good on the budget with all of the below costing around 26SGD so less than 15GBP for two people!
Recommended dishes: Nom Nom Rendang, the Nom Nom with a side of fries and crispy mushrooms.
punch
Who doesn’t love a good brunch? On our second visit to the city we were heading back from the Philippines before our onward flight to Kolkata and to say the budget went out the window a little is an understatement. All worth it though. We wanted to head for brunch so we found this spot just round the corner from the hostel we were staying in and it was perfect. The design of the cafe itself was lovely, the service was great and the food was delicious. Now I say we blew the budget but I do mean a ‘backpacker’ budget, the below set us back 47SGD so just under 27GBP.
Recommended dishes: Poached Eggs with mushrooms and the Dean’s Breakfast which is Poached Eggs with Melted Cheese & Vegemite on Sourdough Toast, served with Sliced Avocado. The couple next to us ordered the Earl Grey Pancakes with Poached Pear and White Chocolate Macadamia Crumble and if only I could have ordered both!
RW SELMOR
Now, we stumbled across this little gem by accident. The first time we visited Singapore we made the rookie error of not getting a data package for our phones, so we had to rely solely on occasional Wifi spots around the city. To cut a long story short, we fancied a curry but couldn’t get any phone signal to check for places that were A) well rated and B) served vegetarian curry. We were wandering around the Deepvali (Diwali) markets in Little India and we came across RW Selmor, we bagged the last table and the food was terrific! The below was more than enough to share between two and cost us just shy of 17SGD so less than 10GBP!
Recommended dishes: Paneer Butter Masala, Peas Pulao and Garlic Naan.
48 Serangoon Rd, #01-68, Singapore 217959
VeganBurg
Straight off a twelve hour flight in search of food, we decided the easiest option was to hit up a vegan burger joint. Much easier for our weary heads to not have to navigate menus searching for veggie options. We hopped in a Grab and headed for VeganBurg. They currently have one outlet in Singapore and one in San Francisco. VeganBurg is on a par with NomVNom as their burgers taste scrumptious. The below cost us just under 30SGD so 17GBP for both of us.
Recommended Dishes: Smoky BBQ burger, Hawaiian Teriyaki and Seaweed Fries.
Vegan bowl
Another place we stumbled across almost by accident. The restaurant we had planned to visit just down the road was closed, so we wandered further down and spotted the vegan sign outside. So glad we popped in, the food was so tasty, the chef was super helpful with recommendations, the portions were plentiful and it was such good value! The below cost us just under 21SGD so less than 12GBP for a super filling vegan lunch.
Recommended dishes: Japanese Monkeyhead Mushroom Curry with rice and Terriyaki Monkeyhead Mushroom Rice, both were served with a bowl of miso soup too.
There we have it, I don’t know about you reading this but writing it certainly made me hungry. Something else to mention that was super helpful which I mentioned in my post about great apps for travelling, is that I was able to include the exact prices because we logged all of our meals in the Trail Wallet app. So, not only helpful for tracking the pennies but also a useful tool for travel blogging.
WHERE TO STAY:
If you are planning a trip to the city and haven’t yet decided on your accommodation, then I have some options for you. I always bang on about using booking.com and for good reason. There are so many perks, from becoming a Genius member, to discount deals – you can’t really go wrong. Just bear in mind what you are looking for and filter that search down to the small print. For instance, we always filter for ratings 8+, Wifi and air conditioning.
I’ve popped some recommendations below that hopefully cater to your budget option, whether that be a sod it, it’s pay day let’s splash all the cash or an, I need a comfy bed to fall into asap kinda trip.
A SPLURGE OPTION:
Marina Bay Sands – now if you’re going to splurge in Singapore, then it has got to be the iconic Marina Bay Sands. We stayed here on our first visit to Singapore and honestly it was incredible. Swimming in that infinity pool is just something else. The location is unbeatable. The service is impeccable and the pool side triple cheese toasties are bang on. READ MY FULL REVIEW HERE.
A SLIGHTLY KINDER TO THE BANK BALANCE OPTION:
Holiday Inn Express Singapore Clarke Quay – the location of this hotel is arguably one of my favourite areas in Singapore. Clarke Quay is a bustling area with lots of restaurants, bars and it’s super close to everything. It offers a 24-hour rooftop fitness centre, two spa pools and a 40m swimming pool that overlooks the both Clarke Quay and Robertson Quay.
A BUDGET FRIENDLY OPTION:
HipsterCity Singapore – We stayed at this hostel on our most recent visit to Singapore and can not fault a thing. The prices are brilliant for such a pricey city, the location is good and easy to reach. Choose between Double loft beds or single beds in dorm rooms with shared bathrooms. Each pod bed comes with a light, privacy curtain and designated locker space. There’s also a shared kitchen and communal lounge area. We also had some documents shipped here and the hostel were so helpful in receiving/signing for them.
Vegetarian food sorted, accommodation sorted, check out this post for all the best things to do in the super swanky city. Or this one for a complete guide to the Gardens by the Bay. Have you been to Singapore? Any other veggie food spots to recommend? Let me know in the comments.
Thankyou for reading, Abbie x
This all looks so good. I visited Singapore a long time ago and back then I didn’t find too many good vegetarian options. I was staying in Little India which I figured was my best bet at the time, but seeing how much the food scene has developed in Singapore over the last 10 years makes me want to visit again and try it all out