Eating in Singapore...On A Budget

In relation to the "Hopefully I'll be able to whip out and entry or two" post, here are some of my recommendations about the best places to eat when in Singapore in a budget. This post is also in response to a couple of emails I got from Pam and Sandy. I already reviewed IKEA Restaurant so here goes the new batch of recommendations:

Maxwell Food Center

This is located in Chinatown, near the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum. After checking out all of the souvenir shops and splurged almost all of your Singapore Dollars, Maxwell Food Centre is the place to be. There are lots of food to choose from over a hundred stalls. This is the biggest hawker center I've been to. Food prices depend on the serving size but from the food that we ordered, it only ranges from S$2-10 (Php67-337). The drinks do not go higher than S$5. Must try dishes are the Hainanese Chicken Rice, Kuay Teow, Chicken Satay and Oyster Cake. Mind you, the servings are huge enough for sharing. Before ordering, ask the Uncle or Auntie that's manning the store about the serving sizes so you won't load up that much.

This place is also famous because Anthony Bourdain of the "No Reservations" fame visited this place. Among the stalls he visited is the Maxwell Fuzhou Oyster Cake and the Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice. These stalls are among the most popular so when you drop by to visit, just be patient with the queue.

Wuerstelstand

Also in Chinatown, stands "The Last Sausage Kiosk Before The Equator" wherein they serve authentic German sausages that's made by an Austrian chef named, Erich Sollbock. For as low as S$1.50 (Php50), you can have a frankfurter that goes heavy in your stomach. Not only that, they also sell Austrian style bread. I forgot how much it costs but I liked the onion bread because it's soft and tasty. You can find it at Trengganu Street, corner Sago Street. If you are in doubt, go look for a place that has a lot of Austrians and you'll know you're in the right place. May araw na medyo masungit si Chef pero keri lang naman, magpakabait ka na lang. Haha. To know more, check out Chef Sollbock's blog.

Best Fries Forever

My sister, Charmaine, enjoying the fries. Mmmmm!

They have 3 branches, Cathay Cineleisure in Orchard, Raffles City Shopping Centre and at Plaza Singapura. We went to the Cineleisure branch because my Ate Richie wanted us to try her recently discovered cheat food. For as low as S$3.50 (Php118), you get a regular bucket of fries that's already a ginormous size compared to the PH sizes. At mabigat sa tiyan! So my sisters and I shared that bucket and it's just enough for us. And when they say "Best Fries" they really mean it. Not convinced? Check out their menu. To know more, visit their Facebook page.

Javier's Rotisserie and Salad Bar

Javier's is also located at the Cathay Cineleisure. Don't let the exterior fool you. It may look like an ordinary fast food joint but it has a different concept because it sells a mix of healthy and non-healthy foods. Lol. What we ordered here is the Fil-e-Plate salad that comes with the soup of the day. It costs S$8.90 (Php300). Seems expensive? Nah. You just have to master the art of stacking the ingredients from the 3 meter long salad bar so you could get more than your money's worth. Our salad was stacked by Ate Richie and I could estimate it at about 15cm high, which was more than enough to feed us. So if you divide S$8.90 by 3, you get S$2.96, convert it then you get Php99.87 each. Just be patient in looking for a seat because this place is always full. And since you have the option to go all green or to mix it with the sinful stuff, you won't even worry about packing in the pounds. You'll burn some of it anyway when you cross the street towards the Abercrombie and Fitch store and you'll burn all of it when you see the male model inside the store. Lol.

Wafer Ice Cream

This one's taken from Bugis

Wafer ice cream carts are found all around the city. It's actually a block of ice cream that's sandwiched between two wafer sheets. I can't recall all flavors but I remember having cookies and cream and mint. It only costs S$1 (Php33) and it's a perfect way to cool off after taking a walk around.

Artease

They say that "Life without tea is just plain arse". I had to LOL. This store will catch your attention because of the black and white artwork that adorns their walls. Not to mention, a wide selection of tea, coffee and blended drinks. They also serve salads and pastries if ever you go hungry. But what takes the cake is the Monster Mug that sells for S$5.90 (Php199). Three to four people can share this so if we divide S$5.90 by 4, you get S$1.40 (Php47). Pwede na...Check out their Facebook page for more information

Little India

Roti canai (above), Cone dosai (below)

When my sister, Charmaine and I explored Little India, we noticed that there are a lot of hole in the wall eateries that sell authentic Indian food (well, duh!). Since I got to try Indian food at Kota Kinabalu, I wanted my sister to try it out for herself. We ate at a shop near the market, I just forgot the name. We ordered roti canai and the cone dosai which amounted to only S$4.90 (Php165). As always, do not be deceived by the appearance of the food because it may look thin but it's heavy on the stomach. The bread is actually made from rice flour. You can also try other dishes, especially their vegetarian dishes.  Just don't be afraid to ask help from the store owners, they'd be happy to help you pick out what you want.

Makansutra Gluttons Bay

Credit goes to SG Snaps for this photo

I first ate at Makansutra after watching Wicked with Bingkee and Charmaine. However, we do not have a photo so I borrowed one from SG Snaps. Anyway, this is one hawker center located at the Esplanade. My personal favorite is the Wee Nam Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice stall. It's also one of the most popular stalls as it was featured in the Top Chef TV show. I can't remember how much a meal costs but I remember spending less than S$10, with a drink (teh tarik) included. I still have to look for that stall where an old Chinese man speaks in Filipino whenever he hears his Pinoy customers talking among themselves. There's also a Gerry's grill here if you want a serving of their famous Sizzling Sisig. Visit Makansutra's Facebook page or website for more details.

These are just some of the "light-in-the-pocket" places that we've eaten in. I can't remember every detail but I hope this helps. Until next time!

Edit: I forgot to mention Mr Bean and the Bean Curd Shop!

Mr Bean is a popular soybean food and beverage shop in Singapore with over 50 outlets in SG alone. The outlets will catch your eye because of the cool cartoon drawings that adorn the glass panels and walls. Not to mention, their ultra cute cartoon character logo. The price depends on the variant of your food or drink. We bought the plain soya milk for S$1.50 (Php50) on promo. What I like about it is that it was freshly made, larger than the "Pinoy regular-sized cup" and it complements our popcorn well. Find other branches of this shop on their website's store locator.

Bean Curd Shop

Located in Everton Park, near the Police Cantonment Complex. What I like about this bean curd or taho for us Filipinos, is that the servings are huge and that it's not so sweet because it has no caramelized sugar syrup in it. It's my Ate Richie who paid for it so I don't really know how much it costs. I think one container costs S$1.50. (EDIT: It costs S$1.10 or Php37)