Singapore organised its street food into hawker centres in the 1970s for hygiene reasons, and in doing so preserved it. 20 bookable food tours below — plus the neighbourhoods and dishes the city is built around.
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The guide
Singapore organised its street food into hawker centres in the 1970s for hygiene reasons, and in doing so preserved it. The result is several hundred food courts where individual stalls have cooked one dish for forty years, some with Michelin recognition, most charging under six dollars. Chinese, Malay, and Indian traditions sit side by side, along with Peranakan cooking that came from intermarriage between Chinese traders and local Malays. The city is small, the transport is excellent, and the whole culture is built around eating out because home kitchens are small and hawker food is cheaper than cooking.
Where to focus
Four neighbourhoods to anchor a few days of eating
Chinatown Complex
The largest hawker centre in the country, with over 200 stalls. Cantonese roast meats, congee, and queues that tell you which stall to join.
Tiong Bahru
Art deco housing estate turned café district, with an excellent market hawker centre upstairs. Locals in the morning, visitors by afternoon.
Katong & Joo Chiat
The Peranakan heartland east of the centre. Shophouses, laksa stalls that argue about who is original, and Nyonya kueh shops.
Little India
Tekka Centre and the streets around Serangoon Road. Banana leaf meals, roti prata around the clock, and the busiest market on Sundays.
What to eat
The dishes the city is known for
- 01
Hainanese chicken rice
· Poached chicken with rice cooked in the stock, with chilli and ginger sauces. Judged on the rice rather than the chicken. - 02
Chilli crab
· Mud crab in a thick tomato and chilli gravy, with fried buns to mop it. Messy, communal, and the one dish worth a restaurant rather than a stall. - 03
Laksa
· Rice noodles in spiced coconut broth with prawns and cockles. The Katong version cuts the noodles short so it is eaten with a spoon. - 04
Char kway teow
· Flat noodles fried over fierce heat with lard, cockles, and Chinese sausage. Best from a stall that has cooked nothing else for decades. - 05
Bak kut teh
· Pork rib soup, peppery in the Teochew style here rather than herbal. Breakfast food, with dough sticks and tea. - 06
Kaya toast
· Coconut jam and cold butter on toasted bread, with soft-boiled eggs and dark coffee. The standard local breakfast.
Practical notes
Meal timing, tipping, payment
Hawker centres run from breakfast to late, though individual stalls keep their own hours and many close one weekday. Tissue packets on a table mean the seat is taken. Payment is cash or QR at most stalls. Tipping is not practised anywhere. Air conditioning is aggressive indoors and the outdoor humidity is constant, so plan around it.
All 20 food tours
Viator last revised 2026-11-09The full list · sponsored partner links
- 01
Singapore: Chinese, Indian & Arabic Quarters, Culture & Food Tour
Your host is a friendly Singapore Chinese Peranakan with a strong passion to share real life experiences about growing up in Singapore since the 70's. He’s also licensed by the Tourism Board and an academic historian.
5.5h - 02
Singapore Food & Bike Tour - Katong
This food tour is different from our Lion City Bike Tour. SG Food & Bike Tour - Katong, will take you off the beaten tourist path, or the usual "Hawker center" food tour. Instead, to explore the island finest local delic
4h - 03
Experience Singapore: Cultural Cooking Class
1) Learn interesting snippets about Singapore’s food culture and discover the secrets to Singapore's hawker centres 2) Cook up local family recipes passed down through many generations like Laksa, Curry Chicken and Char
3h from $120 - 04
Singapore Food Tour: Hawker Culture & Local Neighborhoods
Eat like a local on a food tour. Culturally immersive experience. Small group with a maximum of 8 people. An in-depth exploration of Singapore's history and culture through food. Sightseeing and food tastings in Kampo
6h from $190 - 05
Singapore: UNESCO Street Food & Cultural Experience
This Mixed-Group tour brings you to the ethnic neighbourhoods of Chinatown, Little India & Kampong Glam. You will learn from your licensed guide and an academic historian about the history, people, culture & heritage of
5.5h from $200 - 06
Eat Snap Katong Walking Food Tour
Discover another side of Singapore and satisfy your cravings with our fun and tasty Eat Snap Tour in the delightful Katong/Joo Chiat district. On this specially-curated walking tour, we will take you off the beaten touri
3h from $95 - 07
Small Group: Michelin and Local Hawker Food Tour with 9 tastings
A 3.5-hour food tour indulging in the best of Michelin Guide Singapore food & other popular hawker food stalls right in the heart of Chinatown. Singapore is a melting pot of flavours and on this food-focused walking tou
3.5h - 08
Private Singapore Food Tour: Culture & Local Neighborhoods
Eat like a local on a food tour. Culturally immersive experience. An in-depth exploration of Singapore's history and culture through food. Sightseeing and food tastings in Kampong Glam, Little India, Katong and Old Air
6h from $374 - 09
Flavors of Singapore Food Tour at Chinatown
Day Edition: 9.30am & 3.00pm / Night Edition: 5.30pm (Shared tasting of min 9 types of local food and drinks / Max 8 pax per group / Group & Company Bookings of up to 16 pax, we will still maintain max 8 pax ie 2 groups
3.5h from $80 - 10
Singapore Wet Market Visit & Hands-On Cooking Class
This experience goes beyond a typical cooking class. It gives guests a deeper taste of Singapore through ingredients, food stories and multi-racial culture. Start with a guided visit to a local wet market, where our lic
3h from $139 - 11
The Peranakan Mansion - Experience Singapore's Unique Culture
The Peranakan Mansion, by Straits Enclave, is Peranakan Chinese private museum in a Peranakan conserved house located in the heart of Joo Chiat heritage district of Singapore. The Peranakan Mansion aims to share and show
2h from $38 - 12
Beyond Michelin: Chinatown Hawker Food Tour with 8 Tastings
Skip the guesswork and eat Chinatown the way locals do. Beyond Michelin is a small-group Singapore food tour that takes you past the famous food names and into the hawker centres, heritage streets and hidden corners wher
3h from $110 - 13
Singapore Food & Bike Tour - Downtown
Unlike most food tour that’ll bring you to the Hawker centers. This food and bike tour bring you around Singapore downtown, cycling thru 3 different ethnic quarters – Chinatown, Little India & Kampong Glam. From food sta
4h - 14
Singapore Group History & Culture Walking Tour
Join us on a journey through Singapore from past to present. Enjoy dinner in a Hawker Centre and a tea ceremony. You start your journey with the founding of Modern Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles, visiting historic co
4.5h from $156 - 15
Splendour of Colonial Singapore Walking Tour with Lunch
On this walking tour, we cast our minds back more than 200 years to a time when Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles of the British East India Company arrived in Singapore, started a British trading post in 1819, became p
3.5h - 16
Singapore Essential Private Walking Tour
Experience Singapore in a way that most tourists never will on our customized walking tour with a passionate local guide. Immerse yourself in the vibrant culture of this diverse city-state as you take a slower approach t
5h - 17
Private History & Culture tour (Walking tour)
Join us on a journey through Singapore from past to present. Enjoy dinner in a Hawker Centre and a tea ceremony. You start your journey with the founding of Modern Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles, visiting historic co
4.5h from $280 - 18
Authentic Singapore Street Food Tour
Step into the heart of Singapore’s UNESCO hawker culture. This guided walking tour is your passport to real flavors locals queue for and crave. Go beyond clichés into bustling hawker centers where culinary tradition come
3h - 19
Singapore Bike and Bites: Small Group Food Tour on Bicycle
Discover Singapore through its neighbourhoods, stories and flavours on Bike & Bites — a highly rated small-group cycling experience with shared local tastings. Ride through Chinatown, Little India and Kampong Gelam with
3h from $99 - 20
5 hours Little India, Kampong Glam, Chinatown with 9 Food Tasting
Singapore food comprises many cuisines coming from the Malay, Chinese and Indian which individual traveler will find it challenging to taste all. No worried, our professional and enthusiastic Guide will curate a personal
5h
Frequently asked
- How much do food tours in Singapore cost?
- Roughly $38–$374 per person, with the median around $139.
- When should I book?
- One to two weeks ahead in peak season; same-day is sometimes possible off-peak but limits choice.