A Bit of Singapore in Manila: My Singapore Food Street at SM Megamall

It is indeed interesting how Singaporeans have managed to "import" dishes from their neighboring countries and yet have managed to still call it Singaporean cuisine. Hainanese Chicken Rice? It's from China. Laksa? It's Malay. Nasi Goreng? It's Indonesian. Yet, these popular dishes have also always been associated with Singapore, and many travel guidebooks would point to these dishes as must-haves during your stay there. It's actually quite difficult to pinpoint a specific dish that is purely Singaporean. But then again, Singapore is, after all, a culturally diverse city-state, and I guess it shouldn't come as much of a surprise. It still is fascinating, though.

During a recent trip to Singapore, I managed to try a variety of noodle dishes and rice meals (including the ubiquitous Hainanese Chicken Rice), most of which I did like. It's just too bad that Singaporean cuisine isn't exactly popular back here in Manila (unlike Chinese or Japanese cuisine), so there aren't much Singaporean restaurants here.

For all you Singaporean cuisine lovers out there, I have a special treat for you. The newest Singaporean restaurant in Manila, My Singapore Food Street at SM Megamall, has finally opened its doors and is ready to satisfy your Singaporean food cravings, lah. 

A lot of people were curious and wanted to try this place out (myself included)

My Singapore Food Street is located at the space of what used to be Orchard Road, another Singaporean restaurant that closed down a few months ago. I'm guessing they closed down because the food was a bit expensive, and didn't attract that many customers (Orchard Road, for a restaurant of its size--and the restaurant was HUGE, mind you--would barely be filled with customers even during the busy hours of the weekends). 

Unlike its predecessor, My Singapore Food Street was absolutely filled with people. Perhaps it's because they just opened and a lot of people wanted to try the place out to see if it was a place worth returning too. My verdict? Well, just read on and see. 

The restaurant is a fastfood type of place, where you order your food at the counter and then you'd be given a number and your food will be brought to you at your table. It did take a while before our food got to our table (about 20 minutes), but since the restaurant just opened a few days ago, I guess they're still in the process of learning what to do and how to handle things, so I guess it's perfectly understandable. Even my dad, who would usually become impatient when it takes too long for our food to be served, didn't really get upset or anything.

Ordering food at the counter

The restaurant definitely has a Singaporean feel to it. Everything--from the employees' uniforms, to the tables, chairs, decors, and even the kitchen display, made me feel as if I was somehow magically transported to Singapore, and made me miss everything that I loved about it. 

Now let's talk about food--My Singapore Food Street has a wide variety of food, from dimsum to noodles to rice dishes, at pretty reasonable prices. Don't expect typical fastfood prices, though. A rice dish would cost you around P150-P190, depending on what you're ordering, while Singaporean iced coffee would be somewhere between P75-P110. Iced tea and other similar drinks would hover around the P75 price range. 

The restaurant was quite packed. This is just one side of it though.

I decided to try Nasi Goreng, an Indonesian fried rice dish. It is also considered as the "national dish" of Indonesia. For my drink, I opted for Bandung, a drink popular in Singapore and Malaysia but of Indian origin. It consists of milk that is flavored with rose cordial syrup which gives it its distinctly pink color.

My pink Bandung (P75)

Surprisingly, the Bandung was really, really good. It actually tasted a bit like strawberry with milk mixed in. I've never really heard of this drink before until I saw it on the menu and decided to try it. They didn't even have a photo of the drink nor a description, but I still tried it out anyway. Yup, I'm a bit adventurous when it comes to food, I guess. 

Bandung and Iced Peach Tea (P75) which my parents ordered

The Nasi Goreng tasted pretty good, actually; though it seemed to be a bit too simple for me. I wish they added more toppings aside from the egg, or perhaps they could have served it in a more creative way. They didn't fall short on the serving size, though. I finished the dish feeling full and satisfied.

Nasi Goreng (P175)

My family and I each ordered our own dishes, and my mom ordered a couple more dishes meant for sharing. My mom didn't really want to eat much and so she ordered just three pieces of siomai and then just had some of the Eggplant in Black Bean Sauce which was actually one of the dishes ordered that was meant for sharing among the four of us. My brother ordered a Roast Chicken meal while my dad had Sweet and Sour Fish. Another shared dish was the Char Kway Teow, a noodle dish popular in Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Eggplant in Black Bean Sauce (P60)

Roast Chicken meal (P195)

Char Kway Teow (P195)

Pork Siomai (P70)

Sweet and Sour Fish (P130)

Aside from the Nasi Goreng, I also got to try the Char Kway Teow and the Eggplant in Black Bean Sauce. The Char Kway Teow was okay, though I did very much love the Eggplant in Black Bean Sauce. It was absolutely tasty and it's definitely something I'd consider ordering again in the future. 

Overall, I did enjoy my dining experience at My Singapore Food Street. Though it took a while for our food to be served, it's still pretty acceptable considering they just opened a few days ago and they're still in the process of working out a system. As for their food, well--I would consider them to be very satisfying, and the food we ordered definitely gave us a good impression of the place. And they do say that the first impression is always a lasting one--so yes, I would definitely be back to try out their other dishes in the future.

(My Singapore Food Street is located at the 2nd floor of SM Megamall, right beside Mango. You may visit their Facebook page for more information and for the latest updates)