Singaporeans in Vancouver, you can rejoice. I think we’ve categorized all the Singaporean/Malaysian Restaurants in this post and ranked the top 5. List will continue to be updated.

 

Being originally from Singapore, I know Singaporeans have two national hobbies (1) eating (2) shopping. (and this is not an exaggeration. Take this from NUS website, “Shopping, watching movies and dining are said to be Singapore’s national pastimes.”)

Here’s your ultimate list of Singaporean food in Vancouver – wasn’t hard writing at all.

First off, if you’re looking for good Singaporean food in Vancouver, I suggest you skip Banana Leaf. You’re over paying for food that isn’t representative of Singaporean or Malaysian cuisine. This is the list of REAL Singaporean food in Vancouver.

If you’re Singaporean or if you’re interested in Singaporean cuisine in Vancouver, read on, because you will not be disappointed!

Being a foodie was in part how VancityAsks.com was started. I like food so much, we wanted to share the BEST food Vancouver has to offer for whatever cuisine or tastes. (since Vancouver is such a multi-cultural city with so many delicious experiences).

 

So without further ado, let’s get to finding the best Singaporean food in Vancouver.

Some things you have to try with Singaporean food in Vancouver is (1) Chicken rice (2) Laska (3) Prata – this is actually Malaysian food.

 

1) Mamalee Malaysian Delight:

Formally known as Cafe D’lite and now rebranded as Mamalee Malaysian Delight. It’s located in Kitsalino and serves up some delicious authentic Hainanese Chicken Rice! (Dare I say, better than many chicken rice I’ve tasted in Singapore.)

We’ve ranked it at #1 as the best Singaporean food in Vancouver because they do so well at their specialty – Hainanese chicken rice. It’s like a hawker concept where one hawker store will do really well in a certain dish and only serve that dish. It’s certainly worth a visit though I’ve yet to try their curry or deserts.

What’s good: Chicken rice, Laska

What’s bad: Nothing that I’ve tried so far.

Yelp: https://www.yelp.ca/biz/mamalee-malaysian-delight-vancouver

Zomato: https://www.zomato.com/vancouver/mamalee-malaysian-delight-kitsilano-vancouver

Address: 3144 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC V6K 2H3

 

2) Hawker Delight: Hawker Delight is quite the delight. It’s right on Main street and has been one of the long standing Malaysian/Singaporean restaurant/take-out in Vancouver. Very friendly people and fast service. The restaurant is typically pack during lunch and dinner.

The prices are incredible as well for Singaporean/Malaysian food in Vancouver. Go give this fine establishment of Singaporean food in Vancouver a visit if you would like to try good char kway teow.

What’s good: Char Kway Teow

What’s bad: Not really bad but laska was average. Their tofu skins can be skipped too.

Yelp: https://www.yelp.ca/biz/hawkers-delight-deli-vancouver

Zomato: https://www.zomato.com/vancouver/hawkers-delight-riley-park-little-mountain-vancouver

 

Address: 4127 Main St, Vancouver, BC V5V 3P6

 

3) Penang Delight:

Penang Delight is an excellent Malaysian restaurant in Vancouver that’s definitely worth a visit. They have several branches across Vancouver for good reason.

The food comes out fast, hot and delicious. It’s not really specifically Singaporean food in Vancouver. (in contrast, even though Bean Sprout chicken is technically Malaysian food in Vancouver, it still has a lot of familiar Singaporean dishes. In reality as mentioned, both cuisines are very similar. Most restaurants advertise or serve a fusion of Malaysian and Singaporean or even Thai.)

The prices are slightly higher relative to Hawker Delight, and they added sugar to their Penang prawn noodle soup. Other than that, it’s good Penang food.

What’s Good: The prawn noodle soup is so good.

What’s Bad: None so far.

Yelp: https://www.yelp.ca/biz/penang-delight-cafe-vancouver-2

Zomato: https://www.zomato.com/vancouver/penang-delight-cafe-marpole

 

Address: 1316 West 73rd Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6P 3E7 (other location at 3885 Rupert St,)

 

4) Kaya Malay Bistro: Kaya Malay Bistro is a nice, small restaurant near west Broadway. It’s rather modern with a drink menu along with their food. Food is rather authentic Malaysian/Singaporean food in Vancouver. It’s certainly worth visiting.

Their condiments for the hainanese chicken rice is quite on point. As you will hear from Anthony Bourdain (who infamously endorsed Tain Tain Chicken rice in Singapore – and ever since the line up has been incredible), the condiments with Hainanese chicken rice is very important.

The prices are very reasonable for an eat-in restaurant and certainly lower than Banana Leaf Vancouver. They have also participated in Dine-Out Vancouver.

Yes it seems most Singaporean food in Vancouver are actually Malaysian restaurants if you’ve noted that observation by now. There’s always this debate between Malaysian and Singaporean food; we prefer to enjoy the food.

What’s Good: chicken rice, roti canai

What’s Bad: rendang beef, mango

Yelp: https://www.yelp.ca/biz/kaya-malay-bistro-vancouver

Zomato: https://www.zomato.com/vancouver/kaya-malay-bistro-fairview

 

Address: 1063 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC V6H 1E2

 

5) TBD
We’re still looking for the Best Singaporean/Malaysian food in Vancouver. I’m sure it’s coming 🙂

 

Other mentions: Singaporean food is so hard to find. Here are some other Singaporean/Malaysian restaurants and eateries you can try out in Vancouver. Let us know your thoughts and opinions.

John 3:16 Malaysian Food: It’s good Singaporean and Malaysain food in Vancouver but they are currently closed. Food is authentic and family style but smaller portions.

Address: 8151 Anderson Rd #170, Richmond, BC V6Y 2V9

 

Prata Man: When I arrived in Vancouver, I remember Prata Man distinctly being a great establishment of Singaporean food. The Hokkien mee was their specialty despite the name, Prata man. Now however, this eatery has really declined in quality and in food safety. It’s still worth a visit to try their Hokkien mee but do note the store is not very clean. Go for their prata or chicken rice while you’re there as well. It’s right in Richmond near Bridgeport station.

Address: 9060 Capstan Way, Richmond, BC V6X 1R4

 

Laska King: Laska King is located in East Hastings, not the prettiest neighborhood in Vancouver. They have good laska however and been around for quite some time. It’s a Burmese and South East Asian eatery serving up laska and other dishes like roti canai (prata – different ways of calling the same food).

Address: 2546 E Hastings St, Vancouver, BC V5K

 

Tropika: Tropika is actually quite good south east Asian food in Vancouver. It’s worth visiting for a dining experience; these are restaurants much like Banana leaf rather than the typical take out, small eateries or cafes for other Singaporean food in Vancouver.

Address:

(1) 2975 Cambie St, Vancouver, BC V5Z 2V7

(2) 5300 No 3 Rd #322, Richmond, BC V6X 2C7

 

Coco hut: Coco Hut is another Singaporean food store in Richmond. Their chicken rice is lacking flavor but their menu prices seem well. I can’t comment about their other food but reviews appears to be worth visiting.

Address: 8388 Capstan Way #1118, Richmond, BC V6X

 

Spoon Kitchen: Spoon Kitchen we have seen several times on Groupon. It’s not authentic Malaysian/Singaporean food in Vancouver but it does give a fairly good taste of Malaysian, Singaporean, and Thai food. I hear portions are small relative to the prices. It’s rather near downtown and worth checking out if you got a Groupon.

Address: 1909 W 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6J 1M7

 

Mui Garden: Mui Garden is a Hong Kong style cafe (as we mentioned earlier that a lot of these HK cafe seem to serve certain Singaporean/Malaysian dishes) which actually serves up fairly decent Hainan Chicken Rice and curry. It’s worth checking out but not specifically a Singaporean restaurant in Vancouver.

Address:

(1) 4265 Main St, Vancouver, BC V5V 3P8

(2) 5797 Victoria Dr, Vancouver, BC V5P 3W5

(3) 5960 Minoru Blvd, Richmond, BC V6X 4J4

 

City 1 Cafe: City 1 Cafe is another Singaporean food restaurant in Vancouver. It’s located on the 25 bus route near Cambie in a strip mall besides Safeway and TD bank. It’s Ok food. It’s not actually ran by Singaporeans or Malaysian (it was bought over apparently) but Cantonese. Food understandably is not as authentic and sub par.

Address: 954 W King Edward Ave, Vancouver, BC V5Z 2E2

 

 Ipoh Bean Sprout Chicken:

It’s quite an undiscovered Singaporean/Malaysian food eatery. If you’re looking for cheap and good Singaporean food in Vancouver, then Bean Sprout Chicken is your bid.

Go to the food court in Crystal Mall (quite like  a hawker center) and checkout their menu as you savor delicious Malaysian and Singaporean food in Singapore.

Lemak (malay word for fatty but actually implied as rich in flavor) laska is around $7-$8 (rather than paying $15 at Banana Leaf ). Most of the food is rather authentic. They don’t make their own prata however so give that a skip.

Prices are reasonable and food is good. Do not go here for a date or for service. Most the times I’ve been greeted very grudgingly even with a courteous smile myself. (and I can confirm it wasn’t the rainy weather affecting their moods). Still, I can put up with some bad service for good food 🙂

What’s good: Char Kway Teow, Hor Fun, Penang Prawn Mee, Curry puff,

What’s bad: Prata (avoid)

Yelp: https://www.yelp.ca/biz/ipoh-bean-sprout-chicken-burnaby

Zomato: https://www.zomato.com/vancouver/ipoh-bean-sprout-chicken-central-burnaby

 

Address: 4500 Kingsway #2127, Burnaby, BC V5H 2B1

 

Conclusion:

There typically isn’t a conclusion paragraph with VancityAsks.com articles but I didn’t want to make you read so much before getting to the list of best Singaporean/Malaysian food in Vancouver (since I suspect you were already drooling at the thought of the flavor pack explosions in your mouth.)

So I copied some paragraphs at the start, and pasted it here as the conclusion 🙂 Remember, re-use, recycle, and reduce! We are a green city after all.

I have tried most Singaporean food in Vancouver (one thing you can ask any Singapore expat that they miss about Singapore is FOOD. They have daily debates about the best food at “hawker centers”…if you want to strike up a conversion with Singaporeans, truly just talk about food. You’ll be surprise how passionate some Singaporeans can be about their food….and their neighbors, to be politically correct.)

For years, I’ve been dishing out my recommendations for the best Singaporean/Malaysian food in Vancouver to every Singaporean I met whether they wanted it or not. Now, it’s your turn. Thankfully since you’ve volunteer read this article, I’d suppose you want to. Singaporean cuisine is truly an experience not to be missed; if you cannot make it to Singapore (uniquely Singapore), these are possibly your next best option to tasting Singaporean food.

Singaporean food incorporates many cultures and cuisines as Singapore is a melting pot of cultures and races much like Vancouver. It’s also good to note that many foods you find in Singapore can also be found in Malaysia and Indonesia or Thailand. Hence it’s not exclusively Singaporean food in Vancouver but Malaysian & Singaporean food in Vancouver. There honestly isn’t too much difference between the dishes in these two countries with some modifications and taste on certain recipes – for example the laska in Singapore is more creamy, coconut taste like a thai curry whereas Malaysia’s Penang laska is the sour and salty version.

Singapore has also strict regulations for their food (even hawker food) so it’s prepared more health/safety regulated meaning it leaves out some traditional additives that may previously be used. Dr. Leslie Tay would be able to tell you more about how the “hor fun” in Singapore compares to Malaysia. Hor Fun is basically fried rice noodles in delicious stock.

There are also many restaurants that serve a few Singaporean/Malaysian dishes but we’ve focused on those that are specifically intended for food in this geographic region. You’ll find that many HK cafes serve Laska with steamed chicken (and they do taste good)

If you’re Singaporean in Vancouver reading this article, I hope we’ve helped you edge off your cravings.

 

 

Bonus:

BKK Jerky – this is Singaporean style Jerky in Vancouver. Freshly made with full beef/pork slices. Tastes pretty good actually.

Prima Foods – For those of you who want to savor Singaporean dishes in your own home, TnT and many asian grocery stores are beginning to carry packaged Singaporean food in Vancouver.

For example, Prima Laska Instant noodles, Chicken rice seasoning packets, even Bak Kuh Teh soup packets!

There’s plenty of variety here nowadays. You can even get your Malaysian white coffee or 3 in 1 coffee at TnT these days. There’s also a very close variety of Singaporean pineapple tarts in TnT Vancouver if you fancy some pineapple tarts – nothing quite as good as those glory pineapple tarts in Singapore however.

Alongside, TnT has been carrying frozen prata for some time. You need to be able to cook it on a hot pan and fluff it up before serving though.

 

We’ve also address prices more in this blog post than any other previous best-of Vancouver articles because Singaporeans love a good deal 🙂 Now this is hear-say. (no reference for this comment but personal experience haha)