Fried rice is comfort food for the soul. Period. Who can resist a steaming plate of that fragrant goodness? However, despite it being one of the simplest dishes to put together, it takes a great deal of skill for one to be able to create the perfect dish of fried rice.
And what do we mean by that? Some basic criteria we have would be that the dish cannot be too oily, the rice has to be fluffy and charred just right, and there has to be the right balance of ingredients and rice.
While homemade versions will get you by, they most certainly aren’t memorable. Here, we have a list of our top 12 places that sell incredible fried rice in Singapore that we wish home economics class taught us back in school.
Harnessing the salty and distinct flavour profiles salted egg, Baan Ying has managed to take regular fried rice and transform it into something totally mind-blowing. Their Pork Belly Fried Rice With Salted Egg strikes the perfect balance of flavours, textures and has a prominent note of wok hei.
We love how the salted egg yolk chunks were embedded evenly in the rice allowing every bite to fill your mouth with generous bits of salted egg. That’s not all, aside from the masterfully prepared fried rice, the crispy chunks of pork belly were pretty darn delicious as well.
103 Irrawaddy Road
#02-07, Royal Square At Novena
Singapore 329566
Tel: +65 91117852
Daily: 11am – 3pm, 6pm – 10pm
Nearest Station: Novena
CRYSTAL JADE LA MIAN XIAO LONG BAO
Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao is a place that most, if not all Singaporeans are familiar with. Their signature dishes, just as their name states, are xiao long bao and la mian. However, we discovered that they serve pretty solid fried rice here as well!
The portion size of their fried rice (S$10.80) is pretty generous, with one plate being enough to feed two people generously. The fried rice has bits of prawn, chicken and ham embedded in it, which added lots of flavour to the rice.
391 Orchard Road #04-27
Ngee Ann City Singapore
Tel: +65 62381661
Daily: 11am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Orchard
DIN TAI FUNG
Din Tai Fung boasts one of the most delicious fried rice in Singapore, hands down. We don’t know how they do it, but there is something magical about their fried rice recipe that keeps us coming back for more!
Every one of Din Tai Fung’s fried rice dishes consists of their very basic egg fried rice. They always manage to keep their rice light and fluffy without it losing its amazing taste and fragrance. Their basic egg fried rice is a favourite, and their pork chop fried rice is great too, but our absolute favourite has to be their shrimp fried rice.
Din Tai Fung
30 Tai Seng Street #01-02 Breadtalk IHQ
Singapore 534013
Tel: +65 67020060
Daily: 11am – 9.30pm
Nearest Station: Tai Seng
Photo Credit: Imperial Treasure
IMPERIAL TREASURE NAN BEI RESTAURANT
Imperial Treasure Nan Bei is a great place to go to for some solid Chinese cuisine, and one of their more popular dishes here is their Fried Rice with BBQ Pork & Shrimp in Yang Zhou Style.
Their fried rice is incredibly colourful and is speckled with yummy ingredients such as cubes of char siew, shrimp and green onion. The rice is fluffy and is not too oily. Due to the myriad of ingredients used in creating this dish, the rice is well flavoured and very savoury. You can eat a whole plate of it on your own!
Ngee Ann City
391 Orchard Road, #05-12/13/14
Singapore 238874
Tel: +65 67381238
Mon to Sat: Lunch (11am – 5pm), Hi-Tea (2.30pm – 5.30pm), Dinner (5.30pm – 10pm)
Sun & PH: Lunch (10.30am – 5pm), Hi-Tea (2.30pm – 5.30pm), Dinner (5.30pm – 10pm)
Nearest Station: Orchard
JUMBO SEAFOOD
Jumbo is famous for their Chilli Crab—that’s a given—, but did you know that they also serve up a pretty incredible plate of fried rice as well?
Their Supreme Fried Rice with Seafood comes in incredibly generous portions that are great for sharing with friends and family. The rice is well cooked and not too oily, and we love how there are chunks of juicy prawns embedded in the rice, adding another element of flavour and texture to the dish.
East Coast Seafood Centre
1206 East Coast Parkway, #01-07/08
Singapore 449883
Tel: +65 64423435
Mon to Fri: 5pm – 11.45pm
Sat, Sun & Public Holidays: 11.30am – 12am
Nearest Station: Bedok
Photo Credit: Paradise Dynasty
PARADISE DYNASTY LEGEND OF XIAO LONG BAO
Paradise Dynasty’s simple plate of Shanghai Fried Rice may not look much, but we promise you that it tastes much better than it looks.
The overall dish was surprisingly much lighter than we thought it was, and it was not too oily or salty. Each grain of plump rice is generously and evenly coated with egg, and the rice had a good mix of meat bits in it, giving it great texture and flavour.
435 Orchard Road
#01-18 Wisma Atria
Singapore 238877
Tel: +65 6219 3931
Nearest Station: Orchard
PEACH GARDEN
Peach Garden has a wide array of delicious Chinese foods that make our mouths water at the sight and smell of it. One of our favourite dishes here definitely has to be their Fried Jasmine Rice with Pork Floss and Dried Scallop.
The fried rice is very light, fluffy and fragrant. We love the addition of pork floss and on top the bed of rice as it adds a nice, savoury touch to the dish. We also love how fried rice is presented in a pineapple—it adds a nice touch to the dish.
Peach Garden @ Hotel Miramar
Level 3 Hotel Miramar, 401 Havelock Road,
Singapore 169631
Tel: +65 67363833
Daily: 11am – 3.30pm, 6pm – 10.30pm
Nearest Station: Clarke Quay and Chinatown
Ruyi sells a large array of affordable yet delicious Chinese food, and it certainly leaves one spoiled for choice. However, our go-to dish here has to be their classic fried rice. The Ruyi Fried Rice may look simple like any other fried rice out there, but looks can be deceiving, and we promise you that this fried rice is much better than it looks.
Each grain of rice is evenly coated with egg, and the texture of the rice is incredibly fluffy and fragrant. Their plump, juicy prawns add a great touch to the dish, as well as give the dish a nice seafood flavour—did we mention they’re open 24-hours too?
Sentosa Gateway, #B1-222/223
Resorts World Sentosa
Singapore 098138
Tel: +65 68846613
Daily: 24-hours
Nearest Station: Harbourfront
SUSHI TEI
For a completely different fried rice experience, you should check out Sushi Tei’s Kani Ikura Fried Rice. If you’re like us and you love ikura (salmon caviar), you definitely need to check out this dish for a whole new experience!
The rice of this is evenly coated with delicious egg and has a slight wok hei taste to it and the ikura served on top really completes the dish. Each ikura is plump, juicy and fresh, and we love the popping sensation it makes when we bite into it.
West Coast Plaza
#01-87 West Coast Road
Singapore 127371
Tel: +65 67750012
Daily: 11am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Clementi
TAMPOPO
Tampopo is one of our go-to places for great Japanese food, and one of our favourites has to be their Black Pig Truffle Fried Rice.
The rice is generously and evenly coated in black, murky truffle, making the dish look slightly unappealing. However, just a whiff of that aromatic truffle will have your mouth watering. The truffle here also really complements the pork bits really well, creating an overall incredibly appetising dish that will make you want to come back for more.
Ngee Ann City
391 Orchard Road, B2-33
Singapore 238872
Tel: +65 62352318
Tel: 11am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Orchard
TIAN BAO SZE CHUAN
The fried rice served here is pretty underrated, and if you’re looking for some solid Chinese fried rice to satisfy your cravings, this Tian Bao Sze Chuan is a good option.
Their seafood fried rice is light, fluffy and fragrant, and is not too oily or salty. They are very generous with the amount of squid and prawns used, and with each spoonful of rice, you get a nice amount of seafood in it, giving the dish a nice flavour and good bite.
Ngee Ann City
391 Orchard Road, #05-06/07
Singapore 238872 |
Tel: +65 67344216
Daily: 11.30am – 9pm
Nearest Station: Orchard
Photo Credit: Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe
XIN WANG HONG KONG CAFE
One of Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe’s signature dishes is their Signature Stir-Fried Rice, which has been crowned their customers favourite since day one. And it’s not surprising why—their fried rice is some really good stuff!
The fried rice has an extremely robust wok hei taste which gave the dish a lot of flavour and character. They are also incredibly generous with their seafood and meats, and each spoonful of rice will definitely have a bit of each in it.
Tiong Bahru Plaza
302 Tiong Bahru Road, #02-109/136
Singapore 168732
Tel: +65 62079646
Daily: 11am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Tiong Bahru
For DTF’s fried rice, they use japanese rice.