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Diners World Travel

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7500 Beach Rd

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Singapore 199590

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Your preferred travel experts with an extensive network of airlines, hotels and vendors worldwide.We are in a prime position to offer you and your company an integrated package of innovative travel solutions, tailored to your needs and preferences. Our specialised leisure travel desk is manned by industry veterans who manage customised and bespoke tours. …

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We use Diners as a corporate agent to assist in booking flight tickets. So far, so good. There are a couple of agents who we can count on to help out when needed, and they will do the necessary insurance and such. Only one hiccup so far when a misunderstanding occurred, and the agent ended up booking a flight that I didn't ask for. He had to pay out of pocket for that one, which I felt was a bit of a shame on his part. Why couldn't Diners step in to clear this one off?

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Welcome to Diners World Travel

Travel agency, about diners world travel.

Established in 1972, Diners World Travel started as a travel agency catering exclusively to the travel need of Diners Club Cardmembers and its associated companies. Diners World Travel subsequently re-organized in 1984 to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Diners Club, which in turn is owned by Johan Holdings Berhad, a Malaysian conglomerate with diversified interests. Today, Diners World Travel has grown in its range of services to meet the varied needs of its clientele. Its staff of 80 can handle not only air-ticketing, leisure outbound tours, but also incentive, convention and event planning.

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Eco-friendly, family holidays, yoga & meditation, 1 rating & 1 review.

Only China Tour Advisors responded. But upon further enquiry, no reply. So I engaged the service of a local tour agency, Diners Travel. Further, Diners never charge service fee for payment by credit card, whereas China Tour Advisors do.

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The fall of Diners Club: Once Singapore’s most prestigious credit card

When Diners Club Singapore launched in 1961, getting a card was like interviewing for a private club membership. What happened?

Hands up, who’s got a Diners Club card now?

Yeah, I didn’t think so. Diners Club in Singapore today is a bit of a hot mess. Its website is an endless parade of lucky draw banners, online statements and cash advances are showcased as perks, and its cobrand tie-ups are the most random imaginable. 

Vehicle inspection company VICOM has a Diners Club card. Nutritional supplement firm Nature’s Farm has a Diners Club card. Even MLM firm Nu Skin has a Diners Club card of its own. Sure, you’ll need to turn all your family and friends into customers, but hey, you’ll get a 5% rebate on all purchases! 

The list of major merchants that accept Diners Club numbers a mere 250, and I can’t remember the last time I saw an advertisement for the card. In fact, the most notable media mention of late came when Malaysian conglomerate Johan Holdings announced plans to dispose of its 100% stake in Diners Club Singapore, citing its continued loss-making. 

But it wasn’t always like this, oh no. Once upon a time, Diners Club was  the  most exclusive club in all of Singapore, one that top executives and captains of industry aspired to be part of.

Money is out of fashion!

Historians debate the exact origins of the credit card , but it’s generally accepted that Diners Club is responsible for the concept as we know it today. 

The official story goes that in 1949, businessman Frank McNamara forgot his wallet while entertaining a client at Major’s Cabin Grill, a swanky restaurant in New York City. To avoid the embarrassment of being thought a deadbeat, his wife had to drive over with cash from Long Island (still with curlers in her hair, some sources report), an hour’s long journey on a good night. 

McNamara stalled for time, all the while vowing in his heart that this sort of thing should never happen again. One year later, he returned to Major’s Cabin and paid for his meal with a small cardboard card, an event hailed as the “first supper”. Thus began Diners Club.

The origins tale, though interesting, is probably apocryphal. Like any good legend, it changes slightly every time someone tells it. In some versions, McNamara leaves his signed business card as a promise to pay on the next visit, in others , McNamara isn’t even the cashless businessman in question. Matty Simmons (Diners Club’s VP of Marketing) later admitted he invented the whole story as part of the brand’s mythos, but it’s still plastered across the Diners Club website as gospel. 

Veracity aside, Diners Club became phenomenally popular among businessmen who didn’t like to carry cash, or desired simplified accounting for tax purposes. 42,000 members signed up in the first year, and by 1959, Diners Club had one million cardholders and a listing on the NYSE. It expanded internationally to the UK, Canada and Mexico, then the rest of Europe and Asia, and by the early 1960s was knocking on the door of Malaya. 

While the concept of credit had existed in this part of the world for thousands of years (farmers, after all, often took loans to buy seed which they hoped would pay off come harvest time), credit cards were an unknown quantity. 

A search of the NLB archives from 1950 to 1959 yields only seven mentions of a credit card, one of which is a 1958 syndicated article that describes the invention in whimsical terms: “Americans always battling to keep up with the Joneses have found a new way to live on the slate- the CREDIT CARD SYSTEM.”

Diners Club launched in Malaya and Singapore in September 1961, making it the 107th country (or 108th, depending on whether you counted self-governing Singapore) to adopt the card.

Membership was highly selective, with applicants vetted by a committee who looked not only at their income, but also their professional standing, employment, and character. It was like getting accepted to a country club, or one of those snooty private schools where the mascot plays lacrosse. 

All the pomp and circumstance seems almost comical today where banks boast of instant approval, but you need to remember: the idea that you could waltz into a store, take whatever you wanted and walk out based on nothing more than your promise to pay was revolutionary for the time. 

The advertisements certainly played up the mystique. Wrote the copy: 

You see him everywhere, in the best restaurants, frequenting the most exclusive night spots, always well-dressed, always the pivot of activity, commanding respect and attention wherever he goes. That man can be you. As a member of the Diners Club, every door is opened wide to you; conveniences that you have never even dreamed of are laid at your feet; the prestige and honor due you are paid to you everywhere. You will be the Man of Distinction, remembered by name- treated with deference, when you become a member of the Diners Club

That’s weird, I could have sworn I read the same blurb on the side of a Cialis box (buying for a friend). 

Diners Club had an annual fee of S$18 per year (S$74 in today’s money), and the 40 launch merchants included luminaries the Orchard and Raffles Hotel, the Great Shanghai and Majestic Restaurant, CK Tang, and SITA World Travel. An advertorial breathlessly proclaimed “Money is out of fashion!”

As a Diners’ Club cardholder, you can do almost anything without ready cash. You can dine out, entertain, send gifts and flowers, buy clothing, jewellery, shoes, collect antiques and curios, get your hair styled. You can drive up country, get your car checked, serviced and filled up with petrol along the way, stay at the best hotels and most exclusive holiday resorts just by signing your name. 

All you had to do was write to Diners Club, 20 Ngee Ann Building Singapore, or call 39724 for further information. 

But after the sound, there was very little fury. Membership stagnated, a combination of Diners Club’s strict entry requirements and the general instability of the 1960s, which saw the Indonesian confrontation and Singapore’s separation from Malaysia. By 1968, a mere 2,000 members had joined. 

It was only in the 1970s that membership really started to take off. Wider credit card acceptance was seen as a key impetus for attracting business visitors and tourists, and Diners Club became a beneficiary of government initiatives aimed at increasing cashless acceptance at hotels, restaurants, transportation firms and attractions.

New merchants were continually added to the now 450-strong list, including Fitzpatrick’s (one of two major supermarkets in Singapore) and that interesting new national carrier called Mercury Singapore Airlines.

Diners Club also decided to broaden its appeal by opening up applications to the unwashed masses, otherwise known as the middle class. Annual income requirements were adjusted downwards from S$10,000 to S$8,000, and a new advertising campaign portrayed Diners Club as the companion of upwardly mobile junior executives. 

The strategy worked. Membership grew from 4,000 in 1970 to 9,000 in 1973, then 23,000 in 1976. It could have been even more, but for a new entrant to the market: American Express.

The card wars begin

American Express issued its first charge card in the US and Canada in 1958, but only arrived in Singapore in the early 1970s, and even then, somewhat half-heartedly.

Not certain whether Singapore would be a long-term market, American Express decided against setting up a card issuing centre here. This meant the local office merely forwarded applications to the UK for approval, adding to the processing time. It also meant that card bills could only be settled in US dollars or other major currencies, and it wasn’t until June 1977 that Singapore dollars were finally accepted for AMEX card settlement.

While that wasn’t very consumer-friendly, American Express knew how to court the merchants. It undercut the 6-7% fees that Diners Club was charging, reducing them to as low as 3% in some cases. This enabled American Express to rapidly grow its merchant base, even if it did lag behind in customer adoption. 

Although Diners Club was still the leader by a long shot (issuing 75% of all cards in Singapore as of January 1976), it realised the threat of American Express had to be taken seriously. Thus began an aggressive marketing push, with ads citing Diners Club’s higher global acceptance and greater exclusivity (“we turn down membership applications others would gladly accept”).

To up the ante, Diners Club started a member-get-member (MGM) scheme , rewarding cardholders with a bottle of whiskey if they introduced one member, a toaster if they introduced two, and a S$100 hamper if they introduced three. 

It also launched a new personal insurance benefit offering cardholders S$50,000 of coverage for loss of life or permanent disability at just S$146 per year, 30% cheaper than similar coverage outside. These perks may seem underwhelming today, but remember: credit card rewards programs didn’t even exist in Singapore back then. 

As if American Express wasn’t enough, Diners Club now had to contend with another entrant in the form of Bank Americard, known today as Visa. In September 1976, Overseas Union Bank (remember them?) became the first to issue a Bank Americard in Singapore. 

Bank Americard/Visa made major inroads in a short period of time, signing up 11,000 cardholders in just 18 months. Its success was down to two main reasons. First, it allowed members to roll over their balances, provided they paid at least 10% of the amount due each month. Second, it had no entrance or annual fees, at least not until 1981.  

Diners’ decline

Despite this, Diners Club had a solid position heading into the 1980s. At the start of the decade, it was the leader in Singapore with 30,000 members, or 40% of the overall market. But by 1990, its share had fallen to less than 10%. 

What happened? In a word, commoditization. As Chartered Bank, Citibank, DBS, OCBC, and Malayan Bank joined Hong Kong Bank, OUB and UOB in the cards business, credit cards became less of a status symbol and more of a utility item.  Mastercards and Visas flooded the market, while American Express also made gains through its licensing agreements with DBS and UOB. 

All of this ate into Diners Club’s share, and a 1989 Business Times article marking Diners Club’s 39th anniversary noted it had 28,000 cardmembers in Singapore, a slight decline from its figure in 1980. 

To be sure, Diners Club was still active in the 1990s. It launched cobrand cards with Daimaru and Maybank, secured a lucrative tie-up with Singapore Airlines’ newly-launched Passages frequent flyer program , and finally started issuing credit cards in September 1999. 

But other players had already pulled ahead with more compelling promotions and rewards. American Express launched Singapore’s first card rewards program in 1992, and banks started duking it out with lucky draw prizes that included sports cars and condominiums . Slowly but surely, Diners Club faded into the background.

To illustrate this, consider the number of times Diners Club got a mention across all major Singapore newspapers, (excluding advertisements) from 1960 all the way up till 2017 (the limit of the NLB archives). 

Sense a trend? 

Diners Club’s global website tells pretty much the same story. In the 1960s, Diners Club could boast about acceptance in 130 countries- more countries than in the United Nations. In the 1970s, five out of every six card-carrying tourists visiting the USA had a Diners Club card. In the 1980s, Diners Club launched the world’s first rewards program.

But the accolades dry up after that. The big news from the 1990s is the launch of the Diners Club website (1996), the 2000s features a generic boast about “a new global campaign to target business travelers”, and by the time we reach the 2010s, “Diners Club launches its presence on social media” is considered noteworthy enough to warrant a mention.

2020 marked 70 years since Frank McNamara may or may not have returned to Major’s Cabin Grill with his little cardboard card. I’d be very surprised if Diners Club, at least in Singapore, makes it to that landmark. 

With Singaporeans now holding almost 6.6 million credit cards, it’s easy to forget what a novelty they were when they first launched.

In that sense Diners Club was a trailblazer, mainstreaming the idea that one could go through an entire day without a single piece of legal tender in his pocket. And while it’s anyone’s guess whether they’ll still be around to witness the culmination of the cashless revolution they started, I think that’s a story worth telling. 

Were you an early Diners Club member? What was it like?

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I currently own the DON DON DONKI Diner’s Club card, which should give you an idea of how much I actually spend there…

1 free lounge pass is a perk, although it’s not much use now and many $30K cards give you more. I also use the card to top up CPF — it’s the only credit card accepted for CPF top up (via AXS).

If we use their latest cash back card to top up CPF, do we get cash back😆

Unfortunately, no. AXS ineligible for cashback.

while it’s not so relevant to working adults, the one free lounge visit is a great perk for students (who can get the $500 limit cards) https://milelion.com/2019/08/28/attention-students-you-can-get-airport-lounge-access-too/

I feel sad to see them fall, I’d rather see them being a strong competitor in the market, especially the ones who can compete with AMEX in the high end lifestyle market.

SPeaking of card rivalry, i thought it was interesting to note that one time i made a booking through amex travel, i noticed on the hotel’s papers that amex travel booked the hotel with expedia, and it was secured with a MasterCard.

Expedia provides a single use MC to the hotel to debit for the amount of your stay (net of commission)

And there’s the Sheng Siong Diner’s Club card which my parents happily use for rebates…

I had one in the late 1990s/early2000s. There was some tie-up with one of the duty free outlets at Changi, IIRC. Since I traveled a lot, it made sense at the time.

I suggest they should stop annual fee for the card

Used to use the DFS Cobrand Diners Card when buying duty-free stuff at airport. However, the points earned for miles redemption is terribly lousy.

0.22 mpd, if i’m not wrong!

Diners Club CC was one of my 1st CC when I started my job in early 2000. Like you said, many other bank cards’ availability made it lose it’s charm. When i started to get more perks in other cards, I never bother to renew diners. Last I could remember was few years back they were rallying inside mustafa asking everyone to get a diners.

Pre-COVID, I saw them do a lot of roadshows at DONKI trying to get people to sign up for the DONKI co-branded card.

Diners Club was my first creditcard in Singapore in 2005. Their eligibility criteria for foreigners was an income of 45k or 50k p.a.(don’t remember exactly) so it was the only card that i was eligible for. All others required 60k which was beyond my first salary. However it was accepted at most establishments honoring visa or mc at that time. Supermarkets/restaurants/major department stores, so i didn’t have an issue with acceptance of the card. But once my salary hit 60k i immediately moved on to the various cashback visa/mc bank cards. Diners club also didn’t help their cause by not …  Read more »

I believe I got an Amex green charge card first before my Diner’s credit card came along. It was a co-branded Challenger card with some rebates (can’t remember what now) but they weren’t terribly attractive and other cards came along. I kept the card for a few years without using it (even at Challenger) and then the card got pulled when Diner’s tie up with Challenger ended..

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DCS Diners Club International Credit Card

The world's very first multipurpose card.

Up to 5X Club Rewards Points

Enjoy up to 5X Club Rewards Points on your dining, hotel and overseas transactions with minimum monthly spend of S$400. No expiry to your Club Rewards Points.

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Worldwide Airport Lounge Access

Access to more than 1,300 Airport Lounges across 600+ cities in 140 countries worldwide; including Changi Airport. Basic Cardholder enjoys one complimentary access per year.

Complimentary Travel Insurance Coverage

Free Insurance Coverage of up to S$1 million personal accident protection, S$250,000 on-flight personal accident insurance and travel inconvenience reimbursement.

Terms and Conditions apply.

Earn Accelerated Club Rewards Points

At DCS, we believe in rewarding our cardmembers. Enjoy up to 5X Club Rewards Points (usual S$1 = 1 point) with your DCS Diners Club International Credit Card, which you can redeem for FREE gifts, shopping/dining vouchers & air miles. What's more, these points don't expire!

• Add your DCS Diners Club Card to GRAB app to enjoy your favorite services, including GRAB Food, GRAB Express and GRAB Transport, and more.
• Pay Vehicle Road Tax in 6 monthly instalments, 0% interest free.
• Buy Now Pay Later - Purchase merchandise you dream of owning with up to 12 months, 0% interest-free instalments.
• Club Rewards Points Programme - Earn rewards points as you spend on your Diners Club Cards, which can be used to redeem for a wide selection of vouchers, merchandise, annual fee waiver, and frequent flyer miles etc. T&Cs apply.

Earn up to 5X Club Rewards Points on eligible spending:

• Enjoy 3X Club Rewards Points 1 for every S$1 spend on dining 2 & hotel 3 with a minimum spend of S$400 per month
• Enjoy 5X Club Rewards Points 1 for every S$1 spend on foreign currency transactions 4 with a minimum spend of S$400 per month
• Enjoy 1X Club Rewards Point for every S$1 spend on all other transactions

1 Minimum spend of S$400 (excluding cash advance transactions) is required within the same statement cycle in order to be eligible for the 3X or 5X Club Rewards Points, otherwise cardmembers may only be entitled to the default rate of 1 Club Rewards Point awarded for every S$1 spend.

2 Dining refers to transactions charged in Singapore Dollars under MCC 5812 (Eating places and Restaurants) and MCC 5813 (Bars and Drinking Places).

3 Hotel refers to transactions charged in Singapore Dollars under MCC 3500 to 3999, and 7011 (Lodging).

4 Foreign currency spend refers to all eligible transactions that are not charged in Singapore Dollars.

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Eligibility

Age: 21 to 65 years old

For Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents: Minimum income of S$30,000 p.a. OR S$15,000 p.a. (age 55 & above)

For Foreigners: Minimum income of S$60,000 p.a.

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The 12 Street Foods That Define Singapore

S ingapore is a country of unexpected contrasts. While it's a hyper-modern, industrialized nation that has aggressively embraced Westernization, it's also a proudly multicultural community where Chinese, Indian, Malay, and European populations have co-existed and shared their food cultures for centuries.

This cultural mix gifted Singapore with a vibrant food culture that draws visitors from around the world to sample its distinct dishes, which typically combine influences from the country's different populations. When it comes to food, Singaporeans make flavor their top priority. While the country boasts an educated populace of well-paid professionals who could easily afford white-tablecloth meals, serious food lovers among them will tell you the best food comes from humble stalls run by specialists who've mastered the nuances of a single dish or two. As a result, Singapore's traditional street food culture is thriving. However, don't expect to find any food in the streets — actual street vending has long been outlawed, and vendors moved into dedicated, government-run hawker centers where diners can choose from an array of treats and enjoy them at tables maintained by the centers. As you can imagine, it's a lot to take in. Here are a few classic dishes to know and look out for.

Read more: Essential Words And Phrases To Know At A Japanese Restaurant

Hainan Chicken Rice

The old saying "you can't judge a book by its cover" also applies to food. Often, the must unremarkable-looking dishes can turn out to be the most transcendent. An example of this is Hainan chicken rice, a humble-looking dish of poached chicken accompanied by rice cooked in the broth of the chicken and enriched with chicken fat. The dish, as is name implies, originated in Hainan, China, and was brought to Singapore by Chinese immigrants from that region. 

While the dish still strongly resembles the Chinese original, it has picked up a number of distinctive local touches. Singaporean cooks, for instance, top their cooked, cut-up chicken with a splash of a sweet-salty, soy-based sauce, while Chinese cooks serve the chicken plain. Singaporean cooks also season their rice with pandan and lemongrass along with chicken broth, adding a distinct, tropical note. In addition, while both Chinese and Singaporean cooks serve chicken rice with dipping sauces, such as a mixture of grated ginger and soy, Singaporean cooks often offer multiple dips containing ingredients such as chilis and calamansi juice. If the idea of plain, boiled chicken still seems too dull, some Singaporean vendors deep-fry their chickens after poaching to add extra color and crunch. 

Carrot Cake

Don't let the name of this dish throw you off: There are no carrots (nor cream cheese frosting, nor nuts) in this Singaporean street food classic. Rather, the dish's English name is the result of sloppy translation. The Hokkien Chinese name of the dish, chai tow kway, can be literally translated as "carrot cake," since chai tow can mean either "radish" or "carrot" and kway refers to a cake or pastry. Thus, this so-called carrot cake is actually a savory pudding made with shredded daikon, preserved turnip, rice flour, and seasonings. 

While the dish is thought to have been introduced by immigrants from south China, the versions served in Singapore differ from the original in a number of ways. While the Chinese version typically includes meats such as chopped, Chinese-style sausage and minced, dried shrimp, Singaporean versions are typically vegetarian-friendly . While the mixture is cut into chunks and pan-fried until crispy on the outside in both versions, Chinese turnip cakes are cut into playing card–sized rectangles, while Singaporean carrot cake comes as a platter of fried, bite-sized cubes. In addition, Singaporean cooks offer the option of ordering carrot cake black (sauteed in dark soy sauce) or white (fried without soy sauce, but sometimes with egg).

Kaya Toast And Eggs

As much as many food-loving travelers look forward to exploring new dishes and breaking out of their comfort zones, doing so first thing in the morning while jet-lagged and before they've had their first cup of coffee might feel like a bridge too far. Still, the idea of grabbing just a bowl of cornflakes at the hotel breakfast buffet feels like a cop-out — you've seriously traveled halfway around the world to eat that?

For such occasions, the perfect breakfast awaits sleepy visitors to Singapore: kaya toast served with soft-boiled eggs . This classic breakfast treat consists of a sandwich of toast, butter, and kaya, a sweet, custard-like jam made with coconut milk, eggs, sugar, and pandan leaves. By tradition, kaya toast is served with soft-boiled eggs seasoned with dark soy sauce and white pepper. The combination of savory eggs and sweet toast offers both easy-to-eat comfort and a gentle, welcoming taste of local culture. And, it goes great with a strong cup of local coffee or tea.

Fish Head Curry

Here's a secret that hardcore seafood lovers keep to themselves: The very tastiest morsels in any fish are, in fact, in its head. This is why ingredients such as halibut cheeks and yellowtail collars have been making appearances on high-end menus, often commanding steep prices. Fish cheeks are known to seafood lovers for their juiciness and tenderness, and fish collars — the bony cut directly behind the gills — are popular in Asia for their richness and flavor. 

Chinese diners have long appreciated all that fish heads have to offer, and instead of viewing them as discards or desperation food, they historically saw them as treats for the elite. One legend says that some nobles refused to eat any part of a fish that wasn't the cheeks. Singapore's fish head curry is a characteristic product of the country's penchant for cross-cultural fusion: In the 1940s, a restaurant owner with roots in south India added fish heads to a spicy, Indian curry to appeal to his Chinese customers. The dish has since become a hit with diners of all backgrounds, winning over the country's fish-head doubters.

Char Kway Teow

At first glance, char kway teow, another hawker stall favorite, doesn't look like much. It's just a plate of stir-fried rice noodles with add-ins such as vegetables, Chinese sausage slices, shrimp, and cooked eggs; not much different from what you'd find in a typical Asian restaurant in the U.S. What makes it memorable — and a sought-after dish among Singaporean diners — is its punchy flavor, contributed by dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, and shrimp paste. It also has characteristic smoky char, the result of quick cooking in a well-seasoned wok over extremely high heat.

In short, it's a simple-looking dish that punches above its weight. Despite its appearance, it's deceptively tricky to make for home cooks — without the right ingredients, a high-powered wok, a deft hand, and a flawless sense of timing, the risk of ending up with a mass of broken, soggy noodles is dangerously high. Like many street food favorites in Singapore, it's the product of multiple cultures. While it originated in south China (ingredients such as Chinese sausage and the technique of high-heat stir-frying reveal its origins), it was enthusiastically adopted in Malaysia and by the Malay population in Singapore, which now considers it a distinctly Malaysian dish. Today, if you order it in Singapore, it'll often be served on a banana leaf — a clear sign of this influence.

Another must-try local classic, laksa, can be described as Singapore's geography in a bowl. This hearty, soupy dish is a bowl of Chinese noodles (wheat, rice, or a combination of both) in a spicy, coconut-based broth laden with seafood, fried bean curd puffs, and crunchy bean sprouts. It showcases the culinary contributions of the country's Chinese and Malaysian communities, as well as the island nation's fondness for seafood.

Laksa is one of many favorite dishes rooted in Singapore's Peranakan culture and cuisine,  which evolved from the intermarriage of Chinese and Malaysian Singaporeans and the melding of cooking techniques and ingredients from both cultures. The most popular version of the dish features a curry-like, coconut milk broth flavored with powerful ingredients such as garlic, chilis, lemongrass, dried shrimp, galangal, and a range of spices. Another version first created in Penang features a tangy, tamarind broth. The popular coconut-based laksa itself comes in numerous variations, with the spice profile, broth thickness, and choice of toppings varying with each cook. If you visit Singapore and want to seek out a good bowl of laksa, ask around — Singaporeans are not afraid to share their opinions when it comes to food,  and the suggestions you get will be as varied as your many dining opportunities.

If you love seafood and spice and aren't afraid of getting your hands (and potentially, your clothes) dirty, chili crab needs to be on your must-try list. While it's now considered a classic Singaporean street food and a beloved part of the country's cultural heritage, chili crab is actually a fairly modern dish. It was invented by home cook Cher Yam Tian, who, after perfecting the dish for friends and family in the 1950s, opened a restaurant at their request to share her specialty with others. 

Tian's family had guessed correctly that her dish would be a hit: Soon, hawker stalls and restaurants all over Singapore were creating their own versions of the dish, which consists of pieces of crab (still in the shell, consistent with Chinese cooking tradition)  stir-fried in a sweet-spicy sauce of tomatoes and chilis along with garlic, shallots, scallions, and sometimes eggs for thickening. It's succulent, but there's no neat way to eat it. You have to pick up the crab pieces with your hands, open them with your teeth and fingers (the shells are pre-cracked, but intact), and extract the tender crab meat while sucking the spicy sauce off the shells (and your fingers). You won't find picks, seafood forks, or bibs at hawker centers, so to truly enjoy your chili crab, lean in and embrace the mess, just as all the happy diners around you will be doing.

Much of Singapore's famed street food is strongly influenced by, if not directly borrowed from, Chinese cuisine. This is unsurprising, given that Singapore's population is 77% ethnic Chinese (per Guide me Singapore ). But, Singaporeans of Malaysian and Indian descent have also helped define Singapore's unique food scene, and they too have introduced dishes from their ancestral countries that all Singaporeans now embrace as part of their shared culture.

Among these is roti prata, a flaky, chewy, crispy Indian flatbread that's typically served hot and freshly made with a bowl of curry (which can contain meat, chicken, or vegetables). Diners savor the roti prata and curry together by tearing off bite-sized pieces of the bread and dipping it into the stew. The flatbread's distinctive, flaky texture comes from its ultra-thin, nearly translucent layers created by carefully stretching and folding the dough. Making it requires skill and practice, which is why Singapore's food lovers turn to hawker stall specialists when a craving hits. 

Oyster Omelet

Cooks and eaters in Singapore happily embrace dishes from across Asia and beyond, which is why a meal at a hawker center can include everything from Chinese stir-fries to Indian flatbreads and Malaysian stews. While Singapore's diners are certainly aware of the ethnic origins of the dishes they enjoy, they don't feel a need to segregate them into separate meals — if they feel like eating them at the same time, they have a place on the table.

Another example of a borrowed dish enthusiastically embraced in Singapore is the oyster omelet, a dish first developed in China by the Hokkien community. The Hokkien were historically traders, and through their travels, they introduced the dish to cooks in Thailand and elsewhere in southeast Asia, as well as in Singapore. It's distinct from omelets as we know them in the West : Rather than being nestled between layers of plain cooked egg, the oysters are embedded in a thin batter of eggs, tapioca and sweet potato flour, and water, then pan-fried. The resulting omelet (which is more like a thick, messy-looking crepe) is crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and a perfect backdrop for briny, fresh oysters.

If you frequent Thai restaurants in the U.S. , you've probably encountered satay, which are grilled skewers of meat or chicken with a tantalizingly sweet glaze. Diners in Singapore love it for all the same reasons we do: The smell of the smoke-kissed, faintly caramelized meat skewers being grilled over a live fire is irresistible, as is their flavor. 

Like much of Singapore's food, satay had to take a roundabout journey to become a local favorite. It was thought to have been invented by street vendors in Java, Indonesia, and inspired by Indian kebabs (Indian traders had a regular presence in Indonesia and may have introduced some of their food culture). From there, satay spread and became popular throughout the region, and Singapore's cooks and eaters were happy to embrace it. Traditionally made and sold by Chinese, Malay, and Indian Muslim vendors, satay is now enjoyed by Singaporeans of all backgrounds. In Singapore, the spiced meat (or seafood) skewers are served with a range of dipping sauces (including a peanut-based sauce and a pineapple puree), along with cubes of compressed rice, cucumber, and onion slices. Because the skewers are typically sold by the dozen, satay is a dish meant for sharing.

Frequent visitors to Cantonese restaurants know wonton mee, or wonton noodles, as a bowl of flavorful, clear broth loaded with thin egg noodles and silky wontons. It's as much a soup as a pasta dish, and one needs both a spoon and chopsticks (or a fork) to eat it. It's likely that this is the version Chinese immigrants first brought to Singapore, but like many dishes, it gradually evolved to take on a distinctly local flavor. 

Thus, if you order wonton mee in Singapore today, it's more likely to be served on a plate than in a bowl. It's a tangle of dry egg noodles and shrimp-filled wontons tossed with a dark, sometimes chili-laced sauce and topped with Chinese-style barbecue pork and greens.

You'll notice slight variations if you visit different vendors — some offer meats such as pork belly along with the barbecued pork, different noodle types (such as thicker egg noodles or even spinach noodles), or offer spicier sauces than the more-common, slightly sweet, and soy-based sauce.

Ice Kachang

Singapore's summers can be hot and humid, which means even eaters devoted to the country's many flavorful soups and stews may need something cold and refreshing to keep them comfortable. Even in cooler weather, sometimes a cold, sweet treat is just what you crave after a hot meal. For this, Singaporean food lovers turn to ice kachang, a decadent shaved ice dessert of Malaysian origin.

While the base of a serving of ice kachang is indeed a big pile of shaved ice in a bowl, this dessert is far more substantial than a typical snow cone. The dish's Malaysian name, ais kacang, translates as "iced beans," and yes, there are actual beans (the sweet red beans common in Asian desserts) piled onto the ice. In addition, the dessert typically includes cubes of grass jelly or agar along with your choice of toppings, which can include peanuts, sweet corn, condensed milk, durian, and even ice cream. Both rehydrating and filling, it's a dessert you might be tempted to make into a hot-weather meal in itself.

Read the original article on Food Republic .

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Give diners equipment to wipe down tables to improve cleanliness at food outlets: Researchers

SINGAPORE - The mandatory tray return policy at food outlets has catalysed changes in social norms since it was implemented in 2021. But diners can be equipped to go one step further and clean their tables after use, said the researchers behind a public cleanliness survey.

More than 80 per cent of Singapore residents in 2023 indicated they were willing to go the extra mile to clean up spills or wipe down their tables after eating at food outlets like hawker centres or coffee shops because they feel that it is the socially responsible thing to do.

Among those who did not clean up after themselves, 54 per cent of respondents said it was because they did not have the proper equipment to do so.

These findings, released on April 26, were from the Public Cleanliness Satisfaction Survey 2023 conducted by the Singapore Management University (SMU).

The survey, in its sixth edition, also reported that 94 per cent of respondents returned their trays and crockery all the time in 2023.

Satisfaction with cleanliness of food outlets also jumped 2 percentage points to 85 per cent in 2023, compared with 2022.

But cleanliness satisfaction rates at food outlets continued to be the lowest when compared with other domains like transportation, neighbourhoods and commuter paths. 

Funded by the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE), the study surveyed 2,010 Singapore residents on their perceptions of cleanliness in the Republic from November 2023 to January 2024.

Respondents rated their satisfaction with the cleanliness of 20 public spaces they frequented in their everyday lives, including food outlets like hawker centres or air-conditioned foodcourts, MRT and LRT stations, and places in the neighbourhood like HDB town centres and void decks.

At a media briefing on April 26 to announce the survey results, the co-leads of the study said food outlets could consider piloting the provision of clean tablecloths or tissue paper on dining tables for patrons to wipe down tables after their meals.

“By doing so, Singaporeans will likely be more proactive and gradually feel that they should be more responsible in cleaning up their table litter, thereby instilling this good habit and ensuring cleanliness in public dining places.

“Hopefully, over time, this habit will translate to other public places as well,” said the researchers, led by professor of sociology Paulin Tay Straughan from SMU and Dr Mathew Mathews, principal research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies.

The survey also highlighted the need for littering to be addressed. Only 72 per cent of the respondents disposed of their litter properly, compared with 76 per cent in 2022.

For those who did not dispose of their trash properly, 47 per cent of them said it was because the trash bin or disposal area was full and there were no other bins nearby.

Ninety-four per cent of respondents – an increase of 3 percentage points from 2022 – also expected that cleaners should clear trash throughout the day, so that bins would not overflow.

But despite an increase in reliance on cleaning services, only 75 per cent of respondents agreed that more money should be spent on cleaning services, which is significantly down from 81 per cent who said the same in 2022.

To reduce the need for more cleaning services and to save on costs, a stronger sense of responsibility for public cleanliness needs to be cultivated in Singapore residents, said the researchers.

This can start with simple behavioural nudges.

I’m glad to read from Singapore Management University's Public Cleanliness Satisfaction Survey 2023 that 94% of... Posted by Baey Yam Keng on  Thursday, April 25, 2024

“For littering hot spots, a visual aid that instructs individuals on how to properly fold up bulky wastes before disposal could potentially prevent trash bins from overflowing frequently.

“Providing a QR code that links to a feedback form at trash disposal areas could also encourage the public to provide timely feedback on the status of trash bins to cleaning companies,” said the researchers.

Prof Straughan said: “If the whole community could step up to flesh out ideas, we could move a long way. My encouragement to Singaporeans is, don’t wait for the next law to come out. This is our space, and we should take charge of it.”

The study also recorded a substantial decrease in satisfaction levels for cleanliness at public events like the National Day Parade, concerts and sporting events in 2023 – 88 per cent of respondents were satisfied, down from 94 per cent in 2022.

Researchers said the significant drop could be due to a larger scale of public events in 2023, leading to more noticeable littering, compared with 2021 and 2022, when various Covid-19 restrictions were in place.

Dr Mathews said: “Public events draw people from different backgrounds, including those who may be newer to Singapore or just visiting. Not everybody might be familiar with our norms of public cleanliness, especially when our events are international as well.

“What’s important is for those of us who recognise the value of public cleanliness and the norms that have been established here to be able to politely tell other people to clean up after themselves.”

MSE has designated 2024 as the Year of Public Hygiene, with a suite of measures being implemented – from possibly publicising photos of litterbugs to improving the state of public toilets.

Public cleanliness satisfaction rates

Transportation roads, bus interchanges, mrt/lrt stations.

2023: 98% 2022: 97% 2017: 93%

Leisure Parks, shopping malls, playgrounds

2023: 97% 2022: 95% 2017: 89%

Food outlets Coffee shops, hawker centres, wet markets

2023: 85% 2022: 83% 2017: 69%

Neighbourhood HDB town centres, void decks, lifts to homes

2023: 93% 2022: 91% 2017: 79%

Commuter paths Walkways, overhead bridges, roadside drains

2023: 95% 2022: 94% 2017: 83%

Public events After National Day Parade, concerts and sporting events

2023: 88% 2022: 95%

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Singapore chef Tariq Helou dies suddenly at age 29

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Up-and-coming chef Tariq Helou died unexpectedly on April 25. He was 29. The cause of his death is still unknown.

The chef, who was of Japanese, Chinese and Lebanese parentage, owned Fleurette, an 18-seat restaurant in Rangoon Road he opened in 2020.

His mother, Ms Catherine Yong, told The Straits Times that the restaurant will continue running.

“I spoke to the staff, and they have agreed to continue for now,” she said.

He was the oldest of her four children, with a younger brother and two sisters.

Chef Helou started cooking at age three, scrambling eggs “without permission”, he told The Straits Times in 2020. He said then that he grew up watching his mother cook and would hang out at his Japanese grandmother’s home in Singapore.

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He went on to culinary school in Switzerland, and worked there as well as in France and in Japan.

Back in Singapore, he ran a supper club before putting together a low six-figure sum from family and friends to start Fleurette. Right off the bat, diners took notice of his inventive, refined tasting menus.

The food reflected his heritage and training, and this was how he described it: “It’s like a pie. The crust is French, the cream topping is Japanese and the filling is local.”

In 2024, he was named Asia’s “most googled chef” by travel platform Explore Worldwide.

Chef Helou garnered 1.62 million searches on Google in 2023 in the study, which looked at the number of Google searches for more than 1,700 chefs around the world from November 2022 to October 2023.

In the world ranking, he was No. 7. British chefs Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver took the No. 1 and No. 2 spots.

Those in the food community were stunned by news of his death. A restaurant publicist who had just started working with Fleurette said: “I spoke to him a few days ago and everything was on track. I am so shocked. I cannot believe it.”

Chef Willin Low, 52, said: “He was such a promising chef, and still so young. It would have been interesting to see how far he would go ultimately. I am very shocked and saddened.”

French chef Julien Royer, 42, of three-Michelin-starred Odette at the National Gallery, dined at Fleurette and said he “loved it”.

“The few times I met Tariq at Odette or Fleurette, or elsewhere, he was always extremely kind and humble, a hard-working and passionate individual,” he said. “May he rest in peace.”

Chef Shaun Wong, 38, Fleurette’s sous chef, who has been in the business for more than a decade and worked at the restaurant for a year, said: “I have worked with many chefs, and he was one of the best. He treated us very well. I really enjoyed working with him, and if this had not happened, I could have spent the rest of my life working with him.

“He was positive and optimistic, always believing that anything can be done.”

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