15 Vegan Hawker Foods You Have to Try in Singapore!
Singapore’s my favorite country as a vegan, and has the best vegan food in my opinion! I’ve traveled to Singapore eight times now, and always get excited just to visit vegan restaurants, especially all of the vegetarian and vegan hawker food.
Plus, Singapore continues to be rated as one of the best cities for vegans on Happy Cow.
📖 Read next: 27 top things to do in Singapore 🇸🇬
Beyond the high-rise & modern buildings, traveling to Singapore is like stepping into different countries.
Singapore is beautifully multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and multi-lingual, and one can find an abundance of so many different cuisines, from Chinese to Malay, Indian, Indonesian, and Western.
From Little India to Arab Street, Kampong Glam and Chinatown, you experience a taste of everything. Literally. The vegan food in Singapore is so good. I hope you get to visit someday!
1. Vegan Nasi Lemak
Nasi Lemak is one of the most well-known dishes in Singapore and Malaysia. The base of the dish is rice (i.e. “nasi” in Malay). The rice is cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaves, which makes the rice deliciously fragrant.
Vegan nasi lemak is usually served with vegan chicken, beef, or fish, along with a spicy chili sauce, roasted peanuts, cucumbers, and sometimes vegan anchovies.
The nasi lemak above is from Warung Ijo, an Indonesian vegetarian-vegan restaurant, but you can find vegan nasi lemak at a vegan hawker food center in Geylang called Makan Vegan and another one at Kwan Tzi Zhai Vegetarian Cuisine.
2. Putu Piring
Putu Piring is an incredible and underrated dessert. It’s a Malaysian steamed rice cake that’s filled with gula melaka sugar, which is richer than brown sugar, and has a deep and smoky caramel flavor.
The most popular spot to buy puti piring in Singapore is from Haig Road Putu Piring, which was featured on a Netflix show.
The cakes are soft and everything melts in your mouth. 5 pieces only cost less than $2 USD.
3. Vegan Hainanese Chicken Rice
Probably the most popular dish to get in Singapore is chicken rice. Thankfully, there’s lots of vegan options throughout Singapore served at restaurants and vegetarian hawker centers.
The rice served with chicken rice is fragrant, the chicken is crispy and tender, and served with chili sauce, soy sauce, and slices of cucumber.
The vegan chicken rice above is from Bohdi Deli vegan restaurant inside the Fortune Centre Mall in Singapore.
I’ve tried a bunch of vegan chicken rice in Singapore, and they were all really good, and you’ll rarely find it elsewhere.
4. Singaporean Curry Laksa
I could eat Singaporean Curry Laksa every day if I could. Curry laksa is noodles in a rich and creamy coconut milk broth infused with a fragrant blend of spices and herbs.
Vegan Singaporean curry laksa is usually topped with brean sprouts and tofu puffs and optional sambal chili. Laksa is one of the most flavorful noodle soups I’ve ever eaten.
The curry laksa above is from Bohdi Deli vegan restaurant inside the Fortune Centre Mall in Singapore.
Another popular spot for vegan laksa in Singapore is vegetarian hawker center in Geylang called Kwan Tzi Zhai Vegetarian Cuisine.
5. Cendol
Cendol is one of the desserts I always look for when visiting Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The dessert consists of shaved ice, pandan jellies, sweetened red beans, coconut milk, and then topped with a gula melaka sauce.
Cendol is usually always vegan.
Some of the most popular spots to have cendol is in Chinatown in Singapore. Plus there’s a lot of vegetarian hawker stalls in Chinatown with vegan food options.
The cendol in the photo above is from Hup Ka Foon in Chinatown, and it’s one of the best ones I’ve tried!
6. Fresh Sugarcane Juice
You can’t leave Singapore without trying fresh sugarcane juice. Most hawker centers have a stall serving sugarcane juice.
The sugarcane is usually juiced on the spot, served with ice, and is perfectly sweet and affordable at around $1 USD. Perfect for the Singapore heat.
7. Thunder Tea Rice
Another dish I could eat every day! Thunder Tea Rice is a traditional Hakka dish.
It consists of a bowl of rice topped with chopped vegetables, then topped with a savory, minty green tea broth that is made with a blend of herbs, such as basil, mint, and cilantro, as well as ground tea leaves.
I always get Thunder Tea Rice at Living Wholesome Vegetarian inside Fortunte Centre Mall. They top theirs with fried tofu and (optional nuts).
It’s filling, flavorful, and healthy after eating my way through Singapore.
8. Vegan Lemper
Lemper is a popular Indonesian snack made of glutinous rice and filled with various ingredients.
The chicken option is usually not vegan, so I was happy to find vegan chicken lempur from a vegan Indonesian restaurant in Singapore called Warung Ijo.
It’s soft and savory and makes a really filling snack or appetizer.
9. Masala Dosa
Masala Dosa is a popular dish from southern India, and can be found in most hawker centers in Singapore. It’s one of my favorite Indian dishes.
Masala Dosa is a savory crepe typically filled with spiced potatoes. You can also get plain dosa without the potato filling. The dish is traditionally served with sambar, a lentil soup, and coconut chutney.
The spiced potato filling is often made with a blend of cumin, mustard seeds, turmeric, and other spices.
Perfect vegan hawker food in Singapore.
10. Vegan Wanton Mee
Wanton Mee is a noodle dish that can be served either wet or dry, and usually accompanied by soup with dumplings.
You’ll have to look for the veganized version of wanton mee. Thankfully, there’s plenty of vegan and vegetarian hawker centers in Singapore.
The vegan version is made with thin vegan egg noodles, char siu pork and leafy vegetables.
I got it at Makan Vegan, an all-vegan hawker food center in Singapore.
11. Chwee Kueh
Chwee kueh is a savory dish usually eaten as a snack or for breakfast and can be found in hawker centers.
It’s made of steamed rice cakes that are topped with preserved radish, also known as chai poh. The rice cakes are usually soft and slightly chewy, and the preserved radish gives it a salty flavor.
Make sure any sambal chili accompanied with it is vegan.
12. Roti Prata
Roti prata is a crispy, layered flatbread popular in Singapore.
While not all roti prata is prepared vegan, you can find it in vegan restaurants like Makan Vegan, or buy it frozen at Everyday Vegan, an all-vegan grocery in Singapore.
You eat roti prata by dipping it in a curry.
Another vegan street food in Singapore I could eat everyday!
13. Ondeh-Ondeh
Ondeh-ondeh is a Malaysian dessert made of glutinous rice balls that are filled with gula melaka sugar and coated in coconut shavings.
It can be found in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
The balls are made with glutinous rice flour and water. The gula melaka melts inside. It’s a perfect dessert and a vegan hawker food by default.
In Singapore, you can find it in Chinatown hawker centre stalls and in different kueh stores.
14. Vegan Rendang
Rendang is a popular Indonesian dish that is made by simmering meat in coconut milk, chilies, galangal, garlic and other spices.
Vegan versions are usually mushrooms, jackfruit, or vegan and are slow-cooked for even more flavor. Rendang is often served with rice and cucumber. It’s a must-try food if you visit Singapore or Indonesia.
This vegan rendang is from Ahisma Cafe in Singapore.
15. Pulut Hitam
Pulut Hitam is a popular dessert throughout Southeast Asia. It’s made with black glutinous rice, pandan leaves, and gula melaka, then topped sweet and salted coconut milk, which adds a rich flavor.
It looks similar to champurado from the Philippines, but pulut hitam is usually always vegan by default and has a deeper, smokier taste from the gula melaka sugar. This accidentally-vegan food in Singapore is so good!
Best Country for Vegans
These are just 15 of the some of the best vegan foods and vegan hawker foods to try in Singapore.
Singapore continues to be my favorite country for vegan food, and it’s affordable as most neighborhoods have vegan and vegetarian hawker centers.
Do not skip vegan hawker food in Singapore!
Until next time, Singapore!
Singapore Travel Essentials:
📲 Local sim card or eSIM card from Airalo
🚍 Book your Singapore airport pickup
🎫 Browse through dozens of Singapore tours
Related Posts
27 Top Things to Do in Singapore (From a Frequent Visitor)
Singapore Airlines Vegan Meal Options (Review + Photos)
List of 70+ Vegan Tours Around the World in 2024
List of 130+ Vegan Festivals Around the World in 2024
Uber in Singapore for Travelers: Alternative and Costs Examples
10 Easy Ways to Make Vegan Friends When Traveling
5 Essential Vegan Travel Tips to Finding the Best Vegan Travel Food
