Save this list of 9 date spots for every foodie type

It’s clear food means a lot to us as Singaporeans — just think of the many times you’ve engaged in a passionate debate about which place serves the best chicken rice, laksa or nasi lemak, for example. 

According to a survey by Bumble Singapore, 70% of Singaporeans surveyed felt similar food choices were an important factor when it came to looking for a romantic partner. 

However, no matter how impassioned or knowledgeable you may be when it comes to food, picking a place for a first date — or just dates in general — can be quite a stab in the dark, especially if you don’t know what your date’s preferences are.

We at HungryGoWhere are just as passionate about food as we are about ensuring couples out there are well-matched when it comes to food-related expectations. 

So if you’re planning for a date soon, make your way down our list of the different foodie types, suss out which your date might be, and take our lead on the suggested spot. We’re not just saving you time, but you might also get a chance to win dining vouchers to these locations.

1. For the Hawker Connoisseur: Hawkers’ Street at Tampines 1 

Tampines 1, 05-05/06/07, 10 Tampines Central 1
Open: Monday to Sunday (8.30am to 9.30pm)

The “Lau Pa Sat for first date” debacle may have divided the nation, but if you and your date are solidly on Team Hawker and you consider yourself quite the Hawker Connoisseur, then the newly opened Hawkers’ Street at Tampines 1 would be a shoo-in spot for you to bring your date to. 

Hawkers’ Street is a new food court in the Tampines heartlands by Select Group — you might recall a similar concept at Ion Orchard — that brings together some of the more notable hawkers, including those who have been awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand. 

While it’s not quite a hawker centre, its curation of star hawkers and comfortable air-conditioned environment will still win you points. Some of the highlights there include Koung’s Wan Tan Mee, known for its springy wanton noodles topped with succulent char siew and doused with its killer chilli sauce, as well Pang’s Hakka Yong Tau Foo, which serves up authentic Hakka fare from age–old recipes. 

The one we’d suggest making a beeline for, however, would be Tai Wah Pork Noodle — this Michelin Bib Gourmand awardee serves up a mean bowl of bak chor mee, with a solid chilli and vinegar concoction. The best part? Even if there’s a queue, it’s aeons shorter than the one you’d face at the OG Upper Cross Street outlet and you’ll get to wait in cool comfort, too.

2. For the Experimental Eater: Fura 

74A Amoy Street
Open: Tuesday to Saturday (5pm to midnight) 

When it comes to dating, it always helps to approach it with an open mind and be open to trying new things, including food. If you consider yourself quite the Experiential Eater, or your date is one, then give Fura, a new-ish restaurant-bar at Telok Ayer a go. 

Fura first opened in October 2023, is helmed by couple Christina Rasmussen and Sasha Wijidessa and means “pine” in Swedish. The sustainability-focused spot uses ingredients with a low carbon footprint while injecting creativity into its dishes and drinks. It was also most recently inducted into the Asia’s 50 Best Bars list, debuting at an impressive No. 42. 

It recently introduced a cell-cultured quail product, in the form of a parfait by Forged, into its menu, in a dish called A Quail Walks Into A Bar (S$20). Another interesting protein on its menu is Solein, made by natural single-cell organisms and can be found in its XOXO, Tempe (S$12). This dish features a crispy mushroom XO marinade for the protein, charred pomelo and fresh orange supremes with a light wasabi leaf salad. 

Don’t worry too much about the “alternative-ness” of its menu, we’ve been there and can safely say, whether you’re an adventurous eater or not, there’s still something for everyone. We’d also sit at the high tables if we were you, to see all the live action behind the stove and bar.

3. For the Chilli Padi Champion: Chilli Padi Nonya Restaurant

11 Joo Chiat Place, 01-03
Open: Monday to Sunday (11.30am to 2.30pm, 5.30pm to 9.30pm)

This one’s for all the chilli lovers and those who love to spice things up a notch — Chilli Padi Nonya Restaurant at Joo Chiat is the place you’d want to head to, if you’re a true-blue Chilli Padi Champion. 

This eastside hidden gem has been recommended by Michelin as one of the best local spots for spicy food, so you best believe it’s legit. Its interior is incredibly rustic, which just amps up the authenticity for us, as if we’re dining in a Peranakan matriarch’s home itself. 

Some sizzling highlights include its classic cabbage roll (S$6), an innocuous-looking green dumpling stuffed with zesty, savoury otah rempah and doused in a creamy lemak sauce, as well as its BBQ sotong (from S$15) — perfectly charred squid with its signature fiery sambal.

4. For the Dining Star Devotee: Araya

Mondrian Singapore, 01-08, 83 Neil Road
Open: Tuesday to Thursday (6pm to 11pm), Friday and Saturday (12pm to 3pm, 6pm to 11pm)

If you and your dates are Dining Star Devotees who head only to fine-dining spots, then you’ll want to add this newly minted one-starred Michelin spot to your list of places for a romantic night out. 

Run by Chilean couple Francisco Araya and Fernanda Guerrero, Araya is the first South Pacific spot in Singapore — and the world — to receive this accolade. It’s a major feat considering the restaurant’s only been open for barely a year.

This intimate, immaculately furnished restaurant delivers a creative, multi-sensorial approach in its menu, which incorporates South Pacific, Chilean and Japanese ingredients. Expect to find dishes such as ama ebi with tomato meringue, a ceviche with Hokkaido scallops and a leche de Tigre sorbet, as well as Coral, a gorgeous dish with mashua (a popular tuber from the region), wakame and dulse (seaweed).  

Its lunch menu starts at S$168 per diner, while dinner is a choice between its Andes (S$298) or Costa menu (S$368).

5. For the Dessert Darling: Ami Patisserie 

27 Scotts Road
Open: Tuesday to Friday (11.30am to 6pm), Saturday and Sunday (11am to 6pm)

Date’s got a sweet-tooth and always has a second stomach for desserts? Bring your Dessert Darling to Ami Patisserie and whisper sweet nothings to them while tucking into intricate European-style desserts at this Kyoto-style teahouse. 

This dessert space was originally an online store and opened its first brick-and-mortar space at Orchard in January this year. Owner and head chef Makoto Arami, who is a third-generation patissier, serves up gorgeous desserts that blend both flavours from the east and west. 

Some desserts that stole our heart (and stomachs) include: The Awajishima onion tarte (from S$15), which uses sweet Japanese onions, the Kuri mont blanc (S$20), a classic French chestnut mousse dessert jazzed up with Nikka whisky ice cream, as well as the musk melon parfait (S$38). 

We know what you’re thinking — S$38 for a dessert!? It’s a pretty penny, but also a very pretty dessert. The multi-layered parfait comes with Shizuoka musk melon balls, Yubari melon sorbet and edible gold flakes, and tastes just as good as it looks.

6. For the Healthy Muncher: The Butcher’s Wife

19 Yong Siak Street 
Open: Tuesday to Friday (12pm to 3pm, 6pm to 11pm), Saturday, (11.30am to 3pm, 6pm to 11pm), Sunday (11.30am to 3pm, 6pm to 11.30pm) 

Not a fan of sweets, or trying to be a more mindful eater so you can be in the best of health for your loved ones? For all you Healthy Munchers out there: One of our go-tos for healthy nosh in a fancy-ish spot is The Butcher’s Wife, a gluten-free Brazilian-inspired restaurant in Tiong Bahru that also serves up natural wine. 

The team strongly believes that food doesn’t have to be dull when you go gluten-free and wants to show that yummy food can be healthy and also good for your gut. Led by Brazil-born head chef Mariana Campos, who honed her cooking chops in Paris, this quaint spot at Yong Siak Street has dishes for every palate, no matter your health goals. 

If you’re not sure where to start, we’d dive right into the Mushroom Forest (S$22), a portobello confit served on a bed of sweet potato puree and whipped feta, topped pickled shimeji, crispy enoki and chermoula (a North African herb sauce). 

We also wouldn’t leave without trying the sweet potato gnocchi (S$28), made with sweet potato and buckwheat flour — it’s so good you probably wished you knew of it sooner. The pasta is paired with mushrooms and a silky herb and garlic butter sauce, topped with crispy kale. It’s as the Brazillians will say: Que delicia!

7. For the Wok Wizard: Quan Shui Wet Market

Entrepreneur Centre, B1-01, 50 Tagore Lane
Open: Tuesday to Sunday (9am to 6pm)

If you’re a Wok Wizard and consider the kitchen your domain, then you’d probably want to cook for your date — to flex those wok skills, but also to showcase your love language of cooking, best. 

Sure, you could always head to the nearest supermarket to shop for supplies, but why go for a mainstream spot when you can head to Quan Shui Wet Market? Located at Upper Thomson, Quan Shui Wet Market’s flagship store is what you’d call a modern wet market — it’s dry, air-conditioned, and even has Instagrammable spots for you to chill or take photos with your date at. 

Quan Shui first began as Quan Shui Fresh Pork in 1968 when the OG man himself Oh Quan Shui began selling fresh pork to provide for his family. As the years went by, Oh’s grandchildren decided on a rebrand, launching Quan Shui Wet Market, a concept that offers fresh wet market produce, either by delivery, or through its flagship Upper Thomson store. 

We like that not only is this store super cutesy with its retro old-school furnishings, but there’s also childhood games that you can play (a perfect date ice-breaker, amirite?). Its friendly crew are also always on standby to provide recipe suggestions and if you really don’t know what to cook — it even has meal kits!

8. For the One Island-Sider in the east: Fico 

1300 East Coast Parkway 
Open: Monday to Wednesday (5.30pm to 10.30pm), Thursday and Friday (11.30am to 3pm, 5.30pm to 10.30pm), Saturday and Sunday (11.30am to 10.30pm)

As a lifelong east-sider, I hold on strongly to the saying: “East side, best side”, because the east side is truly where some of the best eats are. If you’re a loyal One Island-Sider who also believes the east side is superior, then Fico at East Coast Park is a great spot to bring your date to, to show them the best of what the east has to offer. 

A concept by the Lo & Behold Group, Fico has been wildly popular since it first opened in mid-2023 thanks to its unbeatable seaside views and impeccable food. It even received a Michelin Bib Gourmand list for Singapore this year. 

The fare there is produce-centred and is strongly inspired by food from the Puglia coastal region in Italy, from which its head chef Mirko Febbrile hails. If you want to impress your date, get the spaghetti cacio e pepe (S$26) — your pasta will be tossed in a giant wheel of pecorino cheese before being plated, right in front of you. 

Now, if you happen to be an east-sider who’s more than willing to travel long-distance for love (as you should!), then you might also want to give the following a go:

9. For the One-Island-Sider in the west: Air 

25B Dempsey Road
Open: Wednesday to Friday (11.15am to 3pm, 5.30pm to 11pm), Saturday and Sunday (11.30am to 3pm, 5pm to 11pm)

When Air first opened, we were enamoured by its vast circular campus located at Dempsey. It’s a restaurant, campus and a cooking club all in one, set against a lush, gorgeous green backdrop. 

It has recently launched a new lunch menu with a two-course meal starting at S$58, a wallet-friendly price for the quality it delivers, as well as its inviting ambience. You can choose from items such as marinated heirloom tomatoes or grilled young cabbages for a starter, followed by a glazed kampong chicken or spiced lion’s mane mushroom for your mains.

Speaking of mushrooms, if you do make it for dinner instead, we loved its crispy mushrooms (S$30), served with pickled chilies and garden herb spice, which reminded us of fried chicken, sans the guilt.

This article is in partnership with Bumble. 

For more date ideas, check out our list of the latest openings in town.