DAY 1
Lunch: Din Tai Fung
Unlike the U.S. locations, Din Tai Fung Singapore doesn’t post the allergy menu online but it is available in the restaurant and they even label which dishes “may contain” an ingredient!
Sightseeing:
We visited the Gardens by the Bay and the ArtScience Museum!
DAY 2
Lunch: Joie
We went to Joie for lunch, and it was an amazing experience! It’s a vegetarian “casual fine-dining” restaurant on the roof of Orchard Central and has a six-course menu for lunch and seven-course menu for dinner. When we sat down, the waiter asked if we had any dietary restrictions; he brought over a menu that was dairy/egg-free and one that was nut-free. They were extremely accommodating and helpful in answering all my questions! The six-course meal includes a chef’s choice starter (which had a vegan salmon sashimi—so cool!), starter (I had charcoal-coated tempura), soup (I got the potato cauliflower bisque and also tried my mom’s Japanese konbu broth with hand-carved tofu), main (wild rice with roasted eggplant), dessert (chocolate sorbet, fruit, and layered red bean and yam paste—this contained almonds), and a mocktail-style drink. When they served each course, they described the modification that was made (if one was necessary) so that I could be sure it was safe. Overall, I really recommend this restaurant! The views of the city are also really cool.
Treat: Kind Kones Forum
Kind Kones is a vegan ice cream shop so it’s great for people with dairy allergies! A lot of the flavors do contain nuts, but ingredient lists are posted online as well as an allergy statement.
Sightseeing:
We visited Orchard Road!
DAY 3
Lunch: Ananda Bhavan Restaurant
We had prata, thosai, and appam from this restaurant in Little India! There are signs about Jain and vegan options and I didn’t see any nuts on the menu either.
Dinner: Cedele Bakery Kitchen – Raffles City
This is a bakery/cafe serving more Western-style food. I did a BYO bowl with quinoa/lentils as the base, falafel as the protein, and tofu, carrots, broccoli, and grilled kabocha pumpkin as the toppings! The menu is very well-labeled (i.e. vegan, vegetarian, contains dairy) and the staff answered all my questions easily.
Treat: The Food Place by Food Junction
My family loves to get dessert in this food court in Raffles City because the window seats have a great view of Raffles Hotel and some other famous spots! Ice kacang is our favorite one to get, just without the sweet corn (contains dairy). Most of the Singaporean desserts like ice kacang, cendol, pulut hitam, etc. are gluten-free, nut-free, and vegan. The only thing that wouldn’t be is the sweet corn topping on cendol and ice kacang. I definitely recommend trying some of the local treats!
Sightseeing:
We went on the Singapore Flyer!
DAY 4
Lunch: Eight Treasures
This is a delicious Chinese restaurant in Singapore’s Chinatown! The menu shows which dishes have dairy. I tried the vegan satay which was super flavorful, even without the peanut sauce. We were able to confirm that there were no nuts used in the marinade. We also had the local spinach soup and Eight Treasures noodles made with a vegan fish that was really tasty!
Sightseeing:
We visited Ann Siang Hill and the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple!
DAY 5
Breakfast: Traditional Pancake
This is a stall at a hawker center in Ang Mo Kio that serves pancakes filled with black sesame, sweet red bean, coconut, etc. I’ve been a couple of times and asked about dairy/eggs, and the woman who works at the stall always assured me that the pancakes don’t contain either allergen. She also asked if I had allergies and said it was good to ask to be safe. Most hawker center stalls aren’t super accommodating of food allergies so I really like going to this one! Note that there is a pancake with peanuts so if you’re sensitive to cross contamination, it might not be the best option.
Lunch: Greendot Junction 8
This is a vegetarian restaurant with several locations around Singapore! The menu shows which items contain dairy and eggs. I tried the laksa which was amazing—usually it has seafood and sometimes dairy, so I was so happy I could finally try one of Singapore’s most famous dishes! I also tried a steamed mushroom bun which made for a great snack. One thing to note is that “plant-based” has different meanings in different places, so some of the items have dairy, but I was able to ask and confirm which ones I could eat. The “vegan” ones are all dairy/egg/meat-free though!
Treat: Fu Hua Soya Bean
This is a hawker center stall in Singapore that serves desserts made from soft soya bean curd (aka tofu!). It’s something I always like to have when I’m in Singapore because I can’t really find it anywhere else. I always order the set with sweet red bean, taro, mochi-like balls, tapioca pearls, and attap seeds. It’s topped with soy milk and a sweet syrup. Sometimes, I have this for breakfast, too! It’s naturally vegan, gluten-free, and nut-free; there is a designated spoon for each topping, so I wasn’t too worried about cross contamination.
