15 Best Malaysian Restaurants in Singapore | Best of Food 2023

It’s getting near to that time of year again when the fasting month of Ramadan begins. It’s also a good opportunity to rediscover Malay cuisine, from traditional recipes to modern interpretations of classic meals. Nothing beats Malay food when you’re wanting powerful flavours and fragrant spices in Singapore. It always strikes the spot, whether it’s Nasi Padang drizzled with powerful chicken curry or sweet, freshly-made Putu Piring. Though Malay recipes have regional influences, some Malaysian restaurants usually modified these to suit local preferences and circumstances, making them different from their equivalents in neighbouring countries. With an extensive variety of Malaysian restaurants in the market, which then are the best  Malaysian restaurants in Singapore? Our Best of Food series introduces the 15 Best Malaysian Restaurants in Singapore, providing quality recommendations based on your lifestyle and budget needs.

Best Malaysian Restaurants in Singapore

1. Colony

Buffet restaurant with a touch of class

The restaurant itself is spectacular, with high ceilings and plenty of natural light, as well as furnishings in a neutral colour scheme. There are two sitting options: a more circular couch seat area or traditional table-and-chair arrangements. The Ice Bar (with seafood and cold appetisers), the Grill and Rotisserie, the Steam Basket, the Wok (local favourites), the Tandoor (Indian choices), a Fruit Stall, and the Patisserie are among the cuisine’s sections.  The dining hall was divided into two sections: the outer part had a gastronomy of appetisers, cheeses, sandwiches, and desserts; while the inner, heavier portion featured gastronomy of entrees, cheeses, sandwiches, and desserts. The heavier main-dish dishes were kept in the restaurant’s inner sanctum. Take, for example, the incredible noodle and laksa bar.

2. The Clifford Pier

Heritage weekend brunch buffet

Buffets are slowly getting popular in Singapore, and The Clifford Pier’s greatest unique feature is its historical history as a real pier for boats in the past. With a new weekend Heritage Dim Sum Brunch buffet menu, you can simply place your order with the staff, and the food will be made at individual live stations and given to your table. This is the current form of operation for most hotel buffets as part of safe distancing. Two main highlights of the Heritage Dim Sum Brunch buffet are Singapore native specialties and Dim Sum. Beverages are charged separately. Rojak, Satay, Nyonya Popiah and Kueh Pie Tee, Tiger Prawn Laksa, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Wok-Fried Carrot Cake, Indian Roti Prata, and more local specialties are available.

3. StraitsKitchen

Buffet for Malay notable dishes

StraitsKitchen, located within the Grand Hyatt hotel, provides a one-of-a-kind eating experience in the midst of the pandemic. Rather than a traditional buffet, the buffet spread is delivered straight to your table. Guests may choose from a wide range of local delicacies simply by informing any member of the service staff of their preferences. The dinner menu covers a broad variety of local ethnic specialties. The lunch menu is identical to the dinner menu, except it costs $10 less. The major courses are arranged into three broad groups, as one would anticipate from a cuisine inspired by the local culture: Malay, Chinese, and Indian. Appetisers, staples, and a variety of desserts are also available.

4. Mellben Signature

Beautifully presented seafood dishes

Another Malaysian restaurant is the Mellben Signature. The original Mellben Seafood restaurant in Ang Mo Kio is a famous crab and seafood specialty restaurant in Singapore, with a well-known name and reputation for high-quality seafood among Singapore’s foodies. Mellben Signature’s best-selling delicacies are identical to those at Ang Mo Kio, and they’re mostly crab dishes like Creamy Butter Crab and Claypot Crab Vermicelli Soup. Regulars prefer the latter, which has a milder broth with milk that is considered to be healthier than the stronger versions elsewhere. Mellben Signature’s meals are elegantly arranged and presented, which sets it apart from most other Chinese seafood specialty restaurants and makes it excellent for special events where aesthetics are important.

5. WANTON SENG’S Eating House @ Ann Siang

Local wanton noodles with an added flair

Wanton Seng’s Eating House was established as its founders’ way of paying respect to this specific street cuisine while adding their own and contemporary cultural influences into the eating experience, to preserve a piece of Singapore’s culinary history. While old favourites like Seng’s Char Siu Noodles and Signature Char Siu Noodles continue to be served, the restaurant continues to introduce new dishes that keep guests coming back for more. At Wanton Seng’s Eating House, innovative new items such as the HK Seafood Noodle Soup, Four Egg Noodles, and Mala Mince Meat Noodles will be available to complement their existing menu. For fellow hip-hop fans, the restaurant even has a terrific Spotify playlist.

6. Quentin’s Eurasian Restaurant

Homely Eurasian dishes

Quentin’s Eurasian Restaurant is located on Ceylon Road, just off Dunman Road, in the Eurasian Community House. The restaurant serves Eurasian cuisine created using family recipes that have been handed down through the years. Quentin’s Eurasian Restaurant has a large assortment of Eurasian foods on its menu. Quentin’s also offers set dinners for large groups, a children’s menu, and a weekend tea set menu. Pork Semur, Rempah Bread, and Corned Beef Fried Rice are on Quentin’s Eurasian Restaurant’s dinner menu. Sugee Cake and Iced Chendol are among the delicacies available. The bill would include GST and a service fee.

7. Jiak Modern Tzechar (Hillview)

Traditional meets contemporary dishes

Jiak Modern Tzechar aims to bring people together around a table to have great Tze char meals. Jiak Modern Tzechar was a Malaysian restaurant founded in 2016 in the Hillview neighbourhood to introduce traditional Tze char to Singapore’s Muslim population. Jiak’s Signature Fish Head Curry, made with freshly harvested fish head and garden veggies, is an undeniable Jiak favourite. The curry is served hot in a clay pot, and the scent of the boiling curry is guaranteed to pique your interest. Don’t forget to taste Jiak’s Claypot Golden Chicken while you’re there. Chicken chunks have been cooked to a crisp before being coated in a sweet and sour Thai-inspired sauce with chili padi.

8. Eight Treasures Vegetarian Restaurant

Popular vegetarian restaurant 

Eight Treasures Vegetarian Restaurant is a famous vegetarian restaurant in Chinatown, very next to the Singapore Buddha Tooth Relic temple. The vegetarian version, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, is more similar to shark fin soup. The soup is thick, gooey, and flavourful, containing ingredients including konnyaku shark’s fin, abalone, and sea cucumber. They also serve Fragrant Vegetable Yam Ring, which is a wonderful yam ring dish. Crispy on the outside, soft and velvety on the inside. Overall, Meatless does not mean Tasteless, as its motto suggests. Every meal is flavourful and vibrant and you can enjoy the texture and flavour combination of each dish, and it is far from bland.

9. J65 @ Hotel Jen Tanglin

Has a modern South-East Asian look

This bustling all-day dining restaurant, located on the lobby floor of Hotel Jen Tanglin, has been updated to resemble a modern South-East Asian market. It’s a variety mix of deli-style food with a strong presence on plant-based meals for their weekday lunch buffet, making it great for people searching for lighter and healthier alternatives. Roast Pumpkin and Beetroot, Kale with Quinoa, grilled veggie sandwiches, soups, and even brown rice sushi are among the healthy options available. An extraordinary buffet of the finest seafood, including oysters and entire tuna sashimi, is served for Sunday brunch, along with hand-carved meats, quality Iberico ham, and the iconic Sunday roast prime rib.

10. Metropolitan YMCA Singapore

Serves varieties of local favourites

It is a good venue to have family dinners, the restaurant serves a variety of local favourites. The clay pot curry fish head is clearly the standout, since it is mildly spicy, acceptable to most, and keeps the thickness you’d expect from a curry of this type and the fresh fish provided. Their trademark dish is a fish head curry that never disappoints. They also have buffets that appear to be reasonably priced. The Hokkien mee was as expected, including prawns and pork pieces. Overall, the cuisine is prepared to be appetising for everybody, and the quality is expected to be standard. It was nice that cold and hot water was provided without charge and on-demand.

11. Lai Bao Fish Head Steamboat 徕寶鱼头炉

Affordable home-cooked dishes

At Lai Bao, they put a lot of attention on bringing back old-school favourites like local zichar dishes, with a twist on a few of them. The Sixties Fish Head Charcoal Steamboat, with a soup base made over 10 hours, is the diner’s signature dish. Although the soup ladle is too large for the steamboat and you would have problems scooping out the soup, it was a credible take on this classic dish. The Seafood Lala Ying Yang Hor Fun is a trademark dish here for carbohydrates, with a blend of deep-fried hor fun giving crunch to the total mouthful.

12. Sea Scent

Relaxed casual dining restaurant 

Sea Scent, tucked away from the rush and bustle of city life and located on the border of Singapore’s southern shoreline, is the ideal place for nature enthusiasts. This is the best spot for a romantic wedding celebration for any couple. With Sea Scent’s magnificent tent draped with fairy lights, lush greenery of Labrador Park, and clashing sea waves of Keppel Harbourfront. Sea Scent is a casual dining restaurant with a laid-back vibe in Keppel Club. The restaurant is open to the public and offers both indoor and outdoor dining options.  A nearby sheltered children’s playground provides a delightful distraction for the kids.  Sea Scent also offers a diverse menu of cuisines, ranging from international to Western to Chinese banquets, all of which are suitable for family gatherings and special occasions like weddings and receptions. 

13. Daisy’s Dream Kitchen

Inherited home-cooked dishes

The warmly illuminated restaurant even has an area where the restaurant’s history is told on the wall among nostalgic Peranakan artefacts. Daisy’s Ngoh Hiang is first up; these pork, prawn, onion, and water chestnut Ngoh Hiang balls are wonderfully rolled in beancurd skin and cooked golden brown. They’re juicy and crisp, and the chilli dipping sauce is delicious. During celebrations like Chinese New Year, Bakwan Kepiting is a must-have meal in many Peranakan homes. The signature dish on the menu is Babi Buah Keluak. This will be prepared for a week. Instead of chicken, the nut’s fruits are delicately scooped out and combined with minced pork.

14. Bijan Restaurant

Malaysian fine dining restaurant

In Kuala Lumpur, where can you get delightful Malaysian desserts? Bijan Restaurant in Bukit Ceylon or Ceylon Hill is always the best Malaysian fine dining restaurant, according to most locals. They’ve worked hard to earn the title of best Malay fine dining restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. Opor Rusuk (Stewed Beef Ribs with Spices) is one of their most popular main meals. The beef ribs are well stewed. It has a delicate texture that melts in your tongue. Masak Lemak Udang Dengan Nenas, or prawns stir-fried with pineapple, is another popular dish. The sweetness comes through, as does the combination of light coconut milk and chilies.

15. Wok Palace

Has a refined dining concept with unique menu

Starting with humble beginnings, the restaurant is now expanding its wings to deliver a more refined dining concept with a unique menu and the addition of enticing new dishes while keeping some traditional Tze char favourites. The Ginseng Chicken Soup with Sea Whelk is a good way to start the meal. After that, a light appetiser of Scallop Roll with Braised Daikon and Pork Broth will be served. The minced pork, chopped carrots, water crest, and shrimp are wrapped in a paste created from sashimi-grade scallops. The beef cheek is the main course. It is a fork-tender and on the sweeter side of meat. Herbs and Chinese spices were hints in the sauce.

Above these places, we hope that our guide on the 15 Best Malaysian Restaurants in Singapore will help you to choose where to dine out among those Malaysian restaurants in Singapore. Please do share this along with your friends if you have found this useful. Do look forward to more buying guides that we will be releasing soon!