Hot wings and tacos, Japanese curry rice and tom yum soup, nasi padang and laksa – can you handle some of the spiciest food in Singapore?
Hey there spice-meisters, think you can handle the heat? Singapore’s home to various foods from various cuisines, catering to all sorts of palates – yes, including you spice sadists who love a lil’ burn in your belly. We’ve sussed out some notorious dishes in Singapore that teeter between the levels of scarily spicy and painfully scrumptious, for all your chilli cravings. From Japanese curry rice and Mexican tacos, to nasi padang and fish head curry, why don’t you boldly conquer this list from one spicy food to another? We’ve got nothing to say but simply, good luck and enjoy the burns!
Chilli crab from Long Beach Seafood
Singapore’s number one culinary export to the world is none other than chilli crab, but honestly, we don’t think this thick, creamy, vermillion gravy is spicy at all! Good for beginners to Singapore spice culture, the sweet chilli crab sauce simply begs you to mop up every bit of it with your choice of steamed or fried mantous.
Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, 5 outlets including East Coast Parkway & Dempsey.
Sambal stingray from Chomp Chomp Food Centre
Stingray meat hasn’t really caught on in the West, but hey, more for us right? It’s a simple dish, so the devil really is in the details. Chomp Chomp BBQ serves up a stellar example of this dish that’s marinated in sambal much longer than most other stalls, so the strands of meat are soaked in spicy goodness.
Chomp Chomp Food Centre, 20 Kensington Park Road, Singapore 557269.
Hot wings from Sunset Grill & Pub
Heard of The Level 30 Challenge? Walk past Sunset Grill on a weekend night, and chances are you’ll see at least one diner sweating bullets, face contorted in agony while sitting in front of a plate of fiery red chicken wings. If anecdotes are to be believed, the fumes from these wings are enough to get eyes watering even across the table. Keep down the entire serving of six wings and you’ll get your photo taken and displayed on the wall of fame.
Sunset Grill & Pub, 259 Jalan Kayu, Singapore 799488. p. 6482 0244.
Spicy Japanese curry rice from Coco Ichibanya
Revered by the Japanese themselves, this largest curry restaurant chain in the world (as certified by Guinness World Records) is your go-to spot for some super spicy Japanese curry rice. Here, your plate of curry is entirely customisable – the quantity of rice; the quantity of curry; choice of toppings; and also the level of spiciness. Up for crazy hot Japanese curry? You can always set the spiciness of your curry to its highest level – the notorious level 5. Brace yourselves!
Coco Ichibanya, available at several outlets including 313@Somerset and The Star Vista.
Threadfin fish curry from Lagnaa Barefoot Dining
A quintessential Indian Restaurant that provides the authentic experience of barefoot dining and Indian food, Lagnaa Barefoot Dining also serves truly hot spicy but delectable Indian cuisines. Here, you can also choose the level of spiciness of the food you’ll be devouring. And to ensure that customers do not overestimate their abilities to consume spicy food, the restaurant has a policy where you can only try up to spiciness level 6 before you can tackle levels 7 to 10. A must-try here is definitely its threadfin fish curry at level 6 – we’re pretty sure this’d make you sweat!
Lagnaa Barefoot Dining, 6 Upper Dickson Road, Singapore 207466, p. 6296 1215. Open daily 11.30am-10.30pm.
Hot Tacos from Lower East Side Taqueria
How hot can you go? Take on the Lower East Side Taqueria’s ultimate taco hotness challenge (at the risk of your taste buds) and the tacos are on the house. You’ll have to deal with the taqueria’s Level 5 hot sauce slathered all over your tacos (for $18, you can choose any taco on the menu). Survive this, and you’ll win the respect of the Mexicans themselves.
Lower East Side Taqueria, 19 East Coast Rd, Singapore 428746, p. 63481302. Open Mon-Fri 12-11pm, Sat-Sun 10am-11pm.
Tom Yum Soup from Nana Thai
If it’s gloomy out and you want something light and spicy to perk you up, head down to the Thai enclave of Golden Mile Complex for steaming bowl of seafood tom yum soup. There are countless Thai eateries in the building, but our tried and tested favourite is Nana Thai. The soup here is perfectly balanced, hitting just the right amounts of spice and sourness. You’ll probably need something to cool off, so make sure you order a glass of their incredibly creamy and sweet Thai Milk tea, served with crushed ice.
Nana Thai, 5001 Beach Road, Golden Mile Complex, Singapore 199588.
Spaghetti from Hell – Southwest Tavern
Why would you need to sign an indemnity form before eating a plate of spaghetti? Well, you better –especially if you’re planning to take on The Spaghetti From Hell Challenge! Once you sign the waiver, you’ll be tasked with consuming the entire plate of Spaghetti From Hell ($28) within 10 minutes. No easy feat, considering the sauce is made with Trinidad Scorpion Butch T and Bhut Jolokia, some of the world’s spiciest strains of pepper. An oh, you’re not allowed even a sip of water ’til the plate is clean.
Southwest Tavern, 8 Boon Lay Way, Singapore 609964. p. 6515 4303.
God Fire ramen from Ikkousha Hakata Ramen
If you like ramen and spicy food, look this way. One of the best Hakata-style ramen on our tropical island, Ikkousha Hakata Ramen offers the God Fire ramen if you’d like a spicy wallop to your palate. Specially created for the Singapore market, the God Fire spicy ramen will definitely challenge your passion for the Japanese comfort food, especially when it’s packing heat fiery enough for the Gods.
Ikkousha Hakata Ramen is available at several outlets.
Hadoken Burger from Dojo
Specialising in gourmet pork burgers, the guys from Dojo offer a cheekily-named burger that’ll spice up your life – literally. Try its Hadoken Burger – pork patty topped with spicy Asian chilli con carne, onions, cheese and bacon bits. Best of all – this edible spicy goodness doesn’t cost over $15.
Dojo, 72 Circular Road, Singapore 049426, p. 6438 4410.
Korean stew from Masizzim
Masizzim is prepped to set fire to your tastebuds with its sizzling beef, pork and chicken stews. Ordering is simple: choose a meat ($18 for beef, $16 for pork or chicken), pick a level of spiciness from one to four, then choose between Korean udon and glass noodles. End your meal on a sweet note with some of its homemade Sikhye – a sweet, cooling concoction made from rice and malted barley. Reasonable prices and the laid-back industrial-chic decor make Masizzim a great place to catch up with friends after work.
Masizzim, #B3-02, 313 Somerset. p. 6509 5808. Open Sun-Thu 11am-10pm, Fri-Sat 11am-11pm.
Spicy Korean fried chicken from Chicken Up
Marinated 12 hours and fried only to order, you can bet your last napkin you’ll get a piping-hot, freshly-made plate of fried chicken. You’ve got several flavours to choose from here, including the classic dry Spicy Up, the saucy soya chicken wings and the Yangnum Chicken (honey sauce with just a hint of spice). If you happen to be here with a group (the fried chicken experience is best shared with friends!), make sure you order the watermelon soju punchbowl: half a watermelon with its insides slushed up and mixed with a whole bottle of soju – perfect to cool you down.
Chicken Up, full list of locations here.
Ma La Steamboat at Hai Di Lao
Oh steamboat, we just can’t get enough of this piping hot delight that’s perfect for big gatherings, or a cold, rainy day. But where do you go for the spiciest steamboat experience? The famous Hai Di Lao, of course! If you can handle the heat, choose the fiery Sichuan soup base – a soup that’s filled with a lot of ma la (mouth-numbing Sichuan peppers) that will leave you gasping for some ice cold water. We hear the bathroom experience that follows is not particularly pleasant.
Hai Di Lao, 3 locations including Clarke Quay & 313@Somerset.
Laksa from 363 Katong Laksa
Thick rice noodles in a rich, spicy broth and a generous serving of prawns and cockles? Sign us right up! While the dish has many regional renditions, we’ve got to show some love to our own local variation, Katong laksa. In this version, the noodles are cut into smaller pieces so you can eat the entire dish with just a spoon; perfect for those of you who haven’t mastered the art of using chopsticks, and perfect for those who would like to sip the spicy broth bit by bit.
363 Katong Laksa, 29 Lorong Liput, Singapore 277740.
Maggi goreng from Al-Azhar Eating Restaurant
Why go for the typical mee goreng (fried noodles) when you can have maggi goreng? A clever spin-off from the original dish, maggi goreng is basically mee goreng but using the instant Maggi noodles instead of the usual yellow noodles. Get the spicy savoury Indian maggi goreng, topped with a sunny side-up and accompanied with a plate of cucumbers drenched in tomato sauce – then you’ll experience the kick when devouring this uber delish dish. And to complete your meal, you should get a Milo Dinosaur to complement your plate of fiery tasty maggi goreng – nom nom!
Al-Azhar Eating Restaurant, 11 Cheong Chin Nam Rd, Singapore 599736.
Fiery Ribs from Dallas Restaurant & Bar
Turning 10 in style, this American bistro entered a new chapter when it recently unveiled its gorgeous, glass-housed outlet at Suntec City’s Sky Garden. Apart from its new, watch out for its full rack of Fiery Ribs (complemented with red cabbage slaw and potato wedges) that’ll test your spice tolerance.
Dallas Restaurant & Bar, #03-302/303 Suntec City Sky Garden, 3 Temasek Boulevard, Singapore 038983, p. 6333 4068. Open Sat-Wed 11.30am-12am, and Thu-Fri 11.30am-1am.
Nasi padang from Warong Nasi Pariaman
Hard to ignore a reputation of being arguably the longest-surviving nasi padang stall in Singapore, Warong Nasi Pariaman near Kandahar Street also is known for its medley of dishes that can be pretty spicy. A go-to food haunt for many Muslims who visit the nearby Sultan Mosque for prayers, must-tries include its signatures like asam pedas (fish with asam sauce), tender beef rendang and spicy sambal goreng (comprising tofu and long beans). For your own safety, ensure that you’ll have several glasses of ice water and lots of tissues near you when you’re about to devour this meal.
Warong Nasi Pariaman, 736/738 North Bridge Road, Singapore 198704, p. 6292 2374. Open daily 7.30am-10.30pm.
