Geylang - East Coast Restaurants

This district is known predominantly for its Malay and Peranakan cuisine. Katong, on the east coast, is particularly good for Peranakan or Straits Chinese cuisine. This is a hybrid of Malay and Chinese dishes, a legacy left from the intermarriage between the Chinese traders, who came to the region at the end of the 19th century, and the Malay inhabitants. The men are referred to as ‘Babas’ and the women ‘Nonya’. Their cuisine is a blend of Chinese and Malay cooking techniques and revolves around the use of aromatic roots, spices, herbs and coconut milk. On East Coast Road, Nonya cake shops sell colourful sweets made with coconut milk, shredded coconut, palm sugar, rice flour and tapioca flour.

The area is also famous for its Singapore laksa – smooth rice noodles served in a rich, zesty gravy of coconut milk, spices, dried shrimp and chili with lashings of fresh prawns, cockles, fishcake, egg and dried bean curd. On the East Coast Parkway, a number of seafood restaurants have developed over the years by the beach.