Rice is the staple for us Asians. Is there anything better than rice? Well, fried rice of course! Fried rice is comfort food for the Asian soul. And all that talk about Uncle Roger and egg fried rice has got me seriously craving for a steaming plate of that fragrant goodness! But despite it being one of the most simple dishes to put together, it actually takes a great deal of skill to create the perfect plate of fried rice.
And what do we mean by that? For one, it cannot be too oily, the rice has to be fluffy with just the right amount of char, and the ratio of rice to ingredients needs to be just right. The perfect plate of fried rice is golden, piping hot and fragrant.
But we’re not here to talk about how amazing fried rice is. This article is about the best fried rice you can find in Singapore!
King of Fried Rice
When a shop declares themselves the “King”, their confidence definitely speaks volume about their dishes. Once a hidden eatery tucked away within the basement of Golden Mile, the King of Fried Rice has gained popularity since it was discovered by local food bloggers. Prices start from $6.80 per plate and you can choose from four types of fried rice: Mala, XO, Tom Yum, and Egg Fried Rice.
Each place comes with a pork cutlet or shrimps, and for a dollar extra you can also choose to add on ingredients like tobiko (fish roe), sunny side-up, spinach, asparagus, milk cabbage, shimeji mushrooms, cabbage or broccoli!
Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe
One of Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe’s signature dishes is their Signature Stir-Fried Rice, which has been crowned as customers' favourite since they were established. And it’s not surprising why – their fried rice is really some good stuff! It has an extremely robust wok hei which gave the dish a lot of depth of flavour. The chefs are also incredibly generous with their seafood and meats, so there’ll never be a spoonful of plain fried rice.
Din Tai Fung
Din Tai Fung needs no introduction, and there’s no way we can talk about fried rice without mentioning them. Every one of Din Tai Fung’s fried rice dishes consist of the basic egg fried rice recipe. We don’t know how they always manage to keep their rice light and fluffy without losing any of its amazing taste and fragrance!
Portions might be a bit small here, but the taste more than makes up for it. Their basic Egg Fried Rice is a favourite, their Pork Chop Fried Rice is great too, but my number one has to be their Shrimp Fried Rice.
CHICHI Dining
Here’s a plate of fried rice that’s not like the usual kinds of fried rice! The top chef-recommended item here is the Crab XO Fried Rice that’s made with Japanese pearl rice tossed in egg, sugar peas, nori (seaweed), and a special XO sauce that’s made in-house. All that yummy goodness is topped off with lumps of crab meat and tobiko.
If you’re a vegetarian, there’s something for you too! Their Fried Brown Rice ($16) features nutty, umami flavours as Japanese brown rice rice is tossed with generous amounts of egg, shiitake mushrooms, hijiki seaweed, garlic oil and garlic chips, all topped off with crisp-fried beancurd skin and spring onions.
Somerset Delicacies
This stall at Maxwell Food Centre might be overshadowed by the famous chicken rice and porridge stalls, but if you’re looking for a quick, affordable fix of delicious fried rice in the CBD area, this is the place to go to! There are different types of fried rice dishes you can order from here, from Spicy Belachan to Salted Fish Fried Rice. No matter what you order, what you’ll get is a plate of satisfying sinful fried rice that you return to for more.
Lè Fusion
Lè Fusion is a modern Chinese fusion restaurant and bar. New on their menu is the Rougie Foie Gras Tobiko Fried Rice, a surprising combination of fried rice with rich and creamy rougie foie gras, prawns, tobiko and ikura to deliver an umami-packed fried rice which will leave one craving for more!
Imperial Treasure Fine Shanghai Cuisine
Imperial Treasure Fine Shanghai Cuisine at Ngee Ann City is a great place to go to for some solid Chinese food, and one of their more popular dishes here is their Fried Rice in Yang Zhou Style. Their fried rice is incredibly colourful, speckled with yummy ingredients such as cubes of char siew, shrimp and green onion. If you like your fried rice well-flavoured but not too oily, this would be for you!
Paradise Dynasty
At first glance, Paradise Dynasty’s plate of Shanghai Fried Rice may not look like much, but we promise you it’s one of those dishes that tastes way better than it looks. Trying to stick to a diet and don’t like your fried rice too salty or oily? This dish is pleasantly light, and each grain of rice is evenly coated with egg. The rice also has a good mix of bits of meat in it, giving it great texture and flavour.
Tong Siew Fried Rice
Sometimes what we want isn’t a plate of fried rice from a fancy establishment, but a homely plate of fried rice that reminds us of our childhood. This humble stall at Pek Kio Market and Food Centre does that exactly! It’s straightforward and no-frills, made with egg, shredded chicken, sliced fish cake and topped with mini silverfish. Overall a simple and old-school dish which is both filling and super affordable (only $3!)