I ate at ALL the food stalls in Rasapura Masters, the Marina Bay Sands Food Court, Singapore, so that you don't have to! Many are bad, a few are good. To find out which is which, read on!
Marina Bay Sands is one of the best places to visit in Singapore, be it for tourists or locals. Whether you're looking to shop, dine at high class restaurants (Chinese, Japanese, or otherwise), enjoy the sunset over the Bay, or explore beautiful gardens, there's something for you.
If it's one thing the Marina Bay Area lacks, it's a decent hawker centre, where you can try Singaporean local dishes!
The closest you can get to that is the MBS Food Court, Rasapura Masters, which has a huge range of stalls and is probably the most affordable option for a mealor a coffee at MBS. (It'll set you back about S$10-$15/ US$7-12 for a meal.)
The rooftop bar is great and all but it is pricey!
Is Rasapura Masters worth visiting?
If you're expecting something the same standard and price as a hawker centre, you'll be disappointed. The food here is more expensive than at a hawker centre- bigger portions though- and the cooking is not as good.
However, it doesn't mean that the food is bad- it's just that the standard of hawker centres is too high! You can still get a decent meal here if you know which stall to patronize- some are quite bad, in my opinion- and it is one of the few places at Marina Bay Sands where you can dine for under S$20.
I've eaten at ALL the food stores there- some more than once!- so scroll down to see which are better than others. (I'll slowly update this list to include all of them.)
Note: alternatively, you can walk to the open air Makansutra Gluttons Bay at Esplanade!
Recommended For
- An affordable Meal
- Trying Singapore's famous local food, such as chicken rice and char kway teow
Getting There
The easiest way to get to Marina Bay Sands Food Court is to take the MRT and alight at Bayfront. There's direct access to Marina Bay Sands Shoppes, the shopping centre where the food court is located. You'll have to walk all the way to the other end of the mall to get to the food court.
When you see a large light display hanging from the third floor down to ground floor (Digital Light Canvas), you'll know you're there.
Address: B2-50, The Shoppes, Bayfront Avenue (Closest to Hotel Tower 3)
Closest MRT: Bayfront
Opening Hours: 7 days a week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (Not all the stalls are open for breakfast but you'll be able to get a drink and some dim sum. The Dim Sum is not great though. Canton Paradise and Tim Ho Wan are better.)
Expert Tips
Tip #1: As the cheapest and most diverse place to eat at MBS mall, the food court is almost always crowded. If you don't like crowds- or need a lot of room to maneuvre your mobility device- I would avoid recommending dinner time from Thursday to Saturday, where it's almost impossibly packed. (And noisy.) You may have a hard time getting a seat.
Tip #2: Some of the food comes sizzling hot, served on hot plates, so be very carefully when getting up from your chair (to avoid knocking into someone carrying food behind you.)
Tip #3: The tables come with chairs- not benches, unlike some hawker centres, so they're easier to sit at. (You can also move the chairs aside and just wheel your wheelchair to the table.)
Tip #4: This is a cheap and (maybe not so) cheerful kind of place, so don't expect smiles and customer service. It's more along the lines of order your food, take it, and go.
Tip #5: For the closest washrooms, use the malls' public restrooms.
Food Options
As with all hawker centres, you get a bit of everything here: Indian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (as in China, not Singaporean Chinese), and, of course, local Singaporean food.
The only thing missing is Western food. (However, Western food at food courts and hawker centers in Singapore bear very little resemblance to the food you actually get in America or Europe! If you're craving a taste of home, I recommend trying one of the many Western restaurants at MBS instead. My personal vote for best restaurant is celebrity chef restaurant, Spago Singapore, located at the MBS Hotel, on the 57th floor. I do NOT recommend the Italian restaurant, LAVO.)
Seniors' Tip: If you're looking for something easy to chew, you may want to try the congee or the soup (but the soup comes with a fair bit of meat in it.)
Li Xin Teochew Fishball Noodles
One of the best places to eat fishballs in Singapore, as Lixin Teochew fishballs are made using 100% yellowtail fish, without preservatives, flour, or surimi. (They're handmade daily and taste very bouncy!) The stall dates back to a pushcart in 1968.
This is actually the stall that I return to the most often. Note that some of the more popular dishes sell out very early and it often has long queues.
If you're staying somewhere with a kitchen, you can even have the Li Xin fishballs delivered to you, so that you can try cooking them yourself!
Recommend: the fishballs, fishcake, and fish dumplings.
Note: I'm not a huge fan of their noodles though, as they're bit overcooked, and the sauce has too much of a tomato ketchup flavor for me. (Even though I asked for Spicy.) Basically, they taste OK but nothing to write home about.
Asian Soup Stall
This is one of the better options at MBS, if you ask me.
I had the Black Chicken Soup which I found almost as tasty as the one I ordered from MBS in-room dining (but, of course, not as refined.) If you want to learn how to make it, I have a recipe for a non-herbal Black Chicken Soup here.
However, Chinese Soup is quite an Asian taste so Western tourists may not find it that appealing. I mean, the poultry head sticking out of the vat of soup would put many of my American friends off before even tasting anything!!! (see above.)
Bak Kut Teh
Not bad, but I'm a big fan of bak kut teh, one of Singapore's signature dishes.
Note: unlike a proper bak kut teh restaurant, the soup here is sadly not refillable.
Yong Tao Foo
You can choose your own ingredients and have them in a healthier, clear soup, or in a creamy coconut laksa soup. I like this stall because it gives you the opportunity to eat more vegetables.
However, the soup bases aren't great. The laksa at Marina Bay Sands (in-room dining) is MUCH better than this. If I returned, it would only be because I wanted more veg. And I'd go for the clear soup.
Kok Kee Wonton Noodles
This was pretty good
Not quite as good as a hawker stall but something I'd be OK to eat again. The MBS Hotel in-room dining wonton soup was better but I preferred the dry version served here.
HK Nanyang
This was decent despite the weird name. (HK makes me think it would serve Hong Kong roasted meat or something like that!) The Chicken Rendang tasted pretty good and everything was also presented very nicely, in a mock traditional manner. It's a good place to try blue rice, or butterfly pea flower rice (i.e. rice that has been dyed using butterfly blue pea flower water.)
Verdict: I'd eat here again.
I'd recommend this to tourists who can take spice and would like to try some local fare.
Thye Hong
I was very disappointed by Thye Hong as the Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee at their other outlets used to be very good. (Hokkien Mee is the REAL Singapore Fried Noodles, made without curry powder.)
You have the option of luxe-ing up your noodles by adding fresh seafood, such as crayfish here.
The Hokkien Mee looked very promising, served on the traditional opeh leaf, but it had NO wok hei at all. (Wok hei is the smoky flavor that a good stir-fried dish should have after being cooked at super high temperatures.)
Huat Huat BBQ Chicken Wings
One of a chain of hawker stalls in Singapore, this is one of the better stalls at MBS. (The wings are barbecued on the spot, so how can you go wrong?)
The only thing is that BBQ chicken may not feel very "Singaporean" or as exotic as one would want on holiday!
Note: If you go after 8 pm, don't order the chicken thighs, because they'll re-heat previously cooked thighs. Order the chicken wings instead, which is freshly cooked.
The popiah filling is decent, but very dry towards the end of the day.
Odeon Beef Noodles
I had high hopes as this Chinese stall apparently dates back to 1948 but it was the worst stall I tried at MBS. The beef noodle soup was so bland and tasted almost like water!
Thye Hong meh (MBS CKT?), Bib G Yay, Dessert Yay,
Boon Tat Street BBQ Seafood
Originally a hawker at Boon Tat Street, you can get a variety of Singaporean seafood dishes here, such as shellfish and, my favorite, stingray.
To be honest, it's not quite as good as what you get at, say, Newton Hawker Centre.
Tip: many come with a chili sambal sauce, so won't be suitable for those who can't take spice!
China
Mala
There are a LOT of tourists from China who visit MBS, so a good reason to expect this to be worth visiting. Unfortunately, it wasn't. The flavors weren't balanced.
Verdict: I wouldn't go back.
Dingtele
This is a newer stall and pretty good actually! (Dingtele has been around in Singapore for a while but only opened at MBS in the last year or so.)
If you've always wanted to eat crispy Xiao Long Bao, you'll love their Shanghainese Sheng Jian Bao (one of my favorite things to eat at MBS.) The skin is not super thin, but with all that golden-brown crust, it's not an issue. Plus, the pork filling is generous and juicy! (For traditional Xiao Long Bao, head over to Ding Tai Fung, at the other end fo the mall.)
I've also tried the Noodles which is pretty good. This is one of the top food stalls at Rasapura Masters, in my opinion.
Verdict: would and have returned for the Sheng Jian Bao.
Asian
Hyang-To-Gol
The soondubu was SO unimpressive. I shudder to think what Korean tourists think of it! Shame as the cooking process looked very good.
Verdict: would not return. However, if you really want to earn Korean food, I believe it's the only place that serves Korean food at MBS (besides the hotel's in-room dining.)
You could walk to Marina Boulevard or Raffles Boulevard if desperate?
Indian Express
This was not great. The spices weren't aromatic enough.
If you're from the UK, you'll be disappointed by the Indian Curry here!
Japanese
Because fresh food is so important for Japanese food, I usually prefer to eat at a Japanese restaurant. (My favorite at MBS is Wakuda Singapore.)
Stay tuned as I continue updating the rest of the food stalls. Want a map of all the food stalls at Marina Bay Sands? Let me know in the comments and sign up to my mailing list!
Catherine Lim says
Odeon Beef Noodle stall at MBS Foodcourt is not related to the 1948 heritage Hwa Heng Beef Noodle which has expanded to 8 outlets innSingapore currently.
ALL2A says
Thanks for sharing Catherine- good to know!