To the uninformed, food recommendations by the Michelin Guide may be perceived to be pricey.

But in reality, that isn't always the case.

YouTuber Strictly Dumpling, who goes by Mike Chen, recently explored Singapore while eating only Michelin-recognised food establishments for 24 hours.

In what might be a shock to some, he managed to find a couple of affordable gems in the heartlands.

It could potentially be cheaper than how much you paid for lunch earlier. 

Mornings along the Beach (Road)

Mike was up bright and early, and his first stop was Sing Lung HK Cheong Fun along Beach Road.

He was excited to have a taste of the famous chee cheong fun from this humble stall.

And can you blame him? The stall has been in existence for only a year and it has already been awarded with a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

After one bite from the shrimp rice noodles, Mike gave a bold statement: "This is some of the best rice noodles I've had in Singapore."

From the velvety rice rolls to the plump shrimp filling, everything just comes together to form a "ridiculous" mouthfeel for him.

All that at just $4.50 a plate.

The YouTuber also ordered a serving of mushroom rice noodles and century egg pork congee. Unsurprisingly, neither dishes disappointed him.  

Round two at Alexandra Village Food Centre

Despite a rather heavy breakfast, Mike's morning munch was far from over.

The food trail brought him to Bukit Merah to have a whole lot of chicken.

Xiang Jiang Soya Sauce Chicken specialises in, well, soya sauce chicken. He opted for a large order of its speciality, paired with some wanton noodles.

Describing the meat as tender, Mike seemed to enjoy the sweet sauce lathered on top, giving the dish a "sweet layer of umami".

This man loves chicken, especially when he's in Singapore.

"For a while, when I was living in Singapore, I was eating Hainanese chicken pretty much every single day," he admitted.

Thankfully, there was a Michelin-stamped food stall selling just that within the same food centre, Zi Jing Cheng Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice.

Eating a $5 plate of chicken rice, it truly looked like Mike had found his happy place.

Going upscale for dinner

Dinner, however, was going to be different.

Mike was dressed to the nines when he showed up at Restaurant Born for some fine-dining. 

This nine-course tasting menu would set him back $368.

Despite being at the complete opposite side of the price range that morning, Mike was fully immersed in his fine-dining experience.

Not only was he impressed by the flavours, the presentation and creativity shown by the kitchen team at Born were just as top-notch.

The aged beef and oyster fried bao hit all the right spots, and Mike was definitely a big fan of the "melt in your mouth wagyu" found within the bao.

Speaking of creativity, ever thought of pairing white chocolate with an artichoke?

This bowl of magic has a Jerusalem artichoke puree with delicate shavings of creamy white chocolate.

There's also burnt butter and caviar to add a savoury element to the dish.

"This is just exquisite," Mike said.

While he's enjoying this fancy meal in town, some netizens were pulled towards his early morning bites instead.

"I love Singapore’s hawker culture; cheap, yummy, down to earth and lively," one succinctly summarised.

For Mike, he's just a food lover through and through.

He understands that you can discover a whole range of delicious food in Singapore, and at different price points too.

What his latest YouTube video proves is that you can even filter it to food joints recognised by Michelin.

ALSO READ: '100% worth it': Foodie YouTuber Strictly Dumpling calls this $228 buffet the best in Singapore

amierul@asiaone.com

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