'Crazy pricing': Tourist in Singapore amazed by meals under US$5 in 'world's most expensive city'

Singapore's reputation for being an expensive city would understandably make some foreigners wonder if it's possible to get an affordable meal here. 

And many have discovered that it can be done. 

One tourist who recently did so is Grif, who hails from the US.

In a YouTube video on Monday (Feb 18), he documented the cheap eats he found at Tiong Bahru Market.

"Prior to coming to Singapore, we did some research to figure out the best hawker centres to visit when coming to Singapore.

"And Tiong Bahru Market came in the top five of places we have to visit here," shared Grif, who also visited places such as Amoy Street Food Centre and Little India.

US$4 curry rice and more 

The first dish he got was from the famous Loo's Hainanese Curry Rice, which took over the double unit space that was once occupied by Original Tiong Bahru Golden Pig & Roasted.

Grif ordered himself a plate of curry rice with breaded pork chop and braised pork for just US$4 (S$4.80).

"The value of this rice plate is only $4 for all this stuff. Crazy pricing!" he said. 

He also noted that the stall had the longest queue in the hawker centre. 

But was it worth the wait?

Grif sure did seem to think so, praising the food. 

"The curry flavour is really good and the pork chop is super tender," he described. 

Next up, Grif tried the Hokkien mee from Hong Heng Fried Sotong Prawn Mee, a Michelin Bib Gourmand stall. 

He got a plate for US$3 and was immediately blown away upon first bite. 

"Wow, the flavour is spot on!" he exclaimed, adding that he wasn't expecting this as the ingredients looked "very simple". 

Grif added that the price was "very affordable". 

"This is a small [size], and it's quite a bit for a small." 

In between the feasting, Grif also got himself a refreshing cup of chestnut and sugarcane drink from Guan Huat for just US$1. 

Then, he ordered wonton noodles for US$4.50 from another famous stall in the food centre — Zhong Yu Yuan Wei Wanton Noodle. 

Grif shared that he wanted to try the wonton noodles with the stall's popular premium char siew.

Unfortunately, they were sold out for the day. 

"Good flavour, but I really would really have been excited to try the premium char siew," he said. 

The final items Grif got from the food centre were some peanut and coconut pancakes for US$0.75 each from Tiong Bahru Mian Jian Kueh. 

"Ooh wow!" he said happily as he bit into the peanut pancake. 

"The pancake batter is so light and fluffy," he described, adding that it was "so good". 

Reasonable prices, quality food

In the video captions, Grif concluded that he found the food centre "really nice", especially with the breezy open courtyard area in the centre. 

He was also very pleased with the price points of all the meals he had. 

"The one thing I was surprised with was the prices of the food. They were very reasonable and everything I ate was under US$5," he shared.

"The portion size was good, and the quality of the food was really good at every location I stopped by."

ALSO READ: These tourists spend a day in Singapore on a US$100 budget, 'shocked' by outcome

melissateo@asiaone.com