Kampong Glam: From Brunch to Tasting Menu

Explore Kampong Glam in Singapore’s with me in a day! This is my second time in Singapore with the Singapore Tourism Board. Today, we’re enjoying a tour of Kampong Glam, Singapore’s Malay-Muslim hub. We’re doing every activity we can, from enjoying brunch and tasting menu in the area to a sidecar city tour! Check out my itinerary to explore everything this uniquely historical area has to offer!

Kampong Glam: Historic Muslim-Malay Neighborhood

I am so so happy to be here in Singapore. Yesterday, we went on a full day of Singapore traditional hidden gem foodie adventure. Today is going to be another foodie adventure day with the Singapore Tourism Board, exploring Kampong Glam and the fusion of Singapore’s modern and traditional food cultures.

Kampong Glam has to be one of the coolest and most vibrant neighborhoods here in Singapore. Once home to Malay royalty, it’s now a colorful mix of heritage, art, food, and fashion. Here, traditions and modern creativity blend so perfectly together. Around the area, the streets are lined with local boutiques, perfume shops, textile stores, and cozy cafes. It’s the kind of neighborhood you can just spend hours just wandering around. 

Modern Singaporean Brunch at Acoustic

We start off our morning at Acoustic Coffee Bar, a cozy yet stylish cafe close to Little India. This little brunch spot is known for taking classic Singapore flavors and giving them a modern creative twist. It’s early in the morning, so I started with matcha latte ($6) first. But, I couldn’t miss their other yummy cafe drinks. I especially love their iced cloud drinks ($8): Iced Acoustic Cloud, Iced Honey Jasmine Cloud, and Iced Pandan Cloud. In my opinion, these are the must-orders!

Next, we got to enjoy a spread of their brunch options, where every bite feels both nostalgic and new. I love that we have a group here, because it means we can really try more things on the menu! One of the unique ingredients they have here is their 36-hour braised pork, featured in three of the items from our breakfast:

• Owen’s Breakfast (S$24) – Bao, scrambled egg, 36 hour braised pork belly, salad, braised pickled shiitake
• Assam Kicap Pulled Pork Toasties (S$20)- Sourdough with braised pulled pork, assam kicap, orange cheddar, mozzarella, side salad
• Duo Bao ($10)- Steam bao wrapped with 36 hour braised pork belly, pickled mushroom and another bao wrapped with roasted chicken and sweet sriracha sauce

Pork belly isn’t the only thing to get here. They also have other signature item like Sweet Tamarind Chicken Bites (S$14), the Laksa-like Acoustics Curry Pasta (S$20) with tiger prawns, house curry sauce, cherry tomatoes, and dried tofu puff​, and the Grilled Rice ($18) with roasted rempah infused chicken thigh. You taste familiar ingredients like sambal, kaya, and pandan, but reimagined in a way that feels fresh and exciting.

We ended our meal with their yummy desserts. Acoustics Brownie ($10) were served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. But, the real fun one is the Pandan Tiramisu (S$10), with pandan mascarpone, black cold brew coffee, biscuit fingers, coconut shavings, sweet potato powder. It was delicious, and brightly colored with that purple and green.

I’ll be honest, I’m usually a little bit hesitant when it comes to fusion food. But everything here was so well done. The dishes respected traditional flavors while introducing something new. It’s that perfect balance of tradition meets creativity and gets a 7.5/10 from me! In a city as fast-paced as Singapore, Acoustics Coffee Bar is the perfect spot to pause, unwind, and recharge. 

Sultan Mosque

Right in the center is Sultan Mosque, a mosque with a gorgeous golden dome that you can spot almost anywhere in the neighborhood. This is one of Singapore’s national monuments, built first in the early 1800s, then rebuilt in the 1920s. The base of the gold dome also shows a ring of black glass, which was donated by the locals in the community during construction.

The mosque is open to the public, and free enter inside. Since it is an active religious center, you must remove your shoes and cover up shoulders and knees before entering. Don’t worry, the mosque provides cover-ups while you’re visiting! Inside, you can admire the vast prayer hall with its massive golden dome overhead, the elegant horseshoe arches and stained-glass windows lining the walls.

Teh Tarik on Arab Street

One tea spot you have to try is Tarik, located on Arab Street, for some Malay-style Iced Teh Tarik (S$4.5). This literally means “pulled tea” in Malay. It is a strong black tea mixed with condensed milk poured between two cups until super frothy and creamy. It’s so mesmerizing watching the staff pouring the tea back and forth in such a tall stream again and again!

If the classic pulled tea isn’t your thing, they also have a menu full of other tea flavors, like saffron, pandan, and ginger. We also ordered Teh Limau (S$4), which I loved so much. It’s a black tea mixed with calamasi lime juice and sugar. It is tangy, slightly citrusy, and the perfect pick-me-up on a hot day. So refreshing!

Belimbing Tasting Menu

One of my all-time favorite restaurants here in Singapore is the Coconut Club. So, you know, I was so excited to try Belimbing, their new generation Singaporean restaurant located right above it on Beach Road. Walking in, this place was absolutely stunning. Modern, simple, but still super warm and inviting.

We came here for their four course tasting menu (S$88), which reimagines local flavors with fresh, creative ways. Each dish also pairs perfectly with their refreshing cocktails. It starts with a bite-sized charcoal Prawn Kueh pie tee, and continues with cold starter, a communal course, hot starter, and a main dish.

The Smoked Wagyu Ox Tongue was cut into super thin, tender slices, with chinchalok, or shrimp paste, and creamy stracciatella and bright starfruit juice. Next is The communal dish Crispy Meesua, served with two sauces, and a pineapple hazelnut salad.

The Clam Custard, a Singaporean twist on Japanese chawanmushi, or steamed egg, was amazingly packed with umami. It has tons of scallops, with slightly spicy white pepper and assam pedas. Finally, their main courses included options like crispy fried chicken with yellow curry and their grilled short ribs that literally melted in my moth. Both were served with their signature Coconut Club coconut rice that tied everything so perfectly together.

Honestly, every single dish blew me away. Every dish was thoughtful, balanced, flavorful, and beautifully done. Even though the portions were bite-sized, we left so full, so happy, and already planning our next visit back. Kudos to the chef because this is one of our favorite meals from this trip!

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