Another popular name with a Changi Airport branch is Swee Choon, whose flagship store in the grungy Jalan Besar neighborhood is a hotspot for celebrities seeking a late-night dim sum supper. While its polished Terminal 2 outlet lacks the gritty character of the main restaurant, it’s open round the clock, and many of Swee Choon’s bestselling items—like its mee suah kueh, a crispy noodle cake with shrimp—are available here.
Ten-minute bites at Changi Airport
No matter what hour it is, you can sample Singapore’s celebrated hawker fare at Singapore Food Street in the transit area of Terminal 3. This 24-hour food court is packed with popular stalls like Tai Wah Pork Noodle, where the zingy, vinegary noodles are a great perk-me-up, and Rong Cheng Bak Kut Teh, whose herbal pork broth makes for a comforting post-flight meal.
Over in T2, a visit to Ya Kun is a must for that quintessentially Singaporean all-day breakfast of kaya toast and rich, sweet coffee. Crave, a modern off-spin of one of the country’s most well-known nasi lemak stalls, is also worth seeking out for its star dish: bento boxes of aromatic coconut rice piled with your pick of toppings, like crispy whitebait or fried chicken. For a grab-and-go snack, drop by curry puff institution Old Chang Kee (in the transit areas of T2, 3, and 4) for its chunky chicken-and-potato-filled pastry parcels, or follow the queues at Jewel to the trendy Birds of Paradise ice cream parlor, where delicate botanical flavors like white chrysanthemum or lychee raspberry are dolloped onto fragrant, thyme-infused cones.
Best food gifts you can buy at Changi Airport
You can’t leave food-obsessed Singapore without bringing a few edible treats home, and Changi Airport is a one-stop-shop for some of the country’s most beloved food products. Top on many travelers’ lists is snack store Irvins, which has five locations across the airport. The bestsellers here are the packs of potato chips and crispy fish skin sprinkled with salted egg and curry leaves, which come with the very real warning that they are ‘dangerously addictive.’
For the sweet-toothed, there are pillowy roll cakes from Rich & Good on the first level of Jewel. They melt in the mouth, but when armored in their pastel pink boxes, are tough enough to survive a flight. While the coconut-laced kaya version is a crowd favorite, more adventurous foodies may want to try the pungent durian flavor (just make sure you keep it sealed in-flight). And at nearby Indonesian-style traditional bakery Bengawan Solo, a familiar sight in many local neighborhoods, you won’t go wrong with a tub of crunchy prawn rolls or pineapple tarts—tasty bites that will remind you of your travels well after you’ve stepped off the plane.
