1. Mandarin Chicken Rice
A Singapore-themed dinner party just wouldn’t be complete, would it, without a serving of chicken rice? And while you’re at it, you might as well send for the most iconic flag bearer for the dish: the version prepared by the Mandarin Orchard Singapore’s Chatterbox restaurant.
Introduced the same day the hotel opened its doors to discerning guests in 1971, Chatterbox’s Mandarin Chicken Rice is made with unbeatably tender chicken paired with hand-grated ginger and chilli and dark soy sauces concocted according to recipes that are highly guarded till this very day.
$28.90 from Chatterbox, Mandarin Orchard Singapore
2. Do-It-Yourself Hokkien Popiah
Nothing ushers in National Day more aptly than hosting an interactive, wrap-it-yourself popiah party at home. But if you don’t have time to spend the morning prepping your mise en place, order yours from the good folks behind 40-year-old Chinese restaurant, Good Chance Popiah.
They’ll cook and divide the ingredients into separate components and send them right to your doorstep so you and your guests can have fun wrapping them in the proportions you each prefer. The ‘bang kuang’, or yam bean popiah filling, in Good Chance Popiah's popular wraps are simmered in a claypot with at least six ingredients including cabbage, carrot, long beans, bamboo shoots, garlic and shrimps, making for an aromatic party of flavours.
$19.80 from Good Chance Popiah
3. Kueh Pie Tee
How does one outdo a popiah party? How about making it a double by setting up a make-it-yourself kueh pie tee dinner station at home too? A popular snack of Peranakan origin, kueh pie tee is a thin and crispy pastry tart shell filled with a sweet and spicy mix of thinly sliced turnips, vegetables and prawns.
The Peranakan’s pie tee party set comes unassembled so you can gather your old kakis (friends) around the table for a hands-on experience as you warmly reminisce Singapore's past victories and golden moments of yesteryear.
$25 from The Peranakan
4. The Little Red Dot Burger
Are there foreign palates among your guestlist, or are the little ones bawling for their burger fix? Fete the melting pot of East and West that we are by adding the Butcher’s Club’s specially designed Little Red Dot Burger to your dinner spread.
Specially created for this National Day, the Little Red Dot Burger is an homage to the everybody's favourite chicken satay, and features a 140g grilled chicken patty topped with crunchy cucumber sticks, freshly shaved red onions, caramelised pineapple and a rich ginger and peanut sauce. But the Little Red Dot-loving doesn’t stop there: each set comes with a side of straight-cut fries seasoned with curry powder and the SG Fling, a Singapore Sling-inspired vodka-based cocktail.
$35++ for a set menu from The Butcher’s Club
5. Fish Head Curry
Curry has come to be an edible emblem of racial harmony in Singapore, and there’s no better occasion to embrace this than on National Day. If you haven’t got time to simmer your homemade version for hours, popular dining spot Samy Curry’s offers a shortcut: a delivery-ready version of their signature Fish Head Curry.
The tangy assam undertones of the rich coconut curry makes it a little lighter than the usual lemak versions, so you won’t feel too jelak (satiated) to belt out “Majulah Singapura” on cue. Sharing some with your neighbours is highly recommended.
From $24.75 from Samy’s Curry
All of the above dishes (and more) can be ordered via Deliveroo, the market-leading food delivery service in Singapore.
With over 1,600 restaurants and counting in Singapore on Deliveroo's service, you can order almost any type of food and cuisine through Deliveroo's website and digital app, be it Western or Asian, hot or cold. Run by people who know and love food, the Deliveroo Singapore team conducts their own taste tests and customer surveys regularly to ensure that the most-loved restaurants are on board - with the aim of bringing only the highest quality food and most exceptional dining experience to every customer.
Want to find out more? Read our interview with Deliveroo's Singapore country manager here.