Satay in Singapore: The City's Street Skewers

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Barbequed marinated meat, served with rich peanut sauce, ketupat rice cakes, and fresh cucumber and onion — satay is one of Singapore's most beloved street foods.

What Is Satay?

Satay consists of seasoned, marinated meat threaded onto bamboo skewers and grilled over charcoal. The most common meats are mutton, beef, and chicken, though you can also find less common varieties like babat (beef tripe) and prawn. The skewers are traditionally dipped in a thick, fragrant peanut sauce and eaten with ketupat — compressed rice cakes — alongside slices of cool cucumber and raw onion.

Despite its Indonesian origins, satay is now a staple across Southeast Asia, found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore. In Singapore, satay is most commonly sold by Malay vendors at hawker centres and food courts islandwide.

Satay grilling

The Essential Components

The Meat

While chicken and beef are the safe, crowd-pleasing choices, mutton satay remains the favourite of many locals. Yes, mutton carries a stronger aroma that some find off-putting, but when grilled to perfection over charcoal, it delivers an unmatched depth of flavour. For something different, try prawn satay for a smoky, briny twist, or babat if you're feeling adventurous.

The Peanut Sauce

No satay experience is complete without the sauce. A good peanut sauce should be thick, slightly sweet, fragrant with lemongrass and spices, and packed with crushed roasted peanuts. It's the bridge that ties the smoky meat and starchy ketupat together.

Ketupat

Those squarish white rice cakes aren't made from glutinous rice. Ketupat is regular rice packed into a diamond-shaped pouch woven from young coconut or palm leaves, then boiled until the grains compress into a firm cake. The texture is similar to the rice cakes found in gado-gado, soto ayam, or lontong. The taste is subtle and starchy — the perfect neutral base to soak up peanut sauce.

Fun fact: Traditional ketupat weaving is increasingly rare. Most shops now sell ketupat in plastic pouches for home boiling. The intricate leaf-weaving is largely reserved for festive occasions like Hari Raya.

Where to Find the Best Satay in Singapore

For Tourists: City-Centre Options

Location  Highlights
Lau Pa Sat The most famous satay spot for visitors smacked in the business district. Stalls No. 7 and 8 are widely regarded as the best there. Don't miss their signature prawn satay — smoky, salty, and utterly addictive. Though seriously, just about any satay there is good. Street stalls open from 7pm onwards in the evening.
Gluttons  Bay Located next to Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. Convenient for tourists and offers a great night-time atmosphere.
Satay by the Bay At Gardens by the Bay, near Marina Barrage. Scenic setting, tourist-friendly, and reliably good.

For Locals: East-Side Gems

East Coast Lagoon Food Centre Stall 55: Haron Satay is a favourite of many. Though having tried all the stalls there, I can safely say all of them are delicious. I love satay! This large hawker centre sits right by East Coast Park and the beach, making it one of the most scenic places to enjoy satay in Singapore. There are multiple satay stalls here, so you're spoiled for choice. The meat is consistently tender and juicy, and the charcoal-grilled aroma is unbeatable.

Note: East Coast Lagoon is less accessible by public transport. Taking a taxi or Grab is the most convenient. However with the opening of Siglap MRT Station along the Thomson-East Coast Line, it is less than 15 minutes walk. Go in the evening when all stalls are operating.

Bedok Food Centre (affectionately known as Bedok Corner to east-side regulars) is another hidden gem. Located along Bedok Road near an army camp, it serves up some of the most authentic satay on the island.

Other Worthy Mentions

    • Simpang Bedok
    • Changi Village Hawker Centre
    • Geylang Serai Market
    • Haig Road Market & Cooked Food Centre

As you can tell, some of Singapore's best satay is concentrated in the eastern neighbourhoods. (Yes, I'm biased — I live in the east!)

A set of mutton satay with ketupat and slices of cucumber & onion. And peanut sauce

A Brief History of Singapore's Satay Culture

Satay wasn't always found in hawker centres. Up until the 1970s, satay was sold by itinerant street hawkers who set up portable charcoal grills by the roadside. The first official Satay Club opened near Beach Road before relocating to the old Esplanade. When the Esplanade was redeveloped into the performing arts centre we know today, the Satay Club moved to Clarke Quay — back when Clarke Quay was more family-friendly than its current nightlife persona.

The Clarke Quay Satay Club is long gone now, but many Singaporeans still fondly remember the old Esplanade version. Local artist Yip Yew Chong captured this nostalgia in a wall mural in Kampong Glam, depicting how satay was cooked and enjoyed in decades past.

Satay Variations to Try

  • Gado-Gado Satay — A hybrid dish combining gado-gado (Indonesian vegetable salad with peanut sauce) with two sticks of satay, available at Gluttons Bay and East Coast Lagoon.
  • Mee Rebus Satay / Mee Rebus Tarik — A bowl of mee rebus (yellow noodles in sweet potato gravy) topped with satay meat. Try it at Yunus & Family in Ang Mo Kio Central Market & Food Centre.

Practical Tips

Tip Details
Price about $0.80 per stick (the days of $0.50 are long gone, thanks to inflation). A set meal of 10 sticks plus cucumbers/ onions/ ketupat/ peanut sauce costs about $11 to $14.
Best time to eat Evening and night — satay is quintessential supper food.
Pro tip Load up a skewer with meat, a cube of ketupat, cucumber, and onion — then dip the whole thing in peanut sauce. It's the closest you'll get to a Singaporean kebab.
Warning Sit too close to the grill and the smoky aroma will cling to your clothes. But honestly? That's part of the charm.

The Verdict

Whether you're grabbing skewers at a heartland hawker centre, by the cool beach at East Coast or dining at a tourist hotspot by Marina Bay, satay in Singapore is almost always delicious. The difference is really just convenience and atmosphere. Much like roti prata or teh tarik, satay is one of those dishes you can find just about anywhere — and that's exactly what makes it so special.

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