Singapore’s Best Desserts And Where To Find Them

Life’s too short for bad dessert, and while we love a fancy plated number now and then, Singapore’s sweet spot lies in the comfort of its classics. We have an unapologetic bias towards icy hawker staples that cool you faster than aircon, nostalgic Malay kuehs and silky nut pastes that are sure hits with anybody. Here’s our definitive guide to the desserts that actually deserve the spotlight.

Cheng Tng

Ye Lai Xiang Hot & Cold Cheng Tng, Bedok Food Centre, Stall #31, 1 Bedok Road

Image credit: Ye Lai Xiang | Facebook

Cool down in truly scrumptious style with cheng tng, a light, fragrant and refreshing soup loaded with healthy ingredients traditionally used in Chinese medicine, such as gingko nuts, dried longan, lotus seeds, sweet potato and white fungus.

Since 1939, Ye Lai Xiang has been dishing out Singapore’s most famous bowl of cheng tng, a clear, golden soup brimming with longan, white fungus, lotus seeds, and other good-for-you bits that somehow taste sinful. With a top-secret recipe passed down three generations, their cheng tng is filled with carefully hand-prepared ingredients like dried persimmons, candied winter melon and double-boiled sago, making it the ultimate thirst-quencher on a sweltering day.

Mango Sago

Ah Chew Desserts, 1 Liang Seah Street #01-10

Image credit: Ah Chew Dessert | Facebook

Few things scream “Singapore summer” louder than a chilled bowl of mango sago with pomelo flesh. Creamy, tangy, and loaded with chewy pearls, this Hong Kong import has become a local favourite thanks to our undying love for cold, refreshing desserts.

Ah Chew Dessert’s version hits all the right notes: ripe fruit, smooth pomelo pulp, and a coconut milk base that keeps you spooning till the bowl’s scraped clean. Ah Chew can be found in Bugis and Novena. 

Snow Ice and Nut Paste

Mei Heong Yuen Dessert, 63-67 Temple Street, Chinatown

Image credit: Mei Heong Yuen Desserts | Facebook

Snow ice might be a Taiwanese thing, but since 2002, this dessert shop has been serving up popular snow ice variations along with traditional desserts. Don't miss the old-school nut paste, each bowl here is pure goodness. There's a variety to choose from, whether you love a good nourishing bowl of almond paste, black sesame paste, walnut paste and peanut paste; or go for "yuan-yang", where you can mix two from any of the nut choices.

Whichever you choose, Mei Heong Yuen nails pretty much most of what's on its menu. Not only that, but it remains one of the few shops in Singapore to still offer traditional desserts not found anywhere else. Go at odd timings to skip the crowd, if not, be ready to queue.

Ice Kachang

Jin Jin Hot/Cold Dessert, ABC Brickworks Food Centre, 6 Jalan Bukit Merah #01-21

If you’ve never wrestled with a melting mountain of syrup-drenched shaved ice under the Singapore sun, are you even local? A sweet treat that’s certain to bring out your inner child, ice kachang features a mountain of finely shaved ice piled high, with red beans, colourful jellies and neon-hued sweet syrups. Almost every Singaporean hawker stall has their own twist on this nostalgic dessert, with other popular toppings including sweetcorn, chopped peanuts, evaporated or condensed milk, ice cream, fresh fruit and even chendol jelly (green rice flour jelly).

Head to much-loved dessert joint Jin Jin Hot/Cold Dessert for both traditional and more adventurous takes on the dessert, like their durian ice kachang, featuring a scoop of Mao Shan Wang durian ice cream as its crowning jewel. 

Chendol

Old Amoy Chendol, Chinatown Complex, 335 Smith Street #02-008

Image credit: Old Amoy Chendol | Facebook

Named by CNN as one of the best desserts in the world, it’s not a proper trip to Singapore unless you’ve eaten a bowl of chendol jelly. Beating the heat doesn’t get more delicious than with this sweet iced dessert, which features ingredients like green rice flour jelly (typically shaped like worms), shaved ice, coconut milk, adzuki beans and gula melaka (palm sugar).

Old Amoy Chendol serves one dish only—the clue’s in the name—so you can trust they know a thing or two about how to create what many people rank as Singapore’s best chendol. Their secret? A recipe passed down by the owner’s grandfather and top-quality ingredients made fresh daily, all for under $3 a bowl.

Kueh Salat

Chalk Farm, Paragon Shopping Centre #B1-K5/6, 290 Orchard Road

Image credit: Chalk Farm | Instagram

Kuehs (bite-sized snacks) are a traditional Nyonya delicacy that comes in a rainbow of different colours, shapes and flavours, meaning you’ll be spoilt for choice with options to try in Singapore. Nevertheless, kueh salat is a perennial favourite—an all-indulgent dessert of pressed sticky rice layered with pandan-flavoured custard.

Homegrown bakery Chalk Farm uses only natural ingredients in their sensational kueh salat cake, including freshly squeezed coconut milk to make its thick, rich custard, alongside butterfly pea extract and liberal amounts of pandan juice to give the dessert its vibrant blue and green layers. 

Durian Pengat

Ellenborough Market Cafe, Paradox Hotel

Image credit: Paradox Hotel | Facebook

There’s no dessert more divisive, or more Singaporean, than durian pengat. Skip through if you are unable to process the thought of eating the stinky fruit, but if you're a connoisseur like those of us who stay, you'll want to have the one at Ellenborough Market Cafe in Paradox Hotel that has stayed consistently good over the years. 

The pureed Mao Shan Wang is transformed into a creamy, custard-like pudding that's rich, velvety, and unapologetically pungent. 

Bubur Cha Cha

Dessert Bowl, 80A Serangoon Garden Way

Image credit: Dessert Bowl | Facebook

A rainbow of yam, sweet potato, sago, and coconut milk, bubur cha cha is what childhood afternoons at your auntie’s place tasted like. Dessert Bowl’s take is thick, fragrant, and comforting whether served hot or cold. Extra points for the Instagram-worthy presentation.

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Bengawan Solo, multiple outlets

Image credit: Bengawan Solo | Website

Airy, fragrant, and just sweet enough (a sky-high praise from most Asians), this national treasure needs no introduction. Bengawan Solo’s pandan chiffon remains undefeated: soft as a cloud, perfumed with real pandan juice, and the perfect tea-time snack for any occasion.

Goreng Pisang

Hiap Hwa Goreng Pisang, Maxwell Food Centre, Stall #18

Forget banana bread, Singapore runs on goreng pisang. Crisp on the outside, gooey within, this deep-fried delight is the street snack that defines post-school nostalgia. Hiap Hwa’s golden fritters are fried to order, best devoured fresh with a burnt tongue and zero regrets.

Gulab Jamun

Mustafa Centre Food Court, 145 Syed Alwi Road

Image credit: Bengawan Solo | Website

Sticky, syrup-soaked orbs of joy. Gulab jamun might have Indian roots, but in Singapore, it’s become a universal comfort dessert. The ones at Mustafa’s food court are fresh, soft, and unapologetically sweet—exactly how they should be.

Gelato

Birds of Paradise, 63 East Coast Road #01-05

Image credit: Birds of Paradise | Supplied

Singapore’s year-round tropical temperatures mean there’s always a good excuse to enjoy an ice-cream—and there’s nowhere better to get your fill than Birds Of Paradise Gelato Boutique.

This charming Michelin-recommended store makes all its own ice-creams, with innovative flavours inspired by nature’s finest botanical ingredients, such as flowers, fruits, herbs and spices. The resulting ever-rotating line-up of gelato varieties include several that nod to the store’s South East Asian roots; impeccably-balanced white chrysanthemum and cacao nibs, spiced pear, and Earl Grey and lemongrass are amongst the bestsellers. Grab a scoop or two in a thyme-infused waffle cone… or give in to temptation and snag a whole pint. But honestly? Anything in that thyme-scented cone slaps.

Looking for more? Check out:

We’ve Got The Scoop: Singapore’s Best Ice Cream & Frozen Yoghurt Shops
Singapore’s Best Bars For A Boozy Good Time In 2025
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Main image credit: Paradox Hotel | Facebook