🇸🇬Halal Travel Guide to Singapore

Built in 1824 and rebuilt in 1932, with a golden dome ringed by a band of dark glass made from bottle bases donated by poorer Muslims so the whole community contributed. Open to visitors outside prayer times; robes provided.

A Tamil Muslim mosque with an extraordinary sundial gate - the names of twenty-five prophets in Arabic calligraphy arranged as the rays of a sun. A national monument and unusually beautiful.

Built by Tamil Muslim traders from the Coromandel coast, with a south Indian gateway standing among Chinatown shophouses. One of the oldest mosques in Singapore.

Built in 1846 by a Malaccan-born Malay businesswoman, with a European-influenced minaret that leans six degrees off vertical and has done for over a century.

The Malabar Muslim Jama-ath mosque, clad entirely in lapis-blue tiles, a short walk from the Sultan Mosque. Striking and much less visited.

Opened in 2004 with no dome and no conventional minaret - a modernist reinterpretation in concrete and aluminium that won architectural awards. A very different statement from the colonial-era mosques.

A small mosque on Telok Ayer Street, which was once the shoreline where immigrants landed - the street also has a Chinese temple and an Indian Muslim shrine within a hundred metres.

One of the main congregational mosques in the Malay heartland, close to Geylang Serai and its market.

During Ramadan the streets around the Sultan Mosque fill with stalls, and taraweeh spills out into Bussorah Street.

Named after Singapore's first president, opened in 2017, with an integrated community centre - the current model for Singaporean mosque design.

In the former Istana Kampong Glam, the palace of the last Sultan of Singapore, covering Malay settlement, trade, music and the Hajj traffic that once passed through the port.

The Malay-Arab quarter designated in the 1822 town plan, with Arab Street, Bussorah Street and Haji Lane, and the Sultan Mosque at its centre. Continuously Muslim for two centuries.

The living Malay district - a wet market, an entirely halal hawker centre upstairs, and the largest Ramadan bazaar in the country.

Covers the Indian communities of Southeast Asia including the Tamil Muslim traders who built Masjid Jamae and Abdul Gafoor.

Once the waterfront where immigrants landed and gave thanks. A mosque, a Chinese temple, an Indian Muslim shrine and a Methodist church within a few hundred metres.

In the former Supreme Court and City Hall, holding the world's largest collection of Southeast Asian modern art. The best museum in the country.

Nasi padang from a long counter of Malay and Minangkabau dishes - beef rendang, sambal goreng, ayam bakar. Probably the best-known halal restaurant in Singapore. Queue at lunchtime.

Murtabak and biryani since 1908, opposite the Sultan Mosque, with the cooks working the griddle in the window. An institution.

Serving nasi briyani since 1921 and reputedly the oldest Muslim restaurant in Singapore. Its dum biryani is the reason to go.

Padang food since 1948, a few doors from the Sultan Mosque, and a fierce local favourite. Lunchtime only, and it sells out.

Another long-running nasi padang counter in Kampong Glam, with excellent beef rendang and ayam lemak.

An entirely halal hawker centre above the wet market - mee rebus, nasi lemak, satay, lontong. Where Malay Singapore actually eats and far cheaper than the tourist areas.

A large hawker centre with a strong cluster of Indian Muslim stalls doing biryani, murtabak and mutton soup. Check each stall's certificate.

Dum-cooked Hyderabadi-style biryani in a small shophouse, widely considered the best in the city.

Roti prata done well, including inventive versions, with long opening hours. A reliable breakfast anywhere in the city.

A Singaporean halal fried chicken institution, useful when travelling with children.

A Victorian cast-iron market building with a halal section, and satay stalls that set up outside when Boon Tat Street closes at 7pm.

A heartland nasi padang institution away from the tourist districts, with the queue to prove it.

Halal-certified Italian in Kampong Glam - evidence of how far Singapore's certified scene reaches beyond Malay and Indian food.

McDonald's, KFC, Burger King, Subway, Texas Chicken and Mos Burger are all MUIS-certified across Singapore - useful, and unusual outside Malaysia.

The Malay-Arab quarter, with the Sultan Mosque, Arab Street and a dozen of the country's best halal restaurants within walking distance. On the MRT and cheaper than Marina Bay.

Cheapest central accommodation, with Masjid Abdul Gafoor, the Tekka Centre and the Dunlop Street biryani shops. Busy and characterful.

The waterfront hotels with the skyline views, the Gardens and the malls. Expensive, and further from the halal food clusters.

The shopping belt, with hotels at every price and prayer rooms in most of the malls. Convenient rather than atmospheric.

Near Geylang Serai and its entirely halal hawker centre, at heartland rather than tourist prices. Note that parts of Geylang are a red-light district - check the exact street.

Resort hotels on the island with the beaches, Universal Studios and the aquarium. Good with children, expensive, and cut off from the city's food.

Airport hotels including one inside Jewel, useful for very early flights or long layovers.