The Layali Journal · Neighbourhood Guide
Arab Street is about four hundred metres long, and the food packed into the streets around it spans Indian-Muslim, Malay, Turkish, Levantine and Indonesian cooking. Some of it has been there for over a century. This is a guide to what is genuinely worth eating in the area, written by a restaurant that sits on the corner of it.
We run LAYALI at 257 Beach Road, so we have an obvious interest here. We have still named the places we would send our own families to, including places that compete with us. A guide that only recommends its author is not a guide.
Arab Street runs between Beach Road and North Bridge Road, in the heart of Kampong Gelam — the historic Malay-Muslim quarter of Singapore.
The nearest MRT is Bugis, about five minutes on foot. Most of the eating happens on four connected stretches: Arab Street itself, Beach Road, North Bridge Road, and the small lanes of Haji Lane and Bali Lane.
Murtabak is a thick, folded pancake stuffed with minced meat, onion and egg, griddled until the outside crisps and served with curry. It is the single most associated dish with this part of Singapore.
Two places on North Bridge Road have been doing it for generations. Singapore Zam Zam at 697-699 North Bridge Road has been open since 1908. Directly beside it, Victory Restaurant at 701 North Bridge Road does a beef murtabak that regulars will argue is the better of the two. The rivalry between them is part of the fun, and we are not going to settle it for you. Go to both.
The Turkish and Levantine side of the area grew up around Arab Street and Beach Road, and it is what we do.
The dishes to understand are simple. Adana kebab is hand minced lamb or chicken pressed onto a flat skewer and grilled over charcoal — the pepper heat is in the meat itself, not in a sauce. Shish kebab is cubed marinated meat. Shawarma is stacked meat on a vertical spit, shaved thin as it cooks. Mezze are the cold starters — hummus, babaganoush, ezme, moutabbal — meant to be shared with warm bread before anything grilled arrives. Pide is the Turkish flatbread baked with toppings, closer to a boat-shaped bread than a pizza.
The one thing worth knowing: charcoal matters more than marinade. Ask whether the grill is charcoal or gas. The smoke is most of the flavour.
Turkish coffee is ground to powder, brewed unfiltered and served with the grounds settled at the bottom. You sip it slowly and stop before the sludge. Alongside it, baklava — layered filo, pistachio, syrup — and kunefe, a hot dessert of shredded pastry over soft cheese, soaked in syrup and served with cream. Kunefe has to be eaten the moment it arrives, while the cheese still pulls.
The area has more Turkish restaurants than any other part of Singapore, and several are good. Alaturka, Cappadocia, Sultan, Byblos, Mavi and Sufi’s Corner are all within walking distance of each other. They differ in price, in how busy they get, and in whether the grill is out front where you can see it.
We are on Beach Road at the Arab Street corner, with seating on two floors and tables out on the pavement. You can read more about what we serve near Arab Street or look at the full menu.
Haji Lane is two minutes from Arab Street and is mostly small cafés, bars and independent shops in shophouses painted with murals. Go there for coffee, a drink, or photographs. It is not where the area’s serious cooking happens, and prices reflect the foot traffic.
This is the real advantage of Kampong Gelam. Much of Singapore stops serving by ten. Around Arab Street, kitchens stay open considerably later, which is why the area fills up after midnight on weekends with people coming off shifts and out of town.
We serve until 1am every night, seven days a week. There is more on late-night halal food in Singapore if that is what brought you here.
Getting there: Bugis MRT, about five minutes on foot. Parking in the area is limited and street parking fills early in the evening.
Busiest times: Friday and Saturday from 7pm, and the whole area during Ramadan, when the Kampong Gelam bazaar runs and crowds are heavy from late afternoon.
Cost: murtabak from around S$6. A sit-down grilled meal with mezze and dessert usually lands between S$25 and S$45 a head.
Murtabak above all, from the century-old Indian-Muslim restaurants on North Bridge Road. Alongside it, charcoal-grilled Turkish kebabs, shawarma, mezze and Turkish coffee, plus Malay and Indonesian cooking throughout Kampong Gelam.
Most of it is. This is Singapore’s historic Malay-Muslim quarter and many kitchens here hold MUIS halal certification, though it varies from place to place — check each restaurant if it matters to you.
Later than most of Singapore. Several kitchens run past midnight; we serve until 1am every day.
Bugis, on the East West and Downtown lines, roughly five minutes’ walk.
LAYALI Turkish and Mediterranean Restaurant
257 Beach Road, Singapore 199539 Open daily 10:00 to 01:00 +65 9677 9072