Family-Friendly Restaurants Offering Unique Dining In Singapore

For once your little one has free reign to forgo cutlery and get down and dirty with his hands to learn all about South Asian cuisine! A swatch of banana leaf serves as a plate for your dhal, veggies and curry, and it’s customary to eat with your hands, so pack the Dettol wet wipes. Butter chicken is a great option for mini palates that are sensitive to spices.

Banana Leaf Apollo, 54 Race Course Road, Singapore 218564, +65 6293 8682 / +65 6293 5054, www.thebananaleafapolo.com

Tucked away in the verdant Bukit Timah Saddle Club you’ll find one of the most popular brunch spots in town. Enjoy pony rides for S$10 from 10am to 1pm on weekends. There is a great selection of eggs, and the brioche French toast is a decadent treat. A few mimosas for the ‘rents and some horse rides for the kids later, and everyone is happy! Note that it’s an air-con free zone. Book ahead!

Riders Café, 51 Fairways Drive, Bukit Timah Saddle Club, Singapore 286965, +65 6466 9819, www.riderscafe.sg.  Same-day reservations are not available on weekends and public holidays, so book ahead!

This open-kitchen buffet is sure to tantalize taste buds with a blend of Halal Malay, Chinese and Indian delights. There’s a lot going on amidst the clatter of pans, puffs of steam and wafts of fragrant herbs and spices for wide-eyed youngsters to experience. The satay station is always a hit, as is the roti prata. A fun novelty is to show your kids ‘Teh Tarik’ (pulled tea), where the liquid is poured from one vessel to another at a height – try not to get splashed!

Straits Kitchen, The Grand Hyatt, 10 Scotts Road, Singapore 228211, +65 6732 1234, www.singapore.grand.hyattrestaurants.com

This family run blue-and-white themed Greek taverna in a four-storey building just oozes charm and seems worlds away from Singapore. The open kitchen is a magnet for young aspiring chefs to watch modern Greek dishes prepared before their very eyes. They will love traditional comfort food specialties like pastitsio and mousaka. Meanwhile, Mom and Dad can sample Greek wines and Ouzo!

Blu Kouzina, 893 Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 589615, +65 6875 0872,  blukouzina@singnet.com.sg, www.blukouzina.com

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and when you’re sharing it with a family of orangutans, you can be sure your kids will agree. Start your day at the zoo at Ah Meng restaurant and feast on a spread of tropical fruits. A trunk drawbridge is lowered and one by one, the family of primates traipses in. A sight to behold! Hours are 9am -10:30am daily and it costs S$29 for adults and S$19 for kids.

Singapore Zoo, 80 Mandai Lake Road, Singapore 729826, Singapore, +65 6360 8560, info.zoo@wrs.com.sg, www.zoo.com.sg

At the charming Greenwood Fish Market Bistro you can educate the kids on all manner of aquatic temptations like crustaceans and different fish varieties. Lobsters swim in tanks and whole fish gleam pristine on beds of ice. Look, but don’t touch! Then get ready to order your preferred catch at the Bistro. There’s also a bakery, fish monger, sushi/sashimi bar, wine shop and takeaway shop!

Greenwood Fish Market & Bistro, No. 34 & 38 Greenwood Avenue, Singapore 289236, +65 6467 4950, greenwoodbistro@yahoo.com.sg, www.fishshop.sg

Chow down in Chinatown! The Chinatown Food Street is a bustling lane with al fresco dining amidst colorful conservation shophouses. Back-to-back with various food stalls boasting local specialties like barbequed sting ray and char kway teow, the street is choca with local fare, so have a wander, pick whichever outlet tickles your fancy and soak up the atmosphere. Most stalls are open from 5pm to 11pm.

Chinatown Food Street, 335 Smith Street, Singapore 050335

Dive into the world’s largest Oceanarium for a fine dining experience with a view! This Mediter-Asian concept is helmed by the world’s only female Iron Chef. Savor dishes like Ocean Trout with sustainable caviar and Sakura Shrimp Risotto with Hokkaido scallop amidst floor-to-ceiling glass separating you from manta rays, leopard or zebra sharks, and schools of fishies! Book a table in the ‘front row.’

Ocean Restaurant by Cat Cora, S.E.A Aquarium, Marine Life Park, Resorts World Sentosa, 8 Sentosa Gateway, +65 6577 6869, www.rwsentosa.com. Admission to Ocean Restaurant is via West Zone Carpark, B1M. Diners can park near Equarius Hotel. 

It doesn’t get batter than all-day pancakes! Choose between salted, unsalted, garlic and herb or rum raisin butter, add maple syrup and then add optional companions. (We like bacon). Chocoholics will adore ‘The Druggie': three chocolate pancakes with chocolate ice cream, chocolate flakes, chocolate sauce and sliced strawberries. Phew! ‘Apples and Cinnamon’ comes with caramelized apples and vanilla ice cream. There are a stack of other flavors! Flippin’ brilliant.

Strictly Pancakes, 44A Prinsep Street Singapore 188674, + 65 6333 4202 and 81 Upper East Coast Road, Singapore 455220, +65 6448 7332, admin@strictlypancakes.com.sg, www.strictlypancakes.com.sg