Singapore’s Hottest Satay Stall – A Mysterious, Three-Generations-Old Sauce Is the Soul of the Shop

▲Beef and chicken skewers are the most popular items at Best Satay.

Text and photos by 95 Evil Wife

Skewers of sweet, savory satay are a must-try local snack for many visitors to Singapore. Located near the Raffles Place MRT station, the Old Parliament House Food Centre not only offers many famous Singaporean seafood dishes, but its surrounding Satay Street is also a popular spot for both locals and tourists to enjoy satay. Among the numerous satay stalls, the most famous is Best Satay at stalls 7 and 8.

Unlike the well-organized food courts, Satay Street resembles a night market in Taiwan, with stalls lined up one after another grilling and selling satay on the spot; tables and chairs are set up in the middle of the street. Whether it’s sharply dressed businesspeople or casually dressed backpackers, everyone orders their own dishes and enjoys them.

▲Satay Street in the Old Parliament House is bustling at night.

Best Satay offers a variety of satay flavors, including beef, chicken, and tiger prawns. Considering the dietary habits of Muslims, no pork dishes are served. For those who want to try something new, there are also various combo meals to choose from. 95 Evil Wife this time chose the store’s most popular Combo A, which includes 10 beef skewers, 10 chicken skewers, and 5 grilled prawns, totaling SGD 26 (about NTD 607). For those who prefer à la carte, you can also choose your favorite meat skewer flavors, with a minimum order of 10 skewers per selection.

▲The large tiger prawns are already shelled, making them very convenient to eat.

In Singapore, satay is typically enjoyed with onions, cucumbers, and a special satay sauce. The brown satay sauce is made with peanuts, chili paste, and other ingredients, and each satay stall has its own unique recipe, which is also the key factor that distinguishes the flavors of each.

Tasting Best Satay’s satay without any condiments first brings a strong, sweet-and-salty sauce flavor that fills your mouth. The texture is similar to cured meat that retains its juiciness—slightly chewy, not too dry, and just the right size to eat. For those who enjoy a drink, it’s a very appetizing and pairable dish.

▲Only freshly grilled satay can deliver the most delicious taste.

Pairing the satay skewers with vegetables like onions and cucumbers brings out another refreshing flavor through the vegetables’ natural sweetness. The slightly spicy, crunchy onions not only add layers of flavor but also significantly enhance the texture of the grilled meat, acting as the perfect finishing touch. Finally, dipping the meat and vegetables into the satay sauce makes the moist sauce the perfect lubricant between the grilled meat and vegetables, harmonizing the textures even more. What was originally a somewhat sweet taste becomes smoother and more palatable, transforming into a uniquely Southeast Asian local flavor.

▲This peanut sauce-based satay sauce is Best Satay’s secret family recipe.

As for the grilled tiger prawns included in the combo, they are larger than regular white shrimp and are already shelled, making them much easier to eat. But compared to the flavor of the satay meat skewers, I personally still prefer the beef skewers.

Best Satay owner Ailon said that Best Satay has been operating in the Old Parliament House for 13 years. In addition to carefully controlling the quality of the meat and selecting larger tiger prawns as ingredients, the truly secret satay sauce recipe—known by only a few—is a treasured, three-generations-old family secret and the shop’s pride. This is also why Ailon believes his satay tastes better than others’.

▲The entrance of Best Satay is covered with mentions from major travel guides.

Therefore, in addition to many tourists from Malaysia and India coming to taste it, Korean singer Kang Gary and Taiwanese actor Chen Zhaorong have also been guests here. The travel magazines and media articles posted in front of the stall have also become an alternative form of advertisement for Best Satay in the Old Parliament House.

Best Satay Information
Address: No.7&8 Lau Pa Sat, Singapore
Business Hours: Monday to Thursday 7:00–1:00 AM, Friday to Saturday 7:00–1:30 AM.
Prices: Skewers start from SGD 7 for 10 pieces, grilled prawns at SGD 2 each. (1 SGD ≈ 23.4 NTD)