It’s that time of the year again: one of our favourite fairs is making a return with famous food kiosks from Thailand! Held at Singapore Expo Hall 2, Artbox Singapore, or ARTBOX AVENUE, will take place from 26 to 28 January, and February 2 to 4 February 2024, from 12pm to 11pm daily.
Here are some things you can look forward to this year: Wagyu bowls, mochi doughnuts, chilli crab fries and more.
Lest you get overwhelmed, we’ve narrowed down the 8 best foods to try at Artbox Singapore 2024. We hope this guide comes in handy if you’re planning a trip down!
This one’s for Japanese food fans: Gyushi offers wallet-friendly Wagyu bowls using beef imported from Australia. They also serve sandos, fries, and karaage!
Their Mentaiko Wagyu Beef Bowl ($15) was a crowd favourite thanks to the winning combination of tender beef slices, and house-made mentaiko mayonnaise. But if you’re on team #truffle like us, we recommend getting their Signature Truffle Wagyu Beef Bowl ($15) for a dollop of creamy truffle sauce coupled with tobiko, onsen egg, shredded seaweed, and generous slices of buttery-soft Wagyu.
We were excited to spot SugarBellySG at the fair as they are known for their mochi doughnuts. FYI, there was a snaking long queue, so you might want to get their doughnuts as early as possible.
There are seven different flavours of mochi doughnuts here, including an exclusive flavour—Matcha Strawberry—rolled out just for Artbox 2024. After much thought, we decided to get their Biscoff, Sweet Potato, and Matcha Strawberry ($6 each). Though small in size, there was something addictive about their mochi doughnuts, and we really enjoyed the perfect balance of chewy and crispy textures. My colleague and I agreed that the Matcha Strawberry was our favourite as the earthy and bitter flavour of matcha mellowed down the overall sweetness. Also, kudos to their stellar service!
Choosing our favourite out of this list is a no-brainer: the Pani Puri ($7) at Chai O Clock is a must-try. These stuffed crispy balls are a popular street food in India, and they make for a great festival snack too!
Each order of Pani Puri comes with five deep-fried balls filled with ingredients such as dates, sweet tamarind chutney, and crispy fried shallots. This snack is best eaten with a bit of the tangy spiced water—just pour a drizzle into each ball, and you’re good to go. Alternatively, try their Vada Pav ($8) which is a bun stuffed with deep-fried potato dumplings topped with spicy chutney.
For legit Indonesian fare, check out Chris Pork Belly & Sausages. We loved how simple yet homely their offerings were. And as the name suggests, the brand is helmed by the amicable Chris, who patiently explained their menu to those who weren’t too familiar with Indonesian food.
Chris recommended getting their Original Pork Sausage ($10) with Savoury Rice ($2) instead of the white rice, so we did just that. This dish features a bed of seasoned rice that’s said to be made from a secret recipe, a small portion of greens, and thick pork sausage slices. If you’re curious what their pork sausages taste like, just think Taiwanese sausage: they are sweet, chewy, and juicy! Singaporeans are big on salted egg-flavoured things, so Chris came through with the Salted Egg Pork Belly ($12). You can even get the salted egg sauce separately for an additional $2!
West Side Best Side is a stall that sells mainly fries, mushrooms, and karaage. But they don’t just sell any fries—you get a good range of unique flavours here with the likes of Laksa Fries ($12), Tom Yum Fries ($12), and Garlic Aioli Fries ($10).
We were told that the Chilli Crab Fries ($12) were worth a shot, so we got it in a heartbeat. The idea is simple: you get a plate of fries topped with a huge scoop of chilli crab sauce! The chilli crab flavour was balanced with a sauce that tasted like marinara, which made this snack both sweet and spicy.
After spending hours walking around the hall, my colleague and I were craving something sweet. That’s when we chanced upon Ice Burg Desserts—their menu offers desserts such as taiyaki, and shaved ice in a cup.
We couldn’t get our hands on the taiyaki as it wasn’t available yet, so we opted for their Indulgence Iceburg ($9.90) instead. This dessert in a cup was interesting—you get a pile of Ribena and soju-flavoured shaved ice mixed with jelly balls, popping red beans, and osmanthus pearls. Plus, there was a hidden surprise in the centre of it all: a raspberry gelato! If you’re there for the Taiayaki ($6.80), choose from flavours such as Mango, Vanilla, Caramel Walnut and more.
Recently, the famous claypot lala from JB caught the attention of many foodies, us included. This explains why we found ourselves at LALADUI to try their Lala Soup with Noodles ($15).
This comforting dish comprises vermicelli, crab sticks, and of course, the must-have lala AKA clams. The broth was on the sweeter side with a hint of spice, which we thought was great for washing down all the fried food we had.
We were happy to see a familiar face, No Time Hot Pot, which we featured during our visit to Artbox 2023. You essentially get a cup brimming with different steamboat ingredients, served in a robust broth.
Go for the No Time Anyhow ($16.80), which consists of toppings such as crispy taupok, cheese tofu, fried smashed pork ball and more in either a mala or tomato-flavoured soup. Alternatively, there’s the Mini No Time Collagen ($8.80) perfect for skincare queens who want hotpot that also doubles up as being good for your skin. You get crab nugget, pork skin, fried beancurd roll and more in this one!
Beyond these eight stalls, Artbox 2024 awaits you with so many more food kiosks with tasty and trendy offerings. There’s Baan Kanom Thai, best known for Thai pandan pancakes and creamy crab omelette rice, and Mahmud’s Tandoor with their famous tandoori chicken burgers. So take your time to explore the huge space, and most importantly, just have fun!
If our guide has piqued your interest, here are the ticket details: $7 per single entry on weekdays and $8 on weekends. Do note that the prices listed exclude a booking fee. Buy your tickets here! For the latest updates, check out Artbox’s IG page.
Photos taken by Daryl Lim.
This was a media tasting at Artbox.
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