Arrivals & Departures A (sensitive) taste of Singapore

Lady Gaga, Victoria Beckham, Gwyneth Paltrow and reader Jane Thomson in Bunbury have something in common.

Either from choice or necessity, they follow a gluten-free diet.

Jane’s husband Ian says they recently spent a week in Singapore. “Having read the many recent articles about Singapore in The Weekend West, we were looking forward to seeing the many wonderful sights and attractions and tasting some of the great food on offer.

“We did have an enjoyable week but food was a big issue for my wife, who is coeliac and requires a gluten-free diet.”

Ian adds: “There was an amazing variety of great food available but very little of it was gluten free.

“When looking at restaurant and cafe menus, we had to ask if anything was gluten-free, as there was generally no mention of gluten-free dishes and options.”

He says this happened in Clarke Quay, Chinatown, Little India, Orchard Road, around the Merlion area, Gardens by the Bay and Suntec City.

“On our last night,we did find a restaurant (McGettigan’s at Clarke Quay) that had gluten-free options listed on the menu but even their main gluten-free dish wasn’t available that night,” Ian adds.

“For a city with an international reputation, we were surprised at the lack of gluten-free food, and at the lack of knowledge about gluten-free food and meals.

“Very few restaurant staff knew what gluten free was, they had to go and ask the chef, or look it up.

“Could you please let your readers know of our experience, so that other readers/travellers who are coeliac are aware of this before they visit Singapore.”

They raise a good point, of course. Gluten free is difficult in Singapore but I can recommend these:

• Kitchen By Food Rebel. 8 Stanley Street. foodrebelsg.com
• The Butcher’s Wife. 9 Yong Siak Street. thebutcherswifesg.com
• Summer Palace. Level 3, Regent Singapore, 1 Cuscaden Road. Regenthotels.com and search Summer Palace
• The Living Cafe. 779 Bukit Timah Road. thelivingcafeasia.com
• Wild Honey. Mandarin Gallery, 333A Orchard Road, and Scotts Square, Scotts Road. wildhoney.com.sg
• Bread Street Kitchen. Level 1, 81 Bay Level, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. marinabaysands.com and search Bread Street.
• Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar. Upper Thomson Road, Singapore. crustpizza.com.sg

It’s an effort to head to specific restaurants rather than be able to “call in anywhere” but I hope this may be of some help.