GastroBeats 2025 is back with a bang this year, bringing three weeks of music, games, and of course, street food from some of Singapore’s favourite F&B vendors. The festival runs from May 29 to June 22, from 4pm to 11pm daily, at Bayfront Event Space – next to several i Light installations. With over 50 food booths but so little time, we’ve narrowed it down to six must-try stalls at this year’s edition of GastroBeats. Here’s everything worth queuing for.
1. Jett Barbecue (F01)
This is not Jett Barbecue’s first rodeo at GastroBeats. This Texan barbecue booth is a hit among festival goers each year, and its claim to fame is its fall-off-the-bone tender beef ribs smoked for up to 12 hours. The team even makes the effort to haul down massive industrial smokers, flown in straight from Texas. Sink your teeth into the Texas-style smoked dino ribs (from $19) served over a bed of mashed potatoes and sauce, or try the smoked beef cheek tacos ($24 for two pieces), which come with generous chunks of meat.
2. La Levain (F14)
This homegrown bakery-café is known for its inventive croissants and flawless egg tarts, but at GastroBeats this year, it’s serving sourdough pizzas as well. La Levain's slices are fermented for 72 hours for deeper flavours and a crisp yet chewy crust. Just for the festival, you’ll be able to enjoy three exclusive locally-inspired flavours: tom yum, laksa, and nasi lemak ($13.80 for half, $22.80 for full). Prefer sticking to basics? We like the Fourcheese pizza, but the truffle and classic margherita are good shouts too ($12.80 for half, $21.80 for full).
3. Slurp Your Oysters (F20)
One of our favourite local home delivery businesses has a booth at GastroBeats this year. Slurp Your Oysters is known for flying in some of the plumpest, juiciest, and largest oysters right off the coast of Murotsu Bay in Hyogo, Japan. These morsels (three for $16, six for $28, 12 for $50) have a creamy, briny profile, and are served chilled or grilled, with toppings of your choice. Load them up with Thai chilli, mango salsa, Korean gulmuchim, or enjoy them grilled with mentaiko or cheese. You’ll also find grilled scallops ($16), mussels ($16), and more at the stall.
4. Aunty Siam (F40)
Who knew we’d be able to get authentic Hakka cuisine at GastroBeats? This stall is run by a mother-and-son duo who are all about preserving Hakka flavours through honest-to-goodness cooking based on Aunty Siam’s recipes. Try the signature nam yu fried pork belly (from $12) – pork seasoned with red fermented beancurd – perfect for pairing with a crisp, cold beer. Or tuck into traditional Hakka dishes like abacus seeds ($12), stir-fried with mushrooms and black fungus. Other dishes available include braised pork belly buns ($12) and Hakka yong tau fu (from $8).
5. Golden Bao (F02)
Combine the popular Chinese street snack guo kui with roti prata and you have Golden Bao. These folks are popular vendors at Kampong Gelam’s bustling Ramadan bazaars, and they’re making their GastroBeats debut this year. Watch these hefty pancakes being kneaded, stuffed with meat and scallions, and fried up in front of you. Take your pick between the signature beef ($10) or chicken ($9). Make sure to top up for the chilli oil ($1) which is meant for generously dunking your roti slices into – a lot goes a longer way in this case.
6. Warabimochi Kamakura (F20)
This Japanese dessert drink took the internet by storm last year, and this year marks Warabimochi Kamakura's first GastroBeats appearance, bringing its famed warabimochi drinks closer to the masses. Sip on festival exclusives like the Kinako Strawberry Royale (from $13.90) or the trending matcha strawberry warabimochi drink (from $11.90). Our favourites, however, are the kinako warabimochi drink with Hokkaido milk ($10.90) and the hojicha latte with warabimochi ($9.90), which are on the nuttier side.
Find out more about GastroBeats 2025 here.
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