Agreed, Viet food is lacking in SG. For various reasons it hasn't caught on with the locals. Still, the average quality level of those Viet places that do exist is higher than that in the US.
As for hawker food, the increasing cost of doing business in SG means that hawkers use cheaper ingredients and give you less meat/fish. For dishes of Malaysian origin, Penang is the place to go for the best of the best. Even many Singaporeans will admit this.
I'd go with Bangkok as my personal #1 food city in Asia, but Viet cuisine is lacking there is well. So maybe Saigon?
> I'd go with Bangkok as my personal #1 food city in Asia
I honestly debated that. BKK is fantastic food-wise but it lacks viet, korean and northern China. Don't get me wrong, it's great. I live there!
I'm sticking with Sydney. It is all due to immigrants and students. I am pretty sure Sydney, or even Melbourne, Banh Mi is the best you can get outside of Vietnam. It's so ironic that the best overall cities for asian cuisine are all outside Asia but SYD, MEL, LAX, SFO and YVR are probably the best cities in the world for asian food, and it is all about immigration!
As for hawker food, the increasing cost of doing business in SG means that hawkers use cheaper ingredients and give you less meat/fish. For dishes of Malaysian origin, Penang is the place to go for the best of the best. Even many Singaporeans will admit this.
I'd go with Bangkok as my personal #1 food city in Asia, but Viet cuisine is lacking there is well. So maybe Saigon?