Do I need to eat/love Durian? Or Chicken Rice?

 No. You don't have to.

You also don't have to like Chicken Rice, Chilli Crab, Sugar Cane juice, Coconut juice, Kaya Toast, Laksa, Singapore Sling or anything else that are "must try" in your visit to Singapore.

As the American would say, "You do you."

I'm a Singaporean. And I don't like durians. I can't get past the smell. People who can, says that the fruit is creamy, unctuous/rich, and even intoxicating (cos the fruit is fermenting and converts some of the sugars into alcohol.) But for many, the smell... 

I'm fine with Chicken Rice. I think it's quite nice, but I'm just not sure why people rave about it. The rice is nice, but I prefer roast pork with rice. Or at least Roast Chicken. But yes, the Chicken rice is so flavourful, you could even eat the rice on its own. Anyway, the humble Singaporean will tell you that it's Hainanese Chicken Rice. That way, if you don't like it, you can blame Hainan, and the Hainanese.

(Side note: If you go to Hainan and try to get Hainanese Chicken Rice, what you will be able to find is "Wenchang Chicken". Which is nice in its own right, but not quite what we (Singaporeans) call "Hainanese Chicken Rice". The story is that some Hainanese (?) wanted to recreate the chicken they remembered from Hainan Island. But they could not get the Wenchang Chicken, which is (probably) a special breed found only in Hainan. Or a combination of that special breed of chicken eating a special diet of coconut. But they did the best they could with what they had and found ways to make ordinary (or at least, non-Wenchang) chicken as close to Wenchang Chicken as they could. Then because this is Singapore, someone must have said, "this needs a spice kick!" So they made chilli sauce, added ginger, and lime, and now some wise guy says that Chicken Rice is merely the excuse to eat the chilli sauce that comes with the Chicken. )

I like the Chilli Crab sauce. I like to soak up the chilli sauce/gravy with the mantou. But I'm not crazy about seafood, like crab itself, or prawns. Or Shrimp. Also the Chilli Crab sauce and also Fish Head Curry sauce will also go with baguette, naan, pita and any other plain bread (flavoured bread would just be overpowered by the spices, and it would be a waste!) Oh, and like Hainanese Chicken Rice, the most upmarket version of Chilli Crab is made with Sri Lankan Crab. So if you don't like it...

Also, Fish Head Curry. I like the curry, and I will pick at the fish meat, but a good fish head curry will need to have a big fish head, and that means a communal meal for 5 or more people. So I do not have the opportunity (or the inclination) to eat fish head curry very often. But if there's a big group and I'm part of it, and they vote for Fish Head Curry, I'll go along.

I think Sugar Cane juice/drink taste grassy. If it's the only thing to drink... otherwise, I'd go for a Coke. or 100 Plus (isotonic drink - the local "Gatorade").

Coconut water is okay, but I don't crave it.

I think Kaya is too sweet, but I will eat kaya toast. I don't crave it. I usually order butter sugar toast.

I think soft-boiled (a.k.a. half-boiled) eggs are too runny and sticky. But I can enjoy it with toast. And you might have been told that the quintessential Singapore Breakfast is Kaya Toast with soft-boiled eggs. This is usually seasoned with dark soya sauce and white pepper. But I usually skip the eggs. Also, if you're not used to it, it looks (in the words of a YouTuber), "disgusting!" Americans (i.e. US citizens) who have been conditioned to think that raw eggs are dangerous (because of the way eggs are processed in the U.S.), are more likely to find half-boiled eggs disgusting. For Asians and those who have been exposed to Japanese "onsen eggs", and raw eggs as "sauce", this is similar to a poached egg. 

But this - Kaya Toast, and half-boiled eggs - is the traditional breakfast of Singaporeans. It's like, if you start your day with something that looks THAT disgusting, you won't see anything worse for the rest of the day. (My father ate TWO half-boiled eggs everyday when he was working. Tough generation. My generation are a buncha wimps! Also, Americans who think soft-boiled eggs are "disgusting".)

Singapore Sling. I tried it once. I can't remember if I disliked it. But I do not crave it. So, it must not have been addictive nor memorable. Put it this way, Singaporeans do not drink it on a regular basis. I'm a "rum and coke" (a.k.a. Cuba Libre) guy. Occasionally I'd go for a Gin and Tonic. Singapore Slings are what tourists who need to check off their bucket list drink. Usually at the Long Bar.

Century Egg. So the story is that these eggs (duck, chicken, quail) were aged for 100 years. That's not true.  They're just preserved, and one of the preservative (Ammonia, I believe. Or lime?) turns the egg black-blue and grey. I don't like it. It can be rather intense and should be eaten mixed in with rice porridge (or congee).

A lot of food in Singapore are quite spicy. If you do not have a good spice tolerance, do remember to ask for non-spicy, or without chilli or sambal (a fermented chilli paste often added to food to give it more "kick"). But some foods just come with "heat", like laksa.