Best Olive Oil in Singapore

When I was looking for high quality olive oils that I could purchase in Singapore without breaking the bank, it was hard to figure out what to buy. When I went to Fairprice for the first time I saw the old stalwarts of Bertolli and Colavita, but I wanted something that I could be sure would taste good. I first bought Colavita olive oil when I first moved to Singapore but I was dissapointed in the taste compared to olive oil I was gifted by my Greek landlord back in the US.

I did a lot of research on olive oil, first learning that extra virgin olive oil might not actually be extra virgin olive oil. And then learning that Italian olive oil might not even be made in Italy shocked me.

So what should you be looking for when buying olive oil.

1. In general, the fresher the olive oil, the better. Most olives for olive oil are harvested in the fall. Good olive oils will have production dates (pressed on or harvest date) on the bottle.
2. The bottle should be made out of a dark material. Dark glass or metal tins.
3. Only buy extra virgin olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil has the most flavor.
4. Look for single origin or at least single country olive oils.
5. Ignore cold pressed designations. All extra virgin olive oils are cold pressed.

While I was researching, I came upon the same advice at many places. Buy Australian olive oil due to its high level of standards in olive oil production. Currently in Singapore, Australian olive oil is not very common, especially in our standard supermarkets (NTUC, Cold Storage, Sheng Shong). But I did find one brand that was well regarded, won awards and not expensive. It was also easy to find, being sold in Fairprice Select.

Cobram Estate Robust Flavor Extra Virgin Olive Oil

This olive oil has won Gold in the NYIOCC World Olive Oil Competition.

I purchased this from NTUC Fairprice in Orchard in 111 Somerset. It was the 2021 harvest (so it was super fresh) and it cost about $9 for 350ml.

The taste is fantastic. Smooth and a bit peppery, with a sweet grassy smell. I used it as a dressing for a rocket salad and the smoothness paired really well with the peppery rocket. I also used it to stirfry some chinese cabbage with some soy sauce and the grassy smell made the stirfry very fragrant.

UPDATE (2021/08/08) I was at fairprice in PLQ and I did see the higher end Cobram Estate Ultra Premium single varietal (hojiblanca and picual) olive oils but it seems like they are from the 2020 harvest and not the 2021 harvest. I would assume that the 2021 harvest bottles would be coming sometime soon.