Dianping (大众点评) for Singapore Restaurants: Is It Worth It?
Updated: 3 hours ago
Short answer: Dianping (大众点评) is worth it for Singapore restaurants that get Chinese tourists, such as places in Chinatown, Orchard or Marina Bay. Mainland China sent 3.1 million visitors to Singapore in 2025, and Dianping's overseas business is built around these travellers. If most of your Chinese-speaking customers live in Singapore, put Xiaohongshu (小红书) first and treat Dianping as a second channel.
Key takeaways • Mainland China was Singapore's largest visitor market in 2025, with 3.1 million arrivals (STB). • Chinese visitors' F&B spending in Singapore grew 19% in January to September 2025, faster than any other category. • Dianping says its overseas business focuses on Chinese outbound travellers, and its listings cover 3,000+ cities. • Singapore is one of the top 5 cities by number of restaurants on Dianping's overseas Must-Eat List (必吃榜). • Xiaohongshu is stronger for discovery; Dianping is where tourists check ratings, menus and deals before they walk in.
Updated October 2026. Visitor numbers come from the Singapore Tourism Board's February 2026 release; Dianping details come from interviews and reports published between December 2025 and September 2026.
What Is Dianping and Who Uses It in Singapore?
Dianping is China's main restaurant review and deals app, owned by Meituan, and in Singapore it is used mostly by visitors from mainland China. Think of it as a mix of Google Maps reviews, a food guide and a coupon app, all in Chinese.
In a September 2026 interview with 36Kr, Meituan's Dianping team said the overseas business is centred on Chinese tourists travelling abroad. They said basic shop information and star ratings now cover more than 3,000 cities worldwide.
That tells you who you are talking to. A Dianping user in Singapore is usually planning a trip or already here for a few days. They want to know three things fast:
Is this place good? (star rating and photos)
What should I order? (popular dishes)
Is there a deal? (group-buy set menus, 团购)
How Many Chinese Tourists Could Find Your Restaurant?
The audience is large: 3.1 million mainland Chinese visitors came to Singapore in 2025, more than any other country. That is from the Singapore Tourism Board's February 2026 release, which counted 16.9 million international visitors in total.
Food is where these visitors are spending more. In the same release, mainland China contributed S$3.68 billion in tourism receipts from January to September 2025, and F&B spending led the growth at 19%.
Interest in eating overseas is also visible inside Dianping. According to a March 2026 report on the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide, views for "overseas food/restaurants" on Dianping rose 20% during the 2026 Spring Festival. That guide, run by Meituan, was launched at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on 23 March 2026.
Does Your Singapore Restaurant Already Have a Dianping Page?
It may already have one, because Dianping lists basic information for restaurants in 3,000+ cities, including places that never signed up. Search your restaurant's English and Chinese names in the Dianping app before you do anything else.
Singapore is one of the more active overseas markets. Dianping's team told 36Kr that, after Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand have slightly more bookable deals than other overseas markets, and that many overseas restaurants have put group-buy set menus on the app. They also said Dianping works with local agents in cities including Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
Rankings matter too. Singapore was one of the top 5 cities by number of listed restaurants when Dianping released its first overseas Must-Eat List (必吃榜) in Dubai in November 2025, according to Huaxia Times. That list covered 348 restaurants in 28 cities outside mainland China.
When you find your page, check these basics:
Name in Chinese and English, and correct address
Opening hours and phone number
Recent photos of your top dishes
Any old or wrong information left by users
If you cannot find a way to claim or edit the page in the app, contact Dianping's overseas merchant team or one of its local agents in Singapore.
Dianping vs Xiaohongshu: Which Should a Singapore Restaurant Use?
Use Xiaohongshu to be discovered and Dianping to be checked; most restaurants with tourist traffic need both, but in that order. Xiaohongshu reported 400 million monthly users and 800 million daily searches in May 2026, according to Huxiu, and people search it for "新加坡美食推荐" long before they land.
Question | Xiaohongshu (小红书) | Dianping (大众点评) |
Main job | Discovery and inspiration | Ratings, menus and deals |
Who uses it in Singapore | Tourists, students and Chinese-speaking residents | Mostly mainland Chinese tourists |
When they use it | Weeks before the trip, and while exploring | Right before choosing where to eat |
What works | Store visit notes (探店), short videos, keyword notes | Accurate page info, good photos, group-buy set menus |
What you control | Your own account plus creator posts | Your page info, photos, deals and replies |
Best for | New openings, local regulars, trend dishes | Tourist areas, hotel areas, signature dishes |
For a deeper look at the discovery side, read our guide to Xiaohongshu marketing for Singapore restaurants and our comparison of Xiaohongshu vs Instagram.
How Do You Get Started on Dianping in 4 Steps?
Start small: fix your page, add good photos, test one deal, then connect it to your Xiaohongshu content. You do not need a big budget to begin.
Step 1: Find and fix your page
Make sure every basic detail is correct and in Chinese. Wrong hours or an old address are the fastest way to lose a tourist who is standing outside.
Step 2: Upload photos of 3–5 signature dishes
Tourists order what they see in photos, so show the dishes you want them to order. Use bright, close-up shots and add the Chinese dish names.
Step 3: Test one group-buy set menu
A simple set for 2 people, priced clearly, is the easiest deal to test. Track how many people redeem it each month before you add more.
Step 4: Link it with Xiaohongshu
Your Xiaohongshu notes and store visits (探店) bring people in; Dianping confirms the choice. Mention the same signature dishes on both platforms so tourists recognise them. Our XHS SEO guide explains how to pick the Chinese keywords tourists search.
Is Dianping Worth It for Every Restaurant?
No. It is worth the effort when Chinese tourists are a real share of your customers or could be. Use this quick check:
Worth it: You are in Chinatown, Orchard, Bugis, Marina Bay, Sentosa or near big hotels; you already see Chinese tourists; you serve dishes tourists look for, such as chilli crab, laksa or chicken rice.
Lower priority: Your customers are mostly office workers or residents in a heartland estate; you have no Chinese menu yet; you have no one to reply to reviews in Chinese.
If you are in the second group, start with Xiaohongshu and creator store visits first. Our guide on how to find food bloggers and KOCs in Singapore is a good next step.
From Our Experience Our founder Dawn has spent 8 years on Xiaohongshu and has trained 1,000+ students, many of them food business owners. The pattern we see is simple: Chinese-speaking residents and students in Singapore mostly find restaurants on Xiaohongshu, while tourists often check Dianping right before they walk in. So we fix the Dianping page once, then put the monthly effort into Xiaohongshu notes and KOC store visits (探店), which keep feeding new photos and reviews to both apps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dianping free for Singapore restaurants?
Your restaurant may already have a basic page without paying anything. Group-buy deals and promotions are set up with Dianping or its local agents, so ask for the full terms and fees before you sign.
Can I delete bad reviews on Dianping?
You should not expect to remove honest reviews. Reply politely in Chinese, fix the problem, and ask happy customers to share photos so newer reviews show your best dishes.
Do Singapore locals use Dianping?
Some Chinese-speaking residents do, but Dianping's own team describes its overseas business as focused on tourists from China. For local Chinese-speaking customers, Xiaohongshu usually matters more.
Do I need a Chinese menu for Dianping?
It helps a lot. Tourists compare dish names on Dianping with your menu, so a Chinese menu with the same names makes ordering easier.
How does Dianping fit with KOC store visits?
Store visits (探店) by Chinese-speaking creators produce photos and short reviews that people see on Xiaohongshu. Those visitors then check your Dianping rating, so both channels support each other. Start Media works with 100+ KOCs with 1K–50K followers, and store visit campaigns usually start from SGD 2,000.
Want Help Reaching Chinese Tourists?
Start Media helps Singapore restaurants show up where Chinese-speaking customers search. We run Xiaohongshu account management (about SGD 1,600–2,500 a month for 6–15 notes), KOC store visits (探店) and WeChat Channels, and we can help you set up your Dianping page.
See our Chinese social media services, our XHS KOC store visits and XHS account management, or contact us for a free review of your restaurant's Chinese-language presence.
Want to know what would work for your business?
Send us your business name or Xiaohongshu account and Dawn's team will reply within 1 working day with a free marketing review for your restaurant. Free, no obligation.
WhatsApp Dawn on +65 8377 7718 or use our contact form · See all prices on our pricing page.
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