Singapore Best Hawker Food

Introduce Few of the Must-Try Singapore Local Food

Hawker Food and Singaporean

Singaporeans love hawker food. In the book "1,000 Places To Visit Before You Die", Singapore hawker centres was listed as one of the thousand places. So you are missing out a lot if you come to Singapore without sampling any of them. Singapore is well known as a food paradise and hawker food is one of the tastiest food a foodie would not want to miss.

Most Singaporean would choose to dine at a hawker centre if there is one near by. Though food courts, an upgraded version of hawker centre and mostly located in shopping malls, also provide hawker food, in most cases the foods don't taste as good.

The charm of hawker food is so great that it's not uncommon to see 'towkay' (big boss) driving their big cars like B&W; and Porsche to their favourite stall for dinning. Look at the long queue appeared in front of the stall and you will be amazed to know that Singaporean are crazy for food.

Hawker Centres around Chinatown

Unless you don't pay a visit to Chinatown, there is no excuse that you can't find a hawker food centre nearby. There are five good hawker food centres that were scattered around Chinatown and Tanjong Pagar areas, all within 5 to 10 minutes walking distance from the Chinatown, Raffles Place and Tanjong Pagar MRT stations.

Choose any one of the following hawker centres to view a location map. It also allows you to key in your location (e.g. VivoCity, Park Hotel Orchard, Little India MRT etc) and then list down the bus and MRT routes that show you how to get there.

Chinatown Complex Food Centre (5-10 minutes walk from Chinatown MRT station).
Hong Lim Market and Food Centre (5-10 minutes walk from Chinatown MRT station).
Maxwell Hawker Food Centre (5-10 minutes walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT station).
Amoy Street Food Centre (5-10 minutes walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT station).
Lau Pa Sat (5-10 minutes walk from Raffles Place MRT station).

Best Hawker Food at Chinatown Complex Food Centre

Chinatown Complex Food Centre is the biggest hawker centre in Singapore with a long history. Located at the 2nd floor of Chinatown Complex, it holds more than 200 food stalls. It is one of the best hawker centre to sample original and authentic local food.

Chinatown Complex Food Centre

Go to Chinatown Street Video page for more video

Those food stalls that I am going to recommend here have been in business for at least 10 to 20 years. They still use the 'old' way to prepare and cook the food that were being passed down from their old grand parents.

Nowadays, the immigrants from mainland China also selling local food, but the taste can be very different from the original.

Getting There: How to Get to Chinatown Complex Food Centre?

From Chinatown MRT station

Once you are out of the Chinatown station Exit A, go ahead and take a right turn to Trengganu Street when you come to the first junction. After passing Temple and Smith streets, you will come to the end of the street. On your right is where Chinatown Complex Food Centre is located (as shown in the below left photo).

Chinatown Food Centre is located at the 2nd floor of Chinatown Complex.

Chinatown Complex. Take any one of the two escalators to go to the Food Centre.

From Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum

Chinatown Complex is situated directly opposite of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. When you enter the temple from the main entrance (facing South Bridge Road), you will see Chinatown Complex (shown in the above right photo) in front of you when you exit to the temple's backyard.

My Recommended Hawker Food

Getting around Chinatown Complex

As this hawker food centre is huge and located on the second floor of Chinatown Complex, you will find the following two escalators helpful in directing you to the appropriate food stall.

Escalator A
If you enter from the Complex's main entrance (as shown in the above right photo) to the food centre, you will be able to see escalator A from far as shown in the below left photo.

Escalator B
From escalator A, turn right all the way to the last rows of the shops, then turn left for another 50 metres and the escalator is on your right, as shown on the above right photo.

1. Heng Ji Chicken Rice

Unit No: #02-131
Operating Hours: 3 to 9pm
Closed on: Sunday
Price: S$2.50/$3/$4
Direction: From top of Escalator A, the second stall of the row of stalls that facing you (The one that behind the dessert stall).

2. Run Ji Cooked Food (Braised Duck)

Unit No: #02-140
Operating Hours: 8am to 2pm
Closed on: Wednesday and Public holiday
Price: S$2.50/$3/$4
Direction: From top of Escalator A, the third stall on your left.

3. Dai Hwa Coffee Stall

Unit No: #02-152
Operating Hours: 6.30am to 10pm
Closed on: No off day
Price: S$0.60 to $1.50
Direction: From top of Escalator A, turn left and look out for a small lane. Walk to the end of the lane, the first stall on your left is Dai Hwa stall.

4. Ann Chin (Spring Rolls)

Unit No: #02-112
Operating Hours: 10am to 9pm
Closed on: No off day
Price: S$1.60 each
Direction: From top of Escalator A, turn right, the stall that directly facing you.

5. 116 Roasted Duck

Unit No: #02-50
Operating Hours: 10am to 9pm
Closed on: Thursday
Price: S$2.50/$3/$4
Direction: From top of Escalator B, the first stall on your left.

6. Yishun 921 Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee

Unit No: #02-103
Operating Hours: 11am to 10pm
Closed on: Alternate Monday
Price: S$3/$4
Direction: From top of Escalator B, turn right and go ahead for about 10 metres, it's the first stall on your left.

7. Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Fu

Unit No: #02-88
Operating Hours: 5.45am to 3pm
Closed on: No off day
Price: S$2/$3
Direction: From the above stall (Yishun Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee), follow the row of stalls and you will come to a bridge on the left that links to more stalls. The stall is at the end of the bridge on the right.

8. Hill Street Fried Kway Teow

Unit No: #02-32
Operating Hours: 12 to 8pm
Closed on: Tuesday
Price: S$2.50/$3
Direction: From the above stall (Niu Che Shui Famous Glutinous Rice), walk to the end of the row of stalls. The last stall is the one.

9. Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice

Unit No: #02-198
Operating Hours: 4 to 11pm
Closed on: Thursday
Price: S$5/$8
Direction: From top of Escalator A, make a right U-turn. Then take a left turn when you come to the second row of stalls. Walk all the way to the end and make a right turn. The stall is located at the last stall.