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Street Food Wars
| published Jul 22, 2010
Let’s face it, this city is nothing without street food and hawker centers. Where else can we have a delicious plate of char kway teow or chicken rice for less than $3 these days? Yet the experience of dining at hawker centers is often less than stellar: Bad ventilation, long queues, packets of tissue paper used to “chope” (reserve) seats all over the place. You’re not exactly paying for service, but is the food always good enough to make up for it? We’ve taken it upon ourselves to find out, by road testing all of the city’s most popular hawker centers to find out which of them justify the hype. Our standards were high, and we looked not just at the quality of the food, but at the variety of options, pricing, ambiance, and a host of other factors—so get your fork and spoon ready as we gear up for the ultimate battle of the hawker centers.
The Tourist Traps
Newton Food Centre, 500 Clemenceau Avenue North
Still one of the most popular hawker centers in town (if a little controversial for its overpriced seafood), Newton is ideal if you’re looking for perennial local favorites like chicken rice, char kway teow, hokkien mee, barbecued seafood and satay. That said, none of its more than 80 stalls are particularly noteworthy, and prices are generally higher than all the other hawker centers in town (a plate of hokkien mee starts from $4). It’s a ghost town at lunchtime, as most stalls only open from 5pm till past midnight; but a bonus for those who are often struck by late-night pangs. Its choice location just off Orchard Road also earns it an extra point.
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Lau Pa Sat, 18 Raffles Quay
So what if the place is open 24 hours; the food at Lau Pa Sat is sooooo below par. Essentially aimed at tourists and PMEBs who work in the surrounding CBD area, real foodies will let you know that they’d rather go to nearby Amoy Street Food Centre for a decent lunch instead. Granted, there are nearly 150 stalls to choose from—Korean, Japanese, Indian, Filipino, Italian—you name it, they have it; but apart from the satay, which is only available after 7pm, the food at Lau Pa Sat is generally lackluster and uninspiring.
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Winner:
Newton Food Centre
The location and quality of the food are better, even if it’s all just as predictable.
Old School Favorites
Old Airport Road Food Centre, 51 Old Airport Road
Located just off the CBD past Nicoll Highway before the Joo Chiat precinct, this is where some of the best and typically old-school wanton mee, lor mee and kway chap can be found. Most hawkers here have been in the business for over 20 years, including the fried Hokkien mee (stall #01-32), which has been based at Old Airport for more than 30 years—guaranteeing that the food here is authentic, tasty and cheap. It was also refurbished two years ago, and even includes a spacious 2,000-seater al fresco area which is great for a morning or afternoon coffee break—nice.
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Tiong Bahru Food Centre, 1091A Lower Delta Road
Although a lot of locals swear by Tiong Bahru, we feel that the food here is lacking. Sure, old-school favorites like the char siew pau from Tiong Bahru Pau (#02-18/19) and shui kueh (#02-62) are as good as they get—where else can you pay a dollar for a hearty and yummy plate of shui kueh?—but the rest of the stalls boast typical street fare like roasted meat, curry rice and chi zar; and none are particularly recommended. Still, in terms of ambiance, this is one of the better designed hawker centers with nearly 2,000 seats, ensuring that you can park yourself here at any time of the day.
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Winner:
Old Airport Road
With the advantage of better food stalls and wider variety—it even has Italian and Japanese—Tiong Bahru Food Centre pales in comparison.
The Suburban Survivors
Adam Road Food Centre, 2 Adam Road
This food center is as close as it gets to local street food for many Bukit Timah residents. The 32 vendors are equally split between the Indian-Muslim and Chinese variety; while the Chinese selection is forgettable, Indian-Muslim dishes like the rojak from Adam’s Indian Rojak (No. 5) are top-notch. Highlights are the nasi lemaks ($2 onwards) from Adam’s Nasi Lemak (No.1) and Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak (No.2), particularly the former, which sells out by lunch time. Rumor has it that the Sultan of Brunei orders hundreds of packets of nasi lemak especially from Adam’s every day. Need we say more?
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Chomp Chomp Food Centre, 20 Kensington Park Road
Again, all your typical local favorites can be found here—36 stalls hawking fried hokkien mee, char kway teow, wanton mee and chi zar—you know the drill. Nearby Serangoon residents swear by the hokkien noodles from stall 11 (which they specially make a special trip here for), although we found it to be pretty standard. This is also one of the smallest hawker centers, with less than 400 seats—resulting in hungry foodies hovering around and creating an unpleasantly claustrophobic environment. Ventilation is also horrid as the seats are located way too close to the stalls, plus it only opens for dinner after 5pm—yet another downside.
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Winner:
Adam Road Food Centre
A tricky one, this. While the food at Chomp Chomp is slightly better overall, its lack of seats and smoky environment just did us in. Come here if you want to end up smelling like charcoal. The sambal from the nasi lemak at Adam Road totally kicks ass.
The Neighboring Rivals
Amoy Street Food Centre, 7 Maxwell Road
Located right in the heart of CBD and most frequented by PMEBs during lunch hour, this food center offers 135 stalls spanning everything and anything from Thai to Indian-Muslim and Western; although Chinese remains the staple here and the cuisine for which it is most famous. Expect slithery queues at the Yuan Chuan Famous Lor Mee stall (#02-79/80), which offers arguably one of the best lor mee in the city, as well as the nasi lemak just next door (#02-81). For one of the best wanton mee ever, head to Tai Seng Noodle House (#02-123) and join the line—trust us, it’s worth the wait.
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Maxwell Food Centre, 1 Kadayanullar Street
Just five minutes away from Amoy is Maxwell, which also caters to a predominantly PMEB crowd as well as the various residents of Chinatown; which is why the food selection here is, as expected, predominantly Chinese. Although it boasts almost 105 stalls, there are just one or two worth the trip: The Tong Fong Fatt boneless chicken rice is yummy (stall 17) and the sliced fish bee hoon (stall 77) is one of the freshest we’ve had. Bonus points must be given for its long opening hours: Daily 10am-3am, although less than a dozen stalls are open beyond 1am.
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Winner:
Amoy Street Food Centre
Although still the sworn favorite of a small group of older local foodies, the food quality at Maxwell has been sliding in recent years. Plus, it doesn’t have the varied and consistently good mix that Amoy does.
The Easterners
East Coast Lagoon Food Village, 1220 East Coast Parkway
This is one food center that actually lives up to its name. Located just next to East Coast beach, East Coast Lagoon certainly feels like a foodie’s paradise. Indulge in satay (choose from no less than 10 stalls including Satay Bar and Haron Satay), the famous Satay bee hoon from Meng Kee (stall 17) or a delicious Penang prawn mee from Choon Hing Delights (stall 46). The best option is to dine at its al fresco area (you’re right next to the beach, after all), although the main eating space (over 1,200 seats) is also nice and roomy.
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Bedok Central Food Centre, 207 New Upper Changi Road
Although Bedok residents cannot live without it, we found this food center located right at the heart of Bedok Central interchange an absolute bore. Yes, yes, it has all the staples like Hokkien mee, roasted meat rice, oyster omelet, wanton mee, etc., but there’s nothing particularly good here. Sure, prices are relatively affordable, but it’s haphazard atmosphere (the crowd walking to and from the bus and MRT interchanges) is very distracting, not to mention the unbearable noise level from the buses. An absolute downer in every sense of the word.
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Winner:
East Coast Lagoon Food Village
A no-brainer this one.
Chinatown's Cult Favorites
Chinatown Complex Food Centre, 335 Smith Street
Chinatown Complex pretty much has it down pat. With over 4,000 seats and 226 stalls, there’s almost nothing that’s not available here. Every nook and corner offers something surprising for foodies: While the folks head for the back of the queue at the Yong Tau Foo stall (#02-170), we suggest you try other favorites like the dim sum from Hong Hong Mongkok Tim Sum (#02-097), which is handmade on the spot; the old-school yam cake and dumplings from Shang Hai Chee Cheong Fun (#02-174); and the sinful char kway teow from Ah Ling Fried Kway Teow (#02-173). And these are just a fraction of what’s good here.
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People’s Park Food Centre, 32 New Market Road
Although a predictable haunt for many residents, especially the elderly, around the Chinatown area, the vibe here is teeming, thanks in part to the many buskers and street performers who perform just outside—this is definitely one of the busiest (and noisiest) hawker centers in the city. Thankfully, with over 1,900 seats available and over 80 stalls to choose from, this also means that waiting time is relatively manageable, although the variety (or rather, lack thereof) is a letdown. As with many hawker centers, there is yong tau foo, noodles, roast meat rice, chi zar, and more, but being in Chinatown also means that it only serves Chinese food. There are no standout dishes here either, even if prices are fairly reasonable.
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Winner:
Chinatown Complex Food Centre
Its sheer variety and monstrous size just won us over.
The Red Dots
Redhill Food Centre, 85 Redhill Lane
Another favorite among taxi drivers (yes, the folks are oftentimes the best indicators for where the best hawker food is), Redhill is most well-known for its curry rice. It’s so popular, there are three stalls selling the same stuff: Red Hill Curry Rice (#01-95), Hong Seng Curry Rice (#01-76) and Traditional Hainanese Curry Rice (#01-03). Other noteworthy stalls include the duck noodles from Lor Duck Rice & Noodle (#01-79) and wanton mee from Pontian Wanton Noodles (#01-55). It being located some distance from office blocks also means that it is never congested (unlike Bukit Merah), and with over 1,200 seats, you’ll always find a decent enough spot to sit.
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Bukit Merah Town Centre Food Centre, 120 Bukit Merah Lane 1
Although not necessarily the most frequented, this food center located at once bustling Bukit Merah has some noteworthy old favorites. We like the chicken rice from Nan Heng Hainanese Chicken Rice (#02-28), which comes with a huge serving of oyster vegetable (a novelty that you can hardly find in the city) for just $3, and the fish soup selections from Seng Kee Sliced Fish Bee Hoon (#02-56). Plus, there is also a nice mix of bah kut teh, rojak, seafood barbecue and the like that’s more than good enough for the working crowd. But the overall quality is average, and the place could do with more seats (with just over 900 for now).
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Winner:
Redhill Food Centre
If you want quality local food the old-fashioned way, look no further.
The Dark Horses
Lavender Food Square, 380 Jalan Besar
Although located in the seedier part of town at the junction of Jalan Besar and Foch Road, this “cult” favorite is where the best wanton mee [Kok Kee Wanton Noodle stall (#01-06)] in Singapore can be found. Although smallish (it seats about 800 people), the food here is excellent: From the aforementioned wanton mee to the frog porridge from Eminent Frog Porridge (#01-16) to the quirky selection of Chinese “pizzas” from Ah Long Pancake (located in the central area), where you can choose from a veritable selection from tuna, egg and hotdog to cheese, egg and sugar; Lavender Food Square is unpredictably inspiring.
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Golden Mile Food Centre, 505 Beach Road
Cab drivers love this place for the famous sup tulang from Haji Kadir Food Chains (#B1-13/15), but this food center located just across from Golden Mile Complex has more to offer. Boasting over 110 stalls, and featuring an (almost) equal spread of Chinese, Indian-Muslim and Malay fare, Golden Mile charms with its two-storey layout, a small but accessible al fresco area, and generally very good and cheap food. Musts include the chicken rice from Golden Mile Claypot Rice (#01-65) and the spicy prawn mee from Chung Cheng Chilli Prawn Mee (#01-59). Desserts like the jelly drinks from Zhao Ann Granny Grass Jelly (#01-58) and waffles from Sweet Stone Waffles (#01-67) are great too.
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Winner:
Lavender Food Square
While Golden Mile has a slight advantage with more seats and cuisines, Lavender’s wanton mee assures it a spot in the semi-finals (yes, it’s that good).
Quarter Finals
Newton Food Centre VS East Coast Lagoon Food Village
Winner:
East Coast Lagoon Food Village
Overpriced seafood versus a beach vibe—we think the choice is obvious.
Old Airport Road Food Centre VS Adam Road Food Centre
Winner:
Old Airport Road Food Centre
So what if Adam Road has killer nasi lemak? Old Airport Road has killer wanton mee, char kway teow, lor mee, kway chap … the list goes on.
Chinatown Complex Food Centre VS Redhill Food Centre
Winner:
Chinatown Complex Food Centre
It’s the battle of the veterans: Redhill’s curry rice put up a tough fight, but it’s Chinatown Complex’s colossal size and choices that bring Redhill to the floor.
Amoy Street Food Centre VS Lavender Food Square
Winner:
Amoy Street Food Centre
Nope, even Lavender’s wanton mee can’t quite keep up with Amoy’s variety. Don’t believe us? Just ask the lunch crowd.
Semi Finals
East Coast Lagoon Food Village VS Old Airport Road Food Centre
Winner:
Old Airport Road Food Centre
As much as we love East Coast’s chilled ambiance, we still prefer the food at Old Airport (that’s what counts in the end, right?). Plus if you must chill out, go hang at Old Airport’s al fresco area.
Chinatown Complex Food Centre VS Amoy Street Food Centre
Winner:
Amoy Street Food Centre
So price points at Chinatown Complex may be more competitive, but Amoy is still where it’s at for the best food in the CBD. The only thing that you have to work through is the platoon of hungry office workers; there’s a price to pay for everything, no?
FINAL
Old Airport Road Food Centre VS Amoy Street Food Centre
Winner:
Old Airport Road Food Centre
This is the closest and toughest fight yet—as it should be. While the food at Amoy Street is stupendous, it has a few odds against it: You can hardly find a seat, the humidity is at its peak, and it’s literally dead after 5pm. Plus, it closes on weekends, save for a dozen stalls. Old Airport Road, on the other hand, stays open seven days a week, has some of the best, most authentic and affordable food in town, and has enough seats to fit a huge, hungry battalion of army boys. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner.
