Where can local residents and tourists from overseas hunt for scrumptious foods at affordable prices in this Food Paradise known as Singapore? Singaporeans will undoubtedly shout out their answers in unison; hawker centres! While others would refer to those places as Food Courts, these contemporary gastronomical destinations are where people can locate a broad variety of local dishes; ranging from Fried Kway Teow, Hokkien Mee, Chicken Rice, Laksa, Satay, Bah Kut Teh and Black Pepper Crab to healthier alternatives like Yong Tau Foo. Generally, there are over hundreds of food courts with thousands of food stalls islandwide that no food lovers should miss. Therefore, to save the hassle, we have hand-picked the best Hawker Centres in Singapore that are certainly worth a visit, the next time you are inviting your family and friends out for a meal.

1. Chinatown Complex Food Centre

10 Food Stalls In Chinatown Complex Food Centre That Are Worth Revisiting

Do plan a stopover in Chinatown Complex Food Centre to be totally inundated with wonderful dishes the next time you are making a trip down to Chinatown. Conveniently located in the heart of the district, this hawker centre is a fabulous place to acquire local traditional dishes with varied food menus at cheap and affordable prices.

Main Features of Hawker Centre:

  1. Being the largest hawker centre in Singapore with over 260 food stalls, Chinatown Complex Food Centre offers foodies a full range of local dishes from chilli crab, black pepper crab, BBQ stingray, BBQ chicken wings, satay, carrot cake, char kway teow, Hokkien mee, chicken rice, bak kut teh, frog porridge, dim sum, lor mee, prawn noodles to kway chap and pork intestine as well as popular desserts like ice kachang, chendol, tau suan, and soya beancurd. Basically, food lovers can find all the must-try local foods here.
  2. Food prices at Chinatown Complex Hawker Centre are very reasonable and competitive and are typically offered at its cheapest because there are many stalls selling similar foods. Diners can enjoy a plate of chicken rice or a bowl of laksa at prices from S$2.50 to S$3.00.

Address: 335 Smith Street, Singapore 050335

How to Get There:

  • Buses: 2, 12, 33, 54, 63, 124, 143, 147, 190, 851, 961, 961#, 970 and CT1
  • Nearest MRT station: Chinatown MRT (NE4) (Walk 1 min from Exit B)

2. Old Airport Road Food Centre

Hawker Guide: Old Airport Road Food Centre

Old Airport Road Food Centre is a prominent place in Singapore to have economical local favourites such as char kway teow, prawn noodles, Hokkien mee, lor mee, kway chap, satay, rojak and soya beancurd. This hawker centre presently has the highest number of famous food stalls in comparison with any other eateries islandwide.

Main Features of Hawker Centre:

  1. This food centre is one of the oldest, iconic and largest food courts in the city of Singapore that serves authentic yummy local food to many generations of Singaporeans. You will be able to source for all the popular Singaporean dishes here; without a doubt.
  2. This food court is home to some of the established soya beancurd stalls; comprising of the renowned Lao Ban Soya Beancurd and 51 Soya Beancurd. You will always witness long queues in front of these two stores. The beancurd is on sale at S$1.50 per bowl for original flavour and S$2.00 per bowl for almond flavour.

Address: 51 Old Airport Rd, Singapore 390051

How to Get There:

  • Buses: 2, 12, 33, 54, 63, 124, 143, 147, 190, 851, 961, 961#, 970 and CT1
  • Nearest MRT station: Chinatown MRT (NE4) (Walk 1 min from Exit B)

3. Maxwell Road Hawker Centre

Maxwell Road Hawker Centre Singapore | Cobalt Chronicles

The Maxwell Road Hawker Centre is a food court not to be missed for foodies in Singapore. The recommended cuisine to try here is Chinese food and flavoursome Nonya dumplings, noodles and congee dishes. All the food dishes all extremely are low-priced at around S$3.00.

The reputation of Maxwell Road Hawker Centre as a notable place for savoury food is spread all over Singapore. This particular food court itself has been featured on many television channels for making excellent authentic local food available at reasonable prices. All in all, definitely one of the best hawker centres in Singapore!

Main Features of Hawker Centre:

  1. To name a few of the popular food stalls in the Hawker Centre; one of them is the notable Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice stall (#01-10), serving the best chicken rice in Singapore. Other popular stores are Zhen Zhen Porridge (#01-54), China Street Fritters (#01-64), Marina South Delicious Food (#01-35), and Hoe Kee Porridge (#01-45).
  2. Strategically located in Chinatown and opposite the beautiful Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum, this hawker centre is an ideal place for visitors to have a rest and feast on scrumptious local food while exploring Chinatown.

Address: 1 Kadayanallur St, Singapore 069184

How to Get There:

  • Buses: 80, 145, NR5
  • Nearest MRT station: Tanjong Pagar MRT (Take Exit G, walk 6 minutes to Maxwell Road)

4. Tiong Bahru Market Hawker Centre

NEA | National Environment Agency

Where can we locate a hawker place that dish out flavourful local food in a conducive environment? The answer is Tiong Bahru Market Hawker Centre. You can get your hands on literally all the popular Singapore dishes in this culinary place like chicken rice, herbal soups, bak kut teh, chee kueh and wonton mee.

Main Features of Hawker Centre:

  1. Renovated recently, Tiong Bahru Market Hawker Centre is now one of the cleanest and most spacious hawker centres in Singapore. This food centre is equipped with the latest mechanical exhaust system for each of its stalls and smartly utilized the open-air, so you will definitely enjoy the airy, comfortable and relaxing atmosphere there.
  2. The hawker centre is situated on the second floor, while you will find the famous Tiong Bahru Wet Market on the first floor with fresh produce. Hence, foodies can indulge in mouth-watering Singaporean foods and experience the original feature of a typical Singapore wet market wholesomely in a single visit.

Address: 30 Seng Poh Rd, Singapore 168898

How to Get There:

  • Buses: 5, 16, 33, 63, 123, 195, 851 and NR5
  • Nearest MRT station: Tiong Bahru (EW17) (Walk 8 minutes from Exit B)

5. Chomp Chomp Food Centre

Chomp Chomp: Newly Renovated With Better Ventilation & Same Old Good Food  At Serangoon Gardens

Also known as Serangoon Gardens Food Centre, Chomp Chomp Food Centre is a popular food court amongst locals in Singapore. This food court has many different menus contained with delicious local dishes like Hokkien mee, satay, carrot cake, bbq chicken wings, grilled stingray, popiah, fried oyster, and prawn mee. On the whole, truly one of the best hawker centres in Singapore!

Main Features of Hawker Centre:

  1. Unlike other food centres opening from morning to evening, Chomp Chomp Food Centre starts from 18:00 until the wee hours daily. So if you are hungry and crave for hawker food in the middle of the night, make a trip down to Chomp Chomp Food Centre.
  2. To many Singaporean foodies, Chomp Chomp Food Centre is the place that serves the best tasting satays. A broad variety of Pork, beef, chicken and mutton satays are all available.

Address: 20 Kensington Park Road 557269

How to Get There:

  • Buses: 73, 136, 315, 317
  • Nearest MRT station: Lorong Chuan MRT (CC14) (Walk 21 minutes from Exit A)

6. Amoy Street Food Centre

Amoy Street Food Centre Food Directory Singapore - FoodAdvisor

Built in 1983, Amoy Street Food Centre is a local culinary institution and their lunch crowd is a testament of that. The two-storey hawker centre on Maxwell Road is home to a wide range of stalls, hawking everything from curry puff to bowls of sliced fish soup. Notably, six stalls from Amoy Street Food Centre were listed in the Michelin Guide Singapore 2019 and out of the six, four were given Bib Gourmand distinctions. All in all, a personal favourite of mine and indeed one of the best hawker centres in Singapore.

Main Features of Hawker Centre:

Amoy Street Food Centre is a hot-spot for both traditional hawkers and modern fusion fare at affordable prices. As well as traditional hawker stalls selling classics like fish porridge and lor mee. The most popular noodle stall in the Food Centre; A Noodle Story, serves up a Michelin Bib Gourmand-awarded noodle dish that combines Japanese ramen with prawns, roast meat and dumplings. It is a must-try for all food lovers who are visiting this food court.

Address: 7 Maxwell Rd, Singapore 069111

How to Get There:

  • Buses: 700, 971E, 971E, 167, 970, 761, 57, 131, 186, 400, 402, 532 and 5
  • Nearest MRT station: Tanjong Pagar MRT (EW15) (Walk 3 mins from Exit G)

7. Lau Pa Sat Hawker Centre

Lau Pa Sat Hawker Centre - SilverKris

Renowned as a popular hawker centre with a large floor area that incorporate seatings for up to 2,500 people, Lau Pa Sat Hawker Centre is home to the best local delights and international cuisines like North Indian, Korean, and Vietnamese. The hawker centre itself is the go-to location for good hawker fare in the Central Business District. To top it off, it is one of the oldest hawker centres in Singapore till this date.

Main Features of Hawker Centre:

Lau Pa Sat Hawker Centre combines history, striking architecture; distinctive octagonal shape and ornamental columns and scrumptious local food into one exhilarating experience for customers.

Address: 18 Raffles Quay, Singapore 048582

How to Get There:

  • Buses: 10, 106, 196, 97.
  • Nearest MRT Station: Raffles Place MRT (EW14/NS26) (Walk 5 mins from Exit I)

Concisely, it is certainly not as cheap as street food in other Southeast Asian countries, Singapore is named as a Food Paradise by many, still provides irresistible and generally low-priced dishes; special thanks to the huge plethora of food courts in this Lion City. You can taste many different cuisines; Indian, Chinese and Malay primarily the main focus in most of these hawker centres. To all foodies out there, be sure to check out the 7 best hawker centres on your next food hunt in Singapore!

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Written by Shawn