What’s the best way to start your Singaporean food adventure in one delicious sitting? Hawkers!
Singapore’s hawker centres are a culinary heaven and a true melting pot of cuisines from different cultures and regions. The history of hawkers in Singapore can be traced back to the mid-1800s when nomadic cooks roamed around the island with knives, pots and woks tied to their pushcarts, selling an array of delicious food. Today, hawker centres are one of the most treasured national icons that is so well-loved by the locals and tourists from all over the world.
foodpanda is all about bringing good food to you, and while we understand the satisfaction of pounding the pavement in search of the best chicken rice, mee rebus or the scrumptious braised pork soup — sometimes you just want to have all that delivered to the comfort of your home without stress and sweat.
Discover mind-boggling options of hawker food that you can get from foodpanda, where you can mix-and-match various dishes from your favourite local stalls in one order. Brace yourself because we have rounded up four of our top picks for the best hawker centres and dishes in Singapore that will make your mouth water.
Maxwell Hawker Centre
Maxwell Hawker Centre is one of the most popular hawker centres in Singapore and it is home to the Nation’s most praised chicken rice stall: Tian Tian Chicken Rice. Having earned a Michelin Bib-Gourmand, Tian Tian Chicken Rice has gotten praise from the likes of Anthony Bourdain, Gordon Ramsay and actor, Chow Yun Fat.
What makes chicken rice so special? Well, the flavours of plain old chicken rice can actually set your taste buds alight with delight. It’s a marriage between juicy chicken thighs with piping hot rice that is infused with lemongrass, ginger and chicken broth. The whole dish itself is topped off with spicy chilli sauce, garlic or dark soy.
If you’d rather skip the perpetually long queue of Tian Tian Chicken Rice, you can still find an abundance of other delicious chicken rice stalls on foodpanda: Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken rice, Heng Heng Hainanese Chicken rice or Ah Zhong Roasted Delights, which also serves a very tasty plate of Char Siew noodles and the classic Hor Fun.
Moving on from chicken rice, no hawker centre is complete without Rojak. Commonly found in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, Rojak is a traditional salad of tropical fruits and light vegetables tossed in punchy tamarind sauce and crushed peanuts. Don’t forget to quench your thirst with drinks that are best loved by the locals: Kopi, sugar cane juice, iced Barley or go all out by indulging in a beautiful glass of iced Bandung. Named after a historical city in West Java, Indonesia, this rose-flavoured drink is served with evaporated milk and ice cubes.
Alexandra Village Food Centre
Alexandra Village Food Centre continues to be the kitchen of many Singaporeans. Food-obsessed locals will assure you that this hawker centre is worth a try! With an array of stalls under one roof (or app), each hawker serves signature dishes that were mastered for generations. Hawker centres are usually bustling during lunch hour and dinner but if you only have a short amount of time to sit and enjoy your meal, wandering around in the heat with tension over what to order, is simply out of the question. This is where mix-and-matching your favourite hawker food on foodpanda comes in handy. Let’s discover delicious eats that might excite your foodie radar.
Sip a scrumptious bowl of Bah Kut Teh from Leon Kee Claypot Pork Rib Soup that is cooked with various types of Chinese herbs and pork that are slide-off-the-bone tender. This dish is simply too good not to talk about — it’s simple, it’s hearty but the exceptional taste and quality of their pork rib dish never disappoint.
Let’s move on to the oh-so-buttery Roti Prata. Crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside, Roti Prata is a fried flatbread made by stretching a dough that has been seasoned with Indian clarified butter. This delicious dish is best served with fish or mutton curry.
It won’t be Alexandra Village Food Centre without its wide range of stalls selling avocado juice. This creamy drink is a yummy blend of avocado with condensed and fresh milk. Your palate would be so delighted to taste this liquid gold! Trust us.
Boon Lay Place Food Village
Boon Lay Place Food Village is a true neighbourhood eatery. Expect to find university students, workers and residents in the area coming late at night to savour mouthwatering local delicacies. Do you miss the exhilarating smell of spices, steaming hot broth and fragrant rice, but still prefer to stay in and enjoy good food with your loved ones? No problem! Let us bring Boon Lay Place Food Village to your home.
Deemed culinary heaven, this hawker centre houses the Nation’s most popular food from Singapore-style fried Hokkien prawn noodles, silky beancurd pudding, oyster omelette to an amassing number of healthy steamed soup. Fried Hokkien prawn mee is a sure hit for many Singaporeans and international visitors. The juicy flavours of this noodle come from the rich, sweet and tangy prawn stock.
A quick tip: add a few freshly chopped chillies into your bowl of noodle for that extra kick.
Clam on one of the best oyster omelettes that you can find in Singapore. This unique dish is a blend of crispy egg batter that pairs well with the fresh and wild taste of oysters, which makes every bite of this dish a delight. For dessert, you can’t go wrong with chilled beancurd pudding. The sweet pudding is delicate, with a creamy melt-in-your-mouth texture. It’s just the perfect dessert after a heavy hawker meal.
Changi Village Hawker Centre
Changi Village Hawker Centre is located close to Changi airport at the eastern end of the island. This hidden gem is a daily must-go for hungry locals looking for the best Chinese hawker food and foodpanda is ready to bring good food from this hawker centre to you. So, get ready to order plenty of dishes to share with your friends or families.
Let’s start with a chewy rice noodle called Kway Teow that is stir-fried with pearl onions, various vegetables and fish cakes, seasoned with the perfect amount of fish and soy sauce. This hearty dish is considered a national favourite in Singapore and Malaysia — and we 100% agree. There are lots of different ways you can have your Kway Teow done. Whether it is with beef, chicken or shrimp; the basic style stays scrumptiously the same.
Craving for a dish that makes an awesome appetiser or snack? Carrot cake is the way to go! Do not confuse this with the dessert carrot cake with cream cheese icing that we usually enjoy together with a lovely cup of tea. This carrot cake (Chai Tow Kway) is a savoury flash-fried radish cake that contains no trace of carrot but it’s indeed the classic hawker food that you need to try. After the Chai Tow Kway batter is fully baked, the aromatic rice cake is marinated in fish and sweetened soy sauce before getting fried together with eggs, oysters and prawns.
What is Singapore without its hawker, right? Stop choosing between Hokkien mee, chilli crab, cendol or chicken satay. Just get them all! You pick and mix-and-match, and we’ll bring everything straight to your doorstep in three simple steps:
- Order from multiple stalls in one hawker centre;
- Combine all your favourite eats in one basket;
- Have us deliver your food in one order with one delivery fee.
Enjoy!
