The best hawker centers in Singapore

Ask 10 Singaporeans to name their favorite hawker center, and you’ll get 10 different answers. The island city of Singapore boasts some 120 hawker centers, listed by UNESCO as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. But for Singaporeans, these culturally important food halls are just a part of everyday life. 

Serving every Singaporean dish under the sun, the city's hawker centers are most visited for breakfast and lunch. You’ll see retirees catching up in the morning as they munch on kaya toast (with coconut jam) and teh tarik (strong tea with condensed milk), and during the lunchtime rush, you’ll see everyone from CEOs to secretaries in line for addictive bak chor mee (noodles with minced meat).

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At hawker courts, each stall has a speciality, and you may want to visit a few before taking your purchases to an empty table to eat (drinks are purchased separately from dedicated stands). A word of advice: if you see a pack of tissues on a table, that means the table is reserved. And always remember to put your tray away and clear your table – those who don't risk a fine.

My other big piece of advice is this: if you see a line, get in it. Some stalls have been awarded Michelin stars, while others are hidden gems only locals know about. I’ve visited Singapore more than a dozen times, and a trip to Amoy Street Food Centre for Hainanese chicken rice (a Singapore favorite) is usually my first stop.

But with so many hawker centers to choose from, each with dozens of vendors spread across multiple floors, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. So, I tapped Kristie Phua, a Singaporean street food expert and tour guide, about her hawker center go-tos.

Regardless of which one you end up at, come with an appetite and some cash (cards are rarely accepted) and be prepared to wait in line for some of the city’s best bites. Enjoy our pick of Singapore's best hawker centers!

1. Maxwell Food Centre (Kadayanallur St, Chinatown)

Best for Hainanese chicken rice

Maxwell Food Centre is one of Singapore’s best-known hawker centers, and for good reason. It reminds Phua of her early corporate days, when she and her co-workers would hurry out of the office for an early or late lunch to avoid the crowds.

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Famous Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice is one of the most popular and crowded stalls in Maxwell, but Phua recommends going to Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice as an alternative. “Personally, I feel Ah Tai is just as good. The service is better, and for those in the know, it is run by the former chef of Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice,” she divulges.

Phua also recommends arriving in the morning to get your hands on the sweet treats at Xing Xing Ondeh Ondeh & Tapioca Cake. “Whenever I am at Maxwell Food Centre in the morning, I pick up a box of their tapioca-based "cakes," which we call kuehs. For me, this is one of the best tapioca cakes in Singapore.”

2. Chinatown Complex Food Centre (Smith St, Chinatown)

Best for old Singapore vibes

Visits to this expansive, covered Chinatown hawker center bring Phua back to her childhood, when she would often have lunch here with her parents. She advises that all the good stalls here are crowded, so go at off-peak times to avoid a wait.

People often come here specifically to sample the food at Liao Fan Hawker Chan, one of the first street food stalls in the world to be awarded a Michelin star. It’s since lost its coveted Michelin status, but locals swear by its moist, flavorful soya sauce chicken.

Ann Chin Popiah is another favorite for its excellent popiah – a non-fried, spring-roll-esque dish. “The fillings are rich, with fried turnip, crunchy bits, hard-boiled egg, bean sprouts, lettuce, and peanuts, all wrapped in the flavorful skin that doesn’t break easily and is moist to the taste,” says Phua. “It's my favorite snack and sometimes a light lunch.”

3. Tiong Bahru Food Centre (Seng Poh Rd, Tiong Bahru)

Best for a relaxed meal

Less hectic than the others on this list, Phua likes Tiong Bahru Food Centre for its relaxing vibe and spacious walkways. It’s also home to some of her favorite stalls, including Loo’s Hainanese Curry Rice (just be prepared to wait). Her must-try order is rice with a pork chop, cabbage and sotong (squid); she also recommends drowning the rice in their tasty Hainanese-style curry sauce.

Meat lovers should try Lee Hong Kee Cantonese Roasted, whose traditional recipes for charcoal-roasted meats have been passed down through generations. Try the char siu pork – crispy, crunchy and juicy roast pork with a nice balance of sweetness.

If you have room, try Lor Mee 178. Here, Hokkien-style noodles are drenched in thick gravy, known as "lor" in Singapore. “The flavorful gravy is topped with thin slices of pork, but ask for an additional topping of crispy fried shark fritter," recommends Phua. "For extra punch, add dashes of vinegar and chili.”

4. Tekka Centre (Buffalo Rd, Little India)

Best for Indian flavors 

This Little India hawker center is a favorite among lovers of Indian food. Whenever she is craving fish tikka or butter chicken served with fluffy naan bread, Phua makes a beeline for Delhi Lahori, which specializes in Indian and Pakistani dishes. Allauddin’s Briyani is Michelin-recommended for mutton, chicken or beef biryani; Phua recommends slathering it all in their richly spiced curry gravy.

Alongside Indian food, Tekka Centre also has 545 Whampoa Prawn Noodles, a famous 100-year-old noodle stall, currently helmed by the daughter of the family. “Bowls of noodles come with prawn halves, pork slices, bean sprouts, fried pork lard and shallots,” says Phua. “Noodles are accompanied by a bowl of rich prawn broth, featuring the flavor of prawn shells simmered down to their very essence.”