Which Is Your Favourite?
58 Best Hawker Food in Singapore:
- Ayam Penyet - Ayam Penyet a fried chicken dish flattened with a wooden pestle, the action helps to make the chicken more tender and easier to consume.
- Bak Chor Mee - Singapore’s Bak Chor Mee 肉脞面 is a hawker dish we can be proud of, with a Michelin star in the bag, and once listed as the top world street food by World Street Food Congress.
- Bak Kut Teh - Bak Kut Teh must be one of Singapore’s most iconic food, in which many celebrities from overseas are huge fans of.
- Ban Mian - Ban Mian is the kind of food that would send you loads of comfort and warmth in the belly, especially when taken during the rainy days.
- BBQ Seafood - Talk about BBQ Seafood, then perhaps hawker centres such as Changi Village, Chomp Chomp, Newton Food Centre, and Pasir Panjang Food Centre will come to mind.
- Beef Noodles - While the original name with “Odeon Beef Kway Teow” cannot be used anymore, you can still find that nostalgic taste at Hwa Heng Beef Noodles at Bendemeer Market & Food Centre.
- Bee Hoon (Economic) - There is almost always at least one Economic Bee Hoon stall at a food centre.
- Char Kway Teow - Char Kway Teow 炒粿条 which is essentially stir-fried noodles with rice noodles, is one of those local hawker dishes that I appreciate more as I get older.
- Char Siew (Roast Meats) Rice - Traditionally sold by displaying them hanged in glass cases by the entrance, char siew and other roasted meats are visually appetising.
- Chendol - After CNN named “Cendol from Singapore” as one of the 50 world’s best desserts, there was an uproar on social media about the dessert’s origin.
- Cheng Tng - One of Singapore’s most popular local desserts is Cheng Tng 清汤 (sometimes spelt “Ching Teng”), a bowl of sweet and refreshing treat to beat the summer heat.
- Chwee Kueh - Chwee Kueh 水粿 while being a relatively known breakfast dish in Singapore, is also fast-diminishing.
- Chicken Rice - Talk about one of Singapore’s most iconic hawker dish and it would be Hainanese Chicken Rice, something that would still taste good after dabao (takeaway).
- Claypot Rice - In our modern Singapore society where everything is about being fast, fast, fast… having a meal of Claypot Rice can certainly test the patience of many.
- Congee - Congee, called ”chog” in Cantonese , is a Chinese rice porridge dish added with ingredients such as meat, fish, eggs, peanuts and even seafood.
- Curry Chicken Noodles - Just how did poached chicken and curry come together again? While Singapore is the land of Hainanese Chicken Rice, the other much over-looked dish is Curry Chicken Noodles.
- Curry Puff - These deep-fried (some baked) Curry Puffs of pastries with curried fillings, potatoes and chicken make such as comforting, semi-filling treat. I start with both ends of the crimping, then go towards the centre.
- Duck Rice & Noodles - Duck Rice can be the ultimate comfort food to many Singaporeans.
- Double Boiled Soups - Soups of the typical Double Boiled Soups offered include Buddha Jumps Over The Wall, Ten Tonic Ginseng Chicken Soup, Herbal Ginseng Black Chicken Soup, Lotus Root Peanut Pork Ribs Soup, Old Cucumber Pork Rib Soup, Watercress Pork Ribs Soup, and ABC Chicken Soup.
- Fish Soup - Sliced Fish Soup 鱼片汤 has become a popular hawker dish to have especially during days when we want to eat healthier.
- Fishball Noodles - There are many Fishball Noodles stalls in Singapore, but not many serve hand-made fishballs and fishcakes anymore. So, I really treasure one if I come across any.
- Fried Carrot Cake - Carrot Cake is well-loved local hawker dish, also known as Chai Tow Kway. For foreigners reading, this is not to be confused with the slices of sweet “Carrot Cake” with cream cheese.
- Fried Oyster Omelette - Oyster Omelette 蠔煎, commonly called “Orh Jian” or ”Orh Luak” consist of starch (typically potato starch), egg batter and small oysters fried together, usually enhanced with a spicy chilli sauce with lime.
- Hokkien Mee - Hokkien Mee 福建炒蝦麵 is admittedly one of my favourite local hawker food, and I know of people who enjoy dapaoing (takeaway) this dish.
- Hor Fun - Fried Hor Fun is typically found in zi char stalls in Singapore, offering variants from Seafood, San Lou, to Beef with black bean sauce.
- Ipoh Hor Fun - While the dish of Shredded Chicken Flat Rice Noodles is more commonly known as Kai See Hor Fun” (Cantonese) in Ipoh, we usually simply call it “Ipoh Hor Fun” in Singapore.
- Indian Rojak - Siraj Famous Waterloo St Indian Rojak at Albert Food Centre is known is known to be the “Original Waterloo Street Rojak Since The 1980s”.
- Kopi & Kaya Toast - The tradition of kaya toast and kopi in Singapore can be attributed to the Hainanese, and one of the first was Kheng Hoe Heng founded in 1919 which was later renamed to “Killiney Kopitiam” in the 90s.
- Kway Chap - Kway Chap comes in two parts – the rice noodles accompanied with braised sides.
- Laksa - Laksa must be one of Singapore’s most iconic hawker food, and “Katong Laksa” has become synonymous with this bowl of spicy and coconuty rice noodle dish.
- Lor Mee - Lor Mee 卤面 is a popular Singapore hawker noodle dish with Hokkien origins.
- Mala Xiang Guo - This dish might not have been included a couple of years ago, but now you would spot a Mala Xiang Guo stall in almost every hawker centre, even food courts and coffee shop.
- Mee Rebus - Mee Rebus is one of the iconic hawker noodles dishes in Singapore, of yellow noodles served with thick and spicy potato-based gravy.
- Mee Siam = Mee Siam which means “Siamese noodle” in Malay, is a local hawker dish which makes for an ideal breakfast type of food.
- Mee Soto - Mee soto is a spicy Indonesian-style noodle soup dish – “soto” refer to Indonesian soup.
- Mutton Soup - Do the young even drink Mutton Soup nowadays? But we don’t even see many of such stalls around nowadays.
- Nasi Biryani - Briyani (also called “Biryani” depending on region) is a type of mixed long-grain Indian rice dish flavoured with spices such that it is rich and flavourful; with the word derived from a Persian word “birian” which means fried before cooking.
- Nasi Lemak - Nasi Lemak is one of Singapore’s most popular hawker dish, known for fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf.
- Nasi Padang - For those who are unfamiliar, Nasi Padang consists of steamed rice served with various choices of pre-cooked dishes, typically with a window display with rows of stacked food.
- Ngor Hiang - “Ngoh Hiang” is the Singaporean version of five-spice pork rolls wrapped with beancurd skin, though this can represent a type of stall selling similar deep-fried items such as prawn fritters, fish cake, sausages, beancurd and more.
- Pig’s Organ Soup - Koh Brother Pig’s Organ Soup at Tiong Bahru Food Centre began in 1955 by a pioneer hawker named Koh Kee with a secret recipe and a push cart.
- Popiah - Popiah 薄餅 which is one of Singapore’s most popular hawker dishes, was actually traditionally eaten during the Qingming Festival Period.
- Prawn Noodles - When people go for Prawn Noodles aka Hae Mee, it has to be flavourful, brimming with seafood-goodness, with tinge of sweetness, and most importantly taste gao-gao (intensely rich).
- Putu Piring - These Malay desserts look like the Chinese kueh tutu, but the origins are said to be from India.
- Rojak - Funny how we often use the word ”Rojak” in our colloquial language, yet the dish has somehow gone under-the-radar in the recent few years.
- Roti Prata - For those who do not know what Roti Prata is, Roti means ‘bread’, and Prata or paratha means ‘flat’ in Hindi language.
- Satay - Satay, spelled as sate in Indonesia and Malaysia is a Southeast Asian dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce.
- Satay Bee Hoon - Ugly, messy, gooey, and warms the cockles of your heart. Satay Bee Hoon is one of those fast disappearing hawker food in Singapore, that only a handful of stalls still serve them as it is labour-intensive to prepare the sauce.
- Soya Sauce Chicken - One of the 2 hawker stalls in Singapore with a Michelin star. Liao Fan Hawker Chan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle at Chinatown Food Complex sells Soya Sauce Chicken Rice, Soya Sauce Chicken Noodle, Roasted Pork Rice, Char Siew Rice, and Char Siew Noodles are unbelievable prices of $2 – $3.
- Tau Hway - Tau Hway, also known as Tau Huay or Douhua, is a popular dessert in Singapore. It’s a Chinese dessert made of soft tofu that has been coagulated.
- Teochew Porridge - Teochew porridge 潮州糜 or ‘Teochew Mui’ is a type of rice soup similar to the Chinese congee but in a non-gooey and non-mushy way. Compared to the Cantonese-style congee, it has a waterier texture.
- Thunder Tea Rice - Thunder Tea Rice is a Hakka style dish which comparises of two parts – the rice part which comes topped with generous servings of vegetables and sometimes preserved radish; and the bowl of tea.
- Vadai - The Prawn Vadai offered from The Original Vadai is quite different from those found in India, said to be a fusion or Singapore originated dish.
- Vegetarian Bee Hoon - Vegetarian Bee Hoon is a Singaporean-style hawker noodle dish which comprises of cooked topped with vegetarian items such as cabbage, spring rolls, fried tofu skin, and mock meats made from gluten.
- Wanton Mee - A good plate of Wanton Mee in Singapore would certainly be the most debatable, because there are just so many styles.
- Western Food - When we talk about “Western Food” served in hawker centres in Singapore, it is not the American steaks or European fancy dishes that some would imagine.
- Yong Tau Foo - Yong Tau Foo is a Hakka Chinese delight that is available in most of the hawker centres and food courts in Singapore, due to its variety and perceived healthiness (you don’t go pick all the deep-fried food and pour all the sauce within lah).
- Zi Char - There is just something about “Zi Char” (or Tze Char 煮炒) that is very comforting, especially when the dishes come served piping hot with that strong wok-hei (wok-heat).
