Eating My Way Through Singapore’s Hawker Centers

I’m back in Singapore, eating my way through 4 hawker centers: Newton Food Center, Tekka Center, Maxwell Food Center, and Lau Pa Sat! If you ever visit Singapore, come to a hawker center because you will find something here that’s meant for you. There’s just so many different kinds of foods to try! This trip, I was invited by Love, Bonito (my dream brand!) and the Singapore Tourism Board to show you some of Singapore’s unique hawker center eats!

Hawker Centers in Singapore

Taiwan has night markets, and Singapore has hawker centers. These food courts of many small stalls often are build near markets, and are popular even with locals as a cheap lunch. There’s so many things to try at each location, I can’t wait to get started!

Here are all the hawker center locations we visited this trip! Save this map by clicking the button below, or click the link to skip directly to your favorite hawker center.

Newton Food Centre from Crazy Rich Asians

The first place I visited after landing in Singapore was Newton Food Center. Yes, the hawker center in Crazy Rich Asians! Newton Food Center was opened in 1971 as a way to promote Singapore’s diverse food culture. It’s got a great array of seafood and barbeque options. Newton Food Center is a big square of different stalls, with an outdoor seating area in the middle, so it can get a little hot under the sun!

If you’re visiting Singapore, getting to Newton Food Center is easy. You can get to the Newton Food Center via the Blue or Red MRT line at Newton Station. Unfortunately, by the time I got here this time, the places I was recommended to try here were all closed. So, I had to find something good to eat the old-fashioned way: I followed my nose.  

Wings and Satay – Awesome BBQ #01-35

Even though most shops were closed since it was a national holiday, I was immediately drawn by the smell of freshly barbecued chicken wings and skewers at Awesome BBQ. I Immediately ordered a few of their chicken wings and satay to try, since they smelled so delicious.

These charred chicken wings were slightly crispy and glistening on the outside yet juicy on the inside. It comes with a sambal that’s nice and spicy, The chicken satay skewers were also super taste. Tender, smoky, and meaty, they paired so well with the nutty peanut sauce. So simple, yet delicious.They’re are actually quite a good deal for S$1.70 per wing and S$.90 per satay skewer.

Although I didn’t get to try the spots I came to Newton Food Centre for, I’m glad got to try Awesome BBQ. It was honestly an awesome way to start the trip!

Tekka Centre: Indian Food Galore

As part of our foodie day, we headed over to Tekka Center in a heart of Singapore’s Little India. This is a lively indoor spot with a wet market and hawker center, so you can find everything from fresh produce to tasty local food. As someone who loves Indian food, I was so excited to be surrounded by so many delicious smells and unique foods!

I’m not kidding when I say I wish I tried everything because everything looked unreal. There were pratas being made, and masala chai being poured. This place was bustling! Located close to the Little India MRT Station, Tekka Center is not hard to find. If you’re looking for a wide variety of Indian flavors in Singapore, you’re sure to find it here.

Prata – Ar Rahman Cafe & Royal Prata

Our first stop at the Tekka Center was Ar Rahman Cafe. This busy stall had a few different stations, with one for prata and one for drinks. They have a wide variety of different refreshing drinks made right in front of you. Near by, the prata station is busy as the staff churn out fresh golden-brown prata one after another on the hot griddle. They offer so many different kinds of fillings!

My favorite was hands-down the freshly made prata. It’s crispy and flaky on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. When you take a bite you get a slight taste of the rich and buttery flavor from the ghee. Even just the plain prata was so satisfying! At S$1-3 per prata, I would have 10 of these at once if it was up to me!

Chicken Briyani – Allauddin’s Briyani 

Inside Tekka Center, Allauddin’s Briyani serves plates and plates of delicious briyani. The smells of it cooking wafts through the air nearby. Whenever I watch them pack bright orange-yellow rice and steaming chunks of meat onto plates from those big briyani pots, I can’t help but want to order right away. It’s no wonder, because this unassuming briyani stall is a Michelin recommended hawker stall!

I fell in love with their briyani! Their chicken briyani (S$6) was so well balanced, and so flavorful. Despite the hot weather that that got me dripping in sweat, I wanted to get another steaming plateful. I could not stop eating this fragrant combo of chicken and rice. It’s a 10 out of 10, highly recommend! Allauddin’s Briyani usually doesn’t require a wait, and it’s totally worth a trip out to Tekka Center.

Maxwell Food Center – Michelin Hawker Foods

If you thought we were done eating, think again, because next up we went back to Maxwell Center to try even more food. Maxwell Food Center is loved for its large variety of affordable and absolutely delicious food options in the middle of Chinatown. I got the chance to come here TWICE trip, and I had the famous Tiantian Chicken Rice TWICE!

I’ve already written about Tiantian in my other posts, so I wanted to share a couple of other different food you can find here at Maxwell Food Center. Located to the business district, Maxwell Food Center is PACKED with a local lunchtime crowd as well as tourists, so make sure to avoid lunch hours. You can get to Maxwell Food Center via the MRT at both the Tanjong Pagar and Chinatown Station.

BBQ Pork and Roasted Duck – Ah Zhong Roasted Delights

Ah Zhong Roasted Delights has an array of freshly made roast ducks and cuts of Char Siew hanging from their stall window. They look absolutely irresistible, and just from looking at them, it’s hard to decide what to order. You can pair these different roasted meats with noodles or rice for about S$5-15 per plate.

We tried roasted barbecue pork and duck plate with rice. The barbeque pork was the perfect ratio of sweet and savory and fatty. The duck skin was so crispy and the meat was nice and juicy. With a bit of rice, it’s the perfect bite. Ah Zhong Roasted Delights often have a line, but they move quite fast. Don’t forget to grab a plate of these BBQ meats while visiting!

Traditional Carrot Cake – Marina South Delicious Foods

We also grabbed some Black and White traditional carrot cake from Marina South Delicious Foods, which specializes in carrot cake, oyster pancake, and rice noodles. No, it’s not the sugary, layered cake made of orange carrots. Instead, it’s a savory sticky rice cake made with tons of radish.

I’ve been dying to try this since I saw it on Crazy Rich Asians, and this did not disappoint! The carrot cake itself is flavorful, but after pan frying until charred, the flavor entirely. The black carrot cake is sweeter and saucier, and is a nice variation to the white carrot cake, the more savory option. The portion size is so generous, it was easy to share.

Peanut Rice Ball Soup – 75 China Street Peanuts Soup

Nearby, we can see 75 China Street Peanut Soup 中華街花生湯 and their staff busy scooping out bowls after bowls of sweet soups. Their big pots of sweet red bean and peanut soups outside are so eye-catching. After a bunch of savory dishes, we’re ready for a sweet treat. At S$2 a bowl, we grabbed one each of peanut mochi soup and red bean mochi soup.

The soup is sweet, but doesn’t taste sugary. The peanuts and red bean are cooked until it melts in your mouth easily. The soft, chewy rice balls were filled with peanut or sesame fillings that really added another rich layer to the nuttiness of the whole dessert. It’s the perfect end to our meal!

Satay Street – Lau Pa Sat

Lau Pa Sat is the oldest market in Singapore, and now, a super popular tourist destination. This hawker center is actually inside a beautiful Victorian-style national monument. Out of their 80 stalls, 6 are also Michelin recommended! One section of Lau Pa Sat is Satay Street, an area of 7 satay stalls with outdoor seating. I’ve always want to come here, and tonight, we chose to hang out here with some skewers and beer!

The entire area is smoky with all the satay grills going nonstop, and it smells divine. It’s such a friendly, busy environment to share a meal with, and it’s an awesome atmosphere of people chatting over deliciously grilled skewers. If you live in Singapore, I’m so jealous, because I’d come here all the time!

Beef, Shrimp, and Chicken Satay – Best Satay 7 & 8

Of course, on Satay Street, you’ve got to get satay. So, we grabbed a few platefuls of skewers from Best Satay 7 & 8. The menu here is simple: each set comes with chicken, shrimp, and mutton or beef skewers, with 5 different sizes to choose from. We had to have a taste, so we got the smallest set (S$28) to share.

The meat was perfectly charred, and still very tender. Dipped in the sweet peanut sauce, there’s really no telling how many I can eat. That sweet, slightly tangy nutty flavor compliments both the natural sweetness in the shrimp and cuts through the fattiness and saltiness of the seasoned chicken and beef. It’s tasty, and fun to share with a large group of friends!

See more of my travel & food adventures around Singapore: