We eat out often in Singapore, and many of our favourite meals are at hawker centres. These covered food courts bring dozens of stalls together, often with each specialising in a small number of dishes. They can be excellent value for a family, though prices vary by stall and dish. Here is how we order and what we keep returning for.
How hawker centres work
The system is simple once you have done it twice. Find a table, note its number, then scan the stalls and order at the counter. Some give you a token or buzzer; others ask for your table number or have you wait for the food. Carry some cash, since payment options differ by stall. A queue can be a useful clue, but check the posted menu and hygiene grade too. Popular dishes may sell out, and stall opening days vary. When you finish, return your tray and clear your table; Singapore's visitor guidance says leaving trays and litter behind is an offence.
The hawker centres we return to
Maxwell Food Centre in Chinatown is the one everyone knows, famous above all for its chicken rice stalls, and it is still worth going to despite the crowds. Lau Pa Sat sits in a beautiful Victorian iron-and-glass structure in the financial district, touristy at lunchtime but magical in the evening when the street outside closes and becomes a satay club of smoke and grills. Tiong Bahru Market is our favourite for breakfast and brunch, upstairs from one of the city's best wet markets, with chwee kueh and pork porridge that locals queue for. Old Airport Road is the one residents argue about lovingly, a huge, no-nonsense centre in a residential neighbourhood where the rojak, lor mee and fried oyster omelettes are superb. If you are staying near East Coast, the food centres along East Coast Park serve grilled seafood with your feet nearly in the sand.
The dishes to order
Start with Hainanese chicken rice, the national obsession. Poached chicken, fragrant rice cooked in chicken fat and stock, chilli sauce and ginger paste. It sounds plain and it is extraordinary, and it was one of our children’s most reliable orders. Our kids ate it weekly for years.
Laksa is next, the rich coconut-curry noodle soup with prawns and cockles, eaten with a spoon in the Katong style where the noodles come pre-cut. Char kway teow is the wok-fried flat noodle dish, dark, smoky and slightly dangerous to your arteries, and the stall's wok hei is the thing to judge it on. Hokkien mee, fried prawn mee, bak kut teh, roti prata with curry for breakfast, and satay in the evening all belong on the list. For a splurge, chilli crab is the celebratory Singapore dish, messy, sweet-hot and eaten with your hands and fried mantou buns, best ordered at a seafood restaurant by the water rather than at a hawker stall.
Then there is the kopitiam breakfast, one of our favourite everyday rituals. Kaya toast is thin grilled bread with coconut jam and cold butter, often served with soft-boiled eggs and kopi. Order kopi-o for black coffee, kopi-c for coffee with evaporated milk, and say "kosong" if you want it without sugar.
From hawker to fine dining
Beyond the hawker centres, Singapore has a serious restaurant scene, including modern kitchens cooking Peranakan, Indian and Chinese regional food. We enjoy those meals too, but we tell visitors to leave plenty of room for everyday stalls. They show you more of the city as well as its food.
Practical notes
Hawker centres are lively and informal, which makes them useful with kids. Prices, seating and high chairs vary, and drinks are usually ordered separately. Bring wipes, share a table politely when busy, and make sure everyone in the family knows to return their tray afterward. A Michelin sticker or old press clipping may be interesting, but check current menus and judge the food for yourself.
For the rest of the city, including what to do between meals, see our Singapore city guide and our guide to Singapore with kids. If you are continuing to Thailand, street food works differently there, and our Bangkok city guide explains how.