7 of the Top Hawker Centers in Singapore

Lau Pa Sat, which means “old market” in Chinese, is indeed the oldest market in Singapore. Originally built in 1824 as a fish market, the building’s unique Victorian architecture and cast-iron structure reflect its status as a national monument. Visit in the evenings when the street along the market is closed to traffic and turns into an alfresco spot where crowds enjoy rounds of beers with grilled seafood and satay (grilled meat skewers).

Boasting over 260 food stalls (all located on the second floor of a five-story market complex that also offers fresh meat and produce, souvenirs, clothes, and Chinese ritual items), the Chinatown Complex Food Centre is the largest hawker center in Singapore with a very famous tenant—the first-ever Michelin-starred hawker stall, Hawker Chan’s Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle. Hawker Chan might be best known for for his soya sauce chicken, but there are many other Chinese dishes available here (and at the other stalls), including clay pot rice, kway chap (rice sheets with braised pork innards), and orh nee (a hot yam paste dessert).

While in Chinatown, you’ll also want to explore nearby attractions like the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, the Sri Mariamman Temple, and colorful Pagoda Street.

Located in the Central Business District (CBD), next to the famous Thian Hock Keng Temple, Amoy Street Food Centre isn’t just a lunch spot for the office crowd—it’s also home to several stalls that have received the Michelin Bib Gourmand designation—high quality, easy-to-eat food at a reasonable price.

Make the most of your visit by going as a group, so you can order dishes from several stalls to share. Top spots include a Noodle Story for a creative spin on traditional wonton noodles and curry chicken noodles, Quan Ji for wong po lou meen or “yellow cloth noodles” (fried noodles blanketed with a shrimp omelet), and Famous Amoy Street Lor Mee for their signature noodles in thick gravy.

Geylang Serai was once one of the oldest Malay settlements in the city, and today the area’s market is as much a cultural hub as it is a commercial one. The two-story structure—which has a market on the ground floor and a food center above—features elements of traditional Malay architecture, such as pitched roofs and geometric latticework.

This is the place to savor traditional Malay dishes like sup kambing (mutton soup), pisang goreng (banana fritters), and putu piring (sweet, steamed rice flour cakes). If you visit during Ramadan, you’ll also see the entire neighborhood come alive with festive lights, a nighttime bazaar, live music performances, and more.

If this hawker center looks familiar the first time you visit, it’s because it was featured in the 2018 movie Crazy Rich Asians. With its proximity to Orchard Road (a shopping belt full of international brand boutiques and over a dozen malls), Newton Food Centre is within easy reach for most tourists. It’s also unique in its layout; the space feels like a village compound, due to the way the food stalls encircle an open-air dining area.

Favorites here include fried carrot cake (not actual cake, but a savory dish of steamed radish and rice flour chunks fried with egg), oyster omelet (small oysters fried with egg), and popiah (vegetable spring rolls).

Tiong Bahru’s food center offers more than just something to eat; this unique residential estate also offers a taste of heritage architecture. The area features a mix of pre-World War II and postwar walk-up apartments boasting distinct exteriors that include elements like curved corners and spiral staircases.

While the building housing the market and food center was built in 2006 (and is thus relatively new), the neighborhood’s vendors had already been serving residents here for decades when it was built. Popular stalls include Loo’s Hainanese Curry Rice, which was established in 1946, and Jian Bo Shui Kueh, which makes chwee kueh, steamed rice flour cakes heaped with oily, savory chopped preserved radish—a hearty breakfast.

Hawker food by the beach? No problem. East Coast Lagoon Food Village, as its name suggests, is located at East Coast Park, on Singapore’s southeastern coast

Throngs of joggers, cyclists, sea sports enthusiasts, and families visit each day. Some hold barbecues at the public grill pits available here, while others head to the Food Village for already-barbecued stingray with sambal (spicy chili), chicken wings, satay, and fried Hokkien prawn noodles.

Aim to visit in the early evening on a weekday to have the best chance of securing a beachfront table; the sea breeze will help temper spicy dishes.