Food prices are going up across the board. But you can still have a sumptuous and affordable meal at hawker centres, especially from these 12 stalls at Alexandra Village Food Centre.
Located near Ikea in an industrial estate, this culinary destination is home to Michelin-recommended stalls serving laksa, Cantonese soups, and soy sauce chicken. Old school delights come in the form of tze char, wanton noodles, and handmade crystal dumplings, while a couple of stalls offer contemporary dishes of muffins and burgers.
The food centre also boasts Hokkien mee made with a collagen-rich seafood stock, herbal bak kut teh, and xiao long bao. Thirsty? Finish off with an indulgent avocado shake.
Alexandra Village Food Centre is located at 120 Bukit Merah Lane 1, Singapore 150120.
Everyone gets a muffin top at AJ Delights, which bakes them fresh every morning. Founded by home bakers Amy and Jerry, the moist and fluffy pastries come in flavours including green tea, cookies and cream, apple streusel, blueberry, and peanut butter. The muffins are also halal-certified.
S$2.20 to S$4 per muffin
Tuesdays to Saturdays. 1.30pm to 5pm
Ashes take its darkness very seriously, so much so that their burger bun is made jet black by charcoal. The signature is a charred smash patty burger with melted cheese, and other flavours include pulled brisket, truffle mushroom beef patty, fried fish, and grilled chicken. There’s also mac and cheese, plus sides of pulled beef fries and coleslaw. Halal-certified.
S$6.50 to S$9.20
Mondays to Thursdays, 11.30am to 8pm
Fridays to Sunday, 11.30am to 8.30pm
One of the newer stall at the food centre, Chef Goo serves fried Hokkien mee made with Red Sea prawns, which are imported from Saudi Arabia. The dish is of the wet variety, which comes from a collagen-rich seafood stock simmered for 12 hours without MSG. It’s served with pork belly slices, lard, and squid, with additional topping options from waffle fries to unagi.
S$5.30 to S$17.80
Daily, 11am to 8pm
This Michelin Bib Gourmand laksa stall was founded in 1995, and is manned by second-generation hawker Zhang Ji Lin. The dish leans more towards curry than creamy, and is rich and thick thanks to the dollop of laksa paste spooned over it. Although they have dropped the claypots for regular bowls, it’s still worthy of a visit.
S$4.50 to S$6.50
Tuesdays to Saturdays, 9am to 3pm
Originally from Dover Road Market, this wanton noodle stall keeps the Cantonese tradition alive with lighter seasoning and spritely noodles. The loosely wrapped wantons are packed with ingredients, and the char siu is thinly sliced and not overly sauced. Don’t miss out on the sambal, which has a briny, spicy kick.
S$3 to S$3.50
Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays, 7am to 4.30pm
(Image credit: @ck.sg_food / Instagram)
For a meal that’s flavourful yet light on your stomach, this Bib Gourmand stall delivers the goods. They have broths of pork rib and lotus root, cordyceps flower with chicken, and cereus with spare ribs, all made without MSG. Just as healthy are the non-soup options of steamed pumpkin and minced pork, and steamed pork spare ribs.
S$4 to S$5
Mondays to Fridays, 12pm to 8.30pm
(Image credit: @iris.nihao / Instagram)
A transplant from Margaret Drive, Hock Sin Kee is run by an elderly couple who serves up homely tze char food. Popular dishes include Hainanese-style pork chop, fish and vegetable soup, and onion omelette. Pad your meal with fried rice full of wok hei, or the lusciously thick hor fun.
S$6 to S$20 per person
Daily, 10am to 9pm
(Image credit: @bottombracket / Instagram)
King Avocado may not be the original stall that started the avocado shake trend (that would be Mr Avocado a few stalls down), but their version is creamier, fruitier, and not as sweet as the competitors. They also make fruit juices with buah long long or soursop.
S$4 to S$8
Thursdays to Mondays, 9am to 10pm
(Image credit: @sen028 / Instagram)
For a different style of bak kut teh, head to Leon Kee, which serves them Hokkien-style in a claypot. The dark broth is made with Chinese herbs and spices including angelica root, which gives it an earthy, herbal aroma. It’s not overpowering though, and a match with tender pork ribs and crunchy you tiao.
S$6 to S$15
Thursdays to Tuesdays, 9am to 9pm
(Image credit: @wobblethebui / Instagram)
Lien Fa is run by twin brothers, who has been making shui jing pau, or crystal dumplings, by hand since 1968. Rolled out from tapioca starch, the translucent dumplings are filled with generous amounts of red bean, yam, or turnip, then steamed until soft.
S$1 per dumpling, minimum 4 dumplings per order
Tuesdays to Saturdays. 8.30am to 3pm
Xiang Jiang serves soy sauce chicken backed by Michelin. It has an alluring sheen and tender bite, and comes with either rice or noodles, the latter which has a lovely springiness to them. The shrimp wantons are beautifully done too, with fresh prawns and a delicate skin.
S$3.50 to S$5.50
Wednesdays to Sundays, 8am to 2pm
(Image credit: yippi312_eatdrinklove / Instagram)
The line is usually long at this stall, but the waiting brings gorgeously made xiao long baos. The skin is slightly thicker than Din Tai Fung’s, and it holds oily, meaty pearls of pork. For something crispier, go for the pan-fried dumplings, while the Szechuan chilli oil wantons bring a fiery punch.
S$5 to S$6.50
Thursdays to Sundays, 11.30am to 2.30pm, 5pm to 8pm
(Image credit: @george.kooi / Instagram)
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