15 HAWKER Highlights

UNESCO STATUS

First, though, to a list of a different kind: on 16 December 2020, “Singapore’s hawker culture” was officially added to the “UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”! A 24-member international apparently took just three minutes to unanimously accept the application that had been put forward by Singapore’s National Heritage Board, National Environment Agency and Federation of Merchants’ Associations.

For the record, some of the other culture traditions to get added to the Cultural Heritage list for 2020 were camel racing in the UAE, the crafting of handmade glass-bead Christmas tree decorations in Czechia, sauna culture in Finland, and the production and consumption of couscous in various North African countries.

Okay, now to the food itself. Here are 15 fab things to try in Singapore’s hawker centres!

1 CHICKEN RICE

Not the most nutritious local dish you’ll come by, but it’s an expat and local fave: simple and filling, without a lot of ingredients, and great for fussy tummies.

2 CARROT CAKE

Nope, not that carrot cake. This is a fried dish of rice flour, white radish and egg, served “white” or “black” (with sweet dark soya sauce), and found in most food courts.

3 SATAY

A quintessential Singapore experience is enjoying satay sticks and cold beers at the Lau Pa Sat “satay street”. Order some ketupat (rice dumplings) to go with the peanut dipping sauce.

4 YONG TAU FOO

This Hakka Chinese favourite lets you choose your noodles, broth and ingredients – it means you can go super heavy on the vegetables if you’re looking for something healthier.

Singapore is home to something like 14,000 hawker stalls, serving a huge variety of items, from the simple to the exotic. And, at less than $5 for a satisfying meal at most places, what’s not to love? Below we have a list of some of our favourites to get you started.

5 SAMBAL STINGRAY

Take a stingray wing, slather it with belachan chilli paste, grill it on a banana leaf over an open flame and squirt it with calamansi: voila, a delicious dinner!

6 NASI LEMAK

Combine fragrant coconut rice, ikan bilis (fried anchovies), peanuts, egg and sambal (chilli paste), plus fried chicken or fish at some stalls, and you have breakfast bliss!

7 CURRY PUFF

In a hurry? Grab a curry … puff. And who could say no to a delicious, savoury curry filling encased in buttery pastry? The classic version is a chicken curry with potato.

8 CHAR KWAY TEOW

A guilty pleasure, this dish of stir-fried flat rice noodles is cooked over a very high heat with dark and light soy, chilli paste, prawns, cockles, slivers of Chinese sausage and other goodies.

9 LAKSA

Start discussing the origins of this dish and its different variations and you’ll quickly find yourself in a hot soup of contention, so let’s leave it at this: laksa is delicious.

10 KAYA TOAST

Available at almost every kopitiam, toast with sweet kaya jam served with softboiled eggs accompanied by a nice, strong kopi is the quintessential traditional breakfast.

11 BAK KUT TEH

The EL editor putting this list together counts bak kut teh – pork ribs cooked in a complex herby/garlicky broth – as his favourite hawker dish by some distance. Try it!

12 ROTI PRATA

Also known as roti canai, this Indian fried pancake is available all over Singapore. Order it with egg or banana for nutrition (but we all know cheese tastes the best!).

13 HOKKIEN MEE

This stir-fried noodle dish comes with juicy prawns, squid, pork belly strips and egg, and is topped with sambal. Don’t forget the squeeze of lime juice on top.

14 ROJAK

Name-dropped by Barack Obama, this sweet/savoury salad of fruit, vegetables, tofu and other bits and bobs gets a heap of flavour from tamarind and prawn paste.

15 OYSTER OMELETTE

Don’t tell your cardiologist you’ve ordered this one – a dish of battered oysters, eggs, herbs and starch, deep fried into a brown, crispy-edged “omelette” of justcooked oyster goodness.

Where’s your favourite hawker stall, and what’s your favourite dish? If you have kids, what do they like to eat at a food centre?

TANGLIN FOOD COURT, EVEN THOUGH IT’S A BIT MORE EXPENSIVE. Jessica

Amoy Street Food Centre is great and has a lot of options. I personally like laksa but there are literally dozens of options so I usually try multiple dishes for the experience.

Tim

My husband likes the Hainanese chicken rice at Maxwell. I’m still finding my favourite since we’ve only been to a few places with dining-in not being allowed. I did like Makansutra. The Indian food there was pretty good; try the stall close to the end, as well as the satay place up front.

Komal

NASI PADANG

FROM NUR FAH MUSLIM CORNER ON SEMBAWANG ROAD! YOU CAN’T GO WRONG WITH CHICKEN RICE, SATAY AND ROTI PRATA WHEN IT COMES TO LOCAL FOOD FOR CHILDREN.

Judit

CHEAP, DELICIOUS AND CLASSIC INDIAN CUISINE IN LA PAU SAT.

Nathan