Kids & Cuisines
With the likes of oyster omelette and sambal stingray on offer, hawker centres can leave parents scratching their heads at meal choices for kids. Here are some options that might please even the fussiest little eaters – with some healthy options, too.
Satay
Charry meats cooked over a barbecue with a satay sauce that you can keep on the side for picky palates, and an eating style that requires no implements: what’s not to love?
Egg Fried Rice
There are plenty of varieties of this ubiquitous dish, but kids tend to enjoy simple egg fried rice or pineapplefried rice for added sweetness.
Milo Dinosaur
The name implies a huge amount of Milo, and that’s what you get! This naughty treat is a sweet, milky chocolate-malt drink.
Wonton Mee
Children love the bite-sized, dinky parcels in this dish, and the noodles give them a chance to try out their chopstick skills.
Thosai
The epic size of these delish Indian pancakes – they almost look like something you might unfurl and put on your wall rather than eat! – makes them lots of fun for little ones.
Ice Kacang
Rainbow-coloured ice kacang is a Malaysian dessert specialty with ice, syrup, jelly, fruit and other ingredients. Pretty and tasty all at once.
Kaya toast and eggs
A quick, hearty and quintessentially Singaporean breakfast. Not every little diner will love the half-cooked eggs, but the coconut jam will be a hit!
Bee Hoon
A bit like the noodle version of fried rice, bee hoon can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and it’s cheap, filling and family-friendly.
Popiah
These thin paper crepes – think gourmet spring rolls – are stuffed with raw and cooked veggies, chopped nuts and prawns.
Sushi
Find a Japanese place and unleash the young ones on some sushi rolls. Egg, crab and tuna tend to be popular choices – and miso soup is a good slurper, too!
Cut fruit
Fruit stalls in hawker centres offer readyto-eat tropical delights on a stick – everything from guava, papaya and kiwifruit, to mango and dragonfruit.
Chicken Rice
A simple dish without a lot of ingredients, this is a perennial favourite of young diners at hawker centres. Just steer clear of the chilli, at least until they’ve acquired a taste!
Roti Prata
Not the healthiest dish on the menu but kids loooove it. Order your roti with egg or banana for some goodness. Brave ones can try the accompanying curry sauce.
Calamansi Juice
This limey/orangey juice might be a bit tart for some kids, but give it a go, or choose one of the countless other beautiful fresh juices, from watermelon to pineapple.
Fishball Noodles
The very idea of fish rolled up in a ball and bobbing about in a soup can be a marvel for small minds; and it’s a tasty dish too!
Dim Sum
You don’t need to go to a Chinese restaurant for some baskets of joy; plenty of hawker centres have dim sum too. Three words: char siew bao (barbecue pork buns)!
Yong Tau Foo
This healthy hawker option is kidfriendly because you get to pick exactly what goes in it; be sure to sneak some green leaves past the fried goodies they’ve chosen.
Kueh
Food doesn’t come much more colourful than Nyonya kueh, so these bite-sized riceand-coconut-based snacks will appeal to kids on a couple of levels.
Appam
You won’t find an appam specialist in many hawker centres, but when you do, grab some of these Sri Lankan and South Indian pancakes for the brood.
Fish & Chips
There are lots of old-school “Western food” stalls around Singapore – great if the kids have a hankering for some simple fish and chips. (Or try a chicken chop!)