Where to Eat in Singapore: Hawker Centres First, Then the Classics

Eat at hawker centres first. Singapore has 123 markets and hawker centres managed by the National Environment Agency, and most guides start there. Of the 16 that Roam Singapore read, 14 name Maxwell Food Centre, and chicken rice, laksa and satay are the dishes most of them tell you to order. A hawker centre is where you’ll eat most of your meals, and a restaurant is where you go for chilli crab.

The picks below are ordered by how many guides name them. Roam Singapore read 16 guides in English, German, French and Chinese, from travel sites and independent blogs. Every stall, address and number on this page comes from the Michelin Guide’s own hawker page, the National Environment Agency, the Singapore Food Agency or UNESCO, not from those guides. No prices are printed here, because stall prices change and none of the official pages list them.

Then see what’s on while you’re in town. The events page lists food festivals and markets from the organisers’ own pages, and the map puts them next to the places in this guide.

The short list

Nine of the 16 guides point you to the Michelin Guide’s list, and it’s the list used for the stalls below.

Maxwell Food Centre

Recommended by 14 of 16 guides read.

Maxwell is the usual first stop, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a short walk from Chinatown, and the Michelin Guide’s hawker page says it opened in 1935 and has more than 100 food stalls. The stall most guides name is Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, at #01-10/11, and the Michelin page warns of a long queue. Fifteen guides tell you to eat chicken rice somewhere, and not all of them mean Tian Tian. Two other Maxwell stalls on the Michelin page are Maxwell Fuzhou Oyster Cake (#01-05) and Rojak, Popiah and Cockle (#01-56).

If the queue is too long, don’t give up on the dish. Chicken rice is sold at stalls all over the city, including Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice on the Michelin list. Go outside the lunch rush if you can.

Chinatown Complex and the Chinatown crowd

Chinatown Complex is recommended by 8 of 16 guides read, Amoy Street Food Centre by 8 and Hong Lim by 6.

The Michelin page calls Chinatown Complex Market and Food Centre the largest hawker hub in the country, with more than 700 stalls and over 220 food stalls, at 335 Smith Street. Three stalls on the page are Lian He Ben Ji Claypot (#02-198/199), Ann Chin Handmade Popiah (#02-112) and C.M.Y. Satay (#02-168). The claypot rice takes about 30 minutes to cook, per the Michelin page, so order first and then go and find a seat.

Old Airport Road, Tiong Bahru, Tekka and Newton

Old Airport Road, Tiong Bahru and Tekka are each recommended by 7 of 16 guides read and Newton by 4.

These four are the other centres on the Michelin list, and each one has a different feel.

• 51 Old Airport Road Food Centre has more than 160 stalls and was built in the early 1970s. Michelin lists Lao Fu Zi Fried Kway Teow (#01-12), Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee (#01-32) and To-Ricos Kway Chap (#01-135/136).
• Tiong Bahru Market and Food Centre, at 30 Seng Poh Road, has stalls on the second level including Koh Brother Pig’s Organ Soup (#02-29), Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice (#02-82) and Jian Bo Shui Kueh (#02-05).
• Tekka Centre, at 665 Buffalo Road in Little India, is the one for Indian food. Michelin lists Delhi Lahori (#01-266) and Allauddin’s Briyani (#01-229/232).

• Newton Food Centre, at 500 Clemenceau Avenue North, stays busy late, per Michelin, and its Michelin picks include Alliance Seafood (#01-27), Heng (#01-28) for carrot cake and Song Kee Teochew Fish Porridge (#01-37).

What to order

Laksa is recommended by 14 of 16 guides read, satay by 12, char kway teow by 10, kaya toast by 7 and bak kut teh by 7.

Laksa is a noodle soup in a coconut broth. Satay is grilled skewers with a peanut sauce, and Lau Pa Sat and Old Airport Road are the centres guides send you to for it.

Char kway teow is a wok-fried flat noodle dish, and kaya toast with kopi is the breakfast to look for in a coffee shop.

Nine guides name chilli crab, and five of them send you to a restaurant for it, not a hawker stall. Ask about the price before you sit down.

Before you go

• Check the stall’s grade. The Singapore Food Agency’s SAFE framework has graded food establishments A, B or C since 19 January 2026, and its track records tool shows the grade for any licensed stall.
• Check closures. The National Environment Agency posts centre closures for repairs and redecoration on its announcements page, and some centres also close for regular cleaning.
• Save a seat. Two guides say people reserve a table with a packet of tissues, so you’ll see them on tables.
• Hawker culture is on UNESCO’s list. UNESCO inscribed it on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020.

Less common picks

Bak kut teh, roti prata and the Hong Lim Market and Food Centre each turn up in 6 or 7 guides. Two guides pick Hong Lim as an easier first hawker centre than Chinatown Complex.

For the rest of the trip, see things to do in Singapore and where to stay.

Places in this guide

Photos show the actual places, licensed under Creative Commons and credited to their photographers.

Sri Mariamman Temple Chinatown · near Chinatown Station Photo: Tony Hisgett Tiong Bahru Market Tiong Bahru · near Tiong Bahru Station Photo: Philip Mallis Abdul Gafoor Mosque Little India · near Rochor Station Photo: Khalzuri Yazid Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve North · near Kranji Station Photo: Allie_Caulfield