The Singapore Food Scene is getting very exciting with the opening of Celebrity chef restaurants, and many new dining concepts. But when my overseas friends ask me for recommendation on what to eat in Singapore, or what is the true Singaporean cuisine, I’d definitely reply: Hawker Food.
With the exception of places like Newton Circus, Lau Pa Sat & Chomp Chomp Hawker Centre, the prices of food in the other food centre usually are around $2-3. You are going to be shocked by this, but my last visit to Old Airport Road Food Centre was actually a few years ago, before the renovation. I need someone to scold me for taking so long to revisit this wonderful place, which undoubtedly is one of the best Hawker Centres in Singapore.
As much as I do not fancy oysters, it is a joy to dip the oyster omelette into the chili sauce which is slightly sour, yet sweet and spicy. I’m not sure if Katong Ah Soon Fried Oyster is one of the better stalls in Old Airport Road Hawker Centre, but the oyster omelette was the first empty plate on the table.
It was one o’clock in the afternoon, and everyone was hungry. It’s a damn Sunday morning, and we should all be sleeping in bed. Instead, I was queuing up for the Blanco Court Kway Chap at Old Airport Hawker Centre with ten (equally crazy) people in front of me. After a long wait of 27 minutes, it was finally my turn to make the order. The intestines were cooking in the stove, yet the chef/cook/hawker grabbed them with his bare hands, put it on the chopping board and cut them into appropriate portions with breathtaking speed.
Everyone crowded around the table, waiting impatiently for the food blogger to take the photos. Eating commenced after that, and luckily, it was worth the wait.
Char Kway Teow is one of my favorite Singapore’s Hawker Food, and Lao Fu Zhi fried kway teow is one of the most famous char kway teow stalls in Singapore. Unfortunately, I thought that Lao Fu Zhi’s rendition was a little too dry, and it lacked a certain wok-hei. The million dollar question: is there another better char kway teow stall in Old Airport Hawker Centre?
This is the Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee, otherwise known as the lor-mee-that-we-queued-for-half-an-hour. There are many hawker stalls in Old Airport Food Center, but Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee is one of the few that has an incredibly long queue. It’s good to eat out with a group of friends who are willing to brave the snake-like human traffic and wait for a seemingly-ordinary bowl of noodle.
Lor Mee is a bowl of noodle served in a thick starchy gravy and comes with ingredients like prawn roll (ngo hiang), half boiled egg, fish cake, and fish. My friends were won over by the generous toppings, and the flavor of the sticky gravy. Me? I will only eat it if someone else is queuing up.
If you like the kick from having the spicy-hot sambal chili, you will be very disappointed with the famous Nam Sing Hokkien Mee. In place of the familiar sambal chili, they have sliced red chili instead. The Hokkien Mee has a much higher proportion of the rice noodles to the yellow egg noodles. Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee definitely has their loyal supporters, mind you — we waited slightly more than twenty minutes for this plate of Hokkien Mee. Thankfully there is no need to queue as they will deliver the Hokkien Mee when it’s ready.
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I’m definitely going back to Old Airport Road Food Centre soon, do share with us which are some of the other hawker stalls that are worth a try.
Singapore Hawker Food
Blanco Court Kway Chap
Blk 51 Old Airport Road #01-135
Old Airport Road Food Centre Singapore
Katong Ah Soon Fried Oyster
Blk 51 Old Airport Road #01-07
Old Airport Road Food Centre Singapore
Lao Fu Zhi Fried Kway Teow
Blk 51 Old Airport Road #01-12
Old Airport Road Food Centre Singapore
Nam Sing Hokkien Mee
Blk 51 Old Airport Road #01-32
Old Airport Road Food Centre Singapore
Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee
Blk 51 Old Airport Road #01-116
Old Airport Road Food Centre Singapore
These stalls are indeed the ones worth the calories though I do not like the kway chap as much. I actually like the piping hot kway chap at Zion Road (closed on saturdays)
My 2 other favourite stalls are the Western food, very near the kway chap stall. The name is “Western Food” and further in there’s a Italian stall which serves a mean chocolate melt. This is absolutely worth the effort and the calories. Sorry cant rem the names but can walk to them blindfolded!
Try Holy Grill!!! I love their pork chops! And they serve generous side dishes alongside the mains!
Try Dong Ji Fried Kway Teow, it’s heaps better than Lao Fu Zi any time. It is located a few stalls away from Blanco Kway Chap.
The lao fu zi charkwayteow lacks quality control. Tried it twice and on the first occasion it was really bad, but on the second, it was realllyyyy good. Get it only when there’s a long queue out front – that’s when you know the REAL chef is there!
The wantonmee @ the corner of the front row is really good too
try Lucky char kway teow in front of lao fu zhi, then Dong ji have been getting good reviews, but havent tried it as well
Also notable would be the fresly made chee cheong fun and of course the Toa payoh Rojak
plus wang wang crispy curry puff
hi brad!
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs768.snc4/66848_474532827760_720802760_5675267_5269561_n.jpg
it has been the most awesome beancurd i’ve ever tried. i would say it’s better than the ones at rochor and beancurd. hahaha it doesnt have any publicity so far
so so many! the pau (the mini coffee pau & the shou tao) at the corner near the wanton mee stalls. the fish beehoon soup near the xin mei xiang lor mee stall (same row, at the end). the kuehs (the row behind the pau stall). and a lot more that i can only point out, but can’t remember the stall names.
this is making me very homesick. D:
tohkenghoe: the italian stall moved out long ago. they opened another cafe/stall in katong.
What L S said, try the ckt few stalls down from the kway chap. and the tauhuey csoon mentioned. Made by a hong kong couple.
Whitley road prawn mee at the front not too bad either.
The Red Tea Jelly from the dessert stall next to the Blanco Kway Chap is good too! The curry puff around opposite the Kway Chap stall is nice and fresh as well..
Fantastic! Thanks for the list of recommendations. I had better stop eating for a couple of weeks……….haha
xin mei xiang lor mee is my favourite lor mee. I love their vinegar and fried fish. they open real early at around 6.30am so I would always head down there for late breakfast/early lunch! also, i get to avoid the peak lunch period
Try the Chicken Rice. Kheng hai! #01-18 i think! It is better than Boon Tong Kee!
Below stalls are good too
- fatman satay (last row)
- the bread stall (last row), near to fatman satay (the bread and cakes are freshly baked every day)
- opposite above 2 stalls is a fruit juice stall selling fresh fruit juice + the famous soursop drink (previously fr taman serisi)
- down the last row there is a stall ‘chi shuang shuang’ . Loves their ’3 in 1′ and ‘goreng pisang’
- few stalls away is a organic soya bean milk stall. Soya bean milk is not too sweet and not too diluted
-there is also a stall selling fuzhou fishball noddles. Very tasty fuzhou fishballs.
-the lee wee otah
- the chicken rice stall , a few stalls away fr the lor mee stall
-a hidden gem is behind the hawker ctr’s carpark. Across the carpark there is a small coffee shop (cassia cresant) selling very very nice freshly made da pau. One of the best da pau i ever had.
the melt-in-your-mouth tau hway at Old airport is to die for.
you should try holy grill 01-27. good food with big serving and theres a wide range of side dishes for you to choose from. i love the rib eye steak along with mash potato and the some vegetable with different types of vegetable like the purple lettuce etc. its really good!
You should try the super smooth and fragrance beancurd at QQ soyabean. Think their unit number is #01-165. Should give it a try when you are there.
Dude you should definitely try the Chee Cheong Fun.
Zizai ????Vegetarian zhicha is my favourite. I love their fried bee hoon and mee goreng. It is just a few stalls down from Lao fu zi, closer to the bus stop.
Holy Grill! One of the best western food ever! Haha. Have been a loyal fan since they originated from TKGS canteen till they moved to Old Airport Road Food Centre. =) Many old school girls and teachers still head there to see the friendly owners. =)
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One look at the char kway teow is enough. The tougeh is sooo long, meaning old.
It would have been a good idea to mention that most stalls close at 3 pm and dont open again in the evening.
Must try the bbq chicken wings at 01-24 really juicy not dry