Top 3 Best Hawker Centers in Singapore

Looking for the best hawker stalls to eat and not break the bank? These are my favorite stands in Singapore for cheap and good hawker food.

What’s a hawker stand?

A hawker stand is an open-air market filled with different vendors selling all different kinds of wares. Most of the time, in Singapore, they refer to food stalls. Like Little India or Chinatown, these stalls offer smoking hot woks, Hong Kong pork and Hainanese chicken rice, which creates a unique food culture only found on the island.

Migrant communities opened stalls of their hometown favorites to strengthen their culture and enrich their lives. In 1965, when Singapore established its independence, the street food scene was overhauled with sanitation requirements and government regulations. Today, there are more than 100 hawker centers in Singapore, meaning you can spend your entire vacation hopping from market to market. These are my 3 favorite hawker centers to try on your next vacation.

Marina Bay Sands Food Court

Definitely too fancy to be officially called a hawker center, the food stalls in the bottom floor of Marina Bay Sands Mall are a great entry point for those new to Asian cuisine or fearful of a hawker’s sanitary guidelines. You can try Thai, Shanghainese, Northern Indian, and almost any other Asian dishes, but I encourage you to grab some ShengJianBao – Shanghai Soup Dumplings and the Milk Tea at the drink stand on the left. You can sit around the water and light display (picture 2) or in the cafeteria-like chaos for some great people watching.

Lau Pa Sat

While this might be a tourist location, the historic building is worth a visit. It was across the street from the Chinese Embassy so while I was having appointments to process my visa, I was able to visit this hawker center a few times. Each stall has its own specialty – like Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Hakka and Cantonese. If you come at lunch, many local businessmen will also be vying for a seat.

CapitaSpring Market Street

On the second and third levels of CapitaSpring sits an unassuming hawker center with 56 stalls! The food is definitely cheaper here than Lau Pa Sat, but cash is king, so make sure you have enough to enjoy your meal! Fruit smoothies, nasi lemak, chicken biryani can all be found here. If you can’t find a seat during the lunch rush, go to the other floor. There are halal stalls as well. If you can’t decide, grab a few different dishes and share! It’s only open for lunch, with local executives eating around 12-1 pm.

Hope you get to visit at least a couple of these on your next trip to Singapore. Comment below with your favorite hawker centers around the world!

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