Hong Lim Food Centre
Photograph: Khoo Guo JieHong Lim Food Centre

Guide to Hong Lim Food Centre

Plenty of underrated food gems among popular hawkers plating up cheap eats

Dawson Tan
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Back in 1978, Hong Lim Food Centre was known as one of the earlier hawker centres ever built and it mainly housed street hawkers from Hokkien Street. 

In its heyday, the neighbourly hawker was the epicentre for community and great food in the busy Chinatown housing estate. Today, while it isn't as popular as other food centres such as Amoy Street and Maxwell, Hong Lim Food Centre still manages to attract a healthy crowd when the lunch hour strikes.

From the outrageously long queues for Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee (#02-17) and Heng Kee Curry Chicken Mee (#01-58) to lard-slicked noodles by Ji Ji Wanton Noodle Specialist (#02-48/49), these are sensational bowls that are undoubtedly worth the queue. But if you're time-pressed and yearning for a quick tasty meal, we've uncovered – and tried – some lesser-known finds and some rising stars that are also worth your dime.

Stuffed? Get rid of the food coma and explore Chinatown on foot with our ultimate guide to Chinatown.

Rising stars and underrated finds

  • Hawker
  • Chinatown

Helmed by two affable young hawkers from Kuala Lumpur, the humble noodle stall uses a family recipe that harkens back 30 years. At just $5.50, each signature bowl comes with bouncy handmade noodles, heaps of savoury minced meat, textures of crunchy black fungus, spinach, fried beancurd sheet with fish paste, onsen egg, and of course, a dollop of that signature chilli. But don’t expect a typical wet-style chilli paste. The homemade chilli here leans toward a drier version as it includes dried shrimp, giving plenty of umami and depth in contrast to the fiery spice. For extra oomph, order a peppery slab of fried chicken cutlet.

  • Hawker
  • Chinatown

Eddy's is named after its chef-owner, a former private chef who is known to serve up a darn tasty plate of duck confit for just under $12. It gets pretty labour intensive too as the chef insists on using fresh duck and marinates it for an entire day before sous-viding for 16 hours. Upon order, he expertly grills each duck leg with such flair while simultaneously charring the edges with a flame-spitting blowtorch. The result? Crisp skin with perfectly rendered fat encasing fork-tender duck meat that almost needs no chewing.

Eddy’s menu also features local fusion flavours such as his punchy laksa spaghetti with pan-fried chicken chop and fiery mala shrimp pasta  but it is his signature hae bee hiam (dried shrimp chilli) that gastronomes should not sleep on.

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  • Hawker
  • Chinatown

The hawker stalwart is known for its fishhead bee hoon soup since 1946. But during lunch, it serves up modernised takes on the traditional Cantonese zi char by its fourth-generation descendants. Think hearty jasmine rice bowls (from $6) paired with heady prawn paste chicken wings, slow-cooked spicy braised pork belly and silky wok-kissed beef slices.

The young hawker also is also equally capable of whipping up classics (from $5) such as fried rice and hor fun (stir-fried rice noodles). They come with unconventional hawker toppings from sous vide egg to battered enoki mushrooms and even boneless paste prawn paste chicken bites.

  • Hawker
  • Chinatown

The humble coffee stall first opened at Tekka Centre. Now, it has attained a cult following and even expanded to the likes of Bedok Food Centre and Hong Lim Food Centre. Known to bridge the gap between traditional kopi and specialty coffee, the barista outfit offers these caffeinated beverages that won't break the bank. The former starts from just $1.50 and uses a proprietary pioneer blend of Brazillian Arabica and Indonesian Robusta. For the latter, a shot of espresso goes for $2.50 while an iced latte is priced affordably at $3.70. Aside from the usual suspects, there are also matcha and mocha options available for variety.

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  • Hawker
  • Chinatown

Midas’ curry chicken is as unique as they come. Owner Sax Choa reveals that his special recipe draws inspiration from both Indian and Chinese curries. The result is a peppery viscous curry that is redolent of earthy spice – mainly from mustard seeds and cloves, sans any MSG or sugar. Each hearty bowl ($8.40) comes with generous chunks of succulent chicken, soft-boiled potatoes, a whole egg and two flaky oven-baked roti pratas. The eclectic hawker also plates up other unique creations like the butter mutton keema (from $7) and a baked garam masala chicken ($8).

  • Hawker
  • Chinatown

One of the newest entrants in the hawker scene is this dessert shack run by two young and friendly hawkers. Here, only non-GMO Canadian soybeans are used in the making of their silky smooth beancurd and soy milk. There are about nine iterations of the freshly-made dessert with toppings from the usual suspects of red beans and grass jelly to rarer finds like nutritious peach gum. The couple also serves up black sesame beancurd made using black beans to cater to those in search of a nostalgic taste – it pairs best with chrysanthemum syrup.

Queue-worthy stalwarts

  • Hawker
  • Chinatown

This noodle stalwart was set up in 1965 and it still slings out tasty bowls of lard-slicked noodles at Hong Lim Food Centre. The signature noodles are the main draw as it leans toward a chewier texture with more bite, unlike the typically thinner strands found in most places. The standard bowl starts at just $4.50 and comes with generously stuffed dumplings. Don't miss out on the variety of additional toppings: our favourites are the comforting braised soy sauce chicken wings and the ultra-crispy chicken cutlet.

  • Hawker
  • Chinatown

Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee is home to one of the best takes on one of Singapore’s national dishes. Their signature fried kway teow ($4.50) is oiled just enough to give it a smoky taste whilst retaining a silky texture that leaves you filled, but not overly guilty about the indulgence.

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  • Hawker
  • Chinatown

This venerable hawker is Old Stall Hokkien Street Prawn Mee, which began life almost 50 years ago on the eponymous street nearby. Its big prawn noodle ($8) is pricey, but does not disappoint in terms of quantity and quality; Sealing the deal is its outstanding chilli, which is made from dried prawns.

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