The Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre in Singapore is a food lover’s paradise, with a dizzying array of delicious stalls. It’s home to some of Singapore’s one-Michelin-starred affordable eats and numerous top-rated local delicacies. Each visit feels like a treasure hunt.
Cheng Ji’s Sauce Steamed Pine Fish Head is a favorite of mine, having visited over 20 times. Both my grandmother and I love it and often bring friends along. The fish head is fresh and tender, perfectly complemented by their signature sweet and sour bean sauce. Their dry-fried prawns are also a must-order.
Maria’s Virgin Chicken requires advance booking for the whole chicken due to my grandmother’s age. Zhao Ji’s Hainanese Chicken Rice is quite good, with both the yellow and white chicken being very tender. I usually go for the yellow chicken leg rice, and my friend had one of the best chicken rice experiences here.
An Zhen’s Thin Pancakes are recommended by Michelin. The pancakes are slightly sweet, but you can ask them to reduce the sugar. Their little golden cups are a must-try.
Xi Jie’s Fried Kway Teow has a 20-minute wait, and while it’s quite tasty, it’s not the best I’ve had. Jia Ji’s zongzi (rice dumplings) are quite famous, especially the mung bean and salted egg zongzi, which can rank in the top three. The regular salted egg and pork zongzi must be thoroughly steamed to be delicious.
Quan Neng Qiao Ma Ma’s Laksa has a great flavor, and their Bak Kut Teh (pork rib soup) has a very rich broth. There’s also a video from my visit in 2022. That day, I ate at Yue Lai, one of the best claypot cooking restaurants in Singapore. Mr. Jerald Chua has visited twice, and every dish there is a masterpiece.
The Peranakan food stall has long gone, which I still miss it so much till these days.
And just very recently, the formers stall has been taken over by this new Nasi Padang stall.
Nasi Padang Beach Road said to have another stall along Beach Road, which I couldn’t identify which one of it.
But their new stall here serves pretty decent dishes with their Nasi Padang.
Love their Ayam Rempah here with the prawn cracker.
A cozy meal at an affordable price. I added a bowl of glass noodles for an extra $0.50, bringing the total to $5.50. The mini hotpot comes with thick-cut dory fish, broccoli, a few strands of enoki mushrooms, Chinese cabbage and an egg. Although the egg and Chinese cabbage were out of stock when I visited near closing time, the owner generously compensated by adding more fish and broccoli. Thank you!🙇♂️
While it's called a mini hotpot, I recommend pouring all the ingredients into the soup to cook together, as the fuel is limited. Otherwise, you'll need to fork out an additional $0.50 for extra fuel. After cooking, I was greeted with a rich umami flavour thanks to the high concentration of MSG in the soup base. Though the soup base claims to be pork bone broth, it's actually just pork bone base MSG powder mixed with water. While it may not be the healthiest option and is quite salty, at least it packs a punch in terms of flavour.
Despite its simplicity, the cooked items were incredibly soft and melty, making it a challenge to scoop them up with chopsticks. In the end, I resorted to using a spoon and slurping straight from the pot. Basic as it may be, it definitely fills you up!
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🚩Mu Ji Mini Hotpot, noodles and rice dishes, 02-153, Chinatown Complex Market and Food Centre, 46 Smith St, Singapore 058956
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At this food centre, some time you really need some effort in order to try some of the hidden and secret stalls here.
Take for example this stall called the Chinatown Cooked Food, you may find this stall often closed on the day. That’s because they only opened for a few hours early in the morning everyday.
Started as early as 6:30am in the wee hour of morning, serving laksa and fried beehoon; with add-on available with their yong tau foo pieces.
Came on early morning around 7:30am and there’s a short queue about 5 person in front.
So you really need some effort to wake up early in order to try their laksa or fried beehoon with yong tau foo. The reason I say so many a because they usually sold out by 9am.
I actually came a few times past 9am and unfortunately they usually sold out by then.
A very tasty bowl of laksa they have here, creamy and not too spicy. Topped with your choice of yong tau foo such as fish cake and fried beancurd.
You probably won’t find any much articles about this place on internet, not even on Google Maps. So if you wake up enough to be here by 8am, then you should try this stall for breakfast.
One of the old school tze char stalls here, which is located at the hidden side of the hawker centre.
You could easily spot them by their big name, 林大强. They have all sorts of dishes here including this sliced fish hor fun.
It has this unique taste with the use of fermented black bean sauce, overall wok hey enough. A generous size of sliced fish is provided and it tastes fresh.
Mum Daughter Kitchen gained some exposure recently with a few articles and reviews over internet. They started as a home based business before setting up their physical stall at this food centre.
What’s special for their dishes are some of these interesting items such as the squid in black ink sauce, which is very delicious and spicy.
The curry was decent pairing with the nasi lemak. Do support this stall considering they are the only few Malay stalls in this place.
Throwback post - So shiok, undecided of which one I like better 😍😍😍
💜 Support Ann Chin Popiah at Blk 335 Smith Street, Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre, #02-112, Singapore 050335 (Various Outlets)
Throwback post - Luckily, I was a fraction earlier. Stall enjoyed brisk business, with queue starting to form after my order.
Legit!!! So delicious!!! Soul-warming bowl of goodness from Chef Sham 😍😍😍
💜 Support Shen Xi Imperial Soup Group at Blk 335 Smith Street, Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre, #02-07, Singapore 050335 (Various Outlets)
Last but not least, we have Ann Chin Popiah, where you can get handmade spring rolls, yam rolls, and their famous popiah. 🌯🥢 The popiah is a must-try, with its fresh and crispy skin and delicious jicama filling with a crunch. And at only $2, it's definitely a steal!
Next up, we have Zhong Guo La Mian Xiao Long Bao, serving up some amazing steamed mini buns and pan-fried dumplings. 🥟👌 The buns are soupy and filled with marinated meat that will leave you wanting more, while the dumplings have a strong porky taste but still taste great. And for only $7, you get 10 pieces of each!
Next up, we have Zhong Guo La Mian Xiao Long Bao, serving up some amazing steamed mini buns and pan-fried dumplings. 🥟👌 The buns are soupy and filled with marinated meat that will leave you wanting more, while the dumplings have a strong porky taste but still taste great. And for only $7, you get 10 pieces of each!
Introducing Bamboo Nasi Rendang, where you can indulge in their signature dish - Nasi Rendang Daging with Bamboo. 🍚🎍 The fluffy rice has a unique bamboo taste and pairs nicely with the mild spicy and savoury rendang sauce. Rempah is solid. The only downside is that the beef can be a bit tough, but hey, for $7, it's still good to try it at least once.
Always in for some hawker foods. Affordable and delicious.
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Introducing Bamboo Nasi Rendang, where you can indulge in their signature dish - Nasi Rendang Daging with Bamboo. 🍚🎍 The fluffy rice has a unique bamboo taste and pairs nicely with the mild spicy and savoury rendang sauce. Rempah is solid. The only downside is that the beef can be a bit tough, but hey, for $7, it's still good to try it at least once.
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Next up, we have Zhong Guo La Mian Xiao Long Bao, serving up some amazing steamed mini buns and pan-fried dumplings. 🥟👌 The buns are soupy and filled with marinated meat that will leave you wanting more, while the dumplings have a strong porky taste but still taste great. And for only $7, you get 10 pieces of each!
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Last but not least, we have Ann Chin Popiah, where you can get handmade spring rolls, yam rolls, and their famous popiah. 🌯🥢 The popiah is a must-try, with its fresh and crispy skin and delicious jicama filling with a crunch. And at only $2, it's definitely a steal!
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🚩Chinatown Complex Food Centre, 46 Smith St, Singapore 058956
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#mehmehfoodventure #foodie #sgfoodie #sgfoodblogger #foodblogger #foodblog #foodcoma #burpple #burpplesg #sgfood #foodsg #eatmoresg #foodinsing #sgeats #sghawkerculture #Hawkerfood #supportlocal #hawkerfeast #nasidaging #bamboonasirendang #xiaolongbao #panfrieddumplings #steamedminibuns #nasirendangdaging #zhongguolamianxiaolongbao #annchinpopiah #popiah #springroll
Had this Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice ($10) for 2 pax. We called in advanced to book the claypot rice else the waiting time would be 1 hr 15 mins.
The sauce is put aside for you to customised the saltedness to your preference.
I would say food is not bad but nothing really special either. If I have to wait 1 hr 15 mins for it. I wouldn't go for it.
Saw this media coverage about ex hotel chef opening up an omelette shop in Chinatown hence decided to give it a try. I ordered the mushroom omettle noodle ($6). The omelette itself is not bad but nothing special either. However, the noodle was delicious. I also like that they have various type of sauce which you can take for free such as lemon mayo
There’s a few stalls selling chee cheong fun in this food centre, and Chang Le Chee Cheong Fun is one of them.
Serving only one type of chee cheong fun on the menu, unlike the other stalls here. Offering the light, simple and traditional chee cheong fun in either small or big size.
They start selling as early as 6:30am and it was by a young hawker who his parent own a zi char stall in the food centre as well.
The rice rolls wasn’t homemade here but bought from supplier, then steam it on-site before serving it to you.
The dark and sweet sauce and chilli come separate in small cup. So you can add based on your liking.
The combination of the sauce with the rice roll wasn’t disappoint me for the taste. Simple at its best.
Super interesting combination here - you have burrata soft serve, tomato and strawberries jam with a dash of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Thoroughly enjoyed this!
Couple more days to catch @nudedles.4 x @iammirkofebbrile for their pop-up collab at Chinatown Complex Food Centre.
Thought the queue would have settled down by now but no guys, it didn’t 😂 We got 1 of each of everything and our favourites were the classic Rigatoni alla Carbonara ($9) and Linguine al Pesto ($7). These were on point. No other tips on how to catch them, but to get here and be in the queue probably before 930am - ask around for the queue so that you don’t miss it!
The excitement that got to me after seeing @cweizhi ‘s story of Poh preserved vegetable hor fun spurred a weekend trip to Chinatown Complex Food Centre, where they have reopened after shutting their stall at Empress Market. It was a regret back then when I brought my mum along wanting to try, only to realise that they have closed down.
As the chef whipped up a wok of high heat, we could already smell the sweet aroma of the chye por. It was joy sparking to watch him in action as he seared the hor fun before pressing it flat into a pancake or perhaps more like an omelette as it is slowly blanketed over by the egg layer. The strong wok hei game is real; even before digging in, the slightly charred rice noodles were already exuding smokiness from some strong flames. With bits of chye por and pork lard encompassed within, you could probably imagine the aroma, coupled with a light seasoning of soy sauce and fish sauce. How flavorful! Topped with prawns and spring onions. Recommended for sharing to avoid jelak-ness.
