#Hawkerhopping

Located outside of Hougang Mall, you can get this cutesy and delish pork chop bun from Seng Huat Coffee House. The soft and fluffy bun is shaped in a pig’s face and sandwiched between it is a well marinated juicy pork chop, cheese and keypie mayo. Get the bun set at $5.80 which comes with 2 soft boiled eggs and a cup of kopi.

Once a month whenever I am near the area for my haircut appointment, I usually will go over to Kangkar Mall’s Kopitiam for Zi Jia Yong Tau Foo. There are quite a few items that are handmade on the spot and if you take those items that are fried, they will heat it up before serving. If you opt for the dry noodles, it will be tossed in a garlic oil mixture which is aromatic and flavourful, though not exactly as healthy as the usual yong tau foo out there. However, I am a live-to-eat person, so long it is tasty I will eat it in moderation.

There is no other country/city quite like the multicultural nation of Singapore, to the point that we are described as the rojak culture. Some might view it negatively, but to me, it’s bloody damn tasty when all the ingredients come together in this ugly delicious dish.

With a diverse foodie culture, we have no lack of options in the hawker centre, from your local hawker heroes to novel overseas concepts. I will always fall back on my comfort food and one of them has got to be the nasi padang, a rice dish with your selected accompanying sides. One such place that I usually patronise will be HJH Maimunah, a legendary brand that was awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand for consecutive years. My usual order will always be a protein of fried chicken or chicken gulai, sambal goreng and another dish of either sayur lodeh, bergedil or ikan bilis with tempeh goreng. A comforting plate that will surely hit you with the food coma thereafter.

Every component of this dish must be spot on to be considered one of the best chicken rices in Singapore. From the tender poached chicken to the aromatic fluffy rice and piquant chilli sauce, Sin Kee Famous Chicken Rice at Mei Ling Market & Food Centre ticks off most of the checkboxes. The popularity of this chicken stall even extends to 2 side-by-side units in this hawker centre.

Housed within a coffeeshop in Telok Ayer lies Uptown Nasi Lemak, an eatery inspired by the best versions found in Damansara, Petaling Jaya. If this is your first time, waste no time and just go straight for the signature nasi lemak with ayam goreng berempah. Tear a bit of the meat from the crispy spiced chicken, get some coconut rice and mix it with the sambal chilli for a wonderful spoonful of flavours.

With a twist of fate as the place that I initially wanted to go for lunch at has sell out for the day, we made our way to this coffeeshop in Telok Ayer which houses several gems. One of them is Supercurry, a mixed economical rice and curry rice stall by Chef Pang. They have set meals available and one of them is Set A that comes with their signature fried chicken, braised vegetables and beancurd fish roll, with the accompanying rice drenched in a thick spicy curry sauce. The soul of the plate is the curry sauce and it clearly is a comfort food for the soul.

The 1,700 square feet space will house 4 hawker brands - Teck Kee Fat Duck, Dunman Wanton Mee, Grandma’s and Ah Goh Fish Soup. Out of the 4, I am most excited about the return of Grandma’s who is making a comeback with nasi lemak dishes. I first had Grandma’s nasi lemak back in 2020 and fondly remembered the great taste and flavour. Fast forward few years later, the brand is now back at a permanent space serving up their signature curry chicken nasi lemak, which I will be back soon for the crispy bukhari chicken leg.

There are also the highly anticipated wanton mee from the former culinary team of Wanton Seng, Irish duck connoisseur of Teck Kee Fat Duck and the deep umami fish broth from Ah Goh Fish Soup.

Cuisine Better Days Hainanese Chicken Rice is run by Natalie, an almost one-woman show who takes the orders, chops the chicken, and serves the diners in her chicken rice restaurant. There are several key components that make up a delicious plate of chicken rice and many boxes are ticked here. The rice is infused with the aromatics and spices, chilli sauce is made in-house and packs a fiery punch, garlic sauce helps to cut through the richness, and the poached kampung chicken has a firm and tender bite, which is actually my preferred kind of chicken for chicken rice.

叉烧烧肉饭 is always my go-to order at many roast meat stalls, and more than often, one meat will turn out great while the other is mediocre. I managed to find a good balance of deliciousness over at 88 Hong Kong Roast Meat Specialist. The biscuit-like skin on the roasted pork is highly addictive and nicely salted while the char siew is nicely charred and even better if you get the burnt ends or cuts with a nice fat-to-meat ratio. I would recommend to cut down on the sweet braising sauce that the staff will add on top of the meat, and savour the flavours of each meat as it is.

EatAlley opens at Orchard Gateway as a food court concept serving the best of Southeast Asian street fare delights at the heart of town. The area spans 4000sqft and houses 8 different stalls of heritage brands from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We selected one dish per stall to sample so that you can fast track the food into your tummy the next time you are here.

Besides going to YY Kafei Dian for their kaya butter buns, sugar doughnuts and coffee beverages, one shall not sleep on their chicken rice. Chopped to a generous portion, the poached chicken is tender to the bite which complemented perfectly with the chilli sauce and flavoured rice. Everyone has their own unique way and concoction with the sauces, which makes chicken rice such a versatile and enjoyable dish for both locals and tourists alike.