Local Ho Jiak Eats

The Tiger-Infused Crispy Baby Sotong ($15.80) is a definite crowd-pleaser. It’s crispy! It’s caramelised! Duh.

Ok cool, BUT I couldn’t stop snacking on the Salt Pepper Crispy Shrimps with Curry Leaves ($14.80). They were a little spicy and a little salty – the perfect antidote to a long, exhausting flight.

So you’re scrolling through Instagram, and you notice everyone ordering the Wok-fried King Prawn White Bee Hoon ($18.80). Follow suit, and you’ll be greeted by a surprisingly lovely wok hei, loads of fried pork lard and two sizeable King prawns.

If you’re like me, and prefer your bee hoon/hokkien mee wetter with more “zhup”, this would be right up your alley. Portion could be bigger though.

The Nonya Laksa ($4.80) at Madam Liew's Recipes would suit those who are averse to the strong fragrance of coconut milk. Each bowl is laden with prawns, fish cakes, beansprouts and cockles (which you may choose to omit), all smothered in a thick, subtly tangy gravy. It's a laksa that's generally lighter in flavour, so asking for extra sambal chilli would be wise.

The weekend-only Laksa Goreng ($3.60) is pretty much just the dry version of the laksa, but with a more pronounced flavour and laksa leaf aroma. Don't forget the spritz of lime!

Good and affordable wanton noodles (S - $3.50, M - $4.50, L - $5.50) from this stall that offers quite a unique selection of bowls. Loved the springy noodles, meaty + flavourful soup dumplings, as well as the take-all-you-want pork lard and chilli! 😋

Lazy weekends call for bowls of mee pok and kway teow mee ($4/$5/$6) - simple, filling and comforting. I personally loooove the minced pork that go so well with the springy noodles. You can also ask for more or less chilli, ketchup or lard! Be prepared to wait.

The wait may be long, but sometimes all you need is a simple, sauce-splattered bowl of char siew wanton noodles ($4) coated in chilli sauce, black sauce and tomato ketchup, and topped with crispy yet light fried wantons! Although I do admit that I'm more of a steamed wanton in soup fan...

I really enjoyed the tender, juicy pork chop ($20) that went well with the gorgeously roasted potato chunks (way too little, unfortunately) and mild curry sauce! My only gripe is that it was a little too fatty, but oh well 😜

Local Snacks may just be one of the many stalls in this bustling Changi Airport T3 food court, but it specialises in made-from-scratch appam and putu mayam. The signature crispy-edged appam ($3 for 2 pieces) is reaaaaaaal tasty with shredded coconut and orange sugar. Be prepared to queue, but it'll be worth the wait!