Singapore’s hawker landscape was inaugurated into the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list in 2020, and deservedly so. Hawkers are the beating heart of our local food culture, and they deserve to be recognised as such.
While we have the Michelin Bib Gourmand list to shout out hawkers of note, it’s not the only accolade worth paying attention to. The Singapore Hawkers’ Awards (SHA), organised by The Federation of Merchants’ Associations, Singapore (FMAS), and supported by the National Environment Agency (NEA), was held on 27 September this year. Awards to the hawkers were given out during a prestigious awards ceremony. This is the third year the SHA has been running!
Beyond recognising stalls that serve up delicious food, the Singapore Hawkers’ Awards also celebrates other vital attributes that keep our hawker culture strong. These are the Hawker Heritage Award, Enterprising Hawker Award, and Outstanding Hawker Mentor Award.
Show your support and appreciation to the diverse array of hawker award-winners, which we’ve featured on this list!
You’ll rarely see a bak zhang stall as decorated as Hoo Kee Rice Dumpling, but they’re the exceptions for a reason. The Amoy Street Food Centre stall bagged the Hawker Heritage Award at the SHA, a prize that recognises brands that have preserved their management and culinary skills across generations. Hoo Kee has been going strong for over four decades now at their Amoy Street Food Centre outpost, but the family has been making Hokkien-style bak zhang since the 1940s. On the menu are three different variations to choose from: Chestnut Dumpling ($3.50), Salted Egg With Chestnut Dumpling ($4.50), Mushroom with Chestnut Dumpling ($4.50), and Chestnut Pork with Salted Egg and Mushroom Dumpling ($5.50). Flavourful, rich, and generous with ingredients, these are dumplings you’ll be happy to have any time, not just during Dragon Boat Festival.
Read our Hoo Kee Bak Chang review.
Address: 7 Maxwell Road, #01-18, Amoy Street Food Centre, Singapore 069111
Opening hours: Tue-Fri 11am to 3pm
Tel: 6221 1155
Website
Hoo Kee Rice Dumpling is not a halal-certified eatery.
Singapore has many nasi lemak stalls that are household names. If you live in the East, Hawker Heritage Award-winning D’Authentic Nasi Lemak might just be yours. The stall has been in operation for nearly three decades now, serving up comforting nasi lemak out of their Marine Parade stall. You get to pick and choose your toppings to enjoy with the aromatic coconut rice ($1) here, from Tempeh ($0.80) to Chicken Wing ($1.50)! These expertly fried goodies are best enjoyed with a generous spoonful of their house-made sambal that packs quite the punch despite its sweetness. Swing by early and you might be lucky enough to get a portion of their popular Lontong ($3) or Chicken Rendang ($3).
Address: 84 Marine Parade Central, #01-36, Singapore 440084
Opening hours: Sat-Thurs 7am to 2pm
D’Authentic Nasi Lemak is a Muslim-owned eatery.
Though we’re more familiar with dry bak chor mee (BCM), the iconic dish did not always start out that way. Soupy BCM is actually the earliest version of the dish, and it’s what’s sold at Tian Nan Xing Minced Pork Noodle, a hawker stall that has been around for 100 years and counting. They’re one of the few custodians of soup BCM in Singapore, and it’s for that reason, as well as their long-standing legacy, that they’ve won the Hawker Heritage Award at the SHA. Each bowl comes with a tasty pork broth that’s been painstakingly prepared, and sports QQ noodles topped with chewy pork balls, as well as handmade pork dumplings. Definitely give them a try if you’re in the East!
Address: 511 Bedok North Street 3, #01-10, Singapore 460511
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 5:30pm to 12:30am
Tian Nan Xing Minced Pork Noodle is not a halal-certified eatery.
Keeping the tradition of Cantonese congee alive is New World Congee. This four-year-old stall in Marine Parade has secured the Enterprising Hawker Award at SHA, which celebrates hawkers that have embraced new business models and tools to scale their business, representing a beacon of forward-thinking for the industry overall. At New World Congee, diners get hearty congee prepared in specialised cookers, which cuts down the cooking time. You can enjoy their porridge with a wide variety of toppings, from just $3.50 for the classic Pork Congee. Don’t miss adding on some you tiao to your order. Here, the dough is prepped with specialised machines, which help shave down prep time.
Address: 84 Marine Parade Central, #01-45, Singapore 440084
Opening hours: Sat-Thurs 7am to 5:30pm
New World Congee is not a halal-certified eatery.
We’re big fans of Enterprising Hawker Award winner Grandma Ban Mian. Their Amoy Street Food Centre stall serves up chilli pan mee that always hits the spot, thanks to the chewy noodles, fiery chilli, and well-seasoned toppings. Aside from selling cooked food, Grandma Ban Mian has moved into the ready-to-eat space with their Instant Chilli Ban Mian and Instant Soup Ban Mian offerings, both of which you can buy to DIY their signature dishes at home. Bundles of three are sold on Shopee, from $11.90. Also, be sure to add their Grandma Crispy Shrimp Chilli to the cart. Each jar, priced at $16.80, adds a welcome spicy kick to any dish you make at home. These instant items are also available at their Amoy Street stall.
Address: 7 Maxwell Road, #01-07, Amoy Street Food Centre, Singapore 069111
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10am to 2:30pm
Website
Grandma Ban Mian is not a halal-certified eatery.
Thin-crust pizzas prepared in under two minutes—that’s the name of the game at Butternut, a Taman Jurong Food Centre stall that serves next-gen Western food. The Enterprising Hawker Award recipient uses a high-tech, ultra-fast pizza oven to get their 8” pies ready in a jiffy, to the gratitude of hungry diners. There are five different pizzas to pick from, priced at $11.90 each! If you’re not a fan of pizzas, don’t sweat it, for the stall has a line-up of finger food, spaghetti, and baked Western dishes for you to try as well.
Address: 3 Yung Sheng Road, #02-108, Taman Jurong Food Centre, Singapore 618499
Opening hours: Sun, Tue-Thurs 11am to 2pm, 6pm to 9pm, Fri to Sat 11am to 2pm, 6pm to 10:30pm
Website
Butternut is a halal-certified eatery.
Another nasi lemak gem in the East is Hon Ni Kitchen, run by Tham For Moy. The stall sells affordable nasi lemak, where all the ingredients are painstakingly prepared from scratch daily by the owner, from the crispy battered chicken wings to the sweet sambal, and even the otah, which is made with chicken instead of fish here. For Moy is also one of the three hawkers who have won an Outstanding Hawker Mentor Award, an accolade that commemorates how she has shared her skills with budding hawkerpreneurs as part of the NEA’s Hawkers Development Programme. For Moy has been a mentor for three years and counting.
Address: 216 Bedok North Street 1, #01-07, Singapore 460216
Opening hours: Tue-Sat 5:30am to 1pm
Tel: 9655 8675
Website
Hon Ni Kitchen is not a halal-certified eatery.
While hokkien mee is a beloved local dish, it’s also one dominated by elderly hawkers, with few new cooks taking up the mantle. At Ming Yun Famous Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodle, chef Kang Kai Ming is keeping the hokkien mee tradition alive through his mentorship, schooling next-gen cooks on the art of frying this iconic seafood noodle dish. For his efforts, he has won the Outstanding Hawker Mentor Award! Show the stall some love and order their signature Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodle ($4.50), a shiok, wok hei-enriched plate that’s the product of Kang’s four decades of experience.
Address: 29 Bendemeer Road, #01-01, Singapore 330029
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 7am to 7pm
Tel: 8407 8341
Website
Ming Yun Famous Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodle is not a halal-certified eatery.
Snow Mount is a bit of a double act stall—they serve goreng pisang, as well as char kway teow (CKT). Fans come by for the latter, which is available from just $3.50 if you don’t add cockles. We recommend getting the regular order, priced from $4.50, and adding extra cockles for $2, as the briney morsels do give Snow Mount’s smoky CKT pops of umami. The stall owner, Sze Si Wei, has been holding the reins of Snow Mount for over 30 years now, and has been an avid mentor to next-gen hawkers for four years. For all his efforts, he has attained the SHA’s Outstanding Hawker Mentor Award too. P.S.: one of his mentees runs the popular Woks of Taste!
Address: 448 Clementi Ave 3, #01-11, Singapore 120448
Opening hours: Mon, Wed, Fri 9am to 9:30pm, Tue-Sun 9am to 9pm, Sat 9am to 7pm
Snow Mount is not a halal-certified eatery.
While hawkers are the lifeblood of Singapore’s vibrant and dynamic food scene, the tireless efforts of these stallowners are brought to light, in part, by the likes of the FMAS. The organisation represents the hawkers and merchants operating around Singapore, and is an advocate for local businesses. Their critical efforts have contributed to our city’s food scene earning a place on the lauded UNESCO list, and we’re certain they’ll be championing our hawkers for generations to come.
This post was brought to you by The Federation of Merchants’ Association, Singapore.
Featured image adapted from The Federation of Merchants’ Association, Singapore.
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