A home to a wide variety of cheap and good food – that is how I would describe our hawker centres. You can always find stalls serving delicious dishes such as bak chor mee and carrot cake. The only thing that makes hawker centres less than perfect is the lack of my favourite Peranakan cuisine. So imagine my joy when I came across Popo and Nana’s Delight at Maxwell Food Centre. Since then, I’ve been on a hunt for more hawker stalls serving Peranakan food. Here are a handful selling cheap Peranakan food in hawker centres!
Among the many famous names found in Maxwell Food Centre, one stall that has often been outshined is Popo and Nana’s Delights. Run by a pair of siblings, Popo and Nana’s Delights serves up four different Peranakan and Eurasian dishes each day and changes their menu daily. When we visited, we got to try their Eurasian Beef Smore ($6) and Nyonya Ayam Buah Keluak ($6), which came with vegetable soup and a generous side of chap chye. They also have other specialties such as Eurasian Fish Molee ($6) and Nyonya Beef Rendang ($6)!
Check out of full review of Popo and Nana’s Delight!
Address: 1 Kadayanallur Street, #01-70, Maxwell Food Centre, Singapore 069184
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 11am to 3:30pm
Tel: 9171 0558
Website
Another Peranakan hawker stall found at Maxwell Food Centre, Old Nyonya serves up frills-free and homey Peranakan dishes. The stall’s signature dish would be the Rendang Chicken ($4.50) set, which comes with a chunky piece of drumstick drenched in thick and coconutty rendang sauce. Another highly recommended dish to try when you’re there is their Laksa ($4)!
Address: 1 Kadayanallur Street, #01-04, Maxwell Food Centre, Singapore 069184
Opening hours: Thur-Tue 9am to 9pm
Image credit: @makanwarrior
If you are a fan of Peranakan food, you would have heard of Charlie’s Peranakan Food. Some of the items on their menu include Ayam Buah Keluak ($7), Ayam Rendang ($5), and Babi Hong ($5). However, depending on when you visit the stall, you can also expect an extensive list of other scrummy dishes such as Acar Fish ($7), Udang Nanas ($12), and Ayam Pongteh ($7)!
Address: 505 Beach Road, #B1-30, Golden Mile Food Centre, Singapore 199583
Opening hours: Daily 11:30am to 7:30pm
Tel: 9789 6304
Image credit: @mapazzion
For Peranakan-style chap chye png, check out Babas Peranakan at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre. Run by a couple of elderly folks who have been in the business for over a decade, Babas Peranakan whips up more than 10 Peranakan dishes daily, with options such as fried chicken, chap chye, omelette, and assam fish. A plate of rice piled with one meat and two vegetables will only set you back $4, so you can understand why there’s always a snaking queue at the stall. When you’re there, don’t forget to add a dollop of their sambal chilli onto your plate for an additional punch in flavour!
Address: 335 Smith Street, #02-225, Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre, Singapore 050335
Opening hours: Daily 9am to 1:30pm
Image credit: @kennethtwe
One of the 38 names in Singapore that was awarded with an Michelin Bib Gourmand award in 2017, Na Na Homemade Curry specialises in Peranakan curry. On their menu you can find a wide variety of curry dishes including Curry Chicken ($3), Curry Mutton ($4), Curry Pork Rib ($4), and Curry Fish Head (seasonal price). While you can get a plate of rice at $0.50, they also serve toasty slices of bread ($1) for you to polish up the curries with!
Address: 115 Bukit Merah View, #01-47, Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre, Singapore 151115
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 11am to 7pm
Tel: 9106 4316
Website
Full list of outlets
While Urban Smokeshack doesn’t specialise in Peranakan cuisine, they do have a Peranakan-style dish: Chicken Thigh with Buah Keluak Sauce ($6). Along with a serving of lemongrass rice, cherry tomatoes, and grilled chicken thigh, the buah keluak sauce that comes on the side is made of a basic rempah (wok-fried spice paste) laced with buah keluak. It’s less potent in comparison to some buah keluak dishes from other eateries, but it is no less rich.
Check our other dishes that are found at Urban Smokeshack!
Address: 347 Bedok Road, #02-19, Singapore 469560
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 12:30pm to 2pm, 6pm to 9:30pm
Website
You can now feast on quality Peranakan food without having to worry about causing a hole in your pocket! But if you don’t mind forking out a little more, we’ve also uncovered a list of Peranakan restaurants to further satiate your cravings.
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