Chinatown Complex Food Centre guide
If you’re looking for a place that dishes out a wide variety of food options at pocket-friendly prices, I’d recommend Chinatown Complex Food Centre any day. You see, I’ve always felt that the humble hawker centre is brimming with hidden food gems. From simple fare such as $2.50 prawn mee to hearty mee siam, here is my list of the best stalls at Chinatown Complex Food Centre you must try.
Table of Contents
1. Woo Ji Cooked Food
Laksa lovers, you’re in for a treat at Woo Ji Cooked Food. To get a bowl of Laksa here, all you need is $2.50. Their laksa is also pretty unique, since it includes yong tau foo ingredients such as fried wontons and a stuffed green chilli. What’s more, the soup isn’t overly rich and the springy noodles will make you want to slurp them all down at once. Apart from laksa, Woo Ji Cooked Food also sells Prawn Noodles ($2.50), another tasty, incredibly value-for-money dish.
Read our Woo Ji Cooked Food review.
Unit: #02-056
Opening hours: Wed-Sat 6am to 9:15am
Woo Ji Cooked Food is not a halal-certified eatery.
Woo Ji Cooked Food Review: $2 Laksa And Prawn Noodles In Chinatown
2. Shang Hai Fried Xiao Long Bao
For freshly made, affordable dumplings and pan-fried bao, head to Shang Hai Fried Xiao Long Bao. Their Original Xiao Long Bao is priced at $4.50 for six pieces, which works out to just $0.75 per piece! Their Original Pan Fried Buns, priced at $4.80 for three pieces, are also delicious, with their brown bottom and juicy meat filling. There’s a shrimp option at $5.50 for three pieces if you want something different! You can fill up on noodles, too; the Zha Jiang Mian ($4.50) comes with a generous layer of minced meat on top.
Read our Shang Hai Fried Xiao Long Bao review.
Unit: #02-205
Opening hours: Thurs-Tue 10:30am to 3:30pm, 5:30pm to 8:30pm
Shang Hai Fried Xiao Long Bao is not a halal-certified eatery.
Shang Hai Fried Xiao Long Bao Review: Popular Sheng Jian Bao And Truffle XLB In Chinatown
3. Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Foo
A bowl of Yong Tau Foo at Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Foo costs $4! Truly, Chinatown Complex’s food is a steal. Choose between getting four pieces of yong tau foo with bee hoon or noodles, or five pieces of yong tau foo without noodles at $3.50. The icing on the cake is the generous serving of fragrant ikan billis topping your noodles, enhancing the umami in your meal. This is one hearty, affordable meal you won’t regret having.
Read our Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Fu feature.
Unit: #02-088
Opening hours: Tue-Wed, Fri-Sun 5am to 1:30pm
Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Foo is not a halal-certified eatery.
4. Zhong Guo La Mian Xiao Long Bao
Zhong Guo La Mian Xiao Long Bao is a family-run stall specialising in legit Sichuan dishes such as beef noodles and dan dan noodles. They’re most famously known for their house-made Xiao Long Bao ($8 for 10), all freshly made by hand and filled with a broth that’s cooked for up to 12 hours. Due to their popularity, it’s no surprise that they were awarded a Michelin Plate.
While you’re here, be sure to try their highly raved La Mian With Fried Bean Sauce, AKA zha jiang mian. The $4.50 dish features thin noodles coated in a rich savoury bean sauce, and is said to be generously portioned for the price.
Read our Zhong Guo La Mian Xiao Long Bao review.
Unit: #02-135
Opening hours: Wed-Fri 11am to 8:30pm, Sat-Sun 10:30am to 8:30pm
Tel: 8595 7710
Zhong Guo La Mian Xiao Long Bao is not a halal-certified eatery.
5. Jin Ji Teochew Braised Duck & Kway Chap
Jin Ji Teochew Braised Duck & Kway Chap creatively expresses the fusion of Teochew braised duck rice with Japanese cuisine in the form of a duck rice bento. Get their aesthetic Bento Combo Jumbo Set ($10), which includes sweet daikon, braised duck, soft-boiled egg, offal, pork belly, pickled vegetables and yam rice moulded into tiny balls. The bento also comes with a side of aromatic herbal soup and a superb sambal chilli dip.
Read our Jin Ji Teochew Braised Duck & Kway Chap feature.
Unit: #02-156
Opening hours: Tue-Thurs, Sat-Sun 10am to 6pm
Tel: 9018 9052
Website
Jin Ji Teochew Braised Duck & Kway Chap is not a halal-certified eatery.
6. Aziz Jaffar Muslim Food
Halal-friendly fare is difficult to come by in Chinatown, but you’ll find exactly that here at Aziz Jaffar Muslim Food. The Muslim-owned hawker stall serves traditional Malay dishes at prices as low as $3.50, including their nasi padang and Mee Siam ($3.50), which features al dente vermicelli drenched in a sweet-spicy gravy. It’s also topped with bits of tau pok, fresh lime, chopped chives, and a hard-boiled egg.
Other crowd favourites include the Mee Rebus ($3.50), comprising yellow egg noodles soaked in sweet potato-based gravy, and the Nasi Sambal Goreng ($6), packed with deep-fried beef lung, sambal goreng, sauteed spicy grated coconut, and sambal.
Read our Aziz Jaffar Muslim Food feature.
Unit: #02-070
Opening hours: Tue-Fri 7am to 2pm, Sat-Sun 7am to 12pm
Tel: 8608 1206
Website
Aziz Jaffar Muslim Food is a halal-certified eatery.
7. Chef Leung’s Authentic Hand-Milled Rice Noodle Rolls
Some of us may be familiar with Chef Leung, an ex-Raffles Hotel dim sum chef who set up shop in this grungy food centre in 2021. Do expect long queues while you’re here, as his chee cheong fun is super popular. Plus, they’re all made from scratch, including the yummy, sweet dark sauce.
The menu features five rice noodle roll options: Plain ($3.20), Egg ($3.70), Pork ($4), Char Siew ($4.50), and Prawn ($5). The stall also sells Hong Kong-style congee such as Pork Ribs and Century Eggs Congee ($5), and Watercress and Fish Congee ($6.50).
Read our Chef Leung’s Authentic Hand-milled Rice Noodle Rolls review.
Unit: #02-096
Opening hours: Wed-Sun 6:30am to 12pm
Website
Chef Leung’s Authentic Hand-milled Rice Noodle Rolls is not a halal-certified eatery.
8. Ye Ji Cooked Food
Ye Ji Cooked Food has over 60 years of history, and is most known for their well-priced Cantonese-style cai fan. Make sure you visit early, as the stall often draws long lines! Prices start at $0.70 for a bowl of porridge. One of our favourites was the Shrimp Paste Pork ($1.50), where pork slices were cooked with fermented shrimp paste. There’s also a Steamed Pork Patty ($1.50), mixed in with preserved vegetables, which will go well with your choice of carb!
Read our Ye Ji Cooked Food feature.
Unit: #02-020
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 8am to 2:30pm
Tel: 9658 4143
Ye Ji Cooked Food is not a halal-certified eatery.
9. Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice
No Chinatown Complex Food Centre guide is complete without a mention of Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice, a famous stall that also has the Michelin stamp of approval. Go straight for their Mixed Rice (from $8), which features tender chicken chunks, lup cheong, veggies, and rice in a piping-hot claypot. Wait for the rice to char along the sides of the pot for those addictive, crispy bits! Besides claypot rice, the stall also offers a small range of well-priced soups, including Old Cucumber Pork Rib Soup ($2.50).
Read our Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice review.
Unit: #02-198/199
Opening hours: Tues-Wed, Fri-Sun 3pm to 9pm
Tel: 6227 2470
Lian He Ben Ji is not a halal-certified eatery.
Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice Review: Michelin Bib Gourmand Stall With 40-Minute Queues
10. Chang Ji Gourmet
Image credit: @yippi312_eatdrinklove
Chang Ji Gourmet is the cheapest destination on our list. If you’re looking for something filling and savoury while on a budget, you’ll rejoice to know that everything on their menu is priced at only $1.30! There are three dishes available here—Economical Bee Hoon, Economical Fried Mee and Fish and Peanut Porridge. Your meal here will feel extra comforting because you know you don’t have to burn a hole in your wallet for it.
Unit: #02-110
Opening hours: Wed-Sun 6:30am to 2pm
Chang Ji Gourmet is not a halal-certified eatery.
11. Pan Ji Cooked Food
Image credit: @suaymei
Run by an elderly hawker, Pan Ji Cooked Food has been around since the 1980s, and is popular for their old-school snacks called sachima. Also known as honey crackers, the addictive snack is typically sold in blocks, and comprises fried batter bound together with melted syrup.
As handmade sachima is hard to come by in Singapore—most nowadays are factory-produced—Pan Ji Cooked food is actually the last known hawker stall selling this snack. The sachima is available in three sizes: small ($3), medium ($6), and large ($7.50).
Read our Pan Ji Cooked Food feature.
Unit: #02-078
Opening hours: Daily 8am to 2pm
Pan Ji Cooked Food is not a halal-certified eatery.
12. Hong Kong Mongkok Tim Sum
Image credit: @chutoro
Hong Kong Mongkok Tim Sum sells six kinds of dim sum, all at the price of $3.50 each! The Char Siew Bao comes in a set of three buns, which is super worth it for its price, and is oozing with juicy and tender meat. Their Siew Mai and Har Gao are also very fragrant and tasty, although you are recommended to eat them hot lest the dumpling skins turn hard. Come here for a light snack with friends and family.
Unit: #02-097
Opening hours: Wed-Sun 11am to 5pm
Tel: 9735 6312
Hong Kong Mongkok Tim Sum is not a halal-certified eatery.
13. Old Amoy Chendol
Image credit: @oldamoychendol
Old Amoy Chendol serves chendol and chendol only. A bowl of the icy treat costs just $2.80 and sees creamy coconut milk and gula melaka syrup poured over a mountain of shaved ice, topped with red beans and pandan jelly. Online reviews complement the rich gula melaka syrup, which is imported from Sarawak instead of Malacca. As for their coconut cream, it’s cold-pressed—more coconuts are used in the extraction process, resulting in a stronger coconut fragrance.
Unit: #02-008
Opening hours: Daily 10am to 8pm
Tel: 8748 7590
Website
Old Amoy Chendol is not a halal-certified eatery but serves no pork or lard.
14. Ah Kong Wah Kuih
Image credit: @doudoupea
Ah Kong Wa Kuih sells only one kind of food: wah kueh, AKA bowl cake. While the traditional Hokkien treat is similar to chwee kueh, it’s topped with minced garlic, sambal, and dark soy sauce instead of preserved radish. Here, a tasty bowl of wah kueh costs $3 and comes with other ingredients such as dried shrimp and mushrooms.
The stall is known to sell out around an hour before their stated closing time. We recommend heading down no later than 12pm to avoid disappointment.
Unit: #02-116
Opening hours: Tue-Thurs, Sat-Sun 7:30am to 2pm, Fri 7:30am to 12pm
Website
Ah Kong Wah Kuih is not a halal-certified eatery.
15. Ann Chin Popiah
Image credit: @sgteddypapa
Be sure to pop by Ann Chin Popiah while you’re here, as it’s one of the hawker centre’s most popular stalls. The stall has been selling popiah since 1958 and even earned themselves a shoutout in the Michelin Guide. Priced at $2.20 each, their made-to-order popiah is generously packed with turnip, carrots, bean sprouts, crushed peanuts, and hard-boiled egg—all rolled up in their delicate house-made popiah skin, drizzled with garlic and sweet sauce.
Unit: #02-112
Opening hours: Daily 8am to 8pm
Tel: 8189 4699
Website
Ann Chin Popiah is not a halal-certified eatery but uses no pork or lard.
16. Smith Street Taps
Image credit: @smithstreettaps
If you fancy a glass of ale, head to Smith Street Taps for local and international craft beers on tap from $14. The hawker beer bar features up to 20 types of beers, including the locally brewed Honey My Bock ($16) from Alive Brewing. As the drink roster changes regularly, patrons will always have something new to sample!
Unit: #02-062
Opening hours: Mon-Thurs 6pm to 10:30pm, Fri 6pm to 11pm, Sat 2pm to 11pm
Tel: 8856 8201
Website
Smith Street Taps is not a halal-certified eatery.
What to eat at Chinatown Complex Food Centre
Chinatown Complex Food Centre has quickly become my top recommendation to friends and family. There are just too many hidden gems located in one hawker centre—it’s a foodie’s dream come true!
For more food in the area, read our Chinatown food guide for cheap hotpot buffet, Michelin-approved curry mee and more. Alternatively, read our Hong Lim Food Centre guide!
25 Best Chinatown Food Places For Cheap Hotpot Buffet, Michelin-Approved Curry Mee And More
Drop us your email so you won't miss the latest news.
