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 any day. You see, I’ve always felt that the humble hawker centre is brimming with hidden food gems. From simple fare such as $1.20 economical bee hoon to atas yet affordable lu rou fan, here is my list of 15 best Chinatown Complex food you definitely must try.
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Laksa lovers, at Woo Ji Cooked Food, you’re in for a treat! To get a bowl of Laksa here, all you need in your wallet is a $2 note. 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 is that the soup isn’t cloying 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), another tasty, incredibly value-for-money dish.
Check out our full review of Woo Ji Cooked Food!
Unit: #02-056
Opening hours: Wed-Sun 6am to 10am
Woo Ji Cooked Food is not a halal-certified eatery.
You probably already know of famous hawker Mr Chan Hon Meng being awarded one Michelin star for his Soya Sauce Chicken Rice ($6.80) in 2016. While Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle is no longer Michelin-starred, the queue for this stall can get rather overwhelming, especially during peak periods. The stall also offers roasted pork and char siew dishes, so order a few different dishes to share if you can’t decide what to get.
Check out our full review of Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice And Noodle!
Unit: #02-126
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 10:30am to 3:30pm
Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle is not a halal-certified eatery.
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 $1.20! 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.
A bowl of Yong Tau Foo at Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Foo costs an average of $3.50! Truly, Chinatown Complex’s food is a steal. Choose between getting six pieces of yong tau foo with bee hoon or noodles, or eight pieces of yong tau foo. 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.
Unit: #02-88
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 5am to 1:30pm
Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Foo is not a halal-certified eatery.
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 ($2.80), medium ($5.50), and large ($6.50).
The stall also makes other kinds of fried dough treats, including sesame-studded dough balls called Xiao Kou Zao ($4.50), and Dan San ($1.80), a swirly you tiao snack dipped in sugar syrup.
Unit: #02-78
Opening hours: Daily 8am to 3pm
Pan Ji Cooked Food is not a halal-certified eatery.
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 ($7 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 dish features thin noodles coated in a rich savoury bean sauce, and is said to be generously portioned for the price.
Unit: #02-135
Opening hours: Wed-Sun 11:30am to 3pm, 5pm to 8:30pm
Zhong Guo La Mian Xiao Long Bao is not a halal-certified eatery.
At Jin Ji Braised Duck, hawker food actually becomes Instagrammable! This stall 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 ($8), 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.
Check out our full review of Jin Ji Braised Duck!
Unit: #02-156
Opening hours: Mon-Thur 10:30am to 6:30pm, Sat-Sun 9:30am to 6:30pm
Tel: 9018 9052
Website
Jin Ji Braised Duck is not a halal-certified eatery.
Image credit: @chutoro
Hong Kong Mong Kok Tim Sum sells six kinds of dim sum, all at the price of $2.50 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: Thurs-Sun 11am to 4pm
Tel: 9735 6312
Hong Kong Mong Kok Tim Sum is not a halal-certified eatery.
Image credit: @oldamoychendol
Old Amoy Chendol serves chendol and chendol only. A bowl of the icy treat costs just $2.50, 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: Mon-Sat 10:30am to 6pm
Tel: 8748 7690
Website
Old Amoy Chendol is not a halal-certified eatery but serves no pork or lard.
Halal-friendly fare is difficult to come by in Chinatown, but you’ll find exactly just that here at Aziz Jaffar Muslim Food. The Muslim-owned hawker stall serves traditional Malay dishes with 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.
Unit: #02-70
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.
Image credit: @hippofeed
There’s almost nothing better than digging into a warm bowl of shabu-style pork soup on a cold, rainy day. Monan’s Vietnamese pork soup hits the spot with their generous serving of ingredients, including tender pork belly, house-made meatballs, daikon, pork skin, and their signature egg sausage. A bowl of Monan Pork Soup will only set you back $3.80, while a bowl of Pork Rib Soup costs $5.80.
If you’re into innards, there’s also the option to throw in some pork liver, stomach, tongue, and intestines from $1.80.
Unit: #02-137
Opening hours: Tue-Sat 11am to 8pm
Website
Monan Pork Soup is not a halal-certified eatery.
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: Original ($2.80), Pork ($3.50), Char Siew ($4), Prawn ($4.50), and Tuna ($4.50). The stall also sells Hong Kong-style congee such as Salted Pork Ribs With Century Egg Congee ($4.50), and Dried Oyster, Pork & Century Egg Congee ($5), which is served with non-brined pork.
Unit: #02-096
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 7am to 2pm (or sold out)
Website
Chef Leung’s Authentic Hand-milled Rice Noodle Rolls is not a halal-certified eatery.
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 $2.50, and comes with other ingredients such as dried shrimp and mushrooms.
Although Ah Kong Wa Kuih is relatively new compared to other stalls in the area—the owner set up shop just before the pandemic hit—they’ve successfully garnered a steady customer base, and are 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-Sun 7:45am to 2pm (or sold out)
Ah Kong Wah Kuih is not a halal-certified eatery.
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 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.
Ann Chin Popiah also has numerous outlets islandwide, including a branch at Upper Thomson that’s halal-certified.
Unit: #02-112
Opening hours: Daily 8am to 7pm
Website
Ann Chin Popiah is not a halal-certified eatery.
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 Saturday Saranghae from Alive Brewing, as well as Siren Craft Brew from Britain and MOA from New Zealand. Fans of Japanese beers will also be delighted to know that Sapporo beer is a permanent part of the menu.
As the drink roster changes regularly, patrons will always have something new to sample.
Unit: #02–62
Opening hours: Tue-Thurs 6pm to 10:30pm, Fri 6pm to 11pm, Sat 2pm to 11pm
Website
Smith Street Taps is not a halal-certified eatery.
No doubt, within my time here in Eatbook, Chinatown Complex food has quickly become my top recommendation to friends and family. There are just too many hidden gems located in one food centre—it’s a foodie’s dream come true. Head on down to Chinatown Complex sometime soon, and who knows? You might just discover some food gems of your own!
You may also be interested in our review of Hao Lai Wu, a steamboat and BBQ buffet in Chinatown! Alternatively, check out this list of best yong tau foo stalls to visit if you’re a fan of the delicious Hakka dish.
Feature image adapted from @oldamoychendol, @doudoupea, and @hippofeed
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