I’ve always loved eating hawker food because you can get good food at reasonable prices. As I’m quite used to the hawker food located near me, I’m looking for new food centre finds across Singapore. Fortunately, I just found out that Empress Road Food Centre, AKA Empress Market, a seven-minute walk from Farrer Road MRT Station, has a decent number of highly raved hawker stalls. Most of these stalls are open till the afternoon, which means you can get a satisfying breakfast or lunch fix here!
Here are some of the best Empress Market food stalls to try out.
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Fu Gui Bak Chor Mee is a highly rated bak chor mee stall that my colleague, an avid BCM lover, used to frequent during her secondary school years. Go for their signature Minced Meat Noodle ($3.50/$4.50) that has flavourful, springy noodles and bouncy fishballs, in your choice of soup or dry. You will also find freshly fried ingredients in their various dishes such as ikan bilis and crispy pork lard. Alternatively, get their Laksa ($3.50/$4.50), which sells out within a few hours of opening.
They’re known for their long queues that start as soon as they open for the day, so plan your visit accordingly.
Unit number: #01-100
Opening hours: Sat-Mon 7am to 1pm
Website
Fu Gui Bak Chor Mee is not a halal-certified eatery.
Soh Food Stewed Duck is another crowd favourite because they’re the only stall in Singapore selling stewed duck. The owner, William Soh, has been selling this famed dish for four years. The recipe actually belonged to his mother, before it was passed down to him. He then decided to make this traditional meal available for his customers to enjoy daily. Try their bestselling Duck Leg ($6), which is lightly flavoured and slow-cooked till the meat’s tender, or their Duck Wings ($3.50) served alongside sweet and savoury gravy-soaked spinach and mushrooms.
You can also get additional Fish Maw in your dish when you top up $1. Otherwise, you can pair these dishes with Rice ($0.50) or Kway Teow ($0.70). For a stronger flavour, dip the duck meat into their belacan chilli dip that packs a punch.
Read our Soh Food Stewed Duck review.
Unit number: #01-106
Opening hours: Thurs-Tue 10am to 7pm
Tel: 8198 9368
Website
Soh Food is not a halal-certified eatery but uses no pork or lard.
Located right next to Soh Food, Ah Wing’s Wanton Mee is another popular stall. They’re famous for their generous portions of Char Siew Wanton Noodle ($3.50/$4.50) with springy noodles, juicy char siew, and wontons so tasty that people preorder the frozen ones the stall also sells.
If you mind the slight alkaline taste of yellow noodles, swap it for their silky hor fun, which comes with a different gravy. Alternatively, try their Ipoh Hor Fun with Shredded Chicken & Prawns ($3.50/$4.50). Pair this with sliced green chilli for a spicy kick.
Unit number: #01-108
Opening hours: Tue-Wed, Sat-Sun 8am to 2pm
Tel: 9749 8315
Website
Ah Wing’s Wanton Mee is not a halal-certified eatery.
Image credit: Jodeci Fine
Drop by Qi Xing Dim Sum in the morning to get a hearty breakfast. Zhng-up your dim sum fare with their handmade bao and unique siew mai. Try their Sweet Corn Pau or Char Siew Pau which has barbecued pork filling. You don’t want to miss out on their four types of siew mai either. Choose from siew mai stuffed with century egg, beancurd skin, scallops, or mushrooms. Otherwise, go for their popular porridge dishes that include Silver Fish Porridge and Century Egg with Minced Meat Porridge.
Diners can expect to spend under $8 a dish.
Unit number: #01-77
Opening hours: Tue-Wed, Sat-Sun 6:30am to 12:30pm
Qi Xing Dim Sum is not a halal-certified eatery.
Bakery Brera is another breakfast spot, selling an extensive range of freshly baked pastries and bread. Their offerings are less of the traditional fare offered by Qi Xing, but nonetheless, still worth a try. Go for their popular cruffins that include flavours such as PB & J ($5.50) or Ferrero Rocher ($5.50). Alternatively, get their artisanal croissants such as Taro Mochi Double-Baked Croissant ($7.80) or the savoury Triple Cheese Ham Croissant ($6).
Read our Bakery Brera review.
Unit number: #01-05
Opening hours: Sun-Mon 7:30am to 4pm, Tue-Sat 7:30am to 6pm
Tel: 6492 5428
Website
Bakery Brera is not a halal-certified eatery.
You can get quite the bang for your buck at Farrer Road Chicken Rice, as they sell generous portions of chicken rice. The chicken here is said to have juicy and tender meat. Choose from their popular options: Steamed Chicken Rice that’s doused with a light gravy, and Roasted Chicken Rice, with thin, well-rendered skin. Each dish comes with a plate of fluffy and fragrant rice.
Alternatively, you can also go for their Roasted Meat Rice or Char Siew Rice. Don’t forget to pair the dishes with their delicious chilli dip. You might want to visit the stall early as they often sell out by 11am. Expect to spend around $5 a person.
Unit number: #01-98
Opening hours: Tue-Sat 8:30am to 2pm
Farrer Road is not a halal-certified eatery.
Bunga Raya Prata Hut is a hawker stall that specialises in briyani. Go for their bestselling Mutton Biryani ($6.50) that stars fluffy and fragrant basmati rice and tender, juicy mutton, complete with a flavourful curry gravy. If you want other options, there’s also prata and murtabak. Get their crispy Plain Prata ($1.20) or Egg Onion Prata ($2.30) for something more substantial. You can have these with three types of curry: Curry Mutton, Curry Chicken, and Curry Fish.
Don’t forget to check out their sister outlet a few stalls down which sells masala thosai and idly.
Unit number: #01-74
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 8am to 7pm
Bunga Raya is a halal-certified eatery.
Swing by Sintia’s Indonesian Food for traditional Indonesian fare! Go for their Mee Rebus ($3.50) that comes with a generous serving of egg noodles, flavourful and spiced gravy, and a boiled egg. If you’d like something with rice, they have Nasi Sambal Goreng ($4/$5) that has white rice, bergedel, a dollop of sambal goreng and your choice of chicken or beef. There’s also various side dishes on offer such as paru-paru ($2.50), AKA cow lung, petai with ikan billis ($1.50), and beef rendang ($3).
Unit number: #01-101
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 7am to 1:30pm
Tel: 9784 3727
Website
Sintia’s Indonesian Food is a Muslim-owned eatery.
This is another place for the early risers—Heng Heng Nasi Lemak opens at 5:30am, selling both breakfast and lunch items. Get their Chee Cheong Fun or Chwee Kueh that comes with four steamed rice cakes per plate. For a more filling meal, they also offer Fried Bee Hoon, Kway Teow Mee, and Fried Rice. Diners can expect to spend under $5 a dish.
Unit number: #01-83
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 5:30am to 1pm
Heng Heng Nasi Lemak is not a halal-certified eatery.
Happy World Roast has roast meat dishes served with a modern twist. They’re a third-generation stall, but one thing that hasn’t changed all these years is the quality of their roast meat. While you’re here, try their Char Siew Rice ($4) that stars succulent char siew. This has been freshly roasted and flambéed with marinade. Alternatively, you can go for something simpler such as Shrimp Dumpling Noodle ($4).
If you plan to come by on a Tuesday, you can also order from their special menu! They’ve got various burgers such as Roast Pork Belly Burger ($7.90) and Teriyaki Chicken Burger ($7.90). Each burger features brioche buns, fresh vegetables, and mayonnaise. Get these with sides of Fried Wonton Skin ($5), Tomato Salsa Dip ($6) or Achar ($6).
Unit number: #01-107
Opening hours: Daily 10am to 4pm
Tel: 8298 7689
Website
Happy World Roast is not a halal-certified eatery.
Somerset Fishball Noodle is a relatively new presence in Empress Road Food Centre, but the owner has been in the fishball noodle business since the 1980s, with his old stall at Somerset Road. Customers have praised their dishes that’s known for QQ fishballs and flavourful housemade sambal chilli.
Go for their popular Signature Minced Meat Noodle ($5) that has springy minced meat and plump prawns. Alternatively, they also offer Saito Fishball Noodle ($3.50/ $4.50) which uses Wolf Herring in the fishballs. This particular fish creates more tender fishballs than regular ones.
Unit number: #01-89
Opening hours: Thurs-Tue 7am to 3pm
Somerset Fishball Noodle is not a halal-certified eatery.
Farrer You Tiao has handmade fried fritters that regulars love. The elderly couple that owns the stall chooses to knead the dough by hand to retain the quality of the fritters.
For a simple breakfast choice, get their You Tiao ($0.80) that has a crisp exterior and is fluffy on the inside. They also have Ham Ching Ping ($0.80), which is a savoury fried doughnut flavoured with five spice powder. Otherwise, try their Butterfly Fritters ($0.80) for a sweet, doughy treat.
Unit number: #01-99
Opening hours: Wed-Sat 6:45am to 11am
Website
Farrer You Tiao is not a halal-certified eatery.
Despite its relatively small size compared to other hawker centres, the mix of traditional and modernised dishes in Empress Road Food Centre will definitely leave you spoilt for choice. While the place may be mentioned less on the socials, be sure to check them out if you’re ever in the area.
If you’re searching for more shiok hawker food, check out our guide to the best Shunfu Mart Food Centre stalls, with old-school hae mee and abacus yam balls. Alternatively, if you’d like to hunt down the best BCM in Singapore, read our ranked list of the best bak chor mee in Singapore!
Feature image adapted from @taroxtaco, @baktao, @yum_seng, @hungermanaged, and @hungry.uncle.
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