Toa Payoh is home to plenty of great coffee shops, cafes, and restaurants. Despite the plethora of choices, one place you must check out is Kim Keat Palm Market & Food Centre, for it is saturated with good hawker eats. Look no further, as we’ve compiled the top 10 stalls to try at this hawker centre!
First up on the list is LiXin Chao Zhou Fishball Noodle, one of the more popular stalls at the hawker centre. Featured on the Singapore Michelin Guide 2022, the stall is popular for its handmade springy fish balls. What’s even better is that prices are kept to an affordable $3.50 per bowl! For each serving, you’ll score yourself mee pok tossed in a flavourful housemade chilli sauce with a bowl of fishball soup on the side. There’s also a soup option if you’d like, which features kway teow noodles, fishballs, spring onions, and dried shallots in clear soup.
Unit number: #01-20
Opening hours: Thurs-Sun 7am to 1pm
LiXin Chao Zhou Fishball Noodle is not a halal-certified eatery.
Image credit: @hungryrayshoots
Hai Nan Xing Zhou Beef Noodles is another noodle stall worth checking out. They’ve also made it to the Singapore Michelin Guide 2022 for dishing out bowls of tasty beef noodles. Formerly located at Cuppage Centre with over 70 years of history, there are two versions of their iconic beef noodles: Dry and Soup. Each bowl is priced at just $5! The dry version sees thick bee hoon doused in a viscous dark sauce, topped with peanuts and salted vegetables. Meanwhile, the latter features noodles in a clear, beefy broth.
Read our guide to the best beef noodles in Singapore!
Unit number: #01-06
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 8:30am to 3:30pm
Hai Nan Xing Zhou Beef Noodles is not a halal-certified eatery.
Image credit: Genevie Lim
For a quick snack, the popiah from Old Long House Popiah is a great option. They’ve been around since the 1930s, formerly located at the now defunct Long House at Horne Road. Old Long House Popiah has also made its appearance on plenty of local media platforms such as The New Paper, Mediacorp 8, The Sunday Times and more.
At just $2 per roll, you’re getting the most bang for your buck for it is stuffed with ingredients. These include crab stick chunks, turnip, beansprouts, boiled eggs, garlic and more wrapped in freshly made popiah skin. Smeared within is also a housemade sweet-spicy and nutty chilli sauce.
Read our guide to the best popiah in Singapore!
Unit number: #01-03
Opening hours: Daily 11:30am to 9:30pm
Tel: 9171 7157
Website
Old Long House Popiah is not a halal-certified eatery
Image credit: Alvin Tan Jun Liang
Lor 7 Kway Chap & Braised Duck serves kway chap in generous portions. Each serving comes with different parts of the pig such as the stomach, intestines, skin and more, of course, but also tau pok and a braised egg that serves as a great base to absorb the flavourful herbal sauce. The smallest portion of kway chap goes for $5, while the largest size is the $15 option that’s fit for three people.
On the braised duck end, their most popular dish is the Braised Duck Rice ($3.50), which features tender slices of duck and rice laden with their fragrant and savoury sauce.
Unit number: #01-32
Opening hours: Sat-Wed 6am to 5pm
Tel: 8307 4464
Lor 7 Kway Chap & Braised Duck is not a halal-certified eatery.
Image credit: Zen
Orh luak AKA oyster omelette fans, be sure to check out Ah Chuan Fried Oyster Omelette! This legendary stall’s orh luak is loaded with plump and fresh oysters, with eggs that are fried till golden with crispy ends and a fluffy texture. A plate starts from $5.
To balance out the umami and smoky flavour, dip your omelette in the piquant sambal that’s said to boast a bright and garlicky taste. Carrot cake lovers must also try their white and black carrot cake, priced from just $3!
Unit number: #01-25
Opening hours: Wed-Mon 6am to 6pm
Ah Chuan Oyster Omelet is not a halal-certified eatery.
Image credit: @chicka___boom
ChickaBoom is a Muslim-owned eatery with tasty variations of chicken rice, including ayam penyet, ayam geprek and more!
Some highlights include the Nasi Ayam Penyet Belado ($6), which is great for spice lovers. It features fiery red sambal slathered atop crispy fried chicken, served with white rice, fried tempe and tofu, vegetables, and soup. For something unique, go for their Nasi Ayam Penyet Rendang ($6.50) which has creamy, spicy and coconutty rendang sauce on top of tender fried chicken.
Unit number: #01-45
Opening hours: Tue-Sat 7am to 4pm
Tel: 9144 5840
Website
ChickaBoom is a Muslim-owned eatery.
Yi bua, also spelled as yi buah, is a traditional and iconic Hainanese snack that’s quite rare to find in Singapore. It is essentially a steamed glutinous rice dumpling filled with palm sugar, desiccated coconut, ginger, sesame, and peanuts, and then wrapped in banana leaves. As it’s only prepared during Hainanese festive occasions or food exhibitions these days, Hainan Cuisine And Snacks is where you can get it on almost any day. The yi bua here is handmade fresh daily, and goes for just $1.30 a pop, boasting a satisfying, chewy texture.
Unit number: #01-35
Opening hours: Wed-Sun 7am to 1pm
Tel: 9338 1903
Website
Hainan Cuisine And Snacks is not a halal-certified eatery.
Here’s another Muslim-friendly stall you have to check out: Oiishii Corner, serving Japanese food at affordable prices! The most popular item is the Oiishii Beef Don ($5.50). A bowl comes with spicy and savoury beef slices and refreshing greens laid atop a bed of Japanese rice. You can also try the Chicken Katsu Don ($5) if you love curry rice, or the Teriyaki Chicken Ramen ($6) for something warm, comforting, and filling.
Read our full review of Oiishii Corner!
Unit number: #01-61
Opening hours: Sat-Thurs 11am to 6pm
Tel: 9797 1004
Website
Oiishii Corner is a Muslim-owned eatery.
Image credit: Royal Pears
Wonton noodles are a staple when it comes to hawker food, and Min Kee Tanjong Rhu Wanton Noodle is where you can get your cravings fixed. This stall draws one of the longest queues here, and it’s so popular that it was even featured in Straits Times’ list of the best wonton mee in Singapore.
Their Wanton Noodle comes in a $3 or $4 serving, and you can choose to have it served dry or in a soup. Each bowl consists of mee kia that is said to be blanched in hot and cold water to bring out its springiness, slices of char siu, vegetables, and pork lard tossed in a flavourful and spicy dark sauce. Be sure to pair your noodles with their house-made chilli, which is said to pack a garlicky punch.
Unit number: #01-49
Opening hours: Mon, Wed-Sun 7:30am to 2:30pm
Min Kee Tanjong Rhu Wanton Noodle is not a halal-certified eatery.
Image credit: @feieats
No meal is complete without dessert, so be sure to drop by Dove Desserts to grab a bowl of their famous Homemade Nyonya Chendol ($2) and Traditional Cheng Tng ($1.40). Touted to have one of the best chendol in Singapore, a bowl consists of finely shaved ice, doused in freshly squeezed coconut milk and topped with hand-pressed pandan jelly. The gula melaka syrup is also said to be imported all the way from Malacca, which the owner would visit every few months.
For something unique, they’ve also got Chendol Agar Agar, which features the main components of a basic chendol separated into three different layers, jelly-style. The dessert comes in three different sizes: small ($3), medium ($7), and large ($10).
Unit number: #01-21
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 11am to 6pm
Tel: 9272 5712
Website
Dove Desserts is not a halal-certified eatery.
With plenty of delicious food to choose from, be sure to drop by Kim Keat Palm Market & Food Centre if you ever happen to be around Toa Payoh.
Otherwise, another eatery nearby is Shinjitsu Ramen, serving $6.50 ramen and more! If cafes are your thing, our guide to the best cafes in the North-East will introduce you to nian gao waffles, brunch spots, and IG-worthy bakeries.
Feature image adapted from @hungryrayshoots, @feieats, Royal Pears, @chicka___boom, Alvin Tan Jun Liang
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