Telok Ayer cafes are in abundance for their chic interiors and chill brunches. Amoy Street Food Centre is nearby too. But if you think that is all to Telok Ayer, you are missing out. Here are some underrated Telok Ayer food places that we like.
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Image credit: @musicalboxmuseumcafe
Museum Cafe is located inside Thian Hock Keng Temple, next to the Musical Box Museum. This is where you can eat Peranakan food while soaking in the peace of the temple. The cafe is known for the Sing Laksa ($14) as their customers love the large prawns and rich broth. Else, you can also try their Laksa Ramen ($16.80) with the same noodles found at Ippudo ramen!
BTW, the Kueh Kueh ($1.80 per piece) in this cafe is also approved by Malaysian comedian and The Daily Show correspondent Ronny Chieng as he had once featured their kueh on his IG story.
Address: 168 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore 068619
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 11:30am to 4pm
Tel: 9864 6021
Website
Museum Cafe is not a halal-certified eatery.
Image credit: @kellygiam
Beppu Menkan Japanese Noodle Restaurant has been serving up ramen in Singapore for more than 20 years. Their affordable yet special noods come with a variety of toppings. One example is the Umi Jigoku ($15.80++), which translates directly to sea hell. This dish consists of an array of seafood such as mussels and prawns in a spicy soup broth. If you’re looking for something mild that won’t have you hogging up a toilet cubicle, Char Siew Ramen ($14.80++) is a safe bet.
Address: 3 Pickering Street, #01-32/33, China Square Central, Singapore 048660
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 11:30am to 3pm, 6pm to 10pm, Sat 11:30am to 10pm, Sun 12:30pm to 9pm
Tel: 6438 0328
Website
Beppu Menkan Japanese Noodle Restaurant is not a halal-certified eatery.
To experience eating yong tau foo (YTF) in a bar setting, try out Fu Lin Bar & Kitchen! The restaurant offers Ampang-style YTF, where the toppings you pick will be deep-fried, drenched in meat gravy, and served with thick bee hoon or rice. The last time went there, we loved that the deep-fried ingredients stayed crunchy even after being covered in gravy.
Read our Fu Lin Bar & Kitchen review!
Address: 127 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore 068596
Opening hours: Mon-Thurs 11am to 12am, Fri 11am to 1am, Sat 4pm to 12am
Tel: 9011 5810
Website
Fu Lin Bar & Kitchen is not a halal-certified eatery.
Image credit: 霆霆
YinJi is an award-winning chee cheong fun eatery from Guangzhou. This place is where to go if you are still thinking of that zha leong AKA Fried Dough Roll ($5.50) you ate on your last trip to Hong Kong. For folks who have not been to HK, zha leong is you tiao that’s wrapped in chee cheong fun and drenched in soy-based sauce. They make delicious rice porridge too! Their “Boat” Congee ($7.30) has a medley of toppings, including prawns, sliced fish, and peanuts.
Read our YinJi review!
Address: 133 Amoy Street, #01-01, Far East Square, Singapore 049962
Opening hours: Mon 9:30am to 4pm, Tue-Sat 9:30am to 7pm
Website
YinJi is not a halal-certified eatery.
Image credit: @nomnombytnt
If you’re on TikTok, you may have seen the video discussing the most difficult Chinese character to write—the word “biang” in biang biang noodles. Now you can eat them at Biang Biang Noodles Xi An Famous Food in Telok Ayer Street, and at great prices too! For only $8.90, you can get the Biang Biang Noodles Three-In-One, which is the super-filling combination of the iconic wide noodles with stir-fried tomato eggs, braised meat, and some vegetables.
Address: 51 Telok Ayer Street, #01-07, Singapore 048441
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10:30am to 9:30pm, Sat 10:30am to 9pm
Website
Biang Biang Noodles Xi An Famous Food is not a halal-certified eatery.
If you are craving lu rou fan and oyster mee sua, Want Food Taiwanese Delights is a good place! We liked their Braised Pork Rice ($9.80) as it did not make us feel jelak. Their mee sua here is slightly different as it comes with large chunks of pork intestines. If you’re a fan of offal, get the Oyster Intestine Mee Sua (from $8.50) which also comes with plump and fresh oysters.
Read our Want Food Taiwanese Delights review.
Address: 22 Cross Street, #01-63, Cross Street Exchange, Singapore 048421
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 11am to 3pm, 5:30pm to 9pm
Tel: 9396 9800
Website
Want Food Taiwanese Delights is not a halal-certified eatery.
ICYMI, Tha Chang Noodle Bar has moved to Telok Ayer after the closing of Golden Mile Complex. This restaurant is known for their Special Pork Boat Noodle ($9.90+). We loved the robust flavour and the wide variety of meats consisting of pork balls, tender pork slices, and liver. Our favourite was the Special Beef Boat Noodle Soup ($10.90+) for its rich and robust beef broth.
Read our Tha Chang Noodle Bar review.
Address: 51 Telok Ayer Street, #01-07, Singapore 04844
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10:30am to 9:30pm, Sat 10:30am to 9pm
Tel: 8711 0365
Tha Chang Noodle Bar is not a halal-certified eatery.
A Telok Ayer food guide is incomplete without mentioning Amoy Street Food Centre. Spicy Wife offers affordable, large portions of nasi lemak in the hawker centre! The last time went, we found their Mutton Rendang ($7.50) to be the unexpected MVP as the meat did not have any hint of gaminess, and instead, was well-marinated with the aromatic flavours of rendang.
Read our Spicy Wife review.
Address: 7 Maxwell Road, #02-119, Amoy Street Food Centre, Singapore 069111
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10:30am to 2pm
Website
Spicy Wife is not a halal-certified eatery but uses no pork or lard.
If you are craving some mamak stall goodness, head to Kamal’s Restaurant! This restaurant touts themselves to be the specialist in chicken briyani, so we got a plate to try. Their Fried Chicken Briyani ($8) was served with basmati rice and a large piece of deep-fried chicken thigh. We liked the crispy batter that was well-seasoned with turmeric and masala. The rice in the briyani was super fluffy and flavourful too!
Read our Kamal’s Restaurant review.
Address: 7 Stanley Street, Singapore 068726
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 7am to 6pm, Sat 7am to 5pm
Tel: 6221 7877
Website
Kamal’s Restaurant is a Muslim-owned eatery.
For a sweet snack, head to The Fat Kid Bakery for sourdough bombolone! Bomboloni is an Italian stuffed doughnut that is known for its light fluffiness, but what’s special about the bakery is that they use sourdough instead of a regular doughnut. The last time we tried these, our three favourite flavours were Blueberry Cheesecake ($5.30), Citrus Bomb ($5.30), and Sea Salt Maple ($5.50). For folks who prefer savoury foods, the bakery also has flavours such as the Spicy Egg Mayo ($6.50) and Garlic Mascarpone ($6.50).
Read our The Fat Kid Bakery review!
Address: 39 Amoy Street, Singapore 069865
Opening hours: Mon-Thurs 9am to 5pm, Fri 9am to 6:30pm, Sat 10:30am to 4:30pm
Website
The Fat Kid Bakery is not a halal-certified eatery.
Here’s another recco from Amoy Street Food Centre: Lian Hup Heng, a hawker bakery serving affordable bakes. Our favourite was their Orh Nee Tart ($3.80) for its rich filling and silky texture. We also liked the subtle tanginess of their Yoghurt Cranberry ($3.80) cake. They also have a Today’s Special ($3.80) that changes daily, so there is a new pastry to look forward to on each visit.
Read our Lian Hup Heng review.
Address: 7 Maxwell Road, #02-128, Amoy Street Food Centre, Singapore 069111
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10:30am to 3pm
Website
Lian Hup Heng is not a halal-certified eatery.
Pair your bakes with drinks from Daylight Coffee. This hawker stall near Lian Hup Heng offers cafe-style coffee at great prices. We tried their Iced Oat White ($5) and loved how well the roasted coffee paired with the smooth oat milk. The stall is also famous for their Spanish Latte ($4.50), which is your regular espresso-based coffee with condensed milk, giving it a milky sweetness.
Read our Daylight Coffee feature.
Address: 7 Maxwell Road, #02-126, Amoy Street Food Centre, Singapore 069111
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 7am to 3pm, Sat-Sun 10:30am to 2:30pm
Website
Daylight Coffee is not a halal-certified eatery.
Zi char from Quan Ji at Amoy Street Food Centre had us completely impressed. Dubbed by my colleague as “the king of noodles” was the Wong Po Lou Meen ($20) AKA yellow cloth noodles. This decadent dish comprised egg noodles seasoned in lard and oyster sauce, and then tucked in a prawn omelette blanket. The lard added tons of flavour to the noodles and gave them a glowing sheen.
Read our Quan Ji review to learn more!
Address: 7 Maxwell Road, #01-56, Amoy Street Food Centre, Singapore 069111
Opening hours: Wed-Sun 11am to 1:30pm, 4:30pm to 10pm
Quan Ji is not a halal-certified eatery.
Tucked in the corner of Telok Ayer Street is French Fold. This cafe was the talk of the town for a brief period for their delicately presented dishes. This restaurant makes their crepes and galettes Breton-syle, which means that the batter is made with specially imported buckwheat flour, giving them a unique nutty flavour. We loved the No.4 ($19++), a pretty package of ham, mushrooms, sunny-side-up egg, and Comte cheese, perfect as a breakfast platter.
Read our French Fold review.
Address: 204 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore 068640
Opening hours: Sun-Wed 8am to 11pm, Thurs-Sat 8am to 12am
Tel: 6970 7626
Website
French Fold is not a halal-certified eatery.
If you are looking to do some cafe-hopping, Plain Vanilla is a great place to start! This long-standing coffee place does their basics well. Try their “PBJ” ($10++) sandwich, which has a twist of house-made sea salt almond butter and raspberry rose jam. Or pair your coffee with their Earl Grey Lavender Cupcake ($4.80++), our favourite out of their mainstays for its rich tea flavour.
Read our best Plain Vanilla cupcakes feature!
Address: 134 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore 068600
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 7:30am to 7pm, Sun 7:30am to 5pm
Website
Plain Vanilla is not a halal-certified eatery.
Another cafe-hopping spot we like is LUNA for their Asian twist on sponge cakes. They are known for their Orh Nee Cake ($8++), which is a modern take on the Teochew dessert, with yam paste in the middle and coconut-flavoured toppings on the cake. This one had a great textural contrast thanks to the smooth taro paste and dried crispy coconut flakes. Alternatively, if you like the nutty combination of black sesame and peanut butter, they also have a Goma x PB ($9++) cake!
Read about it in our LUNA review.
Address: 53 Amoy Street, Singapore 069879
Opening hours: Sun-Thurs 12pm to 6:30pm, Fri-Sat 12pm to 9pm
Website
LUNA is not a halal-certified eatery.
Hellu Coffee in Far East Square is where you get delicious croffles! On our visit, their Maple Bacon ($7.90+) croffle was a delicious, chunky mix of savoury and sweet in each bite. We also loved their Egg Mayo Roundwich ($5+) for being so packed, it was almost a complete sphere. Hellu Coffee is also known for their Creamu drinks, which stars a generous amount of whipped cream on top. We got their Iced Matcha Creamu ($8.90+) and really liked the balance of earthy matcha and sweet cream.
Read our Hellu Coffee review.
Address: 135 Amoy Street, #01-05, Far East Square, Singapore 049965
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 8am to 6pm, Sat 10am to 4pm
Website
Hellu Coffee is not a halal-certified eatery.
Moss Cross Tokyo has opened their first overseas outlet in Singapore. This is an omakase restaurant that fuses both French and Japanese cuisine, creating new and interesting dishes you can look forward to. Last time we went, we tried their Wakon-Yosai ($150++ per person) which came in a beautiful platter with nine mini plates of assorted starters.
Check out our Moss Cross Tokyo review.
Address: 181 South Bridge Road, #02-01, Capri by Fraser China Square, Singapore 058743
Opening hours: Tue-Sat 12pm to 3pm, 6pm to 10pm
Website
Moss Cross Tokyo is not a halal-certified eatery.
Image credit: @kulto.sg
If you need a quiet place for a corporate meal or family gathering, Kulto is a great pick. Their Lunch Set ($38++) is a two-course meal, with a wide variety of choices to pick from. Their Salmon Tartare Crispy Avocado & Almond Cream starter is said to be a crowd favourite! The crispy avocado boasts a great textural contrast to the raw salmon. For an extra $6++, you can end your meal with a dessert, including their signature Kulto Cheese Cake.
Address: 103 Amoy Street, Singapore 069923
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 12pm to 12am, Sat 5pm to 12am
Website
Kulto is not a halal-certified eatery.
Image credit: @bacata.sg
For a great Latin American meal, make a reservation at Bacata! For $68++, you get a five-course meal with the Executive Set Lunch. This includes interesting starters such as Pulpo which is a mix of European and Asian fare. The octopus is cooked with nduja, AKA pork sausage, and salted egg, then served with chimichurri. If youare up for a surprise, you can also get the Chef Experience (from $158++ per person) where the chef decides your meals.
Address: 128 Cecil Street, #03-01/02, Fraser Tower, Singapore 069547
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 12pm to 3pm, 6pm to 9:30pm
Tel: 6904 5686
Website
Bacata is not a halal-certified eatery.
Now you know that cheap food in Telok Ayer is not just food from Amoy Street Food Centre. With these places, you can hide from the lunch crowd and still be able to enjoy tasty food!
For more goodies in the area, check out our Chinatown food guide for an affordable hotpot buffet and Michelin-approved curry mee. Alternatively, you can read our list of best business lunch sets to bring your corporate guests.
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