Today, we put to the test if old is really gold.
Hong Lim food centre has been raved about by many since ages ago and the lunch-time crowd sure proves a point. There are many big names here with almost every stall branding themselves as "award winning" with long snaking queues to back that up.
From rushing to meetings and waging your daily battle as a keyboard warrior, you’re probably already famished by lunch hour. We’re sure you won’t want to spend your lunch break queueing in line for an hour with the rest just to regret what you have ordered.
So, here’s our guide on navigating Hong Lim Food Centre for you to make the most out of your lunch break. You can thank us later.
Also, a little something to look out for in this post: Food gems within walking distance of Hong Lim Food Centre!
TLDR: Worth the Queue
Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee
Ji Ji Wanton Mee
Heng Kee Curry Chicken Noodle
Green Bites
Tay Kay Kee Fish Head Bee Hoon
Granny’s Pancake
Black N Gold Coffee Stop
The Guide To Hong Lim Food Centre
1. Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee (Stall #02-17)
Out of the 10 over dishes that we ordered, the Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee really stood out and I found myself reaching out for it more than the others. I particularly like food that are strong flavoured and these noodles passed the test. Compared to the regular Char Kway Teow, its texture is creamier and more appetising. The greatest challenge to getting Char Kway Teow right is having the right balance of sweet and savoury and I can safely say that they nailed it. However, the cockles were too fishy for my liking and hopefully this is just a one-off incident!
Price: $4
Verdict: 4/5
2. Famous Sungei Road Trishaw Laksa (Stall #02-66)
This particular dish left me wondering: “What’s so Famous about the Famous Sungei Road Trishaw Laksa?” Unlike most laksa that are rich in coconut milk and sour asam, I found the base of this laksa a bit too bland. Overall, the laksa wasn’t too bad but it just didn’t stand out to me. Given the choice, I would still choose the famous 363 Katong Laksa over this any day.
Verdict: 3/5
Another signature dish from this stall is their Fruit Juice Mee Siam which the stall owner proudly proclaimed to be “the only one in Singapore”. He also declared that it was top secret when we asked him what fruit juice was used to deliver the sweetness of this dish. Our guess is pineapple juice but let us know your thoughts if you think otherwise!
This Mee Siam is definitely the only one in Singapore as I have never tasted anything like this. While Mee Siam usually has a tangy and sweet taste, this one was just sweet. However, i’m guessing that this dish is an acquired taste because a particular member couldn’t stop reaching for it and insisted that it “grows on you”.
Both dishes can also be ordered with crayfish but it was sold out by the time it was our turn!
Price: $5, $8.50 with Crayfish
Verdict: 3/5
3. Ji-Ji Wanton Mee (Stall #02-49)
Another largely raved about item in this hawker centre is Ji Ji Wanton Noodle. In Singapore, there are generally two kinds of Wanton mee - the one with spicy chilli sauce and the one with sweet dark sauce. Ji Ji’s Wanton Mee is the latter. I prefer my Wanton Noodles to be spicy and savoury, but I can see why this is a popular dish for those who like their Wanton Mee sweet. The noodles are thick and bouncy, and they come with handmade Wanton that contains a generous amount of pork and shrimp fillings. Interestingly, the soup that came with the noodles tasted like the creamy mushroom soup usually served before your main course in a Western restaurant!
Price: $3/$4/$5/$6/$7/$8
Verdict: 4/5
4. Tuck Kee (Ipoh) Sah Hor Fun (Stall #02-40)
This Hor Fun was decent and easy to eat as as the prawns were de-shelled and the crayfish was halved. It was also not too jelak. For $9, it came with a generous amount of crayfish and prawns but there was nothing too special about the Hor Fun gravy. Tasting largely of oyster sauce, the hor fun was light but not too flavourful. Unless you’re really craving for a good dose of seafood, I wouldn’t really recommend this Hor Fun.
Price: $9
Verdict: 3/5
It's a close battle between Ah Heng Curry Chicken on level 2 and Heng Kee’s Curry Chicken on level 1 for the best curry chicken in Hong Lim. Both stalls attract a constant long queue, so we decided to do a taste test on both to see which is the one that is really worth your time and money!
Ah Heng Curry Chicken
I couldn’t quite get the strange unique underlying taste of peanut oil in this curry chicken but if you’re a fan of nuts then this might be up your alley. Apart from that, the noodles are decent and flavourful (of peanut oil) but I wouldn’t recommend queueing for this.
Price: $4.50/$5.50/$6.50
Verdict: 3/5
Heng Kee
Instead, what I recommend queueing for is Heng Kee Curry Chicken on level 1. Both curry chicken stalls serve a generous amount of chicken and Tau Pok (bean curd skin) but the highlight of Curry Chicken noodles in undoubtedly its curry. I much prefer Heng Kee’s version as it doesn’t have that strange peanut oil flavour and is spicier and more appetising.
Price: $4
Verdict: 4/5
We have a clear winner: Heng Kee Curry Chicken
6. Green Bites (Stall #02-07)
Amidst all your local hawker favourites is Green Bites, a stall that serves a wide selection of salad toppings and dressings. It is quite unusual to find a salad stall in a hawker centre and especially one with such a wide selection.
You get to choose from 20 types of salad dressings, of which 7 are cream based and the remaining are non-creamy dressing. We did not get to try all, but some unique dressings are honey avocado and asian spicy. Personally, my favourite is the basil and garlic dressing as it gives you that extra kick of flavour - who says salads are only bland and boring?
If you were already taken aback by the number of dressings they have, you’d be pleasantly surprised to find that they have about 30 basic toppings to choose from! You can also pay a little extra to get their premium toppings which includes cajun chicken, smoked duck and many more.
We often hear people complaining: “Why are salads so expensive when they are just vegetables?” But with the portion and prices of the salad bowls here, we can assure you that you won’t find yourself having the same sentiments.
Price:
$5.50 for Romaine Lettuce Base (5 Basic Toppings + 1 Dressing)
$5.50 for No Base (6 Basic Toppings + 1 Dressing)
$6.50 for Spinach Base (5 Basic Toppings + 1 Dressing)
Add additional $0.80 for each additional basic topping)
Verdict: 4/5
7. Tai Wah Pork Noodle (Stall #02-16)
Perhaps the stall with the longest queue here is Tai Wah’s Bak Chor Mee. We waited in line with high expectations, but were deeply disappointed. The noodles were decent but for a bowl of bak chor mee, I felt overcharged. The noodles were tasty though lacking in vinegar but I had higher expectations given how highly raved it was. A tip though: eat your food fast and don’t spend too much time taking photos (like us) or your noodles might get slightly soggy!
Price: $6/$8
Verdict: 3/5
8. Tay Kay Kee Fish Head Bee Hoon (Stall #01-70)
This stall is very much underrated and I don’t know why it isn’t as talked about as the other food stalls on our list. Despite it’s stall name, they serve your local Zi Char dishes but with a twist. Accompanied with fish slices, beef or pork and topped with fried enoki mushroom (yum!!), their “Zi Char Bowls” are a local rendition of the Poke Bowl that have recently gained traction in Singapore.
The Mui Fan was alright but what I really enjoyed was their Hor Fun. The Wok Hei was really well done and this charred flavour is the mark of every good Zi Char stall!
Price:
$5 for mixed or Pork
$6 for fish or beef slices
Verdict: 4/5
9. Granny’s Pancake (Stall #02-35)
Min Jiang Kueh stalls are getting harder to find in our hawker centres, and it’s even more rare to find a good and cheap one. My eyes lit up when I found this Min Jiang Kueh stall and it did not disappoint! The Min Jiang Kueh here are fluffy and not too moist, and I bought 2 slices (peanut and red bean) as an office snack. They still tasted great and did not get too soggy even though I ate them throughout the day! However, Granny’s Pancake draws a loyal group of customers and her pancakes can get sold out pretty early - don’t come too late if you want to have your choice of fillings!
Price: $0.80 per piece
Verdict: 5/5
10. Black N Gold Coffee Stop (Stall #02-41)
A good cup of coffee but half the price and waiting time than Starbucks? This sounds too good to be true but we found just the place at Black N Gold Coffee Stop.
This hipster looking coffee stall is easily the most interesting find in Hong Lim Food Centre! With a strong enough roast of coffee at an affordable price, I no longer have to burn a hole in my wallet at Starbucks during my lunch break just to get my daily caffeine fix.
They have a pretty wide selection of coffee and tea here, and even serve cold brew tea and coffee. However, the cold brew tasted a bit too watered down and lacked that caffeine kick I found in their latte.
This is easily the most value-for-money order at Hong Lim Food Centre and there’s isn’t a long queue for this stall either. So just grab and go!
Price: ~$3
Verdict: 4/5
We understand your pain of having to queue just for a good lunch and you deserve to reward yourself for getting through a hectic morning of work! We hope that with our comprehensive guide to navigating Hong Lim Food Centre, you will never have to wait in line just to be disappointed again.
As a little bonus to this post, I’ve added two more of my favourite food places in the area that you might want to check out!
Places Near Hong Lim Worth Visiting
1. Frenzlink Cafeteria
When I realised that I was going to intern in the CBD area, one of the first things that came to mind was that I was going to have to spend a quarter of my pay on expensive lunch meals. However, this little eatery proved me otherwise! One of its kind, a bowl of noodles here costs $2 and at max, $3 for their large bowls. I can clearly remember that the last time a bowl of noodles actually costing me this amount was in my primary school canteen and even then, I was never truly full from their portions (I was always a hungry kid back then).
This small eating place has that charming old school vibes and though not the best of quality, they serve a good selection of noodles: wanton mee, fishball noodles, laksa, prawn noodles, mee siam, bak chor mee, mee rebus and lor mee. Not to mention, the servings are well portioned (unlike my primary school canteen).
The owner here is really dedicated to serving an affordable bowl of noodles and hasn’t raised prices for about 25 years! It’s no wonder that during my usual lunch trips down to this place at 1.30pm, most food items are already sold out.
Price: $2/$3
Address: Singapore, 62 South Bridge Rd
2. Macpherson BBQ Seafood
When i’m feeling a little richer and craving for some sambal stingray or la-la, my favourite lunch stop is Macpherson BBQ Seafood. Don’t let its name fool you - this place is not really located in Macpherson but just a 10 minutes walk from Hong Lim Food Centre. They have a wide variety of seafood dishes and my usual order would be their seafood rice set that comes with Sambal Stingray paired with your own choice of pork chop, la-la, mussels, sotong or prawns.
Price: $6.30 - $8.30 for their seafood set
Address: 34 South Bridge Rd, Singapore 058668 South Bridge Rd, Singapore 058668
I hope I haven’t lost you in this comprehensive post! But if you have any other suggestions and nearby favourites, do let us know!
-Nat
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