You can find them on almost every corner in Singapore: hawker centres. Hawker centres are the food courts of Singapore. The stalls in these food courts are usually owned by the older generation Singaporeans. The average age of the stall holders (also called “uncles”) is 59 years. All Asian kitchens are gathered here and every stall has his own specialty.
On 16 December 2020 Singapore’s hawker culture was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The hawker culture joins the French cuisine, Thai massage, yoga from India, Belgian beer and the Craft of the miller operating windmills and watermills in The Netherlands on the list. The hawker centres reflect the living heritage and multiculturalism of Singapore, regardless of age, race or background.
Here’s is a list with a couple of my favorite hawker centres in Singapore:
Tip: Click the layers on and off in this map with the (square) button on the left in the grey beam.
Newton Circus Food Centre 
Michelin dumplings in Chinatown Complex 
Maxwell hawker centre 
Lau Pa Sat & Satay Street 
Satay Street
1. Newton Circus Food Centre
Newton Circus Food Centre is probably my favorite hawker. It is an alfresco hawker; where most hawkers have a roof (none of them have real walls), most tables here are outside under the starry sky. The stalls surround a big open area, lit by a lot of cozy lights.
Fun fact: Newton was part of the decor for the movie “Crazy Rich Asians”.
I have never seen it quiet here; the “spotters” (as we call them) are spread over the area and try to fix a table for their group. Make sure to find a tactical spot yourself and look around for people who almost finished their food. Stay focused and you’ll find a table in the end.
Location:
Newton Circus Food Centre
500 Clemenceau Ave N, Singapore 229495
Specialty: chicken and duck 
Spotters on the look-out 
Stingray 
Black pepper beef 
Queuing to order 
Poppiah
2. Chinatown Complex hawker
Chinatown hawker centre in Chinatown complex is the biggest hawker I know. You could spend hours here. With Michelin starred stalls for their specialties, you definitely have to eat here at least once while you’re in Singapore. You’ll notice immediately where the food is the best, these shops have the longest queues and people don’t mind waiting for over an hour for the best dumplings.
Long queues 
Stuffing Dumplings 
The best dumplings! 
Michelin star dumplings 
Chinatown Complex (corona-proof)
Order a craft beer at the stall On Tap! where father and son will tap their home brewed draught for you. The white beer is especially refreshing!
Location:
Chinatown Complex hawker
46 Smith St, Singapore 058956
On Tap!
335 Smith St, #02-75 (stal lnumber 75 on the second floor) Chinatown Complex, Singapore
Michelin star Poppiah 
Kueh Pie Tee 
Steamed fish head 
Beer!
3. Maxwell hawker centre
Maxwell hawker centre is known as the most “tourist-friendly” hawker. People here are definitely helpful and most of them speak English, but prices tend to be a little higher (it’s still very cheap for a huge meal). Tian Tian Chicken Rice, where you order a simple dish with rice and delicious tender chicken, is one of the famous stalls here.
This hawker is perfectly located to explore Chinatown. Or walk from there towards Marina Bay to take a closer look at the modern buildings of CBD, the Merlion and the famous Marina Bay Sands.
Tip: There are a lot of great rooftop bars in this area. Check my blog here.
Location:
Maxwell hawker centre
1 Kadayanallur St, Singapore 069184
Maxwell hawker 
Xiao long bao 
Ook een specialiteit
4. Lau Pa Sat & Satay Street
Lau Pa Sat (also known as Telok Ayer Market) is the oldest hawker centre in Singapore. It was built in 1824 as a fish market and rebuilt at the current location in 1894. The building itself is beautiful and worth a visit alone. Because this place attracts a lot of tourists, prices are unfortunately higher compared to other hawker centres.
Lau Pa Sat had a complete makeover very recently (end 2020) and it looks way more flashy now. Actually I liked the charm of the old Lau Pa Sat, so I need some time to get used to the new look.
If you’re craving for satay, this is the place to be from 7 pm. The street next to Lau Pa Sat is closed for traffic from 6:30 pm and the stall owners pull their plastic tables and chairs out on the street and they start grilling mouth watering beef, prawn and chicken satays on their charcoal BBQs. An entertaining organised chaos: Tiger-ladies will bring you beer and everybody tries to sell their “Best Satay”. Welcome to Satay Street!
Tip: Don’t wear your best clothes to Satay Street, because your clothes (and hair) will definitely smell like BBQ when you have dinner here.
Locations:
Lau Pa Sat
18 Raffles Quay, Singapore 048582
Website: www.laupasat.bizSatay Street
Boon Tat Street, daily from 7 pm
5. Telok Blangah hawker centre
This might not be a hawker to make a special trip to, but this hawker is literally situated opposite our condo and that’s why we are here often. The hawker is mostly open for breakfast and lunch. When you happen to be in this area, it’s worth a visit; there are no tourists here.
Because of the “working from home” situation we frequently go here for lunch. I dare to say that we tried all the stalls here at least once. Our favorites are the pratas and murtabaks from the Indian stall owner at the front, the fresh fruit juices from the always quasi-grumpy seller next to the Indian, the laksa from the Laksa-stall with a never-ending queue, the dry noodles and the nasi lemak.
Location:
Telok Blangah Food Centre
79 Telok Blangah Dr, Singapore 100079
General hawker website: www.nea.gov.sg
Laksa 
Telok Blangah hawker 
Local delicacy: Kacang Ice
6. Timbre+
Okay, this is not a real hawker, but more a hipster food court with food trucks. The complex is built out of containers in bright colors and graffiti. Besides the “standard” hawker food, like chicken rice, there’s also Japanese bbq, taco’s, (vegetarian) hamburgers and delicious sandwiches. Do try the stuffed sandwich from MMMUNCH!
For beer lovers, there’s a huge beer fridge, sorted per country. Here we had our very much missed Vedett White and some other Belgian craft beers. This is one of the few places where you can find alcohol free craft beers as well!
Location:
Timbre+
73A Ayer Rajah Crescent, JTC Launchpad, Singapore 139957
Website: timbreplus.sg
Containers and food trucks 
Belgian beer! 
Japanese BBQ 
Colourful Timbre+ 
San Cubano sandwich from MMMUNCH
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You can find everything I have posted about Singapore on this page, like my blog about the best rooftop bars in Singapore here. Are you not in Singapore at the moment (and you can’t travel here because of Corona), but interested in great places for drinks or food? Check my blogs about the best places for drinks in Rotterdam, a cycling tour or walking tour in The Hague, the hotspots of Tel Aviv, Pisco and Completo in Chile or all about my solo-trip to Bali.
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