Amoy Street Food Centre Guide — What To Try From The Traditional To The Contemporary
Established in 1983 and boasting two full levels of local, traditional and contemporary nosh, Amoy Street Food Centre is, hands down, one of Singapore’s most beloved hawker havens and one of our personal favourites.
Situated right smack in Telok Ayer amidst the slew of quality bars, cafes and restaurants, there’s just something about this gem of a place that steals our attention every time. Housing some of the best hawker classics such as fish soup from Piao Ji Fish Porridge or even rum & raisin toast from the young lads who run Coffee Break, there’s bound to be something you’ll adore.
Here is our list of 7 stalls worth visiting at Amoy Street Food Centre.
CHA DIAN (02-135)
Occupying two stall spaces at the very last row of food stalls, Cha Dian is a stall that anyone with a sheer love for traditional hand-made Teochew kueh should patronise. They specialise in a whole range of savoury, vegetable-stuffed kueh that come either steamed or fried.
We got the steamed Peng Kueh (S$1.20) as well as the fried Pumpkin Cake (S$1.20). The outer layer of the former kueh was not overly thick and a cut down the middle revealed generous stuffings of tender turnip, carrot and mushrooms. The latter kueh boasted a silky smooth consistency and a nice, sweetish hint of pumpkin with every bite. Request for the stall owner for an extra dollop of dark sweet sauce to experience total deliciousness.
COFFEE BREAK (02-78)
Run by a team of young hawkers, Coffee Break is where one with a hankering for quality brewed coffee in the morning should definitely hit up. They specialise in a wide array of coffeeshop-style drink offerings with a few modern interpretations here and there so whether it’s a Kopi you’re after or even an ice-blended alternative, these boys will be happy to whip it up for you.
But superbly flavoursome coffee aside, you must also try their various toast options. We opted for the Rum & Raisin Toast (S$3.50) and paired it with a standard Kopi (S$1.60 for hot/iced). Crispy and nicely toasted from edge to edge, the textural element of the toast was spot-on—made only better with the velvety rum-flavoured cream and sweetened raisin within it. The rum element was rather faint but for what it’s worth, it was still a delightful treat which went excellently well with our coffee.
HAKKA YONG DOU FU (02-112)
Specialising in authentic Hakka-style yong dou fu, this particular stall located smack in the centre of the food centre should warrant a visit if you’re looking for a relatively light yet hearty meal. We got the Yong Tau Foo (5pcs) + Chee Cheong Fun (S$4) that saw a variety of self-picked ingredients and cut-up pieces of steamed rice noodle roll topped with a thick dark-coloured sauce and finished off with a garnish of sesame seeds and scallions.
A tad unusual given that we have been used to eating yong tau foo with noodles all our lives, we must admit this was a game changer for us. Simple, affordable yet supremely satisfying, this is something worth shouting about. Period.
PEPPER BOWL (02-102)
Perhaps one of the few stalls that sees a massive crowd from as early as 11am, Pepper Bowl is a where one can indulge in a range of rice and noodle options fully loaded with their house-perfected black pepper sauce.
The Black Pepper Beef Rice spoke the loudest and costing only S$5.50, it was not difficult for us to decide. We added an Onsen Egg (S$0.60) as well to complete the deal. The beef slices were seared beautifully and the egg was perfectly cooked but the real money maker for us was the sauce. Mildly spicy and fiercely savoury with apparent notes of earthy black pepper, the sauce itself stood up well on its own and complemented the beef fantastically.
PIAO JI FISH PORRIDGE (02-100)
For those in search of something a little less heavy on the palate but promising good flavour nonetheless, Siao Ji Fish Porridge is a stall worth queuing for as well. The dish we got was the standard Fish Soup (S$7) which featured generous portions of Batang fish (better known as Spanish Mackerel), strips of preserved vegetables, peppery tang oh (garland chrysanthemum) and bits of fried garlic and shallots.
Fresh, tasty and everything you could ever want in a comforting bowl of fish soup.
THAMBI’S (02-92)
The stall’s offerings may be limited to only briyani and appam but make no mistake that this humble stall delivers when it comes to value-for-money. We got the Chicken Briyani (S$5) that comprises briyani rice, a massive piece of chicken and a cold raita served on the side.
The warm spices really did well to wake up our senses and the fluffy texture of the rice just made it such a joy to eat. Frankly speaking, with or without the chicken, we could have easily devoured the briyani rice on its own.
WAH KEE NOODLES (02-125)
While many might argue that the Wanton Noodles (S$3.50) is only average, we were rather impressed by the sheer simplicity of it. Sure, there was nothing much to scream about in terms of flavour but we liked that all the components were basically done right—the noodles were springy, the char siew was flavourful and the wantons were decently filled.
Perhaps the chilli sauce did help to amp up the flavour but for what it’s worth—at only S$3.50 for a decent-sized portion—we were still pretty pleased with our bowl of noodles.
Amoy Street Food Centre
7 Maxwell Road,
Singapore 069111
Nearest Station: Telok Ayer
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