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People’s Park Food Centre began its humble origins as a “food shelter” in 1923, aimed to provide cover for street hawkers in Singapore’s Chinatown area. More of these shelters were added within months of its opening due to the popularity of the idea, and by 1930, it was made into a day and night market.
Today, the mixed-use development is home to about 85 food stalls and 160 shops, with local and mainland Chinese fare taking up a large bulk of the offerings. The appeal is obvious: with close proximity to Chinatown MRT (right outside one of the exits, no less!), tourists flock to the hawker centre for delicious local food before heading to nearby attractions like the Chinatown Heritage Centre, Sri Mariamman Temple, and Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum, as well as souvenir shops at Sago Street.
For locals, Chinatown is generally busy throughout the year, but the area truly comes alive during important occasions like Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival, when the streets are dressed in a whole flurry of decorations to really get you in the festive mood. But you don’t need a reason to visit People’s Park Food Centre; the hawker stalls speak for themselves and offer some of the best food Singapore has to offer.
We’ve put together a guide to our favourite stalls to try at the hawker centre, from the long-forgotten Loh mei to the ever-popular mala Xiang Guo. Read on for the full list.
11 best stalls to try at People’s Park Food Centre in Chinatown:
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There are quite a number of items on the menu here at Jin Feng Mei Shu, but you don’t have to be overwhelmed: the fried dumplings here are the only dish you need to queue for. Each of these morsels is freshly fried to a crisp, but you’ll be fooled if you thought it’d be dry within. A bite into the dumpling and you’ll find juicy meat with tons of flavour.
Address: 32 New Market Rd, #01-1130 Cooked Food Centre, People’s Park Complex, Singapore 050032
Phone: +65 9321 5216
While you can technically have soup dumplings at Jin Feng Mei Shi, we suggest heading to Hong Peng La Mian Xiao Long Bao for its one-bite wonders. These handmade dumplings are made fresh daily with a generous stuffing of minced pork and chives, all wrapped in delicately thin skin. If you need something a little more to satiate your tummies, they serve hand-pulled noodles here too.
(Image credit: @aki_oshokuji via Instagram)
If you’re at Hometown Hainan Fen, it’s a slurpy bowl of noodles you’ll definitely want to try. Here, each bowl of Hainanese Fun starts with a base of thick vermicelli. Then, a flurry of meat, peanuts, bamboo shoots and pickled vegetables are added before it’s blanketed with a thick, savoury gravy. For a lighter meal, try the Bao Lun Fun Soup instead.
(Image credit: @nancywong449 via Instagram)
Looking for a sweat-inducing, tongue-numbing good time? You’ve come to the right place. Ri Ri Hong Mala Xiang Guo offers a medley of ingredients for you to choose from, with vegetables, meat, and seafood going at only one, two and three dollars respectively. Our favourite ingredients to order? Chinese sausage, enoki mushrooms, glass noodles and lotus root.
(Image credit: @woosman82 via Instagram)
If your favourite carb is noodles, Bai Xing Noodles is where you’d want to be, no matter the weather. On a scorching hot day, slurp up some Northeastern Cold Noodles, a savoury-piquant treat that comprises sweet potato noodles, clear broth, pickled cabbage, cucumber, and beef slices. If you’re up for a bit of heat, the addictive chilli oil noodles – hand-pulled noodles doused with fragrant chilli oil – is a great choice too.
(Image credit: @nottheen via Instagram)
Chinese grilled fish has been gaining traction these days, and an affordable place to have it is right here at Chuan Wei Fang Xiang. For just S$18, you’ll get a whole grilled fish with cabbage, black fungus, onions, celery, red chilli, and peppercorn to share, which is pretty worth your hard-earned cash if you ask us. Other favourites here include the Laziji (spicy chicken) and spicy clams.
(Image credit: @nomnom_fun_sg via Instagram)
Many of the stalls at People’s Park Food Centre lean towards the heavier, stronger flavours, but you don’t have to worry if you’re craving something a little lighter while you’re here. At Poy Kee Yong Tau Foo, you won’t even have to think about your ingredients: every bowl comes in a fixed set so just have to order and dig in after.
(Image credit: @tastecraft_navi via Instagram)
Lek Kee Authentic Teochew Braised Duck serves no-frills plates of braised duck, and its price reflects that. A single portion of duck rice with pork belly will only set you back a neat S$5.50, and you can always opt to add on braised eggs, tofu, duck feet, liver and gizzards too. The thick, tender cuts of duck meat were aromatic, but the standout for us was the pork belly that’s braised in the same sauce with a great meat-to-fat ratio.
(Image credit: @staceyt14 via Instagram)
It’s safe to say Loh Mei Specialist is the specialist here in Singapore, because they are just about the only stall on our shores that’s still serving this traditional dish. Loh Mei, for the uninitiated, is an old, Cantonese dish with ingredients like vegetables, mushrooms, chicken wings, pork belly, pig offal, cuttlefish, and beancurd that’s stewed in fermented bean curd gravy. Spoon the gravy on your rice while scuffing it all down, and you’ll have a dish that’s hearty and flavourful all at once.
(Image credit: @sedapsutra via Instagram)
There’s nothing we love better than freshly-made dim sum. Chop Hean Kuan makes traditional dim sum fresh on-site daily, so you can only imagine the warm embrace emanating from the smells alone. The seafood dumpling is a popular choice for its sweet-savoury filling and crispy exterior, while the pillowy-soft char siew bao is worth a try too.
(Image credit: @staceyt14 via Instagram)
Fatt Soon Kueh is no stranger to those who love the steamed dumpling. The chewy, crystal skin enveloping a crunchy mix of jicama, carrot, black fungus and bamboo shoot go only for a dollar each – what more could we ask for? Both the png kueh (rice) and ku chye kueh (chive) are pretty popular here too.
(Image credit: @fattsoonkueh via Instagram)
This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Singapore
Related: Best Hawker Centres In Singapore And What You Should Eat There
