Dining in Singapore is considered as one of the national obsessions given the different cuisines, restaurants, food courts and stalls abound in the tiny city state. A shining example of the vibrance of the culinary scene in Singapore are the hawker centers. Here you’ll see that businessmen in suits feel at home as in fine dining restaurants along Orchard road.
Hawker Centers can be found near government housing units, or HDBs. The difference between food courts and hawker centers are their location, amenities, prices and array of food choices. Food courts are mostly located in malls and tourist areas while hawker centers are located near residential areas. Food courts are also mostly air-conditioned while hawker centers are mostly fan-cooled. If you are craving for more local choices, hawker centers would be the better option since food courts mostly have international dishes. Another difference is the price, in food courts expect to pay 25% as much as you would fork out in hawker centers.
Although Singapore is increasingly becoming a haven for upscale dining, with local chefs garnering raves from Zagat and Michelin, there’s still quite a number of venues for cheap dining. With this article, we have compiled a list of cheap eating venues in the small island state.
1. East Coast Seafood Center
Known for its chili crab and seafood offerings.
Location: East Coast Park
2. Lau Pa Sat Food Center
A hawker center located in the business district, sample one of Singapore’s rice cakes here.
Location: Boon Tat Street, Shenton Way, Robinson Road
3. Newton Circus Food Center
Most famous, and sometimes most crowded hawker center in Sinapore.
Location: Cavenagh Road
4. Zion Road Riverview Food Center
Also located near the business district, yuppie types dine here during lunch break. Has wide array of dishes.
Location: Zion Road
5. Adam Road Food Center
Great selection of Malaysian and Indian food. Locals highly recommend the Prawn noodles here.
Location: Adam Road
6. Maxwell Road Food Center
Located in chinatown, visit this hawker spot if you’d like to sample the local Chinese food.
Location: Chinatown
image from virtualtourist.com