Brace Yourself for Maxwell Food Centre’s 14 Finest Hawker Stalls!

What are some things synonymous with Singapore?  You may think of the Merlion, Gardens By The Bay, and, of course, hawker food. And when we think of hawker food, a couple of popular food centres will naturally pop into mind — Maxwell Food Centre is definitely one of them.

Maxwell Food Centre is home to some of Singapore’s best hawker stalls. It’s lauded by both locals and tourists as THE hawker centre to go to if you want to savour true blue Singaporean food. We don’t have to say much, because the queues at some of these stalls speak volumes! Follow us as we show you 13 stalls in Maxwell Food Centre you should not miss!

• Jin Hua Fish Soup
• Maxwell Fuzhou Oyster Cake
• Xing Xing Ondeh-Ondeh Tapioca Cake
• Popo & Nana’s Delights
• China Street Fritters
• Ye Lai Xiang Tasty Barbecue
• Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice
• Hainanese Curry Rice
• Fu Shun Shao La Mian Jia
• Ah-Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice
• 一家潮州鱼粥鱼汤 Yi Jia Chao Zhou Yu Zhou Yu Tang
• Hum Jin Pang
• China Street Rickshaw Noodles
• Special Shanghai Tim Sum

1. Jin Hua Fish Soup

A long-time tenant in Maxwell Food Centre, Jin Hua has been serving up hot bowls of fish soup for over 20 years. While you are here, why not order the Grouper Fish Head Noodles ($8)?

The Grouper Fish Head is naturally more flavourful. The soup was fishier but I  could really taste the goodness of the grouper! The sharp punch of ginger cut through the fishiness. Even without the addition of milk, the soup was still rather cloudy, thick and rich!

2. Maxwell Fuzhou Oyster Cake

This simple looking piece of oyster cake ($2 a piece) is by no means easy to make! One of the last remaining Fuzhou Oyster Cake stalls which still makes it the traditional way, Maxwell Fuzhou Oyster Cakes sends out some of the best oyster cakes.

Each oyster cake is painstakingly made by hand. In each oyster cake, you can find cilantro, minced meat, fresh prawns and oysters studded in a rice batter. The oyster cake was crispy on the outside, yet soft on the inside. Don’t forget to add some chilli sauce to it!

3. Xing Xing Ondeh-Ondeh Tapioca Cake

Xing Xing Ondeh-Ondeh Tapioca Cake only sells Ondeh-Ondeh ($3/box) and Tapioca Cake ($6/box).

On the first bite, the steamed tapioca cake was absolutely delightful and lovely! Made by hand, and definitely, from scratch, the tapioca cakes are steamed and served with grated coconut. The cakes had an amazing texture and were not very sticky, as compared to the ones you might find elsewhere.

4. Popo & Nana’s Delights

I guarantee that if you visit Popo & Nana’s Delight, you will be returning for more.

The food served here is particularly homey. At Popo & Nana’s Delight, each set comes with white or brown rice, your choice of vegetables and meat, and soup of the day. I especially loved the Chicken Rendang ($6/set)! The well-marinated chicken was moist and tender, and the thick rendang sauce was very addictive. Mind you, the stall owner purchases her meats daily so no frozen meats are ever used!

5. China Street Fritters

Traditional handmade ngoh hiang is a rare find these days. That’s why I am so glad there is a stall like China Street Fritters!

I love the super crispy ngoh hiang ($0.80) from China Street Fritters. The stall owners of China Street Fritters follow time-tested recipes to produce their super ngoh hiang, so you know that you are getting the real deal. I tried the ngoh hiang after dipping it into the starchy sweet sauce and watery chilli sauce and oh my, it was perfect. This is a must-order when you’re here!

6. Ye Lai Xiang Tasty Barbecue

The Chicken Cutlet ($8) at Ye Lai Xiang Tasty Barbecue was pretty remarkable. For $8, you get a huge slab of crunchy and fragrant chicken cutlet, a side of mixed vegetables, crinkle-cut fries and a fluffy sweet bun. You will definitely be getting your money’s worth!

The sweet house-made sauce that came with the fried cutlet complemented the dish flawlessly, it was so irresistible that I went back for more. I absolutely adored the soft and chewy bun, which I also used to wipe up any remaining sauce!

7. Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice

No Maxwell Food Centre listicle is ever complete without the award-winning Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice. Seriously, the fact that it spans across the space of 2 stalls bears testament to its popularity.

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice chicken rice comes in three sizes: small, medium, and large. I enjoyed digging into the succulent and moist pieces of chicken breast meat that were doused in a savoury sauce. The chicken, together with the perfectly-cooked fragrant rice, and thick and spicy chilli, screams “SHIOK”.

P.S. There’s always a queue at Tian Tian so try to avoid the peak lunch hour if you can!

8. Hainanese Curry Rice

If you crave a comforting plate of curry png, allow 中国街咖喱饭 Hainanese Curry Rice to curry your favour.

The pork chop that came with the Hainanese Curry Rice with Chap Chye ($3) was crispy, tender and not too oily. The curry that covered every inch of the plate had a mild spiciness and was not overpowering. Get a little of everything in a spoonful, and you’ll have yourself a little party in your mouth.

9. Fu Shun Shao La Mian Jia

Looking for great roast meats at affordable prices? Then you better join the line at Fu Shun Shao La Mian Jia!

Fu Shun Shao La Mian Jia’s forte is roast meats. I ordered the 叉火面, or Mixed Meat Noodles ($3.50), and I was quite blown away by not just the price, but by how generous the portion was. The sio bak’s skin possessed the perfect crunch and had just the right amount of saltiness, and the meat was moist and tender — it’s tough to find a sio bak done this flawlessly. Honestly, this is the best sio bak I’ve ever had! I also have to give credit to the char siew because it carried a bit of that delightful char, and was more on the savoury side.

10. Ah-Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice

Ah-Tai Chicken Rice’s chicken is unbelievably tender, juicy and smooth! The rice was grainy and fragrant, though it was a little on the dry side. The most important aspect, the chilli, was thick and spicy which is definitely a bonus!

11. 一家潮州鱼粥鱼汤 Yi Jia Chao Zhou Yu Zhou Yu Tang

When it comes to fish soup, or fish porridge, Yi Jia Chao Zhou Yu Zhou Yu Tang is the expert. This is one of the few stalls which commands a snaking queue during lunchtime. They serve Teochew-style porridge ($3/small) and fish soup with batang fish or pomfret (the latter being slightly more expensive, of course).

For $3, I got a bowl of fish porridge that was filled with slices of fresh sweet batang fish. The soup was murky and every bit flavourful. There was no hint of fishiness! As the porridge is Teochew-style, you can expect firm grainy rice steeped in the soup. The inclusion of cilantro and fried shallots definitely enhanced the flavours of the porridge.

12. Hum Jin Pang

Feeling peckish and want to fry your own dough fritters? You can pop by Hum Jin Pang to do just that!

Hum Jin Pang serves fried dough fritters in 2 variations — Five Spice Salt and Sweet Red Bean ($1/6 pieces). We had both variations of the Hum Jin Pang. They were soft and chewy, just how I like it! The savoury red bean hum jin peng was coated in sugar and filled with a red bean filling that was not overly sweet. I noticed that the aunty rolled the dough in sesame seeds before frying it. This gave the dough fritter a toasty aroma and flavour!

13. China Street Rickshaw Noodles

This was breakfast for many rickshaw pullers back in the old days. Now, it is impossible to find rickshaw noodles anymore. Thankfully, China Street Rickshaw Noodles is still selling it at Maxwell Food Centre. There are two types of noodles – the yellow noodles or the mee sua. To be honest, the taste is not out of the world but comforting enough to evoke some childhood memories. The best part is, all noodles are priced at $1 for a small bowl and $1.50 for a big bowl!

14. Special Shanghai Tim Sum

Regular patrons of the now-defunct Queenstown Magaret Drive Food Centre will be glad that to know that Special Shanghai Tim Sum still lives on in Maxwell Food Centre!

Run by a fourth-generation hawker, Special Shanghai Tim Sum prides itself on making its own dumplings fresh daily. Sink your teeth into the Guo Tie, or Fried Dumplings ($4 for 8pcs) for yourselves and see what I mean! The dumplings are fried to order so ready yourselves to a mix of well-marinated minced meat and chopped chives encased within a crispy crackling exterior. Pair that with the vinegar sauce that it’s served with and it’s a match made in heaven!

This list is just the tip of the iceberg. Maxwell Food Centre is home to so much more! Was your favourite stall listed here? What do you like about Maxwell Food Centre? Let us know in the comments!

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visits and paid its own meals at the stalls featured here.

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