Favorite Street Eats in Singapore

While in Singapore we were eager to try out some of the local cuisines at the hawker stalls. We ate at a few different locations, but found ourselves returning to the Maxwell Food Centre more than once for some yummy affordable eats in the world’s most expensive city. The Maxwell Food Centre is located adjacent to Chinatown. The stalls are clean, the options are plentiful and the food is budget-friendly and good quality.One of the first things we tried were popiah. Similar to spring rolls, they are made of a thin crepe that is wrapped around a variety of fillings. From what we could tell, our popiah filling contained rice noodles, bean sprouts, carrots, lettuce, crushed peanuts, steamed turnip and some sort of peanut-y sauce. Each bite was crisp, spicy and delicious… and both rolls were devoured in a matter of minutes.Chicken rice is synonymous with Singaporean street food. According to sources online, this stall was the place to get chicken rice. I forgot to write down the number of the stall for sharing purposes, however if a stall has a line a mile long, there’s a good chance the food is really good. Hainanese chicken rice is a national dish in Singapore and can be found just about everywhere. It is simple, comforting and very tasty. Poached chicken breast (or chicken leg) sits atop a mound of surprisingly flavorful rice. (We learned later that the rice is cooked in the chicken poaching liquid and chicken fat to add flavor. Sounds gross, tastes great.) The chicken rice is topped with a sweet dark soy sauce, and served with fresh cucumber and a spicy red chili sauce. At just SGD$4, we enjoyed quite a few chicken rices during our stay in Singapore!These noodles weren’t anything to write home about, but watching Isla eat them was a highlight of our dining experience!Our second visit to the Maxwell Food Centre was in the evening and the chicken rice stall I went to for lunch previously was closed. This stall was also excellent, and had a ridiculously long line to prove it. We also ordered the BBQ pork and rice but devoured it before even thinking of taking any photos.

Even at night Singapore hot and humid, so we adults cooled down with a cold Tiger Beer, and Isla enjoyed a large slice of fresh watermelon (SGD$0.50) and a chocolate avocado shake.

During one of our lifestyle photo sessions we went to Chinatown and we joined the family for dinner at a restaurant called Chinatown Seafood. The food there was excellent! Isla tasted her first chicken satay (so delicious!) and she was hooked.

While Singapore is a very expensive city to live and visit, there are definitely some very tasty street food options. Needless to say, the Marshall family did not leave Singapore hungry!