Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Singapore’s hawker culture is famous for preserving heritage dishes and recipes, but an exciting new wave of modern concepts reinvents what trip down to your local hawker centre could look like. Enter Ducoo — a newly opened pasta hawker nestled in the historic North Bridge Road Market & Food Centre.
Tucked alongside legacy stalls serving Michelin recognised traditional prawn noodles and carrot cake, Ducoo brings restaurant-quality Italian cooking at wallet-friendly hawker prices. Helmed by young chefs Javier and Ronald driven by their love of pasta, the duo dishes out carefully crafted Italian dishes in what marks their very first hawker stall together.
What to order to Ducoo
Despite this being their first rodeo, the food and quality ingredients speak volumes about the chefs’ pride in their food. Here’s what we ordered:
The highlight for me was 100% their Prawn Aglio ($S10.70). Because how few ingredients an aglio olio takes to make, there really isn’t anywhere to hide when it comes to quality ingredients and cooking technique. Ducoo’s version hits the sweet spot.
The pasta is served al dente for a satisfying toothsome bite. It comes tossed in extra virgin olive oil, white wine and prawn stock, a combination that goes the extra mile in echoing and unifying the sweet, oceanic flavour of the huge tiger prawns on top, making the entire dish really cohesive.
I often find myself wishing for extra garlic in my aglio olios, but Ducoo’s rendition is more than generous with fragrant sliced garlic and fresh chilli padi.
The real highlight was the 2 humongous tiger prawns sitting atop the noodles — plump, juicy, and cooked to a springy finish rather than being rubbery or overdone. The prawns are personally bought fresh from the market daily by Chef Javier, retaining their natural sweetness when cooked. (Note: as fresh market catches vary daily, you will typically receive 3 medium-sized prawns, though we were treated to 2 massive ones on our visit.) Don’t forget to suck the head for a concentrated burst of savoury, umami-rich flavour!
Next, we dug into their Tagliatelle Bolognese Ragu (S$8). Where the aglio olio is crisp and clean, the bolognese brings pure, slow-simmered comfort.
The chefs shared with us that they use La Molisana brand dried pasta across all their dishes — a choice that immediately won me over, as it’s a trusted favorite I regularly use at home for its superior al dente bite and textured surface that catches sauce far better than standard supermarket brands.
Under $10 Pasta Places in Singapore that will make you shout “Mamma Mia!” [Nov 2024 update]
Who is Ducoo best for?
How to get to Ducoo
Ducoo is located within North Bridge Road Market & Food Centre, which is just a 6 minute walk from Lavender MRT station (EW11). The station connects to the East-West line of Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) train system. Use Exit A and walk along Crawford Street towards North Bridge Road.
If you prefer to travel by bus, you can stop at bus stops you can stop at bus stop Blk 8 (01329) along North Bridge Road or Southbank (01341) along Crawford Street. Bus service 961M operates exclusively on Sundays and public holidays, while all other bus services operate daily.
Do we recommend Ducoo?
100% yes! Whether you’re a huge pasta lover or just looking for a delicious, affordable meal around Lavender, Ducoo delivers on both quality and value.
People also read:
