Singapore (singapore)
Food
Last Updated: December 2, 2019
Ghim Moh Market & Food Centre is undeniably one of the best hawker centres around.
It’s home to a ton of delicious stalls, including several with the prestigious Michelin Bib Gourmand—Chuan Kee Boneless Braised Duck, Guan Kee Fried Kway Teow—and also some that have been featured in the Michelin Guide 2019, such as Ghim Moh Chwee Kueh, and more.
I’ve personally visited Ghim Moh Market & Food Centre on more than one occasion, and every single time, I’m able to find something new to eat.
From indulgent plates of curry rice to delicious bowls of laksa, fishball noodles, and Thai stewed beef noodles, Ghim Moh really has it all.
Here are 12 mouth-watering stalls to stuff yourself silly with at Ghim Moh Market & Food Centre.
Sporting one of the longest queues in the entire hawker centre, Chuan Kee Boneless Braised Duck 全记 has been dishing out award-winning duck rice for the past 10 years or so.
Its duck rice, porridge, and duck noodles are so fantastic that it has clinched the Michelin Bib Gourmand for two consecutive years—2018 and 2019!
Get the Duck Rice Set (S$3/S$4/S$5) while you’re there, and I promise that it only takes one bite of its braised duck meat for you to understand why it’s so popular.
Though the duck meat is sliced thinly, its meat is springy and soft, with just the right amount of fats and meat to ensure that every single bite is melt-in-your-mouth worthy. Each morsel of meat had absorbed the salty and savoury braised liquid really well, so the duck meat was packed with smoky and umami flavours.
Give its Duck Porridge (S$3/S$4/S$5) a try too—the silky congee was thick and rich, perfect for a rainy day.
Chuan Kee Boneless Braised Duck: #01-04 | Opening Hours: 10am – 8pm (Fri – Wed), Closed on Thu & last Sun of the month
It took me 35 minutes to place my order at Guan Kee Fried Kway Teow 源记鲜蛤炒粿条, and it’s no wonder why.
This Michelin Bib Gourmand stall has been dishing out wok hei-filled char kway teow since 1969, and is so popular that it’s only open three days a week: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday and only from 7.30pm to 2.30pm.
My plate of Char Kway Teow (S$3/S$4/S$5) came with chilli and lard, and was littered with plenty of colourful ingredients, such as beansprouts, vegetables, mussels, lap cheong, large cubes of lard, slices of fishcake, and more.
The dark sauce wasn’t too overpowering, so I could taste how well-balanced the entire plate was in terms of flavour and texture. It was light, sweet, and fresh, with plenty of crunch from the lard, vegetables, and beansprouts, as well as a savoury saltiness from the lap cheong.
Guan Kee Fried Kway Teow: #01-19 | Opening Hours: 7.30am – 2.30pm (Tue, Wed & Sat), Closed on Mon, Thu, Fri & Sun
Though Granny’s Pancake has only been around for 10 years or so, it’s quickly expanded to become one of Singapore’s most famous mee jiang kueh stalls, with over 10 franchise outlets scattered all over our sunny island.
The best part about Granny’s Pancake: it only has four items on its menu, and three of them are priced at under S$1. How affordable!
We tried the Peanut Flavoured Pancake (S$0.80), which is the original mee jiang kueh flavour. The pancake was moist and springy, and we bit into it with ease.
The filling itself was absolutely delicious—the grounded peanuts were roasted till it became brittle, and the sugar added a tinge of sweetness to each bite. If you’re craving something refreshing or indulgent, try its Coconut Flavoured Pancake (S$0.80) and Peanut Butter Flavoured Pancake (S$1), which are both bound to hit the spot.
Granny’s Pancake: #01-52 | Opening Hours: 5.30am – 4pm (Daily)
Yuan Hokkien Fried Prawn Mee 元福建炒虾面 is a popular hawker stall that originated from Margaret Drive, and sees long queues on weekdays because of its gloriously messy plate of Hokkien mee.
It only sells one dish—Hokkien Fried Prawn Mee (S$4/S$5/S$6/S$8), which comes with a generous amount of pork lard, prawns, sliced pork belly, egg, chilli, and fried shallots.
What I loved about Yuan’s Hokkien mee was how thick and rich its gravy was. The uncle behind the wok had used plenty of egg in the gravy, so every strand of noodle was coated in a silky and moist mess of gravy and chilli.
While it didn’t have enough wok hei for my taste, the plate of hokkien mee was surprisingly addictive, with just the right amount of sweetness and savouriness to keep you going back for more.
Yuan Hokkien Fried Prawn Mee: #01-07 | Opening Hours: 9am – 2pm & 5pm – 8pm (Tue – Sun), Closed on Mon
63 Laksa has got to be one of the best things I’ve eaten all week. Despite being priced so affordably, each bowl of Laksa (S$2.50) is made with so much love, experience, and skill, that it shows in its rich and creamy broth. It also sells fresh mackerel otah (S$1.20), which is roasted by hand over a charcoal grill daily.
I was immediately impressed with the stall from the minute I saw the stall owner rinse the bowl of thick bee hoon in the laksa broth multiple times before scooping the boiling broth into the bowl a final time. Not only did this warm the noodles up, it also ensured that the noodles would absorb the rich laksa broth easily.
Served in a traditional porcelain bowl with an accompanying porcelain spoon, this little bowl of laksa was filled to the brim with creamy broth. It was fragrant and rich, without being overly spicy or too sweet, and I polished off the entire bowl in record time.
Be sure to mix in the chilli paste as it adds a sharp and spicy kick to each spoonful of delicious laksa!
63 Laksa: #01-20 | Opening Hours: 9am – 1pm (Thu – Tue), Closed on Wed
Don’t underestimate Thye Hong Handmade Fishball Noodle 太豐手工鱼圆面. Though it’s located in a nondescript corner of Ghim Moh Market & Food Centre with a simple signboard and no menu, fishball-making and noodle tossing are skills that run in the stall owner’s blood.
The owner of Thye Hong is the second son of the Ng family. The third son sells lor mee, the fourth son sells fishball noodles at Ru Ji Kitchen in Holland Drive, while the first and fifth son used to sell fishball noodles as well.
Thye Hong’s Fishball Noodles (Dry/Soup) (S$3/S$4/S$5) might look simple, but its flavours were surprisingly rich and complex. The hero of the dish was the lard, which was smoky and crispy, and added a rich umami taste to the sweet broth and yellow noodles.
Its fishball and fish cakes were made with love, and it showed in each bite. The fish meat was springy and bouncy, and had a mild sweetness to it.
Thye Hong Handmade Fishball Noodle: #01-36 | Opening Hours: 6am – 2pm (Fri – Wed), Closed on Thu
Bangkok is one of my favourite places to go to for a holiday because of its delicious street food, and I was so happy to have stumbled upon Yuan Authentic Thai Stewed Beef Noodle 元泰式炖牛肉面 because of how authentic its Thai dishes were.
It imports several of its ingredients directly from Thailand—such as its chilli powder—so you can be assured of the quality and taste.
Its Beef Combination Noodle (S$6/S$8/S$10) is one of its most popular dishes because it includes different cuts of its signature braised beef, such as beef shank, beef balls, sliced beef, and more.
How authentic was its beef soup? I’d rate it a solid 7.5/10. The broth was light in texture but incredibly rich in flavours—it was fragrant, mildly sweet, and super savoury, as if a dash of fish sauce and sugar had been added. Served piping hot, the beef soup was comforting and indulgent, and went great with vermicelli noodles and rice alike.
Yuan Authentic Thai Stewed Beef Noodle: #01-32 | Opening Hours: 10.30am – 8pm (Tue – Sun), Closed on Mon
Now, what’s a listicle on Ghim Moh Market & Food Centre without featuring one of its most famous stalls, Ghim Moh Chwee Kueh 锦茂李老三水粿?
This traditional chwee kueh stall barely needs an introduction because of how well-known it is. It has been selling chwee kueh since 1959 and has been featured in the Singapore Michelin Guide with the L’Assiette Michelin (Michelin Plate).
Each piece of chwee kueh is priced at S$0.50, and the minimum order starts from S$2.
What distinguishes Ghim Moh Chwee Kueh from the rest is its fragrant chye poh, which includes garlic and pork lard, and its steamed rice cakes, which were firm enough to support a dab of chye poh, but soft enough to cut through with ease.
Ghim Moh Chwee Kueh: #01-54 | Opening Hours: 6.15am – 6.30pm (Daily)
Serving value-for-money Teochew dishes with a hearty bowl of porridge, Meng Cheong Teochew Food Stall 明昌潮州饭摊 is a family-favourite and it’s easy to see why.
With dishes like braised pork belly, stir-fried long beans, cabbage, bittergourd, fried eggs, steamed fish, and handmade meatballs, Meng Cheong’s dishes are simple but delicious, and instantly reminded me of home.
Most of its dishes are priced affordably at S$1 or S$2 per serving while its fishes are priced at market rate, and you’d need to ask the stall owner about what type of fish is available for that day.
Meng Cheong Teochew Food Stall: #01-47 | Opening Hours: 12pm – 3pm (Sun – Fri), Closed on Sat
The Hakka Yong Tau Foo Homerecipe Stall 客家酿豆腐传统家乡味 is run by three elderly folks and despite its unassuming appearance, it’s pretty popular, with a constant flock of supporters and fans queuing up to have a hearty bowl of Hakka yong tau foo.
All its ingredients are handmade and fried only once, ensuring that it’s always fresh and sweet.
Each ingredient costs S$0.60 per piece, while a bowl of noodle or rice costs S$0.50. The stall requires you to have a minimum of five pieces, but with its wide array of deep-fried and raw ingredients, it’s pretty easy to hit the minimum count.
Some of the fan-favourite ingredients include fish paste stuffed eggplants, crispy beancurd skin, and deep-fried pig’s intestines.
The Hakka Yong Tau Foo Homerecipe Stall: #01-25 | Opening Hours: 7.30am – 2pm (Daily)
I absolutely love a plate of hearty curry rice, and Yuguo Curry Rice 玉国中国街咖喱饭 is one of my all-time favourite curry rice stalls. It has several branches all over Singapore, including Amoy Street Food Centre, ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre, and more.
There’s a wide variety of ingredients for you to pick from, such as deep-fried pork chop, tomato eggs, stir-fried long beans, cuttlefish, prawns, beancurd, stir-fried black fungus, and more.
You can’t help but love Yuguo’s curry rice. It was simple but indulgent, with a sweet and creamy curry sauce that was drenched all over the mound of white rice.
I loved its Hainanese pork chop, which was decently thick and coated in an addictively savoury crust, as well as its tomato eggs, which were tangy and comforting and paired perfectly with the white rice.
Yuguo Curry Rice: #01-03 | Opening Hours: 9am – 5pm (Mon & Tue), 9am – 7pm (Wed – Sun)
Shui Jin Zhou 水金粥 is a porridge stall that specialises in hand-rolled meatballs, which are made from lean minced meat, giving it a springy bite without being overly chewy or tough.
It only sells six types of porridge, including Pork Porridge (S$3/S$4/S$5), Cuttlefish Peanut Porridge (S$3/S$4/S$5), and Century Egg Porridge (S$3/S$4/S$5).
Its porridge is simmered long enough to result in a silky and thick consistency, just like Hong Kong-style congee, which is comforting and satisfying. The stall doesn’t use MSG at all, so it doesn’t leave you feeling thirsty afterwards, and they top it off with a sprinkle of sesame oil for an aromatic touch.
Shui Jin Zhou: #01-55 | Opening Hours: 9am – 3pm (Daily)
Ghim Moh Market & Food Centre has such a wide variety of food available and yet, all its stalls somehow manage to maintain their quality, constantly churning delicious food no matter the time or day.
If you asked me Ghim Moh stall is my favourite stall, I probably wouldn’t even be able to give you an answer!
