Excelsior Financial After Hours: Hawker Edition
If there’s one thing Singaporeans are proud to be known for, it’s our “foodie nation”. Most of us love good food, and are even willing to queue for our favourite stalls.
Hawker stalls are
our go-to spots for quick, comforting meals, and we all have that one gem that
we’d eagerly recommend.
So, let’s take a
look at what our financial consultants – who tend to commute all over Singapore
throughout the day – recommend as their top favourites.
1. Banting Traditional
Cuisine 萬津古早味
Located along
River Valley Road, this ban mian stall doesn’t just dish out your
run-of-the-mill noodles. A friendly couple from Kuala Lumpur runs this chilli pan
mee stall, and the noodles here make a good bowl of comfort, especially on
rainy days.
Recommended by…
Dax Quah, Senior
Financial Consultant.
What should
you get here?
Get the signature Hot
& Spicy Handmade Noodles (S$5). This KL-style dry pan mee is
what they’re famous for – the star of the show is, of course, the special
house-made chilli.
Alternatively,
those averse to spice can go for the regular Ban Mian (S$3.50) which comes with
soup. There’s no MSG added, so enjoy it to the last drop.
A quick tip
when ordering is…
The current location doesn’t have many seats for dine-in, so those going at lunch hour can consider takeaway or delivery options.
Address: 223 River Valley Road, Singapore 238281
Opening Hours:
8.30am – 5.30pm (Mon to Fri), 8.30am – 3pm (Sat) | Closed on Sun
2. Hill Street Tai Hwa
Pork Noodle 大華猪肉粿條
A Michelin-starred meal under $10? Yes, please. This
is the oldest bak chor mee stall in Singapore, established in 1932 and
currently located at Crawford Lane.
It’s possibly the most famous bak chor mee
stall in Singapore, so it’s worth a taste.
Recommended
by…
Bryan Chua, Executive
Senior Financial Consultant.
What should
you get here?
They only have one
dish, which is the Bak Chor Mee in three different portion sizes -- S$6,
S$8 and S$10. Remember to toss your noodles well to mix in the
special chilli and vinegar.
A quick tip
when ordering is…
The queues can get
quite long, so go with a few friends to pass the time more quickly.
Address: 466 Crawford Lane, #01-12, Singapore 190466
Opening Hours: 9.30am – 9pm (Sun & Mon), 9.30am – 8.30pm (Tue & Wed, Fri & Sat), 9pm – 8pm (Thu)
3. Quan Long Noodles 全隆
Strangely enough, what you should get at this noodle
stall in Marsiling Mall isn’t wonton noodles, despite its name.
Credit:
FourSquare
This humble stall has been around for decades, and
they often sell out by lunch time.
Recommended
by…
Yvonne Tan,
Executive Senior Financial Consultant.
What should
you get here?
Go for the Lor
Mee (S$3.50), which our sources have cited as “one of the nicest” in
Singapore. Get some fried chicken to go with your lor mee, and remember
to mop up all of the gravy.
A quick tip
when ordering is…
The queues are long and they sell out really quickly, so make sure you’re there early in the day to get your fix.
Address: 4 Woodlands Street 12, #01-65, Marsiling
Mall, Singapore 738620
Opening Hours: 4.30am – 1pm (Tue to Sun) | Closed on
Mon
4. Shi Wei Da 食为大
All the foodies know Bedok 85 Fengshan Market – you’d
have to make repeat visits to try all the good food there.
This particular stall serves up Teochew porridge in
the day, but come nightfall they switch to dishing out plate after plate of addictive
satay bee hoon.
Recommended
by…
Kelvyn Choo,
Senior Financial Consultant.
What should
you get here?
The Satay
Beehoon, of course. Priced at S$3 or S$4 per plate, each
serving is drenched with luscious, thick peanut gravy.
A quick tip
when ordering is…
It’s a
one-man-show, and the owner makes the sauce from scratch before assembling it
on your plate. Be prepared to wait because each order takes at least 2 minutes
– so if someone ahead of you orders 5 plates, that’s already a 10-minute wait.
Come early, from 4.30pm onwards, to get your satay bee hoon with minimal waiting.
Address: 85 Bedok North Street 4, #01-41, Fengshan
Market and Food Centre, Singapore 460085
Opening Hours: 4pm – 12am (Wed to Mon) | Closed on Tue
5. Kok Kee Wonton Noodle 国记云吞面
Known as one of the best wonton noodle stalls
in Singapore, this brand was actually bought over by Jumbo Group for S$2.1
million in 2020.
The original outlet is at Foch Road, serving up bowls
of wonton noodles to long queues.
Recommended
by…
Samantha Tai,
Executive Senior Financial Consultant.
What should
you get here?
The Wanton Mee
(S$5), and another side dish of Fried Wanton (S$7) if you can’t get
enough of the crispy dumplings of goodness. They fry it fresh upon order, so
you can be sure it’ll be crispy.
A quick tip
when ordering is…
Start queueing early, or you’ll have to spend quite a while waiting. The portions have also increased since the brand changed hands – more noodles and dumplings for us.
Address: 30 Foch Road, #01-02, Singapore 209276
Opening Hours: 12pm – sold out (Daily)
6. Qing Tian Cold & Hot Desserts 青天冷热甜品
Singapore’s sweltering heat means that it’s always a
good time for a refreshing dessert. Pop by Redhill Food Centre and you can’t
miss this dessert stall.
The stall-owner is fond of Hokkien techno music, so
you’ll probably hear it before spying the queue.
Recommended
by…
Samuel Chng,
Executive Senior Manager.
What should
you get here?
You can’t go wrong
with a solid bowl of ice kachang.
Credit: All About Cecil
If you’re a fan of
“red ruby”, this stall is pretty generous with these water chestnut gems. And
for just S$1.80, too.
A quick tip
when ordering is…
Keep a lookout for the uncle, who tends to dance along to the music as he prepares the desserts. Never fails to draw a chuckle from those watching!
Address: Block 85 Redhill Lane, #01-60, Redhill Food
Centre, Singapore 150085
Opening Hours: 4pm – 11pm (Wed to Sun) | Closed on Mon
& Tue
7. Bee Kee Wanton Noodle 美记云吞面
This is touted as the best wanton noodles in
the CBD area, and the truffle aroma is just one of the reasons.
Lunch hour in the CBD is always a crowded affair –
even more so at this wanton noodle stall in Market Street Interim Hawker
Centre.
Recommended
by…
Dion Goh, Senior
Financial Consultant.
What should
you get here?
You absolutely
have to order the Dry Truffle Wanton Noodle. At S$8.50, it might
be slightly indulgent, but it’s worth what you’re paying.
A generous amount
of truffle oil gives this bowl of noodles an addictive fragrance, made even
more scrumptious by the plump fried wantons and char siew.
A quick tip
when ordering is…
Take note that the portions are pretty huge – you just might end up with a “food coma” after lunch at Bee Kee.
Address: 5 Cross Street, #01-15, Market Street Interim
Hawker Centre, Singapore 048418
Opening Hours: 7am – 3pm (Mon to Fri) | Closed on Sat
& Sun
Written by:
“Dream big and keep your head in the clouds, but plan well and keep your feet on the ground.”