The best hawker stalls at Amoy Street Food Centre

Owned by a Vietnamese lady and her Singaporean husband, Jacky, Pho Hanoi serves up authentic Vietnamese cuisine at a wallet-friendly price. This no-frills stall sees long queues everyday and there is certainly no doubt why. Each bowl of piping hot pho comes in huge portions with a variety of options to choose from: sliced beef and brisket pho ($6.80), beef ball pho ($6) and a Special Combo ($7.30) option that includes all three types of beef. 

Apart from the soupy pho, Pho Hanoi also serves refreshing bun cha – a dry Vietnamese dish of grilled pork, crispy spring rolls and vermicelli noodles (from $6.80).

You’ll notice the long, snaking lines before you even see this humble fish soup stall. But don’t be deterred – the 40-odd queue of hungry diners at Han Kee Fish Soup moves relatively fast and the hawker auntie is as efficient as it gets. There’s only one order you should get here: the sliced fish soup (from $5). It’s a comforting bowl of soup, and you can choose whether to have it with thick bee hoon or rice. The star of the show? It’s a toss-up between the clean, white peppery soup itself or the generous chunks of fresh Spanish mackerel.

It’s one heck of a meal over at Rayyan’s Waroeng Upnormal with a supersized plate of Indonesian smashed fried chicken. This hawker stall prides itself on Balinese-Japanese fusion fare, all the while offering classic dishes like ayam penyet (from $5.50) and more unique ones like the tempura pollock fish ($6.50). They also have rice bowls like Balinese Gyudon ($6.50) and Eggbowl Cheesesteak ($8).

A flaky curry puff makes for an excellent mid-day snack, and J2 Famous Crispy Curry Puff doesn’t disappoint. It’s also been on the list of Michelin Bib Gourmand eateries for a number of years, namely for its thin but crispy curry puff shell. Plus, each puff comes with a hefty load of curried filling with everything from sardine ($1.60) to black pepper chicken ($1.80). It’s the latter we most enjoyed – its savoury, peppery sauce made for a nice contrast to the delicate pastry.

It’s a staple of every worthy hawker centre: char kway teow, one that’s thoroughly stir-fried with wok hei and a heap of plump blood cockles. Simply named as “Fried Kway Teow”, this noodle stall does just one dish – and they do it darn well. This particular stall was originally along Boon Tat Street in the 60s, meaning that the uncle has been frying up this char kway teow recipe for more than half a century. While it’s still evidently a dark plate of noodles, with ample dark soy sauce, it’s still “wetter” with a sweeter taste than most will assume. A plate starts from $4.

We all know biryani is a tricky dish to master, considering the amount of work that goes into making a decent authentic biryani. Daringly enough though, there’s one guy who’s willing to take up the challenge. And while this may not seem particularly newsworthy at first, here's the intriguing twist: the owner is Chinese.

Priced at $6.50, Spicelios' chicken biryani stands out with a whole chicken thigh, accompanied by marinated cucumbers, a hard-boiled egg, and curry potatoes, all delicately arranged atop basmati rice where each grain is evenly coated with flavour. If you’re not feeling the rice dish, then you’ll be happy to know that he also serves a variety of wraps with your desired protein (grilled chicken, tuna, and biryani chicken), topping and sauce (from $6). Other sides include the three-piece chicken wing set ($4), a selection of naans (from $2) and a single serving of papadum for $1. 

Zi char hawker stalls, aka ready-to-cook joints, are easy choices in any hawker centre. Cantonese joint Quan Ji is no different, since they’ve got a hearty range of family faves from har cheong gai (prawn paste chicken, from $13) to sambal clams (from $15). But it’s the wong po lou meen (yellow cloth noodles, from $20 to share) that everyone flocks over for, fried noodles heavy with wok hei under a fluffy blanket of fried prawn omelette. Interestingly, this is an off-the-menu dish but it’s one of the more popular orders. They do open for dinner as well, so no need to rush to join frantic lunch queues.

It doesn’t just have to be a pasar malam treat, with The Original Vadai having set up one of their famed vadai stalls in Amoy – they’ve got five outlets around Singapore. Try the Ikan Billis Vadai ($1.20) for a twist on the classic. Even when eaten hot, the batter leans towards chewy, but with a satisfying crunch when biting down on the deep-fried exterior. We’ve also done up a list of the best vadai in Singapore, since we’re all fans of this savoury snack.

For simple but satisfying fare, a bowl of springy wanton mee does the trick. At Wah Kee Noodle, it’s one of those hidden gems that you wouldn’t want to share – but they certainly deserve the recognition. The noodles (from $3.50 a bowl) are seasoned lightly with a soy sauce, and it’s done perfectly – in that, it’s neither overly mushy nor is it undercooked. Each bowl comes with char siew and wanton dumplings. You can also order other variations like the wanton mushroom noodle (from $3.50) and shredded chicken hor fun (from $3.50). They do sell out early though, so make sure you’re there before 2pm or so.

Hor fun might be common in most hawkers centres, but what’s particularly challenging is finding one with full-fledged wok hei aroma. That’s not at all an issue at hawker stall Pepper Bowl, with its black pepper hor fun and rice bowls. You can choose between chicken, beef, or pork – a bowl starts from $5.50. Add a runny onsen egg for $0.80 or if feeling particularly hungry, a double serve of meat for an additional $3.50.

Finding middle ground between a regular hawker drink stall and a café is Coffee Break, a second-generation hawker stall owned by siblings Faye, Anna, and Jack. The original stall was first opened by their father along Boon Tat Street.

Here, the menu is extensive – from our local kopi and teh (from $1.60), to interesting flavours such as the mint iced mocha, butter pecan latte, toffee nut milk, and the lavender iced lemon tea (from $4). 

If you’re not looking for something that adventurous but are still interested in jazzing up your classic kopi or teh by a notch, go for the option of customising your own drink. Add a hint of your preferred flavour – think ginger, taro, peppermint, cinnamon – to your go-to coffee or tea (from $3).

And what’s a breakfast set without some classic toast? Try their popular black sesame butter toast ($3.50) or stay true to your Singaporean taste buds with the kaya butter toast ($3).

Daylight Coffee is the new kid on the block in Amoy Street Food Centre’s coffee-verse, alongside hotspots like Coffee Break and Mad Roaster. Located on the second floor, they were opened in October by cousins Jass and Aaron, as well as their friend Han. 

Their coffee uses a blend of Arabica and Robusta coffee beans and it is easy to distinguish the quality of their brew from others right from the first sip. Their menu is pretty extensive as well – ranging from a traditional kopi ($1.90) to a classic iced latte ($4) and more adventurous choices like their spanish latte ($4.50) or comforting warm caramel latte ($4). If you’re looking for something outside of coffee, try out their iced thai milk tea ($2.50) or honey lemon ($2.50).

Unlike your typical kopi or teh, a brew from coffee stall Mad Roaster is one worth trying for the specialty roasted beans. There’s an inspiring tale behind this coffee joint too, with the owner having first started Mad Roasters as a social enterprise to help asylum seekers in Thailand – a portion of the proceeds from each cup of joe is given to the refugees. Prices range from $2.80 for an espresso to $5.20 for a dirty matcha. The crowd flocks over for the babka ($2.20) too, a fluffy brioche bread that’s breaded with chocolate.