The ultimate guide to Jalan Besar

Swee Choon Dim Sum is an undisputed late-night rite of passage in Singapore. This spot has been fuelling partygoers and night owls with handmade dim sums since 1962, but you’re welcome to pull up as early as 7am for a hot bowl of porridge. Either way, don’t leave without ordering the signature mee suah kueh, the prawn and banana fritter, beancurd prawn roll, and salted egg yolk custard bun. They do classics like har gaw and siew mai well, too. For something more filling, try the hor fun or fried rice – pair with a side of HK milk tea and you’ve completed the experience.

This two-storey hawker centre remains one of Singapore’s best-kept secrets for great local food. Popular with the older crowd, this spot is famous for some pretty exotic foods: think turtle soup, crocodile meat, and pig trotter jelly. But there’s good stuff that’s more approachable, like the crispy oyster cakes at Fu Zhou Poh Hwa, stuffed epok epok (traditional Malay deep-fried pastries) at Epok Epok Story, savoury mutton soup from Jalan Besar Mutton Soup, and fluffy ice kachang at Hot & Cold Dessert Store.

This old-school institution has been serving up Henghwa cuisine since 1933, serving rickshaw riders, labourers, and Henghwa immigrants a taste of home at affordable prices. Now run by the third generation, Ming Chung continues to serve home-style Henghwa dishes, which are lighter, milder, and more seafood-focused compared to the dark, savoury sauces and braised foods in Hokkien cuisine.

A great example is Ming Chung’s famous lor mee, featuring handmade noodles in a white broth and laden with seafood, pork, yam and vegetables. Other must-tries are the fried mee sua (stir-fried vermicelli with seafood, pork, seaweed, and peanuts), fried batang fish, and stir-fried nian gao.

This one’s a paradise for cheese lovers. The Cheeselads is a cosy artisanal cheese shop on Tyrwhitt Road serving up cheese platters, charcuterie boards, and sharing plates paired with curated wines. If you’re here to graze, your best bet is the Cheesemonger’s Choice, the restaurant’s signature platter laden with a rotating selection of five cheeses, nuts, and nougats. Otherwise, try its signature truffle brie, honey gorgonzola, or ask for a specific cheese from the aging room. Gunning for a full meal? Popular plates include the spicy pork ragu rigatoni and scallop angel hair. They also do bottomless booze for $39++ during selected windows through the week – vibes and music are always good, so this is recommended.

It’s in the name – Habibi-san is where Middle Eastern flavours meet Japanese izakaya vibes. At this lively fusion restaurant, there are seemingly no rules: togarashi seasoned tempura crispies show up on babaganoush, shio kombu and wasabi ponzu vinaigrette sneak into a kibbeh nayyeh (Levantine lamb tartare), and Atlantic seabass gets drenched in yuzu beurre blanc. It all works. Habibi-san also has a playful drinks menu with refreshing twists on classics: an umami-packed smoked olive highball, a refreshing yuzu tequila with seaweed salt, and even a boozy matcha latte (yes, with alcohol) – all served in a moody, date-worthy interior.

A relative newcomer to the scene, Space 23 is a minimalist café in Jalan Besar that’s become one of our go-to brunch spots. The calling card here is its blueberry pancake – a fluffy hotcake with crisp edges that’s stuffed with juicy blueberries, served with maple syrup and lemon chantilly cream. You’ll find more baked goods at the counter, but the savoury menu has pleasant surprises too. One standout is Space 23’s riff on an ochazuke, featuring pan-fried salmon on a bed of rice, served with a pot of green tea. Pour the tea over your plate and you get a warm hug of a lunch. For drinks, get the matcha latte – it’s earthy and silky, with the right balance of matcha and milk.

Unlike regular cafés which usually close by evening, Average Service is a day-to-night concept that runs from 9am until 9pm (10pm on Fridays and Saturdays). The retro-chic space is clad in bold primary colours, but beyond the eye-pleasing aesthetics, the menu offers an ambitious spread of brunch classics and coffee by day, transitioning to bar bites and cocktails by night. But what makes this place special is that it's a gathering of creatives of sorts – swing by any afternoon and you'll find students, artists, and creators of all stripes working on something or other – with Average Service itself collaborating with other businesses in the neighbourhood to run events. Soon, it'll be launching a larger House of Average, meant to serve as a co-living creative hub. 

Beach Road Scissor Cut Curry Rice doesn’t serve up a pretty plate, but trust us, that gooey mess will have you coming back for more. Open until 2.30am, this legendary supper spot is famous for its thick mess of two sauces (curry and braised pork sauce) poured over a heaped plate of rice and dishes of your choice – our favourite combination has crispy pork chop or chicken cutlet, braised cabbage, and fried egg. The setup is simple, too: simple plastic chairs around round tables in a non-air-conditioned coffee shop. It’s unpretentious, satisfying comfort food at its finest – and it’ll put you into a food coma just in time for bed.

This hip Taiwanese-inspired diner consistently draws crowds for its tasty comfort fare, ranging from steaming bowls of noodles, flavoursome fried rice, stir-fried wok dishes, and moreish sides. The signature here is the pillowy-soft Gua Bao stuffed with braised pork belly, which you can order as a bundle with a fish bun and crispy chicken bun. We also love the comforting beef noodle soup and Niu Yolk fried rice topped with tender slices of beef. 

To cap the meal, we recommend trying the peanut ice cream roll – it has coriander in it, but it weirdly works. Over the counter is its menu of cocktails and draft beers which rotate through the likes of Heart of Darkness’ Kumquat Pale Ale, and more.

For artisanal sourdough crusts with serious structure and pillowy edges, Goldenroy is the pick. These San Francisco-style square sourdough pizza bases are made from a 100-year-old sourdough culture from the Bay Area and aged for two days, which might explain why they’re so heavenly. It helps that each square is topped with premium ingredients – with some you rarely hear of as a pizza topping – such as camembert, clams, roast beef, and blue cheese. Get a side of Goldenroy hot sauce for an extra kick. Goldenroy does islandwide delivery, which is not the best news for your waistline (but great for your tastebuds).

This aesthetic gelateria offers the perfect end to your Jalan Besar food crawl. This craft gelato spot scoops a range of classic, gourmet, and even experimental, eyebrow-raising flavours – but they all work. A taster: saffron, vanilla & pistachio; toasted cereal vanilla milk; balsamic strawberry; and blue pea chrysanthemum & Varlhona chocolate. You decide which flavours belong to which category. In any case, Sweet Cheeks gelatos are fun, not-too-sweet, and work great on the freshly-toasted waffles. It also closes at 1am on weekends for those sweet, late-night hangs.

Asylum Coffeehouse may have traded its minimalist digs for a level two pop-up space at Hatter’s Asylum on the edge of Jalan Besar, but its coffee tastes as good as ever. The star espresso blend here is its signature Keluah, which the Asylum team developed over 14 months to nail the essence of the Peranakan ayam buah keluah dish. Earthy, chocolatey, and subtly nutty, this espresso shines in a milky hot or iced latte. Asylum Coffeehouse also offers a selection of filter coffees, roasted in-house and skillfully brewed by its baristas. There’s no saying where it’s moving next, but we hope it stays in the hood.

If your wardrobe needs a refresh, there’s a way to get new pieces in without hitting the shops. Instead, head to The Fashion Pulpit, a social enterprise and clothes-swapping platform that lets you trade pre-loved apparel, upcycle worn garments, and shop pre-owned gems. It even offers swap memberships, with perks like unlimited drop-offs and swaps for three, six, or 12 months at a time, and access to online swaps. The Fashion Pulpit is also something of a community hub, with regular events and workshops spanning embroidery bootcamps to life fashion drawing workshops.

If you happen to stroll along Tyrwhitt Road, you'll come across a striking green storefront against a backdrop of brutalist architecture. This charming plant store goes by the name of Jungalore, which stocks everything from rare, variegated houseplants and stylish ceramic pots to gorgeous orchids and garden herbs. It also offers signature Junglelore Mossballs, similar to a traditional kokedama moss ball plant.