20 Best Cheap Eats in Singapore That Locals Love
The city's hawker culture is UNESCO-listed. Here's where locals eat when they want the best food at the fairest price.
Singapore's reputation for expense is real—until you eat. Over 120 hawker centres serve Chinese, Indian, Malay, and Peranakan dishes, most priced between SGD $3 and $10. Chicken rice costs SGD 6–8, a bowl of laksa is SGD 6–8, char kway teow is SGD 5–7, roti prata is SGD 1–3 per piece. A full meal under SGD $10 per person is extremely affordable in Singapore, and multiple hawker stalls charging under SGD 10 a plate have received Michelin recognition.
This list ranks 20 hawker stalls and small venues by value and accessibility. Arrive before 11:30am or after 2:30pm to avoid the worst queues. Stalls accept cash (small bills preferred) or cards/PayLah! at busier spots. Most entries here sit in major centres (Maxwell, Old Airport Road, Chinatown Complex, Lau Pa Sat) which operate 6am–10pm for breakfast/lunch spots, extending to midnight at night markets.
At many hawker centres, it's common to see long queues of people—from office workers in suits to construction workers in dusty boots—all waiting patiently for a S$4 plate of chicken rice. The queue itself is part of the story. Pick a seat by chop-ing it first with tissues or a name card, then order from whichever stalls appeal. Return your tray when done.
1 Kadayanallur Street, Maxwell Food Centre, Chinatown · Hainanese chicken rice · SGD 5–8, Tue–Sun 10am–7:30pm, closed Mon
stockThis is the stall that put Singapore hawker food on the global map: poached chicken with silky rice cooked in chicken fat and pandan, paired with ginger-chili sauce and dark soy. Anthony Bourdain called it the best chicken rice in the world. Expect a 20–40 minute queue during peak hours. The best time to go is just after 10am on weekdays. Order the steamed chicken rice if you want to taste why it's worth the wait.
Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice
1 Kadayanallur Street, Maxwell Food Centre, Chinatown · Hainanese chicken rice · SGD 5–8, Wed–Mon 11am–8pm, closed Tue
Established by a former Tian Tian chef, Ah Tai produces chicken rice that many Singapore food writers rank as equivalent or superior. The queue is consistently shorter—typically 10–15 minutes where Tian Tian has 30+, making Ah Tai the rational choice if Tian Tian exceeds 30 minutes. The chicken is slightly different in preparation with a marginally firmer texture and different chilli sauce balance.
Nam Sing Hokkien Mee
51 Old Airport Road, Geylang · Hokkien fried noodles · SGD 5–8, irregular hours (calls ahead advised)
When they are open, the Hokkien Mee sells out fast—use thin bee hoon to absorb all the rich seafood stock, resulting in a drier but more flavourful dish, with peanut oil chosen over pork lard oil for a more fragrant aroma. They close on random days, so arriving before noon when hawker traffic is lighter improves your odds of catching them open.
Lao Fu Zi Fried Kway Teow
51 Old Airport Road, Geylang · Char kway teow · SGD 5–7, 6am–9pm most days
This award-winning stall with authentic, time-tested recipes is part of what draws both locals and travelers to Old Airport Road. Old Airport Road offers depth: more nationally significant stalls across more dish categories than any single alternative, at the cost of a 10-minute walk from Dakota MRT. The char kway teow here sits among the best versions in the city at hawker prices.
Haron Satay
East Coast Lagoon Food Village · Grilled satay skewers · SGD 0.80–2 per stick, sunset to late evening
Try the BBQ stingray and Haron Satay (Michelin Bib Gourmand), especially if you don't make it to Satay Street at Lau Pa Sat. Satay at SGD 0.80 per stick is a bargain UNESCO food. The outdoor open-air setting by the coast with charcoal smoke rising above the stalls is as much the experience as the food itself.
51 Old Airport Road, Geylang · Nasi lemak with sambal · SGD 4–6, 6am–3pm
stockSelera Rasa serves fluffy basmati rice with sweet-spicy sambal, served to world leaders. It appears on most lists of Singapore's best hawker nasi lemak, and at these prices, it's breakfast that reads like a statement of what this city values. Order early—popular stalls like this one close when sold out.
1 Kadayanallur Street, Maxwell Food Centre, Chinatown · Congee and porridge · SGD 4–7, 9am–9pm daily
stockZhen Zhen Porridge's silky congee is part of Maxwell's deep bench of hawker classics. A bowl represents the kind of meal that costs SGD 6–8. Watch the cook stir the giant pots of rice dissolving into broth—it's theater and comfort food at once.
Lau Pa Sat Satay Street
18 Raffles Quay, Central Business District · Grilled satay, seafood · SGD 1–4 per stick, 7pm–late nightly
Lau Pa Sat operates 24 hours, but Satay Street opens from 7pm until late. This is street dining in its most literal form: dozens of charcoal grills set up outdoors under the 1894 Victorian cast-iron structure, hawkers calling out orders, satay at SGD 0.80 per stick becoming your dinner. It's theater and affordability fused.
Chinatown Complex Food Centre
335 Smith Street, Chinatown · Mixed cuisines (260+ stalls) · SGD 4–8 average, 8am–10pm most days
Singapore's largest hawker center with 260 stalls, and boasts having the cheapest Michelin-starred meal in the world. There's a huge amount of variety here, from Hainanese Chicken Rice to Laksa. To avoid long waiting times, visit during off-peak hours before 11:30 AM or after 2:30 PM. Navigation requires patience, but the reward is discovering regional dishes from across Singapore in a single afternoon.
Old Airport Road Food Centre
51 Old Airport Road, Geylang · Mixed cuisines (168 stalls) · SGD 4–8 average, 6am–9pm most stalls
Established in 1973 and featuring 168 stalls, Old Airport Road Food Centre is one of the oldest and largest hawker centres in Singapore, having had decades to collect well-known food stalls. It offers depth: more nationally significant stalls across more dish categories than any single alternative. Lunch service runs 11:00–14:30; evening BBQ from 17:30. Less touristy than Maxwell, more authentic than Instagram guides suggest.
Tim Ho Wan (Plaza Singapura)
68 Orchard Road, #01-29A/52, Plaza Singapura · Dim sum · SGD 4.50–5.50 per item, Mon–Fri 10am–10pm, Sat–Sun 9am–10pm
The famous char siew buns still rank high on every foodie's must-try list at SGD 4.50 for three, with steamed chicken with fish maw at SGD 5.50 (only at Plaza Singapura). Tim Ho Wan is Hong Kong's budget Michelin-starred dim sum master's operation. The newest addition at Aperia in Lavender can sate a supper craving for steamed carrot cake or congee in the wee hours with its 24/7 opening hours.
Maxwell Food Centre (General)
1 Kadayanallur Street, Chinatown · Mixed cuisines (100 stalls) · SGD 5–8 average, 8am–10pm most stalls
The centre occupies a single-storey heritage building that dates from 1928—originally a municipal market building—hosting approximately 100 stalls arranged in rows. This is where Anthony Bourdain queued for Tian Tian's chicken rice, where office workers from Tanjong Pagar cross paths with tourists off the Chinatown trail, and where a full meal still costs less than a downtown coffee. Start at Maxwell for Tian Tian, then explore the supporting stalls.
Multiple locations including Clover Way and Eunos Road · Thai curry and noodles · SGD 12–15, hours vary by location
stockOften dubbed the most affordable Thai food in Singapore, Jai Thai delivers authentic flavours at wallet-friendly prices with classics like tom yum soup, green curry rice sets, and pad Thai, with generous portions easily shareable. Not hawker-centre cheap, but still well under restaurant pricing for the quality.
VeganBurg
Multiple locations · Plant-based burgers and sides · From SGD 10.90, Mon–Thu 11:30am–9pm, Fri–Sun 11:30am onwards
Popular picks include the Smoky BBQ burger and Shrooms Burg, but for something local go for the satay-inspired option, with patties that are surprisingly juicy and flavourful, even for meat-eaters. It's eco-conscious dining, so you're saving both your wallet and the planet. Pair it with sweet potato fries for a complete meal under SGD 15.
Gaijin Japanese Soul Food
9 King Albert Park, KAP Mall, #01-40 · Japanese curry and donburi · From SGD 14, 12pm–3pm and 6pm–9:30pm daily
Expect to find Curry Donburis from S$14, classic Donburis from S$14, a huge bowl of Tempura Moriawase from S$19, all under S$30. Not quite hawker-centre pricing, but authentic Japanese comfort food at roughly half what you'd pay in Tokyo. The donburi bowls are oversized and built to satisfy.
Tori San
116 Telok Ayer Street, Chinatown · Taiwanese ramen · From SGD 12.90, daily 11am–10pm
A newer entry to Singapore's ramen scene serving Legit Toripaitan Ramen from $12.90. The broth is built by boiling chicken bones for hours—taste that commitment in every bowl. Walk from Maxwell to here and extend your Chinatown hawker crawl.
Toasties
Multiple locations (Tampines, Raffles, Clementi, Senoko) · Sandwiches · Under SGD 10, mostly 10am–10pm
Toasties' amazing filling sandwiches are all under $10, with 5 outlets all over Singapore. Sandwiches can be customized or selected a la carte, making it perfect for fussy eaters. Not traditional hawker food, but proof that cheap eats in Singapore extend beyond rice and noodles.
Kamal's Restaurant (Prata & Briyani)
7 Stanley Street, CBD · Indian prata and briyani · SGD 1.50–6, Mon–Fri 7am–6pm, Sat 7am–3pm
Plain Prata costs SGD 1.50 and Egg Prata SGD 2 for a lighter meal, alongside briyani. Kamal's Restaurant is a Muslim-owned eatery. It sits a stone's throw from the CBD's office towers, yet serves breakfast for the price of a coffee elsewhere.
Danlao (Scrambled Eggs on Rice)
1 Scotts Road, Shaw Centre, #01-73, Maxwell · Scrambled eggs on rice · SGD 5–6.50, Mon–Sat 11am–8:30pm, Sun 11am–4pm
Danlao's chefs are formerly from famous LA food truck Eggslut's offshoot in Singapore and are much more wallet-friendly with an Asian slant: think Tomato ($5), Luncheon Meat ($5.50), or Chicken Cutlet ($6.50) and Char Siew ($6.50) with scrambled eggs on rice. Unlikely comfort food, perfectly executed at hawker prices.
Fuego Mesa
Beneath an HDB block, Farrer Park · Mexican street food · SGD 15–19, hours vary (verify before visiting)
Fuego is a hole-in-the-wall eatery located beneath an HDB block in Farrer Park, generating buzz for their extensive menu featuring familiar Mexican favourites, and they're CDC-friendly. At the upper end of this list's price cap, but for those craving tacos and quesadillas at under half restaurant pricing, it's the move.
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