Hawker stalls opened by ex-Crystal Jade, Din Tai Fung chefs with pocket-friendly prices: Here’s where to find them

Who doesn't want to indulge in good, restaurant-quality food? But let's face it, it can get be a bit pricey and hard on our wallets if we do it too often. 

Luckily for us, over the years several chefs from reputable restaurants have chosen to set up their own stalls in hawker centres with the skills that they have acquired over the years. This means enjoying restaurant-standard food for hawker-centre prices and here's where you can go.

Hao Lai Ke

Hao Lai Ke made waves in 2018 when people discovered that an Ex-Din Tai Fung Chef had opened up his very stall. Din Tai Fung standard fried rice and noodles for a fraction of the price? Yes, please!

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The menu here is also uncannily similar to that of the established Chinese restaurant, and you can expect similar dishes such as Pork ribs fried rice, Braised pork rib noodles and Beijing dumplings. Sadly, they don’t sell Din Tai Fung’s famous xiao long bao, but honestly, their current menu line-up is already sufficient. 

Address: 204 Bedok North Street 1, #01-393, Singapore 460204

San Pin Pao Fan

This recently opened stall is owned by an ex-Jumbo Seafood chef, who spent two decades working at the company before deciding to call it quits in September 2020 to set his own outfit. 

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The stall mainly sells pao fan, which is essentially a dish where rice is doused in a rich broth. It’s similar to porridge but more rich and robust. Aside from that, he also has dishes such as Fried luncheon meat and Fried mid joint wings.

Address: 51 Telok Ayer Street, China Square Food Centre, #01-03, Singapore 048441 

Shi Xiang Ge

Helmed by an ex-Crystal Jade La Mian director with almost 30 years of noodle-making experience, Shi Xiang Ge specialises in Shanxi Chinese cuisine. You can taste every bit of that experience in the hearty bowls of la mian he serves up. 

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Must-trys here are definitely his noodles, as well as his very own creations, such as the Hot 7 spicy intestine shaved noodle, Beef la mian and Shan xi cold noodle.

Address: Blk 514 Bishan Street 13, Bishan Bus Interchange Level 2, Singapore 570514
 

Supreme Ramen Xiao Long Bao

Get xiao long baos like the ones that you'll find at Crystal Jade for a fraction of the price at Supreme Ramen Xiao Long Bao. This shop was started by an ex-Crystal Jade chef who has perfected his craft after making xiao long bao and noodles for more than 20 years. 

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For just $4.50, you get a piping hot bamboo basket of six dumplings and you can even purchase them frozen, so you can steam and have them yourself at home at your convenience. 

Address: Blk 46 Holland Drive, #01-359, Singapore 270046

Little Bowl 

Little Bowl is started by three young chefs — Kurt, Wei Lun and Yew Tee — who met while working at Saveur.  

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Their menu consists of a range of Western-style dishes, like Value meal shio noodles, Prawn aglio olio and Eel rice bowl, that are priced below $10. 

Address: 5 Straits View, Marina One The Heart, Singapore 018935

A Noodle Story 

In Amoy Street Food Centre, you'll find a Michelin Bib Gourmad-awarded stall that is well-loved by many, especially the office crowd in the area, for their ramen noodles.

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The stall was started by Gwern Khoo and Ben Tham, who have worked at Iggy’s, Waku Ghin, St Pierre and Jaan par Andre to name a few. 

Their signature ramen is inspired by modern European techniques with Asian flavours. Each bowl comes with cha-su, wontons, soy-flavoured hot spring egg and a potato-wrapped prawn that are placed atop a bed of springy noodles. 

Address: 7 Maxwell Rd, Amoy Street Food Centre, Stall #01-39, Singapore 069111

Loyang Way Big Prawn Noodles

The establishment is helmed by Dickson Fong, an ex-Tunglok chef, who decided to sell prawn noodles after spending a few years doing business in China. 

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His prawn noodles aren't cooked in the same traditional manner like other places in Singapore though. His is a more modern take and he uses quality Japanese-style pork bone broth and Japanese-farmed prawns, giving his prawn noodles plenty of umami and a more robust flavour. 

Address: 64 Loyang Way, Loyang Way Food Village, Singapore 508754

Mr Chicken Rice 

If you’ve heard of Chatterbox at Mandarin hotel, you’d know that they push out one of the most expensive plates of chicken rice in Singapore at $27.

If you'll like a taste, at a much lower price tag, head to Mr Chicken Rice which is run by a former Chatterbox chef who was retrenched and decided to sell what he knows best — chicken rice. You can either order an individual plate of chicken rice or fork out a bit more to get half a chicken. 

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Address: 1 Pasir Ris Close, #01-109, Singapore 519599

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