With my growing obsession with Singaporean food, I knew I had to scoot across the city to visit the legendary Old Airport Road Food Centre. And I wasn’t disappointed!
Opened in 1973, Old Airport Road Food Centre offers one of the most classic hawker centre experiences in Singapore. At this bustling food court, I felt like I was in foodie heaven, with over 150 hawker stalls to choose from.
Although it was further afield than the other hawker centres I’d come to know and love on my trips to Singapore, visiting this one was a must for rounding out my appreciation of Singapore’s food scene.
Not sure where to start? In this quick & easy guide, I’ll share the tastiest foods and hawker stalls I discovered at Old Airport Road Food Centre…
What to expect
After already logging many hours at other food courts in Singapore, I wasn’t surprised by the variety of high-quality dishes I experienced at the Old Airport Road Food Centre.
Truthfully, there weren’t many dishes in the usual Singapore food repertoire that I didn’t find here!
Compared to hawker centres in and around the Singapore CBD, I noticed a more local feel here. Many of the stalls here are family-run—in some cases for generations!
(The lor mee stall at #01-116, for instance, is now on its third generation of the same family.)
Wandering through the maze of stalls, I watched locals filter to their favourites. Of course, I followed their lead to the top food stalls where I found many of my Singaporean food favorites, including rojak, satay, bee hoon, and char kway teow.
PRO TIP: Jot down stall numbers before you arrive. The layout here is sprawling, and finding a specific stall without a number is a genuine time-waster.
The best part? You can get many of these dishes for around the price of a cup of Starbucks coffee.
(And which is more fulfilling? Easy answer.)
Where & what to eat
Like most hawker centres in Singapore, my advice is the same: To find the tastiest food here, follow your nose and the queues to the most popular stalls.
Here are a few of my favorite hawker stalls to watch out for on your visit…
Xin Mei Xiang Zheng Zong Lor Mee (#01-116)
Awarded a Michelin Plate and a People’s Choice award at the 2018 City Hawker Food Hunt, this popular stall has been one of the most-visited at Old Airport Road for good reason. It serves up some of the most delicious lor mee I’ve tried in the area.
The dish tosses thick yellow noodles in a thick egg & starch gravy. It’s full of savoury flavours with a dash of spice.
What sets the lor mee here apart from others I’ve tried is the pan-fried flaked fish topping. If you usually find lor mee too heavy (which even I totally get), this is the version I’d point you to first.
Whitley Road Big Prawn Noodles (#01-98)
Whether you choose the dry or soup versions, it doesn’t matter: The prawn noodle dishes at this famous hawker stall could be destined to become one of your new Singaporean food favourites!
Need a primer? I’d recommend going for the dry version. The noodles come coated in a homemade chilli paste that’s worth the trip on its own. You also get a bowl of the prawn broth on the side, which is arguably the best part of the whole meal.
The classic pork rib version is most palatable for the average Westerner. (Unless you love the thought of pork liver or eat on the more adventurous side.)
One heads-up: The portion might be a bit smaller than you’d expect for the price. The pork rib version makes it feel more filling.
Hougang Famous Wan Ton Mee (#01-35)
To attack my noodle cravings with a vengeance, I grabbed a bowl of the signature wonton noodles at this famed hawker stall. They were just the trick, with noodles cooked to a perfect springy texture, topped with char siu and dumplings, and packed with umami flavours.
The chilli sambal here is what sets the wonton noodles here apart. It’s smoky and generous, and it’s the reason the bowl tastes better than a dozen other wonton mee stalls I’ve walked past in Singapore.
(The stall has been a family operation since the 1940s, which probably explains why the recipe feels this dialled in.)
Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee (#01-32)
After chatting with a few locals, I learned that this noodle joint is one of the most famous stalls here. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, which puts it a cut above many other stalls in the centre.
The signature hokkien mee bursts with prawn, squid, eggs, bee hoon, and egg noodles. It’s drier than most versions you’ll find elsewhere in Singapore, which divides people. If you like your hokkien mee on the saucier side, you might want to look elsewhere.
Expect a long wait, and get here before the lunch rush if you want to guarantee a plate.
Toa Payoh Rojak (#01-108)
Rojak is one of the specialties at Old Airport Road Food Centre. And this, I was told by one of the locals, is one of the best stalls to try it.
I’m glad I took the recommendation, as it was one of the biggest culinary revelations on my trip!
The rojak here is as fresh as it gets. It features a mix of bean sprouts, spinach, and tofu topped with a sweet & savoury shrimp sauce and crushed peanuts.
(I’m not normally a tofu fan, but, wow, this one was good!)
Freshly Made Chee Cheong Fun (#01-155)
For its silky texture, chee cheong fun became one of my go-to delights on my Singapore trips. These thin, silky steamed rice rolls are filled with your choice of ingredients and drizzled with a light soy sauce. And this hawker stall is a great place to get them at Old Airport Road Food Centre.
(Even if the name is more than a little unimaginative.)
This stall makes their chee cheong fun fresh to order, which is why the texture here is noticeably better than most.
Give the char siew (BBQ pork) version a go. The sweet, well-marinated pork pairs perfectly with the light soy sauce drizzled on top. It’s the one I’d point a first-timer to that’ll set your bar for chee cheong fun forever.
Lao Ban Soya Beancurd (#01-127/#01-107)
Soya beancurd is Singapore’s answer to a light dessert, and Lao Ban is the version most locals will point you to at Old Airport Road Food Centre.
The soya beancurd here is smoother than you’d expect. It’s closer to a chilled pudding than anything else, and the sweetness is cooked directly into the beancurd rather than poured on as syrup.
The stall offers two flavours: original and almond. I’d start with the original. The almond version is good, too, but it’s an acquired taste that not everyone gets on with on the first try.
Famous Old Airport Fried Oyster (#01-101)
Orh luak, or fried oyster omelette, is one of those dishes that looks simple, but tastes anything but. And in this hawker centre, Famous Old Airport Fried Oyster is the stall I’d point you to first.
The oysters are plump and fresh, the edges crisp up nicely, and the centre stays chewy in the way a good orh luak should. Don’t skimp on the chilli. It’s tangy and spicy, and it ties the whole dish together.
You’ll notice the stall has a sign out front reading “buy original, say no to copy.” There’s a rival stall right next door, so be sure to pick the right one.
(Seems to be a thing in Singapore, like the Hainanese chicken rice wars in Maxwell Food Centre. The drama is real, but so is the food.)
Getting there
Via Singapore’s public transportation, the easiest way to get to the Old Airport Road Food Centre is by MRT. The closest MRT Station to the hawker centre is Dakota MRT (CC8) on the Circle Line.
From Exit A, it’s a quick 5-minute walk.
