I just came back from my trip to Singapore and one of my biggest disappointment was the food at Hawker Centers .

I became aware of the Singapore Hawker Centers after watching Anthony Bourdain ‘s Layover show on Singapore.

These are the Hawker Centers I Visited:

1. Newton Hawker Center ( close to my hotel )

2. Tanglin Halt Food Center ( recommended by Bourdain)

3. Tekka Center – Little India ( one of the food stalls here is highlighted as 10 Best Michelin Star Meals Under $5 in Singapore by culture trip)

I am super sad to say my experiences at these stalls ranged from being underwhelmed to being disappointed with the quality and flavour of the food !

Based on my experience I would be very hesitant to visit any Hawker Centers in Singapore in the future. There are so many awesome restaurants to visit in its place ! Another post on that latter . Read below to find out in detail the dishes tried at each stall .

Newton Hawker Center

1. Heng – station 28 . Each stand is numbered . Tried the carrot cake with prawns based on reviews and it was okay. I ate it with some hot sauce .

2. Sugarcane juice – this was disappointing. I forgot the stand number and I had better in Canada !

3. TKR Satay – Stand 25 . We had chicken and shrimp satay from here . Didn’t like either that much .

4. Stand 72 – had soup dumpling from here . Again it was nothing special.

5. Hajiah Turfan – Had nan and chicken curry from here . The man and sauce was good . The quality of the meat not so much .

This was my first meal in Singapore and I was disappointed. I will not go back to Newton Hawker Center based on my experience.

Tanglin Halt Food Center

This center was recommended by Anthony Bourdain. We took an uber to get here . This center was filled with locals . It seems to be in a sketchy part of the town . It also did not seem as clean as the Newton Center.

1. Peanut Pancakes at Tanglin Halt Original Peanut Pancake. This was the stand recommended by AB and it was good . But not worth the Uber to get here . If you are near by try it otherwise not worth a trip dedicated to the center .

2. Mei Jia Fried Bee Hoon – Had noodles and peanut porridge from this stand . We were here for breakfast. It was okay.

3. Had tea with condensed milk at the tea stand . This was my favourite item at this center .

Overall an okay experience but not worth seeking out when visiting Singapore .

Tekka Center

We visited Allauddin’s Briyani stall at the Tekka Center in Little India based on Culture Trip recommendation. I was super disappointed with the experience. The Briyani was very horrible. Maybe it was recommended by someone who is not eating Briyani . Lost faith in Culture Trip Recommendations!

This Hawker Center was also the least clean out of all the centers I visited . Avoid .

Overall I had a very disappointing experience with the Hawker Centers in Singapore. Next time I am there I will not be visiting the Hawker Center but rather spend the time in amazing restaurants Singapore has to offer!