Michelin Hawker Food in Singapore with Self-Guided Walking Tour

Since the start of Michelin Food Guide Singapore in 2016, there has been a growing number of hawker stalls in Singapore recognised in this prestigious guide. This time, we decided to concoct our own little walking tour that covers some of these famous Michelin hawker food in Singapore…

1. Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodles (Michelin 1 Star)
2. Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee (Michelin Plate)
3. Shi Le Yuan Kway Chap (Michelin Plate)
4. Tiong Bahru Yi Sheng Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee (Michelin Bib Gourmand)

But before we dive into the Michelin Hawker Foods in Singapore. A little on the history of Michelin Guide.

The Michelin Guide is actually started by Andre and Edouard Michelin of the world-famous Michelin tires. Initially, the guide was developed so that people would drive and visit places across the country. This would in turn increase car sales and thus sales of tires. As the guide gained traction and became more famous, mystery diners were recruited and soon the renowned 3-tier stars rating were developed. Below are the meaning of the various symbols used in the Michelin Guide today.

The Meaning of the Michelin Symbols

Michelin 1 Star: High Quality Cooking, Worth a Stop.
Michelin 2 Stars: Excellent Cooking, Worth a Detour.
Michelin 3 Stars: Exceptional Cuisine, Worth a Special Journey.
Michelin Bib Gourmand: Exceptionally Good Food at Moderate Prices. The restaurant must offer menu items priced below a maximum determined by local standards.
Michelin Plate: Fresh Ingredients, Carefully Prepared. A Good Meal.

Address: 466 Crawford Ln, #01-12, Singapore 190466
Opening Hours: 930am to 9pm (Closed on Mondays)

We started our Michelin Hawker Food hunt by visiting the famous Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodles, the only one-star Michelin stall during our visit this time. Unlike the rest of the Michelin hawker food in this post that are located within Singapore Food Centres, Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodles is actually located within a kopitiam (Tai Hwa Eating House).

The Queuing System at Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodles

As you can see from the picture above, the queue at Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodles is long. VERY long. Hence, to reduce the seemingly long queue, they have a queuing system that allows patrons to take queue numbers if they arrive before 9:30am. The queuing system ceases at 9:30am and patrons will join the queue as per normal.

We actually arrived at 9:45am and just joined the queue directly. We later found out that there were 16 people who arrived before 9:30am and got their queue numbers and that we were 2nd in the “direct queue line”. Those who received queue numbers also got their food close to an hour after they got their queue numbers. Eventually, we got our food at 10:45, close to an hour after we joined the queue. Hence, the waiting time for both queuing with, or without queue numbers takes about an hour. An hour. The only good thing about getting queue numbers is that you don’t have to stay in line for an hour, your number will be called and you’d place your orders then. Hence, we’d recommend heading over maybe about 9:15, grab a queue number and chill for an hour.

While waiting, we tried the kopi peng from Tai Hwa Eating House…

Which, turned out to be a disappointment. The kopi was not made separately and poured over ice. Instead, it was made in the same cup, with ice added to it. A rookie mistake. As a result, almost all the ice melted after a couple of stirs – as you can see from the picture above. As the wait took about an hour, we took some photos and noticed the “Hot Fire Roasted” stall next door…

The soya roasted chicken from Hot Fire Roasted had a succulent and glistening appearance that caught our attention. The remaining meats (char siew, roasted duck) all looked pretty good as well. If you’ve tried Hot Fire Roasted meats, let us know in the comments section below.

Verdict on Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle

This time, we ordered the Kway Teow Soup (flat rice noodles in soup) and the mee kia (thin yellow noodles) dry with chili. During this one hour wait, we noticed that the chef was actually cooking at his own pace. There was time for a quick chat with the boss (who was not on the helms)/patrons and selfies with visitors. Within the first hour, about 16 orders were completed. Still a relatively decent speed but the queue became rather long after we were done. The price was also a little steep, starting at $6 a bowl. The lady who took our order asked whether we wanted the $8 or $10 bowl, to which we replied $6. Notice that she left out the $6 option…

After waiting for an hour, here’s our verdict of Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle. To be honest, upon the first taste of the soup and noodles, there was no “wow” factor. Although the pork and noodle were generous, it was price was also steeper at $6. While we enjoyed the fried sole fish (bian yu – 扁鱼) that was included in the dish, there are many other stalls in Singapore that have better tasting meatballs and dumplings that are accentuated with fried sole fish. All in all, we were a little disappointed, especially after waiting for an hour and ploughing $6 for the noodles.

BUT.

We can definitely understand why the older folks would be back time and again to this joint. Started in the 1930s, the stall definitely has that nostalgic taste to it (aka 古早味). This was found in the chai poh (radish) found in both the dry and soup versions. A taste from our younger days. Coupled with the flavours of the fried sole fish, the bowl of pork noodles does cater to patrons after this old-school taste.

In conclusion, we think that the price is a little high and the wait is simply just too long. Don’t think we’d be back unless one of our overseas friends insists on visiting a one-star Michelin hawker stall in Singapore. But if you’re thinking of visiting, remember to grab a queue number before 9:30am!

Address: 531A Upper Cross St, #02-57/58, Singapore 051531
Opening Hours: 10am to 9pm (Opens at 7am on Saturdays and Sundays)

After a 30 minutes walk from Tai Hwa Eating House to Hong Lim Market and Food Centre, we had worked up an appetite and ready for our next Michelin recommendation. Originally, we had intended to visit Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee (Michelin Bib Gourmand) at Hong Lim Food Centre. Unfortunately, it was closed during our visit. Thankfully, there were other Michelin recommendations at Hong Lim Food Centre including:

Famous Sungei Road Trishaw Laksa – Bib Gourmand (#02-66)
Tai Wah Pork Noodles – Bib Gourmand (#02-16)
Hokkien Street Bak Kut Teh – Michelin Plate (#01-67)
Ah Heng Duck Rice – Michelin Plate (#02-64)

As we already had Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodles in the morning and Famous Sungei Road Trishaw Laksa was also not opened that day, we visited Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee instead.

As you can see from the pictures above, there are actually 2 stalls at Hong Lim Food Centre. Don’t think it makes a difference which stall you’re ordering from. There should be some QC (Quality Checks) in place. This also means that your queuing time would be much shorter. This time, we only waited for less than 10 minutes and we were promptly served.

We ordered the $5 portion with bee hoon (vermicelli). You can also choose yellow noodles or the thick bee hoon. Since “Bee Hoon” is mentioned on the signboard, we thought we’d give it a try and we were pleasantly surprised by this option. Having had a poor start to the day at Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle, the rendition of curry chicken noodles at Ah Heng definitely cheered us up.

Unlike most curry chicken that have heavy and oily curry, the version at Ah Heng was light in texture, yet flavourful. Masterfully created, it’s almost like a cross between the laksa and mee siam while maintaining the richness of the curry. Shiok. As for the ingredients, we LOOOOOVED the tau pok. Infused with the curry, the tau pok bursts and spreads the curry-goodness into the cavities of our mouths on each bite. Chicken was tender while the fish cake was fresh.

The highlight for us was definitely the bee hoon itself. Well coated with the curry, it remained al dente (instead of soggy), even towards the end of the meal. Certainly a good choice of vermicelli and great control of heat. Lastly, it was also a joy to watch the preparation of the curry noodles. After a quick blanch of the noodles, the ingredients were placed over the bowl while lathered with the rich curry, creating a little mess on the side of the bowl due to the speedy scoops of the gravy. Somehow, it made the whole experience that much more authentic. Highly recommended! 🤤

Address: 85 Redhill Ln, Singapore 150085
Opening Hours: 11am to 8pm (Opens at 7am on Saturdays and Sundays)

The walk from Hong Lim Market and Food Centre to Red Hill Market took us about 40 minutes. Unfortunately for us, Shi Le Yuan was also closed on this visit. Although San Bao Soya Sauce Chicken (#01-73) was also listed on Michelin Guide, strangely, we were not able to find it. If you have news about this stall, tell us in the comments section below. Hua Kee Chicken Rice (#01-72) rounds up the list of Michelin recommendations at Red Hill Market.

While you’re here, you may also want to try out Fei Zai Xiang Shao La Wanton Mee. Although it is not recommended in Michelin Plate, we think that it should. This is because, the char siew is superbly crafted with a good selection of lean and fatty parts. The noodles also has that old-school taste that went really well with the wanton. On hindsight, maybe we should not recommend it. Lest, a drop in quality and increased waiting time ensues…

After devouring a refreshing bowl of nonya chendol (with red bean and generous drizzle of gula melaka), we continued on our journey to our favourite fried hokkien mee stall in Singapore… Tiong Bahru Yi Sheng Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee!

Address: ABC Brickworks Food Centre, 6 Jalan Bukit Merah, #01-13, Singapore 150006
Opening Hours: 3pm to 10:30pm (Closed on Wednesdays)

We have actually recommended Tiong Bahru Yi Sheng Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee in our coverage of ABC Brickworks Food Centre previously. But since we’re on the topic of Michelin recommendations…🤤

For the full coverage, we love the version by Denise Tan on Makan Kakis.

The walk from Redhill Market to ABC Brickworks was only about 15 minutes. We arrived slightly before the opening time of 3pm. The lights was still switched off then…

At about 3:05pm, the lights were switched on and about 7 people immediately joined the queue! Being nimble (for food only), we got the 3rd place in the queue and managed to get our serving on the first pot fried. Each pot serves approximately 10 portions. However, Uncle Toh only started frying at 3:25pm. This was because he ran low on chopsticks and had to go buy some before frying the first batch of that delicious fried hokkien mee…

As always, we were mesmerised by Uncle Toh’s skill at the frying, stirring and splashing of the rich broth onto the fried hokkien prawn mee. But this time, we noticed something was amiss. While serving the noodles to the 2 customers in front of us, we noticed that the SAMBAL WAS MISSING! 😨 😱

Upon query, the assistant replied that they have ceased making the sambal since March this year. I then asked if the sambal will be made again. Afterall, it was the sambal that made this dish simply magical. Uncle Toh simply replied “我老了…” (translated to “I’m old already…”). At 72, we can certainly understand his plight. With no successor in sight, he is simply sustaining the business for the sake of the customers. We love it, that’s why he continues. In fact, he hates disappointing customers. Which is why, you’ll notice that he does not put up his Michelin Bib Gourmand sticker at his stall. With the sticker, comes more customers and if he does not meet their expectation or make them wait too long, he feels it as well.

This time, we ta paoed the $6 portion. As you can see, only sliced chili with no sambal…😭😭😭

With the loss of the sambal, we can sense that the end of a golden generation of fried hokkien prawn mee is near. Would someone step up to take over this skill from Uncle Toh? Or will his skills be lost and with it, a small little piece of Singapore’s taste and culture…

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We hope you have enjoyed our coverage of the Michelin Hawker Food in Singapore. Let us know your thoughts and some of your favourite Singapore hawker stalls in our comments section below!