One good thing about Buangkok Hawker Centre is that you are not stuck choosing from the same familiar hawker dishes. Take one round and you will find everything from Japanese mazes Oba and Vietnamese pho to old-school Cantonese porridge, fried chicken wings, zi char and Heng Hwa favourites.

That variety also makes this a rather easy place to visit with a group. Someone can be craving noodles, another person can have fried rice, while the person who insists on “just having something light” can conveniently disappear with a bowl of porridge.

We tried our way around the hawker centre and picked out 9 stalls that are worth considering on your next visit.

01. Menya Horikawa (#02-K34)

Signature Dish: Dry Ramen / Mazesoba — $7.90
Operating Hours: 11.30am – 8.30pm daily

I initially thought the Dry Ramen (Mazesoba) ($7.90) looked rather simple. The bowl arrived with minced meat, seaweed, a poached egg and sliced scallions, and I chose the regular portion.

The wait was surprisingly short at around five minutes — just enough time for me to buy a drink and return before the noodles were ready.

The real fun starts once everything is thoroughly mixed. Break the egg, fold the minced meat through the noodles and make sure the seaweed and scallions get distributed properly. There is chilli powder available at the stall too, and I strongly recommend adding a little if you enjoy some heat.

That small addition made quite a difference for me. The noodles carried plenty of savoury, umami character, while the chilli brought a gentle warmth that made each mouthful moreish rather than simply spicy.

For what appears to be quite an uncomplicated bowl, there is considerably more going on once you start eating it.

If you want to turn it into a fuller meal, Menya Horikawa also has Cold Tofu, Boiled Dumplings with Ponzu Sauce and Edamame, priced at $2.90 each.

This is one stall I would return to when I am in the mood for something richer than the usual soup noodles.

02. Fat Fat Food (#02-K32)

Signature Dish: Porridge
Operating Hours: 7.30am – 8pm daily

Choosing porridge here might take longer than expected because Fat Fat Food offers 16 different varieties.

We settled on the Mixed Porridge, which brings together pork balls, pork slices, cuttlefish and pig liver in one bowl.

This is very much the Cantonese style of porridge I enjoy — the rice has been cooked down until the consistency becomes smooth and comforting, making it particularly easy to eat for breakfast or on one of those days when you do not feel like tackling anything too heavy.

What helps is the contrast from the crispy fried fritters scattered over the top. Leave them sitting in the porridge and they gradually soak up the flavour; eat them early and you still get that crunchy bite. I personally prefer doing a bit of both.

There is also enough variety here that you do not necessarily need to order the mixed version every time.

Some of the more affordable choices include the Handmade Meat Ball Porridge ($3.50), while the Century Egg Minced Meat Porridge ($4) and Pork Liver Meatball Porridge ($4) are good options if you prefer something a little more substantial.

For a straightforward bowl of old-school Cantonese comfort food, Fat Fat Food does the job nicely.

03. Petit Saigon Vietnam Street Food (#02-K31)

Signature Dish: Pho / Banh Mi
Operating Hours: 10am – 8.30pm daily

Petit Saigon turned out to be a pleasant surprise, particularly because both dishes we tried had their own appeal.

The Pho Beef ($8.50) comes with beef slices swimming in a clear, comforting broth. Rather than being aggressively seasoned, the soup is the sort you can comfortably keep sipping between mouthfuls of noodles.

It makes for a satisfying bowl when you want Vietnamese food but are not necessarily after something extremely rich.

That said, my favourite was probably the Chicken Banh Mi ($6).

The French-style loaf gets the important part right: crisp around the outside while remaining soft in the middle. There is a generous amount of grilled chicken tucked inside, accompanied by just enough pickled vegetables to brighten up the sandwich.

I liked that the pickles did not take over the entire flavour of the banh mi. Instead, you still get plenty of grilled chicken in each bite, with the vegetables providing the occasional sharp, refreshing contrast.

At $6, it is also fairly substantial.

There may be a little waiting involved during busier periods, but if I had to choose between rushing out an average banh mi and waiting a few extra minutes for a good one, I know which I would rather have.

04. Chef Wang Fried Rice (#02-K28)

Signature Dish: Fried Rice
Operating Hours: 10.30am – 9pm daily

If Chef Wang sounds familiar, that is probably because the brand has outlets scattered around Singapore.

The stall specialises in Chinese-style egg fried rice using what it describes as crystal rice, and the cooking style may remind some diners of the fried rice served at Din Tai Fung — except that prices here start considerably lower.

A basic Egg Fried Rice costs $4.20, while other choices include Luncheon Meat Fried Rice ($6.20), Shrimp Fried Rice ($6.90) and Pork Chop Fried Rice ($6.90).

We went for the Pork Chop Fried Rice.

What I liked first was the rice itself. Each grain remained fairly distinct, with egg distributed throughout and a noticeable wok aroma coming through as you ate.

The pork chop turned out to be more than just something placed on top to justify the higher price. It was nicely seasoned and easy to bite through, and having a piece of pork together with a spoonful of fried rice made the dish considerably more satisfying.

For $6.90, the portion also works well as a straightforward lunch.

Chef Wang is not trying to reinvent fried rice here. It is familiar, uncomplicated and done competently — which, some days, is exactly what you want.

05. Jue Shuang Braised Delights (#02-K24)

Signature Dish: Signature Lor Mee — $6
Operating Hours: 9am – 7.30pm
Closed: Tuesday

A queue is usually a fairly convincing way to make me curious, and that was how Jue Shuang Braised Delights first caught our attention.

The stall is run by two friendly aunties and specialises in lor mee, so naturally we went straight for the Signature Lor Mee ($6).

One small detail immediately stood out.

Instead of simply spooning the usual chopped garlic over the noodles, Jue Shuang uses a much finer garlic paste. It is more delicate and almost watery in consistency, so once mixed into the gravy, you get the garlic fragrance spread more evenly throughout the bowl.

Then there is the lor itself.

The gravy is thick enough to cling properly to the noodles and ingredients, but it still has a pleasant braised fragrance rather than tasting like nothing more than starch and seasoning.

There is also no shortage of toppings, which helps make the $6 bowl feel like a proper meal.

Add some chilli and the character changes again. You get a little heat cutting through the heavier gravy, while the garlic continues lingering in the background.

Lor mee can sometimes look like a rather messy brown bowl when it arrives at the table, but this was one of those cases where appearance really was not the point. Mix everything up, get a little of each topping with the noodles, and it becomes very satisfying indeed.

06. Eng Kee Chicken Wings (#02-K13)

Signature Dish: Fried Chicken Wings
Operating Hours:
Tuesday – Friday: 11am – 8pm
Saturday & Sunday: 9.30am – 8pm
Closed: Monday

There are some foods that you know are going to be good the moment they are handed across the counter piping hot.

Eng Kee’s fried chicken wings fall into that category.

The wings arrive a gorgeous golden brown, with a properly fried exterior that produces that satisfying little crackle when you bite into it. Inside, the meat remains juicy and separates easily from the bone.

More importantly, they taste like good old-fashioned fried chicken wings.

There is something rather nostalgic about them — no elaborate sauce, no cheese powder, no complicated toppings. Just a well-marinated chicken wing fried until the skin develops the right texture and aroma.

We paired ours with bee hoon and a fried egg, which turned the chicken wings into a proper hawker meal.

Do not ignore the chilli either. A small dip adds enough spice and acidity to cut through the fried exterior, especially after you have already demolished your first wing.

Would I order just one?

Probably not.

These are the sort of chicken wings where one disappears very quickly, followed by that brief moment when you look at your plate and wonder why you did not order another.

07. Yi Hong Wok (#02-K46)

Signature Dish: Cze Char / Signature Hor Fun
Operating Hours: 11am – 8.30pm daily

There are two things I noticed about Yi Hong Wok: the portions are quite respectable for the price, and its hor fun is definitely not the usual slippery-soft version you encounter at most zi char stalls.

The Signature Hor Fun costs $6 and comes packed with a good amount of seafood and pork slices.

What caught me off guard was the texture of the noodles.

Because of the way they are fried, the hor fun develops an unusually chewy, slightly springy quality. “Mochi-like” might sound like a strange description for hor fun, but once you try it, you will understand where the comparison comes from.

Some diners will probably love this texture immediately; others may need a few mouthfuls to get used to it. I personally appreciated that it gave the dish its own identity instead of tasting like another generic plate of seafood hor fun.

For $6, there is also plenty going on between the prawns, other seafood and pork slices.

Another little detail that impressed us was the fried egg add-on at just 60 cents. With many stalls now charging around a dollar or more, seeing 60 cents almost feels like discovering prices from another era.

The Mee Goreng is another dish worth considering. It comes with prawns, squid and lala, carrying a noticeable wok-fired aroma and a savoury seasoning that works well with the noodles.

If value matters to you, Yi Hong Wok is one stall worth keeping in mind.

08. Ming Chung White Lor Mee (#02-K06)

Signature Dish: Heng Hwa Style Fried Bee Hoon
Operating Hours: 11.30am – 2.30pm, 5pm – 9pm
Closed: Monday & Thursday

For something slightly different from the usual hawker noodle dishes, Ming Chung White Lor Mee specialises in Heng Hwa-style cuisine.

We tried the Fried Bee Hoon ($6.50), which came with a generous serving of clams and vegetables together with two prawns.

Do not expect the bee hoon to resemble your typical fried economic bee hoon.

The noodles here are finer and noticeably drier, allowing them to soak up the savoury flavours from the other ingredients rather than being coated in a wet sauce. The clams are particularly useful here because their natural brininess adds another layer to what might otherwise be a fairly simple noodle dish.

Then there is the stall’s White Lor Mee.

Unlike the dark, thick-gravy lor mee most Singaporeans immediately picture, this version comes in a pale broth that feels considerably lighter on the palate.

The soup has a clean, refreshing quality, while the noodles are soft enough to eat comfortably and help make the bowl surprisingly filling.

Between the two, I would choose the fried bee hoon when I want something with stronger seafood character, and the white lor mee on days when I prefer a gentler bowl of noodles.

Either way, it is a nice change from the more familiar hawker staples.

09. RIZQIA Muslim Food (#02-K03)

Signature Dish: Mee Goreng / Kambing Soup
Operating Hours: 10.30am – 9.30pm
Closed: Monday

Sometimes the dish that surprises you is not necessarily the one you originally came looking for.

At RIZQIA Muslim Food, we ordered the Kway Teow Bee Hoon Goreng ($5), and I ended up enjoying it more than expected.

This is not the dry, slightly stiff style of goreng. The noodles retain some moisture, which allows the seasoning to coat the kway teow and bee hoon nicely. Bits of mutton scattered throughout add little savoury bursts every few mouthfuls.

For $5, it is a satisfying plate.

Personally, I would have loved some cucumber, raw onion and green chilli served alongside it. Those fresh, sharp accompaniments would give the fried noodles a nice contrast, but that is more personal preference than complaint.

We also tried the Kambing Soup.

The broth is pleasantly savoury, but it was actually the mutton that caught my attention. The pieces were soft enough to pull apart easily and had a good mixture of lean meat and fatty portions — something I personally enjoy because the fattier pieces contribute plenty of flavour to the soup.

The kambing soup comes in small, medium and large portions.

If you are already ordering noodles or rice, the small bowl should be enough for two people to share as a side dish.

My preferred combination? A plate of the goreng in the middle of the table and a bowl of kambing soup alongside it. A little fried, a little soupy — best of both worlds.

Buangkok Hawker Centre

📍 Address:
70 Compassvale Bow, Singapore 544692

Nearest MRT: Buangkok MRT (NE15) — about 2–4 minutes’ walk.

With everything from mazesoba and pho to lor mee, porridge, fried chicken wings and Heng Hwa dishes under one roof, Buangkok Hawker Centre has enough variety to make repeat visits worthwhile.

The interesting part is that several of these stalls bring something slightly different to otherwise familiar dishes — whether it is Jue Shuang’s garlic paste in its lor mee, Yi Hong Wok’s unusually chewy hor fun or Ming Chung’s lighter Heng Hwa-style noodles.