Fengshan Market & Food Centre (Bedok 85)

Two bak chor mee stalls, side by side, and a whole neighbourhood that has picked a side.

Bedok 85 is the east's supper centre, and worth the trip if you come late, in a group, ready to queue in parallel. Officially it is the market and food centre at Blk 85 Bedok North Street 4; everyone calls it Bedok 85, and almost nobody comes for breakfast. The compromise is timing: most stalls open in the afternoon or evening, several take different days off, and a few of the best plates sell out or close early. Check your stalls before a special trip, then go hungry.

The great debate

The centre's argument sits in two neighbouring units. Xing Ji Rou Cuo Mian at #01-07 and Seng Hiang Bak Chor Mee at #01-08 both do soup-style minced meat noodles, and both have their partisans. We are not going to settle it for you. Order one of each, put them in the middle of the table and judge for yourself; the loser still gets eaten.

Follow the smoke

Chomp Chomp BBQ at #01-44 does hotplate sambal stingray, with crayfish if you are feeling flush. Sin Bedok North BBQ Chicken Wings at #01-12 grills wings over charcoal. 85 Bedok North Fried Oyster is there if someone at the table insists on orh luak.

Come earlier for these

Some plates need you to arrive before supper proper. Shi Wei Da at #01-41 sells satay bee hoon from the afternoon until it runs out, so it is an early-evening order. Fu Zhou Oyster Cake, one of the few keepers of this rare hawker snack, fries each one to order and closes by early evening. Chai Chee Pork Porridge runs two units, one by day and one into the small hours; add the raw egg.

Dessert with a pedigree

75 Ah Balling Peanut Soup traces back to founder Aw Kim Chye's pushcart on Jalan Sultan in 1947, before a move to Golden Mile in 1975. Glutinous rice balls in warm peanut soup are exactly what a humid night does not ask for and somehow needs anyway.

How to do it well

It is a short walk from Bedok North MRT. Arrive early in the evening if the oyster cake and satay bee hoon are on your list, later if it is a pure supper run. Send one person to each bak chor mee queue, one to the wings and one to hold the table. You won't settle the bak chor mee question tonight, but you will have a very good time not settling it.

What to order

• Soup-style bak chor mee · Xing Ji Rou Cuo Mian · #01-07Soup-style bak chor mee; one half of the rivalry. Check its rest day before you go.
• Bak chor mee, soup or dry · Seng Hiang Bak Chor Mee · #01-08The neighbour in the rivalry, soup or dry. Check its rest day before you go.
• Hotplate sambal stingray · Chomp Chomp BBQ · #01-44Hotplate sambal stingray; add crayfish if you are feeling flush.
• Satay bee hoon · Shi Wei Da · #01-41From the afternoon until sold out, so make it an early-evening order.
• BBQ chicken wings · Sin Bedok North BBQ Chicken Wings · #01-12Charcoal-grilled wings, the default order while someone queues for noodles.
• Glutinous rice balls in peanut soup · 75 Ah Balling Peanut Soup · #01-25Heritage brand dating to a 1947 pushcart on Jalan Sultan.

Good to know Blk 85 Bedok North Street 4, a short walk from Bedok North MRT. Most stalls open in the afternoon or evening and several close weekly on different days, so check your stalls before a special trip.

Fengshan Market & Food Centre (Bedok 85) | Blk 85 Bedok North Street 4, Singapore 460085 | Nearest MRT: Bedok North