Hong Lim Market & Food Centre

The char kway teow stall opens at 6am. Breakfast is the strategy, not the eccentricity.

Hong Lim is Chinatown's lunch hawker centre for people who will plan around a plate: a Bib Gourmand char kway teow that opens at 6am, a curry chicken noodle rivalry that splits the building by floor and a third-generation wanton mee promoted to a Bib Gourmand in 2025. The compromise is that it is built around the weekday lunch crowd. Many stalls close by mid-afternoon and some open only a few days a week, so go late morning or after 1.30pm, and check the stall you are coming for.

The building opened in 1978, one of the first proper hawker centres in Chinatown, and had a facelift in 2011 for ventilation and seats. Nobody comes for the architecture. You come for the upper floor, which is where most of the list below lives.

Start with Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee at #02-17, a Bib Gourmand plate fried with cockles, bean sprouts and lard. It opens at 6am and runs until mid-afternoon, Monday to Saturday, and our advice is to treat it as breakfast. Char kway teow before work sounds like a dare; it is actually a plan.

Then pick a side in the curry chicken noodle question. Upstairs, Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee at #02-58/59 was founded in 1967, is now run by the second generation and stays open until 9pm, rare for this centre. Downstairs, Heng Kee Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee at #01-58 appeared in the Michelin Guide in 2023 and 2024. The only fair method is to try both, on different days, and argue about it for years (which is how most Singaporean food opinions are formed).

Ji Ji Noodle House at #02-48/49 is the newest star turn, promoted to a Bib Gourmand in 2025 and in the 2026 guide. The family business traces its roots to 1965 and is now run by the third generation; order the char siew wanton noodles with fried wonton and pork crackling, and take the homemade chilli.

Spend any remaining appetite on Tuck Kee (Ipoh) Sah Hor Fun at #02-40, nearly 50 years old and known for rice noodles with crayfish and prawn, which cost more than most bowls here, or on the laksa at Famous Sungei Road Trishaw Laksa at #02-66. Finish with tau huay from DDSD, a couple-run beancurd stall upstairs.

How to do it well: Hong Lim is at Blk 531A Upper Cross Street, near Chinatown MRT. Come late morning, before the office lunch hour, or after 1.30pm once it has passed, and don't plan dinner here unless dinner is Ah Heng. Bring small change, a tissue packet to chope a seat and something to read in the queue.

What to order

• Char kway teow with cockles · Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee · #02-17Bib Gourmand; opens at 6am Monday to Saturday, so make it breakfast.
• Char siew wanton noodles · Ji Ji Noodle House · #02-48/49Bib Gourmand since 2025 and in the 2026 guide; a third-generation family business. Take the homemade chilli.
• Curry chicken bee hoon mee · Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee · #02-58/59Founded 1967; the upstairs side of the curry noodle argument, and open later than most here.
• Curry chicken bee hoon mee · Heng Kee Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee · #01-58In the Michelin Guide in 2023 and 2024; the downstairs side of the argument.
• Crayfish prawn hor fun · Tuck Kee (Ipoh) Sah Hor Fun · #02-40Nearly 50 years of history; costs more than most bowls here.
• Laksa · Famous Sungei Road Trishaw Laksa · #02-66Laksa upstairs; a good second bowl if you're sharing.

Good to know Hong Lim is at Blk 531A Upper Cross Street, near Chinatown MRT. Many stalls close by mid-afternoon and some open only a few days a week, so check the stall's hours before you go.

Hong Lim Market & Food Centre | Blk 531A Upper Cross Street, Singapore 051531 | Nearest MRT: Chinatown