Old Airport Road Food Centre

Kallang Airport closed decades ago. The queues at the end of its runway never did.

Old Airport Road is the hawker centre to take a visitor to if they want to understand why Singaporeans argue about hawker centres, and the way to do it is an early weekday lunch with a friend and an appetite. Three Bib Gourmand stalls, a lor mee counter worth the queue and an award-winning chicken cutlet sit under one roof. The compromise is that the famous names keep their own hours and rest days, so build the visit around three or four stalls rather than one.

The building has history worth a sentence. It went up in 1973 with 168 stalls beside what was once a runway for Kallang Airport, Singapore's first civilian airport, and a good number of today's tenants have been at their woks for almost as long. A tidy-up in 2024 brought huge fans, extra lighting and new toilets, which is as much renovation as anyone here wants.

Start with the stall that has done one thing its entire life. Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee, at #01-32, holds a Bib Gourmand, and it has sold only this dish since 1960. The noodles and bee hoon are fried down in a broth built from prawn shells and heads. It does not keep regular days, so treat it as a lucky find rather than the plan.

The 2025 Bib Gourmand list added two more stalls from this centre: To-Ricos Kway Chap, with flat rice noodles and a platter of braised pork and offal, and Lao Fu Zi Fried Kway Teow at #01-12, where the wok does the talking. Over at #01-116, Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee does thick, starchy gravy noodles; go early, because the pot is finite.

Not everything is vintage. Roast Paradise at #01-121 does Kuala Lumpur-style char siew, and SALT at #01-128, which turns out chicken-focused Western plates such as chicken cutlet with soy garlic fried rice, picked up an Enterprising Hawker Award in 2025. Finish with a Penang-style fried kway teow from Dong Ji or a Nyonya cendol if there is still room (there is always room for cendol).

How to do it well. Stall hours run from breakfast-only kopi counters to grills that go on until late, and several of the famous names close one or two days a week, so check the stall you are after before you set out. Go early on a weekday, graze across three or four stalls before the lunch crowd arrives, and bring a packet of tissues to chope a seat, a friend to guard the table and a strategy. Dakota MRT is the nearest station. Go hungry, go early and go back.

What to order

• Prawn Hokkien fried mee · Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee · #01-32Bib Gourmand in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide; Michelin says it has sold only this dish since 1960. Irregular days off, so have a back-up stall in mind.
• Kway chap with a mixed platter of braised pork and offal · To-Ricos Kway Chap · #01-135/136New to the Bib Gourmand list in 2025. Order the mixed platter so the table can share.
• Fried kway teow · Lao Fu Zi Fried Kway Teow · #01-12Added to the Bib Gourmand list in 2025. The one to order if you only have room for a single plate of noodles.
• Signature lor mee · Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee · #01-116Thick, starchy gravy noodles. Go early rather than late.
• Char siew rice · Roast Paradise · #01-121Kuala Lumpur-style roast meats. Expect to wait at lunch, or come earlier.
• Signature chicken cutlet with soy garlic fried rice · SALT · #01-128Won an Enterprising Hawker Award in 2025. The Western plate for anyone who has had enough noodles.

Good to know The centre is at 51 Old Airport Road; Dakota MRT is the nearest station. Individual stalls keep their own hours and rest days, and several sell out early, so check the stall you are after before making the trip.

Old Airport Road Food Centre | 51 Old Airport Road, Singapore 390051 | Nearest MRT: Dakota