While the focus of the Michelin Guide has also been the Michelin stars or the Bib Gourmand, I thought perhaps it is time to highlight those who has the “Michelin Plate”.
The “Michelin Plate” is a new distinction given to eateries serving a good meal that’s carefully prepared using fresh ingredients, and priced under $50.
In the Michelin Guide, you’ll see the plate icon beside the name of the establishment. That’s the L’Assiette Michelin. (However, they are not quite the same as “stars”, though there are customers who would lump all of them together.)
Well, if the Michelin inspectors marked it down, there must be something in it that could be worth your time.
And so I have gone down to almost single hawker stall in Singapore (I am just left with 2 more) which was awarded the “Michelin Plate”. You can read the individual reviews HERE.
Here are some of 10 Michelin Plate hawker stalls to check out for your next food trip:
Haig Road Putu Piring
Haig Road Food Center Blk 14, #01-07 Singapore 430014
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Mon – Sun)
Alwadi Coffeeshop – Onan Road
Tristar Complex (Beside Hotel 81-Tristar & Cheers)
970 Geylang Rd (parking @ Onan Rd), #01-02 Singapore 423492
Opening Hours: 12pm – 12am
Most recently, the stall owned by Ms Aisha Hashim and her family, is featured in Netflix’s new series “Street Food” – produced from the creators of Chef’s Table.
These Malay desserts look like the Chinese kueh tutu, but the origins are said to be from India.
The stalls continue to use the traditional method of making Putu Piring using the same recipe as when it was founded. The round cakes were made of ground rice flour, filled with gula Melaka (palm sugar) in the centre, covered with another layer of rice flour and then steamed in metal conical moulds for about 5 minutes.
Owner Mohamad Hashim first learnt how to make the putu piring from his grandmother, and had continues to do so for 20 years.
Since its founding, the franchise has grown to 4 branches including the original at the Haig Road Hawker Centre. His daughter and son-in-law continue to manage the stalls. Traditional Haig Road Putu Piring (Geylang Road)
Tiong Bahru Lien Fa Shui Jing Pau 中峇鲁聯發水晶包
120 Bukit Merah Lane 1, #01-10 Alexandra Village Food Centre, Singapore 150120
Tel: +65 6274 5561
Opening Hours: 8:30am – 3pm (Tue – Sat), Closed Sun, Mon
Tiong Bahru Lien Fa Shui Jing Bao 中峇鲁聯發水晶包 is perhaps one of the few stalls that still make Crystal Dumplings chwee jia bao entirely hand-made.
It is one of the stalls that originated from the Seng Poh Road Market that opened in 1951. (Demolished in 2004, it was later renamed to Tiong Bahru Market & Food Centre.)
The dumplings comes in 3 kinds of filling – sweet yam, sweet red bean, and savoury turnip. The savoury is priced at $0.80 per piece, while the sweet ones are at $0.90 per piece.
Note that there is a requirement of minimum order of 4 pieces.
While the savoury turnip dumplings the most popular, and pairs really well with a dab of the stall’s home-made chili, the sweet-filled dumplings have their own followers. Tiong Bahru Lien Fa Shui Jing Pau (Alexandra Village Food Centre)
Koh Brother Pig’s Organ Soup 许兄弟猪什汤
30 Seng Poh Road #02-29 Tiong Bahru Market and Food Centre, Singapore 168898
Tel: +65 8113 7218
Opening Hours: 8:30am-3:30pm (Tue – Sun), 6pm – 8:30pm (Tue – Sat), Closed Mon
Koh Brother Pig’s Organ Soup stall began in 1955 by a pioneer hawker named Koh Kee with a secret recipe and a push cart.
Now, his son and grandson run the business.
The Pig’s Organ Soup ($4.00, $5.00) comes with that special soup along with cut pieces of pig organs, such as pig liver, tripe, intestines, as well as pork belly and pork balls, lean meat.
The special element about this stall is their soup is a natural sweetness from the pig bones imparted to the stock, accentuated with slight saltiness from the vegetables.
Aside from the signature Pig’s Organ Soup, the stall serves Glutinous Rice with Stuffed Chestnuts Wrapped in Pig Intestine, another specialty. Koh Brother Pig’s Organ Soup (Tiong Bahru Food Centre)
Pin Wei Hong Kong Style Chee Cheong Fun
41A Cambridge Road #01-25 Pek Kio Market & Food Centre, Singapore 211041
Tel: +65 8180 2013
Opening Hours: 6:30am – 2pm (Thurs – Tues), Closed Wed
It is not usual to find fresh, hand-made Chee Cheong Fun in Singapore’s food centres, because of the required skills and dedication in making it.
Pin Wei Chee Cheong Fun is one of the few stalls that offer this dish Hong Kong-style. (Contrasted with the typical Singapore type which is thicker, dipped into a sweet, dark sauce.)
Owner Eddy Tan has been making it for more than 8 years, after learning the craft from his hawker father. (His father can sometimes be spotted at the back of the stall helping out.)
Pin Wei offers 4 variants available: the plain Cheong Fun ($2.20), Char Siew ($3.00); Prawns ($4.00); and Scallop ($4.50).
Please eat this while it is hot, the Chee Cheong Fun is so silky-smooth and gives you a pleasant mouthfeel that may just bring you back to Hong Kong.
Note: Waiting time can be quite long as they make every piece fresh. Pin Wei Hong Kong Style Chee Cheong Fun (Pek Kio)
Blanco Court Food Centre Kwap Chap (3rd Storey) 多丽哥粿汁
51 Old Airport Road, #01-135 Old Airport Road Food Centre, Singapore 390051
Opening Hours: 11am – 3pm (Wed – Fri, Sun), 10:30am – 3pm (Sat), Closed Mon, Tues
This stall has several names, from “Blanco Court Food Centre (3rd Storey)”, “Blanco Court Kway Chap” (unofficial name) to “To-Ricos Guo Shi”, so it may get a bit confusing for newbies or tourists.
They have sets for or 1 or 2 persons, and you can order an add-on if you like additional ingredients or innards.
The favourite part in the entire plate was the intestines, cut in large bite-size pieces, are spongy tender yet not springy. Interesting to note that the stall does not offer small intestines.
The other highlight was the kway itself, broad yet thin and slippery smooth.
The fragrant soy sauce broth was mildly sweet and herbal, complemented by the aroma of fried shallots. Blanco Court Food Centre Kwap Chap (Old Airport Food Centre)
Beach Road Fish Head Bee Hoon 美芝路鱼头米粉
91 Whampoa Drive, #01-46 Whampoa Makan Place, Singapore 320090
Opening Hours: 9am – 2pm (Sun – Tues, Thurs – Fri), Closed Wed, Sat
Though this famous stall is named “Beach Road Fish Head Bee Hoon”, it is actually located at the morning market of Whampoa Food Centre (Whampoa Makan Place).
There are choices of Sliced Fish Bee Hoon, Sliced Fish Soup, Fish Porridge, Seafood Soup and Special Tom Yum Soup, all priced inexpensively at $4.50 per bowl.
The Clear Fish Soup ($4.50) comes with a generous slices of fresh fish (5-6 thick slices) in a beautifully clear broth that is mildly sweet and salty at the same time.
Can be considered ”qing” (light) and not overly rich.
The subtle saltiness comes from the added fried flat fish/snakehead fish. The meat from the fish’s head is cooked well, firm enough to pick up with chopsticks but not rubbery. Beach Road Fish Head Bee Hoon (Whampoa Food Centre)
Chomp Chomp Satay
20 Kensington Park Road, #01-34 Chomp Chomp Food Centre, Singapore 557269
Opening Hours: 5:30pm – Late about midnight (Mon – Sun)
Priced at $0.70 per stick, the satay is available in pork, chicken, beef and mutton or ketupat, served with pineapple peanut sauce.
I ordered a combination of pork and chicken, and their well-marinated skewered satay meats are not overcooked so they turn out still tender and succulent.
Their charred exterior added a nice smoky taste that complemented the accompanying traditional peanut sauce.
I particularly liked the chicken satay which had slight sweet-honeyed coating, and was relatively juicy. My friend said it reminded of satays when he had as a child. Chomp Chomp Satay (Chomp Chomp Food Centre)
Hock Seng Choon Fish Ball Kway Teow Mee
16 Bedok South Road, #01-50 Bedok South Food Centre, Singapore 460016
Tel: +65 9789 6160
Opening Hours: 12pm – 11pm (Thurs – Tues), Closed Wed
Hock Seng Choon Fish Ball Kway Teow Mee has been around for over 20 years and still a popular choice at Bedok South Food Centre.
The stall’s specialty is the signature handmade fish balls.
Expect irregularly-shaped and not perfectly round ones with a texture that is tender yet firm, bouncy (not rubbery) with a good bite.
For $3, you get five plump fish balls.
Unlike other hawker stalls which add too much flour to extend the fish paste, Hong Seng Choon is generous with the fish paste made from scratch so you can taste the subtle sweetness of the ikan parang fish. Hock Seng Choon Fish Ball Kway Teow Mee (Bedok South Food Centre)
Teochew Handmade Pau 朝洲自制包点有限公司
127 Toa Payoh Lorong 1, #02-02 Tao Payoh West Market & Food Centre, Singapore 310127
Tel: +65 6254 2053
Opening Hours: 6am – 2pm (Tue – Sat), 6am – 12pm (Sun), Closed Mon
Teochew Handmade Pau 朝洲自制包点有限公司 at Toa Payoh Lor 1 Food Centre serves up small-sized dim sum items, and is relatively popular with residents around the area.
Their traditional paus are bite-sized and comes in delicious fillings, such as pork, lotus seed paste aka Longevity Pau, red bean paste, and home-made char siew.
Offerings include Char Siew Bao ($0.80), Small Pork Bao ($0.80), Red Bean Bao ($0.80), Lotus Paste Bao ($0.80), Lian Rong Shou Tao ($0.80), Glutinous Rice ($1.60), and Char Siew Rice ($1.60).
For the Char Siew Bao ($0.80), they grill their own char siew in the central kitchen before mincing to fully absorb the sauce.
With a 50:50 dough-to-filling ratio, the pau skin is delicate and puffs to a nice, smooth finish. Caster sugar is used to prevent it from being dimpled, while lard oil is added to the dough for added flavour. Teochew Handmade Pau (Toa Payoh Lor 1)
Ghim Moh Chwee Kueh 李老三
Blk 20, Ghim Moh Road #01-54, Singapore 270020
Opening Hours: 6:15am – 6:30pm (Mon – Sun)
Ghim Oh Chwee Kueh 李老三 is also one of the “Chwee Kueh legends”, with loyal customers and a long history since 1959.
Ghim Moh Chwee Kueh uses garlic and pork lard (instead of vegetable oil) which make their cai po (preserved radish) more fragrant.
The radish is the chunkier-than-usual type, and this make the radish chewier in texture.
Compared to the Jian Bo and Bedok styles I was used to, this was quite distinctly different, with the cai po being more salty-savoury than sweet. Also, there are no sesame seeds to be found.
Therefore, some customers may choose to go easy on the cai po as it can be strong, a bit salty and greasy. As for the condiments, Mr. Lee’s chili sauce is spicy and salty. Ghim Moh Chwee Kueh (Ghim Moh)
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