A Foodie Guide to Old Airport Road Food Centre
Did you know that Old Airport Road Food Centre is over 40 years old? This acclaimed hawker complex in Singapore features 150 stalls neatly arranged on a single floor.
If you’ve never been there, this guide can help you discover the best flavours this iconic hawker complex has to offer. So let’s explore the culinary delights of Old Airport Road Food Centre’s must-try stalls, shall we?
Roast Paradise
Address: 51 Old Airport Rd, #01-121, Singapore 390051 (Google Maps)
Contact: +65 9786 7396
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 11 AM – 7 PM
Price: $$
Roast Paradise specialises in thick, caramelised slabs of KL-style roasted pork, featuring crisp edges and a savoury explosion of flavours. Its roasted pork belly, or sio bak, offers a crunchy crackling and layers of melt-in-mouth fat.
For just S$4.50, you can opt to eat it with rice or noodles. The accompanying rice is akin to chicken rice, exuding a delightful fragrance without being overly dense.
Pro-tip: Customisable cuts are available, catering to individual preferences for fat content.
Western Barbeque
Address: 51 Old Airport Rd, #01-53, Singapore 390051 (Google Maps)
Contact: +6588900353
Hours: Daily, 11 AM – 11 PM
Price: $$
Established in 1974 by Mr Lim Yu Pei, Western Barbeque is a classic Western stall known for its fried and grilled dishes. Mr. Lim’s children are now actively involved in daily operations.
The menu highlights a proprietary garlic sauce that gives a fragrant addition to dishes like pork chop, lamb chop, sirloin steak, and mixed grill. The chicken chop, with succulent, tender, slightly charred skin, is a must-try!
Pro-tip: The most cost-effective option here is the mixed grill (S$11), featuring chicken, lamb, and pork chop, accompanied by coleslaw and fries.
Albert Street Big Prawn Noodle
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Address: 51 Old Airport Rd, #01-10, Singapore 390051 (Google Maps)
Contact: +65 6756 0266
Hours: Daily (except Wednesdays), 8.30 AM – 9.30 PM
Price: $$
Albert Street Big Prawn Noodle excels with its standout dish: a S$17 bowl of noodles featuring large Angka prawns.
Fresh prawns and an excellent soup make this hawker stall a crowd fave. The broth, though unassuming, surprises with a delightful light sweetness and intense prawn flavour.
If you opt for the dry version with mee kia, expect the al dente noodles to come with a spicy mix of seasonings and lard.
Pro-tip: Chat up the friendly auntie at the stall, and you’ll have the bonus of soup top-ups!
Xiang Ji Lor Mee
Address: 51 Old Airport Rd, #01-81, Singapore 390051 (Google Maps)
Contact: +65 6756 0266
Hours: Daily (except Tuesdays), 7 AM – 3 PM
Price: $
Xiang Ji Lor Mee offers a flavourful dish with perfectly balanced gravy (not too starchy or watery) and abundant ingredients. You can enhance the taste by combining condiments like raw minced garlic, sambal, chilli padi, and vinegar.
Toppings include fried fish flakes, fish chunks, pork belly slices, ngoh hiang (deep-fried stuffed beancurd skin), half a hard-boiled egg, bean sprouts, chopped red chillies, and sambal (chilli-based condiment) for a perfect level of heat.
Pro-tip: The S$3 small portion excludes fish but has the same garlicky gravy.
Qiu Rong Ban Mian
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Address: 51 Old Airport Rd, #01-64, Singapore 390051 (Google Maps)
Contact: +6597398618
Hours: Daily, 11 AM – 9 PM
Price: $
Qiu Rong Ban Mian, situated at the rear of Old Airport Road Hawker Centre, offers handmade noodles in ban mian (flattened noodles) dishes along with a variety of seafood, bee hoon (rice vermicelli), mee suah (wheat vermicelli), and soup options.
If you want an elevated version of mee suah, try the chicken mee suah in red wine (S$4.50) It has chunky chicken and flour vermicelli noodles in a red wine vinegar-like broth!
Pro-tip: The ABC Soup is ideal for rainy weather or a comforting meal to warm up.
To-Ricos Kway Chap
Address: 51 Old Airport Rd, #135, Singapore 390051 (Google Maps)
Contact: +6589230892
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10 AM – 2.30 PM
Price: $$
While kway chap (flat rice sheets in broth) may be underrated due to its use of pork innards, To-Ricos at Old Airport Road Food Centre is proving to be a game-changer.
Its light broth and mixed platter offer a variety of braised pork cuts, tofu, beancurd puffs, and braised eggs. Those hemming and hawing at this dish should know that it features impeccably cleaned innards, and the stall won a Michelin Bib Gourmand award in 2022.
Pro-tip: Expect a queue during peak hours, but it moves faster compared to other stalls.
Freshly Made Chee Cheong Fun
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Address: 51 Old Airport Rd, #01-155, Singapore 390051 (Google Maps)
Contact: +65 6756 0266
Hours: Tuesday to Thursday, 8 AM – 2.30 PM; Friday to Sunday, 8 AM – 7 PM
Price: $
Freshly Made Chee Cheong Fun creates rice rolls on-site upon order. Run by two sisters, this second-generation hawker stall has thrived for 24 years.
There’s a good variety of flavours to choose from: mushroom, BBQ pork, prawn, and unique options such as otah (fish cake), century egg, turnip, and scallops. The century egg has a creamy texture that perfectly complements the plain rice rolls.
Pro-tip: If you want something more filling, the menu also offers pork liver mee sua, sliced fish congee, and prawn rolls.
Salt
Address: 51 Old Airport Rd, #01-128, Singapore 390051 (Google Maps)
Contact: +6588827258
Hours: Daily (except Fridays and Sundays), noon-2.30 PM and 5 – 8.30 PM
Price: $
Salt offers unapologetically fried delights with generous portions. Its spotlight item, fried chicken, features an ultra-crisp batter in flavours like soy garlic, spicy Korean, salt and pepper, and Thai chilli lime.
Despite its name, Salt emphasises well-seasoned and tasty food. Its rice has a flavourful wok hei, and the chicken is crispy, juicy, and non-greasy.
Pro-tip: For the extra peckish, additional options include a chicken cutlet aglio olio and creamy carbonara.
Famous Old Airport Fried Oyster
Address: 51 Old Airport Rd, #01-101 Food Centre, Singapore 390051 (Google Maps)
Contact: +65 89330263
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 11 AM – 9.30 PM
Price: $$
Famous Old Airport Fried Oyster lives up to its name with the standout fried oyster (from $4), best enjoyed with piquant chilli. The dish features crisp edges and a starchy middle, showcasing fresh, plump oysters for a delightful burst of brininess.
The chef’s crispier version is favoured by the younger generation, with hearty eggs and flour chunks, distinguishing it from the fried oyster competitor that this stall calls “fake.”
Pro-tip: Spot the signage drama between this stall and another fried oyster hawker in the vicinity. We recommend getting better value for money at this one, though!
Cho Kee Noodle
Address: 51 Old Airport Rd, #01-04 Food Centre, Singapore 390051 (Google Maps)
Contact: +6594550963
Hours: Monday to Friday, 11 AM – 9 PM
Price: $
Established in 1965, Cho Kee Noodle, now in its 3rd generation, impressively crafts its noodles, char siew, wanton, and dumplings. Its unique noodle options include beetroot, spinach, whole grain, and more.
The bowl includes spinach mee kia (thin noodles), char siew slices, three fried wantons, a couple of steamed wantons, green veggies, and pickled green chilli. So cheap yet so delicious and filling!
Pro-tip: Don’t be surprised by the colour of the beetroot noodle, as it may look bland, but it packs a lot of flavour.
Toa Payoh Rojak
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Address: 51 Old Airport Rd, #01-108 Food Centre, Singapore 390051 (Google Maps)
Contact: +6569589380
Hours: Monday to Saturday, noon-7 PM
Price: $
Founded by Mr Cheng Kong Sang in 1970, Toa Payoh Rojak, now located at Old Airport Road for nearly 20 years, is renowned for grilling its tiao and tau pok (fried dough and stuffed tofu) before adding them to the rojak (Asian salad) mix.
The menu only offers three sizes priced at S$3, S$4, and S$5. The rojak sauce, made with Penang prawn paste, lime juice, sugar, and slices of young ginger flower, is sticky and rich. It’s also generously topped with coarse-ground roasted peanuts.
Pro-tip: Unfortunately, the S$3 option can’t be ordered for takeaway.
Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee
Address: 51 Old Airport Rd, #01-32, Singapore 390051 (Google Maps)
Contact: +6564405340
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 AM – 6 PM
Price: $
Before saying goodbye to Old Airport Road food centre, don’t forget to visit a heritage stall—Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee. It’s renowned for its Hokkien mee with prawns, squid, and eggs.
Since 1960, this eatery, managed by 75-year-old Mr. Ng Hock Wah, has focused on this signature dish.
The noodles are tossed in a flavorful broth made from prawn shells and tomalley (the soft delicacy found in crustaceans’ and lobsters’ bodies).
Pro-tip: The stall uses cut chillies instead of sambal, so you might want to adjust your spiciness preferences based on that.