If you want to find good food, go where the locals go. Nowhere is this adage truer than for Alexandra Village Food Centre, an understated hawker centre tucked away in the heart of Bukit Merah.
Photo: HDB
Locals frequent the understated single-storey food haven, heedless of its gritty exterior and proximity to nearby automobile repair shops and industrial buildings, for one simple reason — the food is simply top notch.
There are around 90 stalls at the hawker centre, many of which were first started — and have continued to operate — since Alexandra Village Food Centre was erected back in 1977. Read on and find out where to go for a meal in this humble heartland hawker centre.
Bib Gourmand • Inspectors’ favourites for good value
Alexandra Village Food Centre, #01-51, Blk 120 Bukit Merah Lane 1, Singapore
Hong Kong Yummy Soup
Bib GourmandMICHELIN Guide Singapore 2024
An immigrant couple from Hong Kong turned their love for nourishing Cantonese double-boiled soups into a thriving hawker stall when they opened the simply named Hong Kong Yummy Soup in 2014. Each of the ingredients in the stall’s array of soups are selected for their health-boosting properties — think lotus root or winter melon — making for a meal that’s equal parts delicious and wholesome at an eminently affordable price.
Alexandra Village Food Centre, #01-18, Blk 120 Bukit Merah Lane 1, Singapore
Leon Kee Claypot Pork Rib Soup
SelectedMICHELIN Guide Singapore 2024
Leon Kee Claypot Pork Rib Soup serves a robust pork rib broth that lies somewhere between the peppery Singapore version and its more herbaceous Malaysian cousin up north. It’s best enjoyed with a bowl of white rice, though you might want to leave some room for the hawker’s side dishes, which include braised pig’s intestines, sesame oil chicken, and tender pig’s liver served piping hot in a claypot.
Alexandra Village Food Centre, #01-10, Blk 120 Bukit Merah Lane 1, Singapore
Tiong Bahru Lien Fa Shui Jing Pau
SelectedMICHELIN Guide Singapore 2024
This is one of the few establishments remaining in Singapore that still serve handmade crystal dumplings, characterised by their chewy, almost-elastic skin, cradling a variety of fillings. The artisans behind the stall are two brothers, who inherited the recipe from their hawker father, and continue to preserve his culinary legacy by taking no shortcuts. The yam paste, red bean paste, and crunchy jicama filling peeking out beneath the translucent dumpling skin are all prepared daily by hand, and you can taste the freshness.
Alexandra Village Food Centre, #01-56, Blk 120 Bukit Merah Lane 1, Singapore
Zhang Ji Shanghai La Mian Xiao Long Bao
SelectedMICHELIN Guide Singapore 2024
Long queues are a daily occurrence at Zhang Ji Shanghai La Mian Xiao Long Bao, most popular for its Shanghainese dumplings like xiao long bao (pork dumplings brimming with piping hot soup) and guo tie (crispy pan-fried dumplings) made by a Nanjing-born husband-and-wife duo. The stall also sells hearty noodle bowls in a variety of sweet or sour-spicy soups and toppings are also available should you require something more substantial.
Alexandra Village Food Centre, #01-15, Blk 120 Bukit Merah Lane 1, Singapore
Zi Jing Cheng Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice
SelectedMICHELIN Guide Singapore 2024
This hawker stall serves a mean rendition of Singapore’s national dish, choosing to focus only on the poached version of the bird, deboned for customers’ convenience. The silky-smooth chicken is paired with a sweet-savoury soy sauce and served with the customary ginger chilli. Don’t forget the achar (spicy pickled cucumbers, pineapple, and carrot) to cut through the rich, fragrant oil rice.
