Toa Payoh Lorong 5 Food Centre: 10 Hawker Stalls to Try

Among the many hawker centres dotted throughout the Toa Payoh area is Toa Payoh Lorong 5 Food Centre. It’s located roughly equal distance from Braddell MRT station and Toa Payoh MRT station – a pleasant 15-minute stroll or short bus ride to be exact.

Despite only accommodating around 35 vendors, this humble establishment has a raft of options to suit just about every palate. Here’s what you should sample on your visit, including comforting noodle dishes, scrumptious satay and refreshing desserts.

Toa Payoh Lorong 5 Food Centre is at 75 Lorong 5 Toa Payoh, Singapore 310075.

1. Song Kee Kway Teow Noodle Soup

At Song Kee Kway Teow Noodle Soup, you can expect old-school portions of fish ball noodles. About $4 gets you a standard serving. We like the dry option, where the noodles are tossed in a savoury sauce (which can be made spicy if you wish) and crowned with fish balls and meatballs. You also get a small bowl of soup on the side, and can fork out a bit extra for additional ingredients like fish dumplings.

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2. Da Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice

Hoof it over to this vendor – which has a seemingly never-ending queue – to dine on Hainanese chicken rice. It's not just steamed and roast chicken you can savour at this establishment, it also makes fried chicken wings that are juicy and super crispy. You can sample both items with flavoured rice and cucumber wedges, and don’t forget to nab some dark soy sauce and zingy chilli sauce. Anticipate paying around $5 and up.

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3. Chaoyang Prawn Noodle

If you love prawn noodles and need to satisfy your late-night hankerings, pay a visit to Chaoyang Prawn Noodle, which remains open until 11pm. The prawn noodles are available in dry and soup versions, which feature prawns, pork slices, beansprouts and your choice of noodles, plus a light yet flavourful broth. You can also opt for bowls with pork ribs, crayfish, Pacific clams or pig's tail. Expect to pay upwards of approximately $5.

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4. Cockle Fried Kway Teow

Treat yourself to some fried kway teow at Cockle Fried Kway Teow, a popular joint that slings up mouth-watering servings of the dish that. Each portion (roughly $4) includes noodles, Chinese sausage, egg, fishcake slices and cockles, and will please those who like a wetter rendition of the dish. For something a little different, you can order the “white” option that’s prepared sans dark soy sauce.

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5. Fang Yuan Satay

Presently helmed by a third-generation owner, Fang Yuan Satay whips up Chinese-style chicken and pork satay based on a recipe passed down from the owner’s grandfather. The skewers (roughly 80 cents each) are succulent on the inside, with nicely charred bits on the outside courtesy of the charcoal grill. The sticks are served with cucumber and red onion slices, plus peanut dipping sauce or a freshly grated pineapple sauce upon request.

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6. Toa Payoh Hotplate BBQ Fish

This well-trafficked stall doles out barbecue items: from sizzling sambal stingray, sotong and crayfish served on a hotplate to everyone’s favourite sambal kang kong. The stingray here (roughly $12) is fresh, firm and flaky, and goes well with the piquant sambal. There’s usually a snaking queue during the dinner period, so just be prepared to wait awhile for your food to be ready.

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7. Sweet Heart Dessert

For a sweet treat to cap off your meal, visit Sweet Heart Dessert, where you can select from an assortment of hot and cold offerings including ice kachang slathered in colourful syrups, chendol, red ruby, cheng tng and tau suan. Unlike most dessert places, they also serve savoury titbits such as curry puffs and spring rolls, which you can take home for afternoon tea. Anticipate forking out about $2 and up.

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8. He Jia Huan Ban Mian & Mee Hoon Kway

Simple yet satisfying noodle dishes are what you’ll encounter at this establishment, which stays open until the wee hours of the morning – making it a good supper option. Whether you get the dry or soup version of their basic dish (around $4), you’ll receive your pick of noodles paired with meat, egg, vegetables and a smattering of crunchy ikan bilis, alongside that all-important chilli sauce for some heat.

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9. Traditional Claypot Rice

This vendor dishes out solid servings of cooked-upon-order claypot rice, with prices beginning at about $8 for a single portion. Each claypot is packed with white rice, tender chicken pieces, Chinese sausage and leafy greens drizzled with dark soy sauce, and has a charred, crispy bottom. Pair this with vegetables or a traditional Chinese soup – choices include watercress, lotus root and old cucumber, which all come with pork ribs.

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10. Yuan Yang Spinach Soup

Most hawker centre meals may not present the healthiest option. If you’re looking for something lighter and more nutritious, Yuan Yang Spinach Soup has you covered. This stall offers the likes of spinach seafood soup, spinach century and salted egg soup and spinach yong tau foo soup for approximately $4 each, and every bowl comes loaded with a generous amount of spinach that would make even Popeye proud.

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