Yishun Park Hawker Centre Review: What To Eat, From Seafood White Beehoon To An Indonesian Gem

Refurbished just over a year ago with a modern facade, Yishun Park Hawker Centre has about 43 stalls that run the gamut from the usual suspects of chicken rice and wanton mee to Mediterranean fare.

But which ones are worth a visit? And which stores are good? We decided to take matters into our own hands and head there ourselves. A short summary: this hawker centre has great food at great prices. Read on to find out what got our thumbs up!

Psst — there are also activities the likes of weekend pasars and kids’ Zumba, making it a great hangout spot for families too.

1. Kedai Nur & Meera

As a rule of thumb, we will never say no to Indonesian fare, even when a store does not have much hype around it. At the time of writing, Kedai Nur & Meera has a total of four Google reviews, but make no mistake that this has one of the best dishes we tried on our multiple visits to Yishun.

We went for the Mie Bakso Istimewa ($7.80), otherwise known as the Beef Ball Noodle Special. We chose beehoon for our carb of choice, but you can also opt for yellow noodles.

Served in a clear soup that belies the rich flavour of the broth are beef meatballs, beef cubes, stuffed beancurd, and chicken feet. The beef meatballs were the highlight of this dish. Juicy, tender yet with a bit of bite, and made with a combination of spices that hit just right, it was highly addictive.

The beef cubes had a more beefy flavour than the meatballs, but were equally as good. The stuffed beancurd was a tad salty, but otherwise, we have no complaints. The choice of beehoon allowed us to thoroughly enjoy the richness of the soup. 

This store is also known for its Pisang Keju ($6), with a choice of chocolate, strawberry, and green tea toppings. For those who want something simple, there is also the Bubur Ayam ($3.50) and Bubur Berlauk ($6), which are chicken and traditional porridge, respectively.

Opens Tues to Sunday (9am to 6pm). #01-01, Yishun Park Hawker Centre.

2. Ah Tan Wings

Yishun Park Hawker Centre has a few stand-out stores that many know about, and Ah Tan Wings is one of them. It was started by a brother-sister duo who are har cheong gai fanatics. And rumour has it that it has the best prawn paste wings in Singapore.

When we went, there was not much of a queue, which shocked us once we started digging in. For $6, we got Set A, which comprises rice, egg, cucumber, and two sets of chicken wings.

As har cheong gai lovers, we have pretty high standards. But this one met them all. The chicken was marinated in the prawn paste for two days, and it shows — the meat itself was chock full of flavour, not just the skin. The meat was succulent, and the skin was crispy.

The rice was surprisingly delicious as well. While we expected the normal white rice, we were served chicken rice, which was not too oily and still very tasty. The sunny-side up egg had a perfectly runny yolk, while the bits of crispy batter on the side were a nice touch.

If you just want har cheong gai without rice, you can get one wing and one drumlet for $2.20 (with a minimum of two orders). On a budget but still want a full meal? Set C is at $3.50 and includes one wing and one drumlet as well as rice. 

Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:30am to 9pm. Located at Yishun Park Hawker Centre, #01-40, 51 Yishun Avenue 11, Singapore 768867. Visit its website and Instagram for more info.

3. Shastri’s Kitchenette

If you have not heard of satti sorru before, it’s time to change that. Satti sorru is a South Indian claypot curry rice dish that is all about the flavour.

We ordered the Satti Sorru Chicken ($8, small size) and were served an aromatic curry dish that was mouth-watering.

It was surprisingly not too spicy, though enough to have our tongues tingling and slightly numb. The curry rice was a robust medley of spices that gave so many layers of flavour to the dish. No mouthful was boring as we tried to identify the various spices used. A chat with the person manning the store yielded no results, so we decided to just enjoy the food.

The chicken was what had us wanting to go back for more. It was tender and infused with the seasoning, though many of the chicken chunks were mostly bones. However, it was so good we closed one eye. 

Shastri’s Kitchenette serves up a bunch of other dishes, such as meat-specific meals (Chicken Meal for $6.50, Value Meal for $3.50 with rice, one vegetable, and a gravy, and Fish Meal for $7.00, among others). 

Open Tues to Sun (10.30am to 7.30pm). #01-07 Yishun Park Hawker Centre.

4. Wee Kim Hainanese Chicken Rice

Remember in 2023 when a Singaporean YouTuber was blowing up for having tried 100 chicken rice stalls? One of the stalls she highlighted as ‘good’ was this very one.

The Steamed Chicken Rice is priced at $4.50 and features a pretty generous serving of chicken, bean sprouts (hidden beneath said chicken), and, of course, the rice.

First things first: whether we agree with the rating that it’s one of the best stores in Singapore. You know what? We can get behind the claim.

The chicken was not dry at all. Succulent and generously coated in that quintessential chicken rice sauce, except that this one really seemed to soak up the flavour of the sauce all the way through the meat. 

The rice was also very impressive. It can sometimes feel like a guilty pleasure when we eat chicken rice because the rice is so oily. Not with this one. It manages to capture the essence of the dish without being too oily. In fact, we would say that it’s a very light taste but not in a bad way. 

Lastly was the soup – we were expecting the usual chicken rice soup that is laced with MSG, but were shocked when we tasted lotus root soup. A nourishing accompaniment to the overall meal.

Opens Fri to Wed (9am to 7pm). #01-32 Yishun Park Hawker Centre.

5. Habibi Grill Mediterranean Food

It isn’t often that you’ll find Mediterranean food in a hawker centre. This store serves a good range of dishes, such as pide, quesadilla, kunafe, hummus ($9), mandi, and kebab. We were recommended the Mixed Kebab Rice ($11) featuring chicken and mutton, and the Baklava (for $6 for two pieces) that was flown in from Turkey the day before.

For $11, the mixed kebab rice was generously portioned. Aside from the meat, there was spiced basmati rice, a sour white sauce and a spicy red one, and vegetables. If you are someone who prefers their meat to be lightly seasoned in order to fully enjoy the meaty taste, then you’ll enjoy this dish. The meatiness of the chicken and mutton really came through, and the sauces added a nice sour tang and spicy kick. Side note: we recommend going for just chicken if you can’t handle very gamey mutton. 

The rice was very fragrant and nicely flavoured, in that subtle but still very tasty sort of way. We found ourselves enjoying it more than we thought we would and finished it all up. 

The baklava was filled with pistachio and is good for those who have a sweet tooth – we personally found it a bit too sweet but since it’s our first time trying the dessert, we cannot comment further.

Opens daily (10.30am to 9pm). #01-13 Yishun Park Hawker Centre.

6. XLX Modern Tze Char

Another popular store in Yishun, this tze char store is one of the few outlets around Singapore. However, we went to try one thing: the Seafood White Beehoon ($8.80). It is known for its soupy base that is made by stewing chicken broth and pork bones for more than 10 hours.

The first thing to note is that the portion is huge. And it’s not just the noodles — the store isn’t stingy with the ingredients, too. There were two big prawns, five large clams, and loads of vegetables. The soup portion was much more substantial than we’d expected.

The broth was full of umami and very eggy, which we love. You can also really taste the flavour of the pork bones used. The clams were plump and added a nice briny touch to the dish, while the prawns were fresh and sweet. The vegetables were also extremely fresh with a nice crunch.

Overall, this white beehoon gets a 10/10 from us.

Opens daily (11.30am to 2.45pm and 4.15pm to 9.30pm. #01-28/29, Yishun Park Hawker Centre. Visit its website and Instagram for more info.

7. JJ’s Prawn Noodles

Where there’s a queue, a Singaporean will follow. At least, that’s what we did when we saw this store. The wait time was the longest out of any on this list (about 15 minutes during the weekend lunch crowd).

We opted for the Traditional Dry Prawn Noodles ($4) after a quick search revealed it to be the store’s bestseller. It features slippery smooth noodles coated in a sauce made with prawn meat, shells, and pork bone, making for a deep flavour profile.

Surprisingly, what made the dish so good for us was the pork slices. Soft, juicy, and sweet, we could not get enough. The prawns were decent as well — we had two prawns in our bowl and both had a nice crunch. 

The bowl of soup served on the side had us almost regretting ordering the dry version, though. Made with fresh sea prawns, pork bones, dried prawns, and herbs, it tasted unlike any other prawn noodle broth we have tried before. 

Overall, if you like prawn noodles, we definitely recommend giving it a go. It wasn’t the best we have tasted, but good enough that we’d eat it again.

Opens Wed to Mon (7am to 3pm). #01-21 Yishun Park Hawker Centre.

8. Smokin Joe

We don’t know about you, but for us, Western stores in hawker centres can be a hit or a miss. So we were a bit sceptical when trying Smokin’ Joe. Safe to say it was better than we thought it would be.

Smokin’ Joe whips up all manner of Western cuisine: pasta, burgers, fish and chips, etc. However, we were drawn towards their steak selection. At a reasonable price of $22, we ordered the Australian Ribeye 200g, medium rare. For this meal, you have a choice of either fries or mashed potatoes for your sides.

Ours was served with fries, garlic bread, brown sauce, and a large heap of finely diced coleslaw. 

The steak was cooked to our desired doneness, thankfully (we’ve been traumatised before). For the price, we’d say that it was not bad at all. It’s not the best steak we’ve ever tasted, but it was nicely salted and wasn’t tough to chew. When we bit into the fatty bits, though, the juice of the meat really enhanced the flavour and had us going ‘mhmm’. The brown sauce complemented the steak well by adding a bit of sweetness.

The best part of this dish, however, was the garlic bread. It was crispy, garlicky, and just so good. We almost went back to ask if we could have more. 

The coleslaw was good as well, even though we were sceptical since we aren’t used to such finely chopped coleslaw. But we found that this meant that each piece of cabbage was thoroughly coated in the dressing. 

Other steak options include the Australian Tenderloin 180g ($32) and the Wagyu Ribeye 250g ($50). The BBQ Boneless Chicken Leg ($10) is also quite a popular choice.

Open daily from 12pm - 9pm. Located at Yishun Park Hawker Centre, #01-37, 51 Yishun Avenue 11, Singapore 768867. Visit its website and Instagram for more info.

9. Bismi Briyani

When researching Yishun Park Hawker Centre, we were recommended Bismi Briyani for its Lambshank Mandi. Despite the $18 price tag, most agree that it is worth it because of the behemoth size of the lamb.

And big it was. Served with a heap of rice, a side of pumpkin, and parpadum, the lamb shank easily took up ⅓ of the plate. The meat fell off the bone and practically melted in the mouth. It was spiced to perfection to give it a mix of spicy and savoury, with a hint of smokiness. We liked that it was not too gamey, if at all. If you are looking to ease yourself into trying lamb, this could be a good place to start.

For the rice, we found that it was just okay. There were definitely hints of herbs or spices, and there was an earthy note from the turmeric. However, we still found that it was a bit on the bland side. When we drenched the rice with the curry, though, we enjoyed it much more for its spicy kick. 

Despite the rice, we’d say that this is worth it if you are a lamb lover. If $18 is too much, you can opt for the also-popular Lamb Chop Briyani ($8) and Fried Chicken Sambal Briyani ($7). Want something to share? The Lamb Shank Dulang Platter ($70) has four lamb shanks, briyani, kabsa, and mandhi rice that can feed four people. 

Open daily from 11am - 8pm. Located at Yishun Park Hawker Centre, #01-05, 51 Yishun Avenue 11, Singapore 768867.

10. One Mouth Noodle

When it comes to wanton noodles, we mostly prefer the dry version, but we decided to try both versions on our visit to this store. One Mouth Noodle boasts handmade noodles that have that QQ texture, and we wanted to test both the dry and soup iterations.

Each bowl was $6.80, which does lean on the pricier side for wanton noodles. The noodles’ texture was indeed different from other stores we have tried. It was cooked al dente and had a nice springy texture that we particularly enjoyed. 

If you visit this store, we would recommend the dry version for one factor: flavour. The sauce in the dry version was savoury-sweet with an intense flavour. It also enhanced the natural sweetness of the chaw siew without being too greasy. The soup version’s char siew had a milder taste because of the soup, which we found to be quite flavourless in itself.

The wanton had quite an interesting take – it was more peppery than we are used to. Not a bad thing, just something different that added another element to the dish. 

We also enjoyed that the char siew used was fatty and tender instead of dry and artificially red.

Opens Tue to Sun (10am to 3.30pm and 5.30pm to 8.30pm). #01-12 Yishun Park Hawker Centre.