Situated in the bustling Bishan neighbourhood, a short stroll from Marymount MRT station, Shunfu Mart Food Centre threw open its doors back in 2000. It was recently renovated in 2022, and the space has been fitted out with new flooring, refurbished ceilings and improved lighting and ventilation for a more pleasant dining experience.
The vendors here ply an assortment of multicultural delicacies: from beloved Malay dishes including mee rebus and mee soto; to traditional Hakka offerings that are increasingly hard to find in the city-state these days; to scrumptious muffins that are perfect for carting home to share with the entire family. Here are a few stalls to patronise when you’re here.
Shunfu Mart Food Centre | 320 Shunfu Road
One of the most popular stalls here is Mei Zhen Hakka Delicacies, which sells hard-to-find Hakka dishes that you’ll be hard pressed to find at other food centres. We suggest making a beeline for their traditional abacus seeds: chewy yam discs with mushrooms, a smattering of crispy shallots and spring onions. Other offerings on their menu include glutinous rice, chee cheong fun, yam porridge and mushroom dumplings, and you can expect to pay upwards of $3.
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For a moreish helping of old-school chicken rice, hoof it over to this establishment. The meat is succulent and tender (yes, even if you opt for breast meat over dark meat) with a glistening skin, and the fragrant rice is cooked in a ginger and chicken stock that provides a good punch of flavour. You’ll also get a small bowl of soup, and don’t forget the chilli sauce, ginger dip and dark sauce. Anticipate forking out around $4 for a hefty portion.
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If it’s a cheat day and you’re in the mood for a sinful and sumptuous feast, we humbly recommend sampling the fried kway teow ($3) from this vendor, which draws long queues throughout the day. Noodles, fishcake slices, cockles, fresh beansprouts, Chinese sausage and leafy greens are fried to perfection in an aromatic sauce that yields a great balance of savoury and sweet flavours. They’re also known for their otak wrapped in banana leaf, which you can add to your plate for a more substantial meal.
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If you’re here in the morning or early afternoon, consider nabbing a hearty meal from Wak Limah Stall. The stall specialises in Malay dishes, with items on the menu running the gamut from mee soto and mee rebus to lontong and nasi lemak. The crowd-favourite mee rebus boasts a luscious and aromatic gravy, and comes with thick yellow noodles, a boiled egg and lots of fresh beansprouts, green chilli slices and herbs to cut through the richness of the dish. Add a dollop of sambal for good measure, and expect to pony up around $4.
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This is the go-to spot in the food centre for delicious roasted duck noodles. True to its moniker, it also serves both steamed and roasted chicken rice, as well as roasted pork, char siew and an array of Chinese soups such as watercress, herbal chicken and lotus root. Here, the juicy roasted duck is served with thin egg noodles tossed in a savoury sauce and some leafy vegetables, and retails for approximately $4. Pickled green chilli slices are a must.
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One of the most popular muffin purveyors in Singapore is Chocolat N’ Spice, and this is one of their three outlets. The muffins are soft and fluffy, and a golden-brown top gives a pleasing crunch – especially if you enjoy it fresh out of the oven. Muffins go for around $2 each, and you can select from a myriad of flavours: from classic choices such as chocolate chip, cranberry, banana walnut and blueberry to more unique options including coconut, cheese, mocha and coffee walnut.
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Fill up for the day ahead by tucking into a substantial breakfast at this stall. There’s everyone’s favourite fried bee hoon, which you can get with your desired ingredients picked from the assortment on offer: think fish fillet, fried chicken, otak, fried egg and assorted vegetables. They also do nasi lemak, which is served with either luncheon meat or a chicken wing, fried egg, ikan bilis, peanuts and piquant sambal. Expect to fork out around $4.
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Popiah fans can get their fill of the popular snack at Heng Heng Bao Bing, which also serves comforting nosh such as fish ball noodles and minced meat noodles. Their specialty popiah retails for under $2 a pop. It has a tasty and moist turnip filling, fresh beansprouts, crushed peanuts and lashings of sweet sauce and chilli sauce, all encased in a thin and slightly chewy skin. We recommend getting a few for the table.
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Nothing hits the spot on a cold and gloomy day like a comforting serving of fish soup. Here, you can get just that from Marsiling Teochew Fish Soup, which dishes out warming portions of the dish and is especially popular among the lunch crowd. For around $6, you’ll receive a large bowl of clean-tasting soup brimming with thick slices of fish, spindly egg floss, leafy greens and the noodles of your choice. Other items on the menu include regular and tom yam ban mian.
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Those who like their Hokkien mee on the wetter end of the spectrum will be pleased as punch with what comes out of the kitchen here. This rendition is absolutely smothered in gravy, and features the standard yellow and white noodles, cuttlefish slices, egg, prawns and pork belly strips. Do add a plentiful squeeze of lime and sambal for a punchy kick. They’re also known for their prawn noodles, if that’s more up your alley, and you can anticipate forking out roughly $5.
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