From Singapore’s ‘chope’ culture to ordering food and payment methods, we share the lowdown on some must-knows before your first trip to a hawker centre. (Psst: These same rules just as much apply to coffee shops and food courts.)
If it’s your first time in a hawker centre, food court or coffee shop, you may notice curiously placed packets of tissue or name cards on tables and seats. But don’t shove them aside: Singapore’s chope (to mean ‘reserve’) culture is an unspoken rule to abide by, and one to be embraced – so don’t be afraid to chope your seats with packets of tissue, too.
Photo: Toast Box
Some vendors can be heavy-handed in touting dishes, and tourists in particular are a target. But you needn’t feel obligated to make a purchase from their stall. Instead, explore the rest of the hawker centre fully before ordering the dishes that most appeal to you. Stuck for options? Get the lowdown on some of Singapore’s most well-loved local foods here – or try this guide to some of Singapore’s best hawker centres.
Hawker centre stalls generally only accept cash as payment, although – in Singapore’s attempts to create a cashless society – more eateries now allow payment with an EZ-Link or NETS card, as well as apps like GrabPay or DBS PayLah!. EZ Link and NETS cards are stored-value cards that can be topped up at Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations, most ATM machines and 7-Eleven convenience stores. This depends on which stall you’re ordering from, though, so it’d be best to have some cash on hand anyway. Need more tips? We've rounded up eight must-knows before travelling to Singapore.
And very much so, in the case of hawker centre food. If you’re visiting the hawker centre in a group, try ordering dishes across several stalls for sharing – say, white ‘beehoon’ (rice vermicelli) from one stall, char kway teow (fried flat rice noodles) from another, sambal barbeque stingray to go along, and tall mugs of freshly pressed sugarcane juice to cool you down.
All done with your meal? Don’t forget to return your trays – look out for large signboards indicating so. Then get schooled on some of Singapore’s best local (and affordable) desserts before booking your stay at Marina Bay Sands.
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Maxwell Food Centre and Chomp Chomp are only two hawker centres Singapore’s well-known for. We show you where to find the city’s local favourites, from chicken rice to roti prata and nasi lemak.
VIEW ARTICLEFrom chicken rice to nasi lemak, get schooled on the city’s most well-loved local foods – and how best to eat them.
VIEW ARTICLEStay cool for the (eternal) summer in Singapore’s humidity with some of the island’s best local treats.
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