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I've travelled to Kuala Lumpur and George Town in Malaysia and I've found myself in Singapore half a dozen times. I've come to believe that the Malay Peninsula is the best place on earth for street food culture with Singapore, at its tip, taking top spot. In Singapore, the action is found inside hawker centres. Official signs and Google Maps will also label them "food centres". These are essentially covered, open-air food courts. There are tables and chairs, brightly coloured plastic trays, bins, hand-washing stations and restrooms. But similarities to the North American shopping mall food court end there.
For me, what elevates the Singaporean and Malaysian hawker food scene is the variety. Every Singaporean hawker centre will present specialties from the nation's three main ethnic groups: Chinese, Malay, and Indian. The regional diversity leaves you absolutely spoiled for choice. From the subcontinent you can choose from Tamil, Punjabi, Bengali or Sri Lankan. Hakka, Cantonese, Teochew, Hainanese and the especially prominent Hokkien make up the bulk of the Chinese offerings.
Maxwell Road Hawker Centre. Photo courtesy of the Singapore National Archives.
These culinary wonderlands are the result of a government initiative in the late 1960s to relocate street food vendors to more hygienic facilities with running water and inspection oversight. The result was to create a cultural institution that has been nominated for UNESCO protection. Today there are move than one hundred hawker centres across this little island. In Malaysia you'll find amazing food at street stalls, carts and hawker centres alike.
Singapore
Singapore
KAYA TOAST Invented by Hainan immigrants, this breakfast staple remains hugely popular. Buttered white toast with kaya (coconut and/or pandan jam), served alongside a dish of soft-boiled eggs with a splash of dark soy sauce and white pepper. Eat separately or dip. Some strongly steeped milk tea or kopi (coffee) completes the meal. I took this photo at Toast Box (a Singaporean chain), but kaya toast can be found in any hawker centres and many cafes.
ROTI PRATA If I wasn't eating kaya toast for breakfast, I was eating roti prata (called roti canai across the border in Malaysia). Staying in a hotel near Little India's Tekka Food Centre meant easy access to this flaky, buttery wonder. Served with a bowl of thin curry for dipping. Other varieties are stuffed with egg or cheese. Taken with a glass of hot ginger milk tea... perfection.
BAO Crave a steamed bun of any conceivable variety? The vendors of Chinatown Food Centre (located directly behind the popular Buddha Tooth Relic Temple) will hook you up.
AIS KACANG means iced beans. At Tiong Bahru Market, I cooled down with this bowl of red beans, corn, cashews, shaved ice and condensed milk topped with durian puree. Many flavours are available if you haven't yet been converted to the cult of durian.
POPIAH Is it a burrito? A spring roll? Sort of. This non-fried Malay roll is made using a paper-thin flour wrap with a layer of Hoisin, chilli or shrimp sauce and a variety of fillings that may include: jicama, turnip, sprouts, shredded lettuce, herbs, carrot, tofu, scrambled egg, fried shallots, shrimp, crab, diced pork or sausage. This was a halal, vegetarian variety from Ann Chin Hand Made Popiah in the Chinatown Hawker Centre.
KUEH This beautiful little morsel is nonya kueh (also "kuih"). Sweet or semi-savoury snacks of Malay/Indonesian origin often served on a piece of banana leaf. Essentially just soft, sticky, glutinous rice flour wrapped around a filling of bean, durian, peanut, yam, coconut or my favourite - pandan paste. Other varieties are made from tapioca or sweet potato and others are tiny, filled crepes. There are entire blogs devoted to kueh. It's available all over Singapore, but if you're serious, walk or take the metro over to Outram Park to reach Ji Xiang Ang Ku Kueh for some of the island's best.
Michelin-Star Hainan Chicken Rice
At Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle, you can enjoy a plate of Michelin-recognized Hainan chicken rice for less than $3. This is another dish of legendary standing. Perfect in its simplicity. Like kueh, there are hundreds of food bloggers devoted to its every iteration. Though the lunchtime line is long, the 15 minute wait was well worth it.
The Straits Times: Long queues at Michelin-starred Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle
Hawker Chan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle stall in China Town Complex, (335 #02-126 Smith St, Complex Market & Food Centre, Singapore 050335)| © Asia File
George Town, Penang
George Town, Penang
What has these people queuing up around the block in Malaysia's afternoon heat? One word... CENDOL.
The photo on the left is the crowd at Panang Road Famous Teochew Cendol.
This Malay original is a combination of palm sugar syrup, pandan jelly noodles, coconut milk, beans and shaved ice. Coconut and pandan is a classic combination that you'll also find in kueh and cakes.
Sold from rickety pushcarts in alleys, parks and street corners across the country and at almost every hawker centre in Singapore.
Saveur magazine devoted an entire article to this little bowl of heaven, naming it the signature sweet of Malaysia.
Eat fast! Your ice is melting...
MURTABAK I first tried murtabak at an Asian night market in Toronto and was excited to see it again and again in Malaysia. This dish of folded, buttery dough with egg, diced onion, chicken or beef is served with a thin curry and pickled onions. Serving murtabak for over 100 years, Hameediyah on Campbell Street was recommended by multiple locals as the go-to spot.
DURIAN Forget what you've heard (and smelled, possibly.) Durian is a divisive delicacy but it hasn't earned the nickname "King of Fruits" for nothing. Durian is sweet, savoury and creamy. Everyone seems to react a bit differently to the taste. To me, it tastes of mango, custard and a hint of onion. As strange as that might sound, you shouldn't deny yourself the experience. Malaysian durian is considered the best in the world and it is readily available across Penang when in season.
If durian straight-up is too much for you to handle, consider trying it as part of another dish. This durian cream sponge cake was to die for. Find it at Passion Heart Cafe on Jalan Mansoor and savour your cake along with the classic atmosphere.
My heart jumped when I turned a corner in KL and saw this mural and sank deeply a split second later when I realized it wasn't a real durian cart.
Hokkien Hot Pot
Forget that August in Penang is over thirty degrees and incredibly humid. Why should that stop anyone from hovering over huge bubbling pots of broth? I saw a several of these hot pot carts in George Town and KL. The sticks are colour-coded for billing, so don't throw them out! Take as much as you want of whatever you want. Cook it in the broth, dip in a variety of sauces, and fill up for less than $5.
White Coffee
White coffee originated in the Malaysian town of Ipoh. Roasted for a longer time at a lower temperature, the difference is in the preparation and has nothing to do with colour. You'll see white coffee for sale across Malaysia. Enjoyed with an ais kecang (rose, pandan noodles, and sweet corn, in this version).
In more detail
In more detail
There are many incredible food blogs out there that delve deep into the hawker culture of the Malay peninsula.
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