When I first went to Singapore, my friend kept on telling me to try out hawker places, which are cheaper food options. Being a really expensive city, finding cheap options in Singapore is definitely heavensent – although in general, Singapore is cheap except for accommodations.
I never got to try a hawker center before because I didn’t have internet during my stay and was only there for a quick weekend so I ended up eating in convenient places.
I decided to be a bit more prepared for this trip and watched a few of Strictly Dumpling’s videos on where to eat in Singapore. I also read up on the shooting locations of Crazy Rich Asians. They ate in a hawker place called Newton Centre, which is what I have decided to try.
I had a full day from my Battlebox hike, my visit to two museums, and my walk to Old Hill Street Police Station. I went back to my hotel and by then I think I was already at 14,000 steps. I left my hotel around 6:00 to go to the Newton Center which is accessible via the Newton MRT line.
I took the train in Bencoolen, and off goes my really long trip to get to Newton. This was a huge mistake as I could have just walked to Rochor MRT and get off at the next station. But instead, from Bencoolen it goes all the way around before I can reach Newton. No worries though, despite going out at prime rush hour, the trains were really comfortable and I even managed to sit down.
It is overwhelming once I got there. There were so many choices, I didn’t know where to go. Plenty of choices of places to eat at but the offerings are mostly the same. I also got a little bit confused on how to order at a hawker. All you need to do is remember your table number, tell the server your table number and they will bring the food to you and then you pay.
I ordered barbecue sting ray, satay, and chicken popcorn with salted egg. It is my first time to try stingray and the texture wasn’t odd. It just felt like eating a very mushy and smooth fish fillet. Still definitely feels like a seafood. It was good but it was a little bit too spicy for me so I didn’t eat much of it.
I don’t know how much it all costs, but all the food I had is delicious! The chicken popcorn was so good. I enjoy salted egg anything but that one takes the top spot. The salted egg sauce was just right. It didn’t overpower the chicken so the chicken remained crispy and not soggy. I will definitely come back for that! The satay is to die for. It still boggles me how grilled meat can be that good. Their peanut sauce was nothing special but still delicious!
This experience is a testament of how safe it is in Singapore. People just leave their bags lying around or just have it sitting beside them. Back home, if my bag is beside me, I will put the strap on my shoulders or just make sure that the bag never leaves my site always. Also, people here are very respectful of others. I see some tissue packs placed on the table and no one sits there. Again, back at home, even if leave an umbrella or a tumbler or anything that screams that I am reserving this table, people will still sit on it and even get annoyed when I tell them I reserved the table with my stuff.
Hedda Damasco 