Dogosaur,

Hawker centres in Singapore are permanent structures for food courts. They tend to be open air so dress cool and casual. Not generally part of a fair, festival or farmers market type setting. The best ones in terms of food would be Old Airport (satay), Lavender St (beef noodles, carrot cake and grilled seafood), Golden Mile/ Beach Road or Geylang, both for Malay/ Muslim food.

If however your priority is ambience, go to Gluttons Bay, Lau Pa Sat or, as recommended above, Smith St.

By the way they open day and night so you can go for lunch. A hawker usually sells only one type of food and different centres will have stalls of varying quality. They are not uniformly good, even in the more famous centres. The best way is to see what others are queuing for and ask the folks in line if that stall is good, if it appeals to you get in line.

(1) Below is the Official Hawker centres Guide of Singapore:

http://www.myhawkers.sg/

(2) This are the Hawker Centres (Food Centre / FC - are use randomly) around chinatown that U can check out (As U visit Chinatown).

They are open till evening (some early, some late)

(a) Maxwell Food Centre (Alot of Tourist would know this - It is Just opposite the Buddha Relic Temple in Chinatown)

http://ieatishootipost.sg/search/label/9%20Maxwell%20Food%20Centre

(b) Chinatown Food Centre (aka Smitth Street Food Centre / Right behind Buddha Relic Temple)

http://ieatishootipost.sg/search/label/9%20Chinatown%20Food%20Centre

(c) People's Park Food Centre (With Shopping above & Right outside one of the Chinatown MRT Exit, infront of OG Departmental store)

http://ieatishootipost.sg/search/label/9%20People%27s%20Park%20Food%20Centre

(d)Hong Lim Food Centre

http://ieatishootipost.sg/search/label/9%20Hong%20Lim%20Food%20Centre

Little India

(e) Tekka Market & Food Centre

http://ieatishootipost.sg/search/label/9%20Tekka%20Centre

U can use the same blog to check for the different type of Food that is recommend in each Food Centre Or use it base on the area U are going.

Google Map can point U in the right Directions too.

Have a good time.

Maxwell's for the real Singapore experience without a doubt.

One of my favorite places to eat, the great divider of opinions, is ''Newton Circus'', often ripped to pieces, mostly by people that rearly if ever go there, applauded by those of us that eat there often.

I love the place, yes it can be a bit ''theatrical'', people touting for your business, but that's all part of the charm, it's certainly no worse than ''Lau Pa Sat'', where they also harrass everyone and MUCH cleaner for sure.

Alan.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g294265-d1146800-Reviews-Maxwell_Road_Hawker_Centre-Singapore.html

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g294265-d1208462-Reviews-Newton_Hawker_Centre-Singapore.html

“What would men be without women?..................... Rare, sir...mighty rare.”

( Mark Twain )

The more touristy/ popular/ recommended ones are Newton Circus, Gluttons By the Bay, Food Trail at Singapore Flyer, Chinatown's Smith Street, Lau Pa Sat with your usual BBQ stingrays, BBQ kangkong (a veg), Satays, Char Kway Teows, Fried Carrot Cake, Fried Hokkien Mee, BBQ Chicken Wings, sugarcane drinks.

For a more local yet definitely much better flavors than say even Newton Circus is Chomp Chomp at Serangoon Gardens. Just catch a train to Serangoon and hop into a cab to Chomp Chomp Serangoon Gardens (just tell that to cab driver and he will know) which is pretty nearby like 5-7 mins away. After dining at Chomp Chomp, just walk about Serangoon Gardens which is quite a quaint quirky bohemian town and chill with a beer.

Thanks everyone for your replies! I'm definitely visiting the more "local" ones and if time permits the "fancier" ones.

if u crave for some local food in the middle of the night u can head to the more laidback Simpang Bedok or Changi Village, both in the eastern part of Singapore... there are many food outlets there that are open 24 hrs.. the evening atmosphere with locals chomping on their food are amazing.. u will see very few tourists especially at Simpang Bedok... Changi Village has a hotel so tourists are not uncommon... but still not as many as those in town.. n bars aplenty too at Changi Village...

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