It’s the ‘battle’ of the Nasi Lemak here. Fans of the local hawker dish would know that Adam Road Food Centre has a couple of famous stalls selling this dish.
Adam Road Hawker Centre first opened in 1974 and was originally located opposite the current location.
The U-shaped food centre with slightly more than 30 stalls housed many of the original hawkers which has been there since the early 70s.
The multi ethnic cuisines with stalls opening from early morning to late night, make it a favourite among residents nearby. Here are 12 stalls you can try at Adam Road Food Centre:
Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak
Adam Road Food Centre #01-02, 2 Adam Road, Singapore 289876
Tel: +65 9843 4509
Opening Hours: 7am – 5pm (Mon – Thurs), 7am – 3pm (Sat – Sun), Closed Fri
This stall deserves a top spot in this list. Perhaps some people do not know that they are one of the partners behind Nasi Lemak chain store CRAVE.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong once served this Nasi Lemak to Indonesian President Joko Widodo when he was here in Singapore; and the Sultan of Brunei would request this frequently whenever he visited Singapore.
No matter what time of the day you plan to go, there is no escaping the snaking long queues, but fans say the wait is surely worth it.
So, what is the “secret to success”?
The current owner attributes it to the family recipe that emphasizes on the 4 key ingredients: basmati rice, sambal chilli, chicken wing and otah otah.
There are 7 choices on the menu, from the basic Flash Meal ($2.90), Fish Meal ($3.90), Chicken Wing Meal ($3.90) to the most ‘elaborate’ Royal Rumble ($5.90).
This Royal Rumble Nasi Lemak includes the full-works of ingredients including fried chicken, otah-otah, fried egg, sliced cucumbers, sambal and fried anchovies.
What stood out for me was first the aroma of the basmati rice, then the rich quality that went unbelievable well with the coconut milk, lemongrass and pandan leaves.
The winning element to me was the Sambal Chilli, specially cooked with both Indian and Japanese chillies.
The story goes that the owner’s grandmother wanted a less spicy version of the chilli to cater to more customers. Thus, the store created this sweet-savoury-spicy version of sambal that would help to elevate the taste of the crispy fried chicken wings.
No.1 Adam’s Nasi Lemak
Adam Road Food Centre #01-01, 2 Adam Road, Singapore 289876
Opening Hours: 8:30am – 1pm (Mon, Wed – Sun), Closed Tues
This is the other popular stall for Nasi Lemak here. Although it has a tough competition with rival stalls at the food centre, it stands out simply because of its authenticity and traditional flavours without any special ingredient or flashy choices.
Note that even though the queue may not look that long, customers still have to wait quite a while due to the assembling time.
There are the Fish Set ($4), Chicken Set ($4), Sutra Special ($5.50), and Adam’s Special ($5.50) included with mutton rendang full of flavours.
I got the standard Sutra Special ($5.50) with otah, slices of fish cake, chicken wing, ikan billis and nuts.
The winning part was the fluffy rice, soft in texture with a faint coconuty aroma. I loved the balance of the sweetness from coconut milk and spicy and savoury flavours from sambal and other ingredients. I wished that the ingredients stood out a little more (ie crispier wings?)
Zaiton Satay
Adam Road Food Centre #01-07, 2 Adam Road, Singapore 289876
Opening Hours: 8am – 9pm (Mon – Sun)
Amongst all the stalls at Adam Road Food Centre, Halal-certified Zaiton Satay appears to be one of the most popular.
The satay pieces are $0.70 per stick, with a minimum order requirement of 10 satay sticks.
On the menu are choices of chicken, mutton and beef satay, though many would give a thumbs up more for their mutton.
There was a delicious aroma of the grilled meat, quite tender in texture and tasty in every bite.
Loved the subtle hints of cumin and it paired well with the savoury yet mildly sweet peanut sauce.
Selamat Datang Warong Pak Sapari
Adam Road Food Centre #01-09, 2 Adam Road, Singapore 289876
Opening Hours: 7:45am – 9pm (Tues – Sun), Closed Mon
It is not often you find a stall specializing in just Mee Soto and Mee Rebus, and Selamat Datang Warong Pak Sapari is probably where you need to head down if you love Mee Soto.
Items served included Mee Soto ($3.50), Bee Hoon Soto ($3.50), Mee Rebus ($3.50), Sup Ayam or Chicken Soup ($5.50), Sup Babat or Beef Tribe Soup ($6.50), and Bubur Ayam Chicke Porridge ($3.50). Top up with a Bergedil (deep-fried potato cake) at a dollar.
The Mee Soto ($3.50) is not for the faint-hearted in terms of the spice levels, but this is one that hits you on the palate with shiokness and satisfaction.
The robust has this robust taste that is said to be a result of brewing of whole chickens for a minimum of 3 hours. However, I have read some reviews saying that it has become more diluted recently (though I also gone down after the “Circuit Breaker” period and thought it tasted okay).
The other recommended is the hearty bowl of Mee Rebus ($3.50) which comes with cut green chillies, coriander, fried shallots and a whole egg.
The thick gravy is also on the spicier side, and a dash of sambal kicap gave the flavours a whole new dimension.
Siti Nur Liyana Nasi Lemak
Adam Road Food Centre #01-14, 2 Adam Road, Singapore 289876
Opening Hours: 6:30am – 10pm (Mon – Wed, Fri – Sun), Closed Thurs
A competitor of the above-mentioned stall at the Adam Road Food Centre offers you a trip down memory lane with traditional and comforting flavors.
There are those who head down here for the Nasi Lemak instead of the other two famous stalls.
Also available are Mee Siam, Lontong (both only for breakfast), Mee Soto Ayam, Tahu Goreng, Mee Bandung, and Mee Rebus. (I saw a lot of people ordering the Mee Rebus and therefore I was curious.)
The Mee Rebus ($3) had a scrumptiously thick gravy with a pleasant sweet-nutty taste. Plus, it was served hot such that you could see steam coming out as you lift the noodles up.
With just the right balance of spices, the heavenly sweet potato cake aka Bergedil ties the flavors nicely with garnishing of fried shallots, tofu, green chili and celery. I found that the noodles were also cooked to the softer side, which gels in better with the sweet gravy.
Adam Chicken Rice
Adam Road Food Centre #01-08, 2 Adam Road, Singapore 289876
Tel: +65 8688 3248
Opening Hours: 11am – 8pm (Mon – Sun)
There are just three items on the menu here – Ayam Penyet (chicken or a choice of Tilapia fish), Chicken Rice and Roti John.
The Chicken Rice goes for $4 or $5, though you can add spare parts at $2 onwards, tofu at $0.50 and additional rice at $1.
The chicken came with crisp roasted skin and semi-dry (something like Ayam Penyet chicken texture).
One thing that does stand out besides the taste of the dish at this stall, is the colour of rice, which is yellow.
The friendly hawker running the stall call it a secret preparation with enhanced flavours. Don’t forget about the sweat-inducing shiok sambal chilli.
Al-Sheik Mee Stall
Adam Road Food Centre #01-16, 2 Adam Road, Singapore 289876
Opening Hours: 7:30am – 8:30pm (Mon – Sun)
This stall serves a wide range of Indian Muslim cuisines, and are especially famous for their Roti John which comes with steak option.
Also available at Nasi Ikan Billis, Mutton Steak, Bee Hoon Putih Ikan Billis, Maggi Goreng, Nasi Goreng, Pattaa Maggi and Cheese Fries.
Noo Cheng Adam Road Big Prawn Noodle
Adam Road Food Centre #01-31, 2 Adam Road, Singapore 289876
Tel: +65 9693 7961
Opening Hours: 10:30am – 4pm, 6:30pm – 2am (Tues – Sun), Closed Mon
If you find the name of this prawn noodle stall vaguely familiar, that is because a family member has another prawn noodle stall – Fresh Taste Big Prawn Noodle at Zion Road which is also sometimes called “Noo Cheng Prawn Noodles”.
The Zion Road stall has the bigger fame as it was awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand Singapore.
The basic Pork Ribs Prawn Noodles in dry or soup options comes at $5, though customers could go for the Big Prawn Noodles at $8, $10, $12 to get bombastic juicy prawns.
I must say though pricy, the portion is quite huge with sizable pieces of ribs and prawns.
The broth was flavourful and had hints of sweetness from fresh prawns, though I wished it could be more gao-gao and robust.
Read that there are differing standards to the day and night shifts – nights are better it seems.
Adam Fishball Noodles
Adam Road Food Centre #01-25, 2 Adam Road, Singapore 289876
Tel: +65 9638 4934
Opening Hours: 7:30am – 4:30pm (Wed – Fri), 7:30am – 7:30pm (Sat – Mon), Closed Tues
Adam Fishball Noodle which has been operating since 1988 was opened by Aunty Leng, who was previously a fishball noodle helper in Whitley Food Centre before deciding her own stall.
The cooking has been passed to the 2nd generation Jeffrey and Wendy.
On the menu include Fishall Kway Teow Noodle in dry or soup ($3, $4), Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle ($3, $4), Fishball Mee Pok ($3, $4), Fishball Soup ($3, $4), Tong Hoon Fishall Soup ($3, $4) and Fishball Minced Meat Noodle ($3, $4).
While I wished that the noodles could be cooked slightly less soggy, the fishballs had supple bounce and springiness, and went well with the chilli padi and a dip of soy sauce.
Cheng Ji
Adam Road Food Centre #01-24, 2 Adam Road, Singapore 289876
Opening Hours: 9:30am – 10pm (Mon – Sun)
While many Pig Trotters Bee Hoon I found are within restaurants or zi char eateries, this is one sold by a hawker stall.
Cheng Ji 成记 at Stall 24 of Adam Road Food Centre sells the typical hawker dishes of Fried Kway Teow, Fried Hokkien Mee and Fried Ee Mee, but somewhere in its menu is Pork Leg Bee Hoon.
A plate is priced at $5, $8 or $12.
The familiar yellow Narcissus cans of pork trotters are found behind the display shelf.
This is as homely as it gets I suppose, surprisingly on the bland side but the chilli and lime helped lift up the flavours.
Probably the most affordable plate if you are not for cooking this at home.
Teck Kee Hot & Cold Dessert
Adam Road Food Centre #01-31, 2 Adam Road, Singapore 289876
Opening Hours: 12pm – 11:30pm (Tues – Sun), Closed Mon
There are a number of old-school desserts sold at this stall, from Ice Kachang ($2.30), Chin Chow Longan ($2.3), Gingko Nuts & Lotus Seeds ($2.80), and Tao Suan ($1.80).
Their Cheng Tng ($2) which would be considered a more ‘modern’ version was refreshing (especially after some heaty BBQ food here), with ingredients of dried longan, ice jelly and white fungus. Didn’t find the ‘pang da hai’ though.
Special mention goes to the small jelly balls (like pearls) that added some soft touch. I thought that it was slightly on the sweet side.
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Fruitopia
Adam Road Food Centre #01-29, 2 Adam Road, Singapore 289876
Tel: +65 9275 8898
Opening Hours: 10:45am – 10:45pm (Mon – Sun)
Not just the usual fruit juice stall, Frutopia has a more modern look with milk shakes, special drinks and 1.5 litre tower drinks of Thai Iced Tea, Watermelon and Orange.
Overwhelming choices, quick service, and fresh taste.
You can opt for fresh fruit juices, mix and match to make it healthier and add variety, go for special drink or special tower drinks with additional ingredients, or have a good old milkshake to have a wholesome beverage.
That includes non-alcoholic version of Lychee Margarita ($3), Lime Margarita with mint leaves, and Lime & Orange Margarita ($3).
The Power Avocado ($3.50 with chocolate) is one of their best sellers. It has a rich and creamy taste from the texture of avocados that was quite refreshing.
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