The government built Ayer Rajah Food Centre in 1979 as is a standalone food centre, serving residents around the west coast area or students from the National University of Singapore. If you like to have Indian Muslim and Muslim food for dinner or supper, Ayer Rajah Food Centre is the place to go. Just Indian Rojak alone, you can spot at least four stalls. This is a Halal Food Paradise. For breakfast and lunch, noodles and nasi lemak are also available. Furthermore, seventeen hawker stalls were given the Singapore Top Heritage Food award by the International Business Federation (IBF). With only 110 awards given across Singapore, hawkers have a considerable achievement in this food centre.
We tried the following, and it is worth the calories.
Joo Chiat Prawn Mee
Joo Chiat Prawn Mee is one of the best prawn noodles in Singapore. The noodles have shallot oil for flavour, and there is no pork lard. The fresh prawns are partially deshelled for easy eating. The soup is very prawny and robust, almost like a prawn stout. Give it a good stir, and I am sure you will enjoy this fantastic bowl of noodles.
Click here to check out other prawn mee Best Prawn Noodles you got to try (burgernbacon.com)
Habib's Rojak
The queue in front of Habib's Rojak is practically non-stop. You get on to the line to pick your food, and you wait in the following line to pick it up. Alternatively, they send it to your table if you are sitting nearby. Habib's Rojak is one of the best Indian Rojak I have ever eaten. For those who love Indian Rojak, you must agree that besides the different selection of fritters, the dipping sauce makes the difference. At Habib's Rojak, their sauce is on the sweeter side but packs a spicy punch. My favourite fritter has to be the prawn sambal fritters. The small umami prawns with the sauce are perfect.
Ah Hua Teo Chew Fish Ball Noodle
There are two unrelated Ah Hua Teo Chew Fish Ball Noodle in the west of Singapore. When I checked the reviews on Google Maps, there were reviews mistakenly given to the wrong stalls. To be clear, this Ah Hua Teo Chew Fish Ball Noodle is not the one at Pandan Gardens.
Ah Hua Teo Chew Fish Ball Noodle has an extensive menu. Specifically, there is a Teochew Fishball option vs Fishball for S$3. If you feel you like to have something luxurious, you add some abalone for S$8. Even though the noodles are excellent, but it is the Teochew fishballs that stole my heart. The fishball noodle is incredible.
Power Rojak Bandung
Ayer Rajah Food Centre has a lot of Muslim and Indian Muslim stalls. There are countless Mee Goreng, Indian Rojak and Briyani stalls. However, there is only one Rojak stall, Power Rojak Bandung, and it has a lot of accolades.
Rojak Bandung Sotong is a Singapore dish which got no association with the Indonesian City, Bandung. Rojak Bandung Sotong is Rojak with shrimp paste, Cuttlefish with Kang Kong, and Satay Bee Hoon combined into one big mess. I was a bit comprehensive, but I realised my worries were unfounded after the first bite. You can either call this a noodle dish or call it is a salad. Nevertheless, the Bee Hoon with lots of grounded peanuts is good till the last drop.
Puteri Hana
Puteri Hana is a halal chicken rice stall with a lot of different variations. It is the same chicken rice but with either another type of chicken or sambal.
I was there for their Ayam Geprek Sambal Terasi. Ayam Geprek is an Indonesian crispy battered fried chicken crushed and mixed with hot and spicy sambal. In this instance, it is with Sambal Terasi, an Indonesian Shrimp Paste Sambal. The rice is very flavourful with the crispy boneless chicken thigh. This is a plate of chicken rice I will want to have again.
If you don't want to have chicken rice, you can give their Nasi Goreng Kampong a try. Nothing can go wrong when you use chicken rice and good sambal for the fried rice. I am sure fried rice lovers will agree with me.
Banana Leaf Nasi Lemak & Economical Bee Hoon
I wouldn't say Banana Leaf Nasi Lemak & Economical Bee Hoon is Michelin standard, but it is homely. It is one of the stalls with a queue in the morning selling some typical Singaporean breakfast. Their nasi lemak is so fragrant that I can even smell it with my mask on. I like to give a special shoutout for their chicken wings. These are so good that the guy in front of me was there just for it.
There are many other stalls I have yet to try, and I can't wait to go back soon. Ayer Rajah Food Centre has a lot of hidden gems that are worth for foodies to explore.
Address: Blk 503, West Coast Drive. Ayer Rajah Food Centre, Singapore 120503