SINGAPORE: Changi Village is located at the east-most point of main island Singapore. It should be no stranger to male citizens who need to serve their National Service with SAF. Every weekend, all the army recruits will be passing this little spot to and from their ferry terminal for a ride to Pulau Tekong. It is also a gateway to Pulau Ubin, a popular weekend spot, one of the last areas in Singapore that have been preserved from urban development. Changi Village is also an angler or a cyclist favourite pit stop to get their stomachs filled.
Top pick favourite hawker stalls in Changi Village Hawker Centre
Ho Guan Satay Bee Hoon
Satay Bee Hoon is a Singapore invention, with the influence from Malaysia and Indonesia. It is basically some blanched vermicelli, also known as bee hoon, covered with satay sauce similar to the one used to dip satay in. Satay Been Hoon usually comes with sliced pork, pork liver and Tau Pok. It is also common to see cockles, cuttlefish and prawns when you get a bigger potion.
Ho Guan Satay Bee Hoon is located right at the corner of the hawker centre. Prices are between S$4 to S$6. The S$5 potion is loaded with pork liver, cuttlefish, and cockles; covered in savoury peanut sauce. Also in it are tau pok, kang kong and some bean sprouts. You get to change to yellow noodles if bee hoon is not your thing.
Mizzy Corner Nasi Lemak
Changi Village is like the centre of Nasi Lemak. Everyone has their own favourite. There are two stalls I always patronize, but Mizzy Corner is usually my first choice. The key to good Nasi Lemak is the rice with the complementary sambal. Like all good Nasi Lemak stalls, Mizzy Corner uses basmati rice. Just eating it plain, you can get the distinct grain of rice and the sweet coconut aroma. For the sambal, you can obviously see the onions and the Ikan Bilis. It is spicy and sweet at the same time.
Prices start at S$3.5, and you get to choose between the chicken wing set, otah (Otak-Otak) set or something else. Personally, the chicken wing is a must. Therefore, I would highly recommend the chicken wing set and add whatever additional stuff you might want. Here, we have decided to add an otah to one of the sets and a begedil in the other.
Da Zong Mei Shi
Da Zong Mei Shi has been in Changi Village ever since I know about Changi Village Hawker Centre. They are known for their Ipoh Hor Fun. In fact, Ipoh Hor Fun is the next best-known dish found here, after Nasi Lemak.
Ipoh Hor Fun, as the name implies, originated from Ipoh, Malaysia. The star of the dish is the board rice noodles, and these noodles from Ipoh are famous for being narrower and silky smooth. The reason why the noodles are special is that they use some spring water from Ipoh. So first, the noodle is blanched for a minute and covered in a chicken, and mushroom soup thickens with starch. Then, this is topped with some shredded chicken. Sometimes, there will be char siew and wanton too.
At Da Zhong Mei Shi, their Ipoh Hor Fun comes with pickled green chilli, which will add some tanginess and red sambal chilli for the spiciness. Here, we had both Ipoh Hor Fun (S$3.5) and Wanton Mee (S$3.5)
Mei Xiang Goreng Pisang
Goreng Pisang, which literally means "Fried Banana" in Malay, is a common street food found in Southeast Asia. Dip the bananas into some batter and deep-fried. There are some subtle differences in each country. In Thailand, they have sesame seeds in the batter. It is different in Malaysia and Indonesia too. In Singapore, a Chinese goreng pisang stall will use very ripe bananas, giving them a soft and creamy texture inside. The batter used is different too. It is very airy and light which is very crispy. If it is a Malay or Indian stall, it will tend to use bananas that are not as ripe. Therefore, you can taste a hint of sourness. The batter they used gives a chewier texture too.
An elderly couple runs Mei Xiang Goreng Pisang, and it has been around for a long time as well. As with other goreng pisang stalls, it has a huge variety of fried fritters. Fried bananas are the mainstay here, and it usually has 2 prices which depend on the size of the banana. The other crowd favourites are green bean cake, sweet potatoes or tapioca. They do have other harder-to-find stuff which I usually come here for—namely, Cempedak, which is similar to breadfruit and jackfruit. The slimy fresh surrounds individual seeds, and each is battered and deep-fried. You get to eat the whole thing, seed and all. The other not so common item they have is the 3-in-1 fritter, and it is made with a slice of sweet potatoes sandwich between Nian Gao and mochi. This is a pack of sticky sweet goodness. Goreng pisang is a great dessert after a heavy meal.
Kang Le Fried Prawn Noodle
There are 2 Fried Hokkien Noodles stalls in this hawker centre. Both are above average, but I do prefer Kang Le Fried Prawn Noodles for two reasons. Firstly, at Kang Le, the noodles are leaning towards a drier side, as you can see below. Usually, a drier fried Hokkien mee tends to have a more intense flavour as the noodles are cooked longer to absorb the goodness from the prawn/pork stock used. Secondly, the chilli carries a bigger punch. It is really spicy good. Kang Le Fried Prawn Noodle has a good balance of flavour and wok hei with a good chilli.
Here are some other Fried Hokkien Noodles recommendations. Another 5 Fried Hokkien Mee, Best hawker food in Singapore (burgernbacon.com)
Bedok 511 BBQ Chicken Wing
There are two satay and chicken wing stall. At Bedok 511, they get their satay from Soon Lee Heng, which is no stranger in the satay scene. Specifically, on pork satay, there must be a good chunk of pork fat between 2 pieces of lean meat. The fat must be nicely charred, giving each stick a strong and porky flavour with the crispiness. Dip into the smooth peanut sauce, it is awesome. Bedok 511 BBQ Chicken Wing has many stalls dotted around Singapore.
Jason's Place BBQ Satay and Chicken Wings
If you ask any satay connoisseur, they will definitely know Kwong Satay at Geylang. However, you don't have to head to Geylang to get your Kwong Satay craving for those in the east; just head down to Changi Village. Each stick is S$0.7, which is S$0.1 more than what you can get from Kwong itself, but you are not going to get the sun, sand and sea which Changi Village is offering. With 2 popular satay stalls in this hawker centre, each has its own loyal customers.
Hock Gooi Hainanese Curry Rice
Hainanese Curry Rice is one of those very addictive dishes. Sometimes, you wish it was alright to eat a big pile of rice and covered it with a huge amount of curry. I am one of those who can eat a lot of this in one go. Hock Gooi might be one of those underrated stalls as there are just too many other distractions. Pick your set, which usually comes with a protein, stewed cabbage and a fried egg. I picked the braised pork belly set. It is drenched in the salty braised sauce, chicken curry gravy, and the Hainanese curry gravy before serving. This is so AWESOME. Make sure you mixed everything up and savour it away.
Address: 2 Changi Village Rd, Singapore 500002
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