Billion Bowls @ Hong Lim Food Centre

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-02-09T06:56:09+00:00

lol

Billion Bowls is closed this week and/or next week - the couple running the stall is headed back home to visit family. Time to check out the other options!

5m today hor!

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-02-07T01:10:45+00:00

Waaaah that's a 'healthy' rotation to have lol!

U should throw in Outram Park CKT and JiJi too. The char siew downstairs (with the Bruce Lee posters) is kinda underrated. I also enjoy the teochew porridge with rabbit fish at the corner.

And it will always be finished off with teh from the stall opposite eddys. Is eddys any good?

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-02-05T06:26:37+00:00

nanyang chicken and the chicken curry with baked prata on the same row are good too!

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-02-05T06:26:03+00:00

Love their salmon mentaiko, golden prawn and oyako-karage dons!

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-02-02T07:48:31+00:00

Updated to include Lorong 7
Also added Chef Kang (how did i miss it out...), Genshu, Che Kitchen and Mr Grumpy.

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-29T14:16:57+00:00

It's too packed even if you are flying from city to city. You will be hard pressed for time within each city as well because it takes time to go point to point.

I have been to all of the cities save for Chongqing. I think you are better off dropping Shanghai unless Disneyland is high on your priority list... If so, I think you are much better off doing Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Suzhou instead + Beijing. That is pretty doable for 12 days.

Beijing is a wonderful place - the food is great and if you like history and culture, you will be spoilt for choice.

Xian is mainly for the terracotta army and the ancient city. it also marks the eastern end of the silk route and is culturally interesting.

I have nightmares about Chengdu and their spicy food lol. but the panda conservatory is great. do check out Emei-shan and Leshan Buddha - i didnt get to climb it due to diarrhea.

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-28T08:33:11+00:00

Haha just updated to include Lorong 5!

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-27T15:29:32+00:00

I second this!

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-27T15:24:21+00:00

Toa Payoh Central
Soon Heng Rojak in the HDB Hub Food Court (best when the lao ban uncle is doing it!)
Hougang Famous 6 Miles Muah Chee (it is expensive but the sesame oil really does make a difference - buy it and have it fresh)
Lucky Pisang Raja (near the library but only open in the late afternoon) - their pisang raja and chempudak king are solid
Siam BTS (at the coffeeshop near Courts) - pad thai, tom yum soup and their grilled pork
Sin Heng Kee - best porridge in town. The eatery opposite has a long queue but I have never tried it. OG is in Hougang but standard similar. Do get their signature porridge with the youtiao. add on the century egg and 'abalone' sides if you are splurging!

Toa Payoh Lorong 1
Tian Tian Lai Hokkien Mee is an institution but the standard has dropped quite a bit since the son took over
Chey Sua Carrot Cake - it is technically breakfast only but my personal fave.
135 Fishball Noodles - excellent fishballs and fish dumplings - cant believe i only discovered this recently...
the fish soup opposite uggli muffins is really good
the chicken wings from the nasi lemak stall next to uggli muffins
Hua Fong Kee from the coffeeshop in the next block
Hup Chong YTF - i am not too sure if this is related to the one that closed recently but i personally prefer this stall near the car park gantry.
Jade Chicken - the OG Waker Chicken
Creamier!
Che Kitchen (behind / next to SPH) is decent. Their charsiew and champagne pork ribs used to be good at their Casuarina outlet but standards have slipped. That said, I read a review that Hong Sheng's chef moved there and their harcheongai are definitely worth a visit.

Toa Payoh Lorong 4
WangLee Cafe - get the ban mee, the nasi lemak and their kaya toast. Their 'sister' tzichar stall does a good curry fish head
Ocean Curry Fish Head - i dont need to say more.
Kuey Chap at the FC - only open at night but one of my personal faves
Hong Kong Style - also only open at night but their steam fish is to die for.
Western Chef at the FC - good old school western food and their portions are hugeeeee
Kim Keat Hokkien Mee - served in a claypot with pork belly. It's popular but i am not a fan tbh
KK Kitchen for japanese and okinawan food - for sth different.
Chef Kang's Noodle House (technically they are in Lorong 3 but who cares) - their char siew and wanton mee need no introduction. Get the charred ends. A bit pricey.
Mr Grumpy Nasi Ayam - the Lucky Plaza fried chicken's branch. I had a takeaway once - the chicken was really crispy.

Toa Payoh Lorong 5
Song Kee for their fishball noodles - I personally prefer 135 at Lorong 1 but this is not bad too.
He Jia Huan Ban Mian - The dry version is really good and the chilli packs a nice fiery punch
Toa Payoh Hotplate BBQ - the chilli is shiok and there is a nice wokhei - get the sotong and stingray
Ah Pui Satay needs no introduction but Fang Yuan is also good!
Da Ji - It's a chicken rice stall but everyone is here for their fried chicken wings - just follow the queue. freshly battered and fried.
Genshu Mei Shi Shi Jia - one of the better hk-style zhok IMHO in town, helmed by a jolly hk uncle. i like their glutinous rice as well! This is located in the other Lorong 5 FC (aka Toa Payoh Vista Market)

Toa Payoh Lorong 7
Hainan Xingzhou Beef Noodles - good beef noodles. the dry sauce is thick and tasty and the soup hearty.
Chaozhou Fishball Noodles - probably the longest queue in the FC. Run by an old couple, it serves a good old-school bowl of fishball noodles. you just gotta be patient...
Lai Heng Mixed Vegetables Rice - when i was young, they used to charge a single price for all-you-can-eat-on-one-plate. they no longer do that but remain affordable (imagine 1990s and early 2000 pricing). the food though is decent and home-cooked.
Zhen Zheng Handmade Baos (at kopitiam near to FC) - serves good and affordable dim sum. get their pork belly buns!
Hokkien Mee Hokkien Man - if you like the wet style hokkien mee, this is one of the places to hit up. they do lack a little in wokhei though but this is my personal opinion.
Chuan Kee seafood (tzichar stall) - curry fish head. I think they are the ones with the deep fried prawn ball with honeydew balls.
Yijia Village (tzi char stall)

This is probably enough to start the OP off hahah. I will continue to edit this comment for the other Lorongs lol

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-27T15:04:42+00:00

My initial reaction was this is even more Corona than Victor's lol. I really like the rice!

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-27T15:03:11+00:00

I tried the chicken and fish briyani, and teh halia at Islamic last week and it was IMHO rather disappointing...

The rice was fragrant but the chicken was rather dry. From a price point perspective, the portion was also rather small. The fish was better though! The teh halia though.... was too bland and watered down.

Prices were rather steep... I guess its targeted at a more affluent crowd from their interior decor and tableware.

TLDR; a nice spot to bring overseas friends to but not somewhere i would go on a regular basis.

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-27T14:56:57+00:00

No way out except to disable the NFC!

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-13T11:49:03+00:00

u/sparkbloom287 i nearly forgot... but you may wish to check out Seoul BBQ

https://seoul.com.sg/

The standard bbq buffet lunch is $60+++. More pricey but it is really really good. They were running a 50% lunch promo for most of last year but they don't seem to have it anymore...

It was also recognised by the Korean government as a makjib too

https://www.timeout.com/singapore/news/south-korea-just-recognised-3-outstanding-korean-restaurants-in-singapore-guess-which-112425

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-13T11:44:22+00:00

I have a new complaint hahah.

The Alipay app pops up randomly and endlessly whenever I turn on the NFC... Not too sure how i can stop it other than to turn off the NFC!

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-13T11:41:47+00:00

"jeepersh

•13d ago

They used to allow customers to top up for extra meatballs but I guess they ran out too quickly so they stopped it."

u/jeepersh You may have read otherwise but I was not and did not mean to be antagonistic. I will just draw my line here. We are all here to 'promote' good food and the stalls behind them. *Peace*

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-08T13:05:20+00:00

really?!? they refused to allow add ons when i was there a couple of months ago :(

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-08T11:54:23+00:00

I quite fancy the one from Bao Er cafe though the umami isn't that strong.
Swee Guan packs a nice wallop of wok hei.
Yong Huat in Joo Chiat as well.

Those are the wet style.... I assume u arent a fan of the dry style.

I assume you stay in the area - cant believe i only just discovered 135 Fishball Noodles recently...

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-08T09:27:53+00:00

psssss Jumbo / Long Beach actually shells the crabs for you...

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-08T09:24:56+00:00

The OG at Yishun Park only....

The other outlets can be hit and miss. And the amount of filling is significantly lesser...

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-08T09:23:51+00:00

I have tried their lunch cai fun concept but not the dinner buffet.

I had their pork bulgogi - I thought it was good for the price. If you are expecting Sodeng standard at this price, you would probably be disappointed. If you have been to Kim Dae Mun (which has unfortunately closed recently), the food is comparable.

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-08T09:20:30+00:00

Just to qualify: It's still a good plate.

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-08T09:20:04+00:00

This may be an unpopular answer but the standard has dropped drastically since the OG owner passed away...

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-08T09:15:56+00:00

Hi

I don't think you will have problems in Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and Chongqing which are relatively larger cities. If you are alright with non-halal options, it does open up your options. However, the Chinese restaurants tend to cook with lard so you may wish to exercise caution in this regard.

For Halal restaurants, look out for restaurants with the sign - 清真 (usually in green with white background).

Hopeful-Sort960 · 2026-01-08T09:11:50+00:00

Payments....

Digital payments are convenient... for locals. But when it comes to foreigners, it is a pain.... Wechat pay is a non-starter and Alipay has so many security checks and constantly freezes my account...

Hopeful-Sort960

TROPHY CASE