5 stalls for affordable brunch at Blk 216 Bedok Food Centre and Market
When it comes to Block 216 Bedok Food Centre and Market, it’s true that the early bird gets the worm.
This hawker centre, also known as Pasar 216 Bedok Central, is a jackpot for those who love nostalgic, old-school eats such as soya bean, kaya toast sets, and kway chap. Yet you’ll find that many of these stalls close by 2pm.
If you’re seeking affordable brunch options, here are five stalls you’ll enjoy at Block 216 Bedok Food Centre and Market.
1. You Zha Kueh
Blk 216 Bedok Food Centre and Market, 01-43, 216 Bedok North Street 1
Open: Tuesday (3.30am to 12pm), Thursday and Saturday (3.30am to 11am)
This elusive yu char kway (deep-fried dough fritter) stall at Pasar 216 Bedok Central is open for business only three days a week: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Still, even on a random weekday at 8am, there was a snaking queue in front of the stall.
Bite into its dough fritters (S$1), and it’s pretty clear why.
The yu char kway was fried to a perfect crisp. It had a thin, crispy layer that yielded the perfect ASMR crunch. Yet it retained its light, chewy texture and wasn’t overly greasy.
While there are other items on the menu, such as its plain salted bun (S$1) and butterfly bun (S$1), we recommend sticking to the dough fritters.
That said, if you’re lucky enough to find its sesame ball (S$1) available, be sure to pick one up. We heard it sells out around 6am.
What to order: Dough fritters (S$1), sesame ball (S$1)
2. Bedok Soya Bean Drink
Blk 216 Bedok Food Centre and Market, 01-10, 216 Bedok North Street 1
Open: Monday to Sunday (7.30am to 2.30pm)
When it comes to iconic Singaporean breakfasts, a youtiao and soya bean drink combination is high on the list.
And while we’ve soya bean specialty stalls all across Singapore, there’s something special about seeing it scooped from a giant container at a hawker centre.
At this stall, you’ll find one of the cheapest soya bean drinks in Bedok, with a cup starting from 80 cents. The syrup wasn’t too sweet, making it a light, affordable breakfast.
If you’re there for lunch, get the grass jelly drink (from 80 cents) for a refreshing respite from the heat.
We also enjoyed the soya beancurd (from 70 cents). It had a firm, tofu-like pudding texture, instead of the usual silky-smooth ones you’ll find at soya bean chains.
What to order: Soya bean drink (from 80 cents), grass jelly drink (from 80 cents), soya beancurd (from 70 cents)
3. Yummy Daoxiang
Blk 216 Bedok Food Centre and Market, 01-77, 216 Bedok North Street 1
Open: Monday to Thursday, Saturday and Sunday (4.30am to 2.30pm)
Yummy Daoxiang is an underrated breakfast spot that serves unique chee cheong fun (rice noodle rolls), yong tau foo (a Hakka Chinese dish), and rice dumplings topped with a sweet sauce.
Since we’ve never seen a crossover quite like this, we were rather impressed by its novelty. We went for Set F (S$3.60), a mix of silky chee cheong fun, crispy deep-fried beancurd skin, flat-fish ngoh hiang (five-spice meat wrapped in beancurd skin), and a steamed cake of your choice (carrot, pumpkin or yam).
The dish was a wonderful amalgamation of textures, and was particularly filling on account of its large portion of carbohydrates. If you’re looking for a lighter breakfast, we recommend sharing it with someone.
What to order: Set A comprising chee cheong fun, fried beancurd skin and fishcake (S$2.70), Set F comprising chee cheong fun, fried beancurd skin, flat-fish ngoh hiang and steamed cake (S$3.60)
4. Han Kee Fish Soup
Blk 216 Bedok Food Centre and Market, 01-46, 216 Bedok North Street 1
Open: Tuesday to Thursday, Saturday and Sunday (8.30am to 3pm)
This Han Kee Fish Soup stall is unrelated to the popular stall of the same name at Amoy Street Food Centre.
But it does sell similar fare — Teochew-style fish soup featuring sliced fish in clear broth.
You may be disappointed if you favour more savoury fish-soup bases. The soup here is more suited to those with a lighter palate. Still, it had a subtle sweetness and wasn’t insipid.
The sliced fish soup (from S$5) contained a decent portion of sliced fish, smooth tofu, tomatoes, seaweed and vegetables.
The sliced fish was the star ingredient, of course. It was firm with a bouncy texture, and its freshness was evident.
Add on a bowl of white rice (50 cents) to pair with your soup. You could also ask the uncle to add some braised sauce for extra kick.
What to order: Sliced fish soup (from S$5) with white rice (50 cents)
5. Ah Li Ipoh Hor Fun Fish Dumpling
Blk 216 Bedok Food Centre and Market, 01-37, 216 Bedok North Street 1
Open: Wednesday to Monday (4am to 2pm)
Ah Li Ipoh Hor Fun Fish Dumpling primarily sells two things: Dumplings and noodles. But the stall allows you to tailor the dish to your liking.
There are three dumpling variations to choose from: Fish, prawn, and wonton (with pork filling). You can have the dumplings plain — as a side — or pair them with regular, thin egg noodles or hor fun, a type of flat rice noodles.
We opted for the stall’s signature fish dumpling hor fun (from S$4), which came tossed in a thin, clear gravy. The dish was served with vegetables and mushrooms, and four pieces of deep-fried fish dumplings.
Fried upon ordering, the dumplings had a satisfying crunch, and the filling was fresh and juicy, with a generous amount of ingredients stuffed within.
Exercise caution, however, when mixing the chilli that’s served with the hor fun. We found this to be extremely spicy — though spice lovers would welcome it.
What to order: Fried fish dumplings (from S$3), fish dumpling hor fun (from S$4)
Yummy Daoxiang and Ah Li Ipoh Hor Fun Fish Dumpling are on the GrabFood delivery service. You can also book a ride to Block 216 Bedok Food Centre and Market.
Gaelmaine Hoong
Author
Gael comes from a family of picky eaters and she also likes to talk a lot. So, writing about food seems like a reasonable pastime for her.
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