Must-try supper places: Bugis
Bugis is alive, 24/7.
This enclave is where the 9-to-5ers in their office suits, those in flip-flops and t-shirts, art students and international backpackers mingle, play and eat. Tradition meets the modern: bells from temples chime their way through the surrounds while woks and pots ring out loud throughout the day and into the night. Welcome to the Bugis area, where there is no such thing as the last bowl of noodle or plate of prata for the night.
Fong Seng Nasi Lemak
Address: 131 Bencoolen Street
Opening hours: 11am–4am, Closed on alternate Sundays
Hot serves after dark: Indoor and outdoor dining spills over into the early morning till 4am everyday except Sunday at this halal joint. Looking for a nasi lemak supper fix? You’ve come to the right place with a number of supper sets to tempt and with prices starting from $2 onwards. Have your pick of chicken, fish cake, sotong balls, hotdog and teriyaki chicken sets, with sambal on the side. Other side dishes include otak otak, ikan bilis and peanuts and fried drumsticks. Feel like something lighter? Try one of the porridges – chicken, peanut, hotdog, century egg, fish or plain, with prices starting from $2 onwards.
Added sides: If the set meal doesn’t fill you up, add on more sides from the selection of cooked items.
Al-Jilani Restaurant
Address: 127-129 Bencoolen Street
Opening hours: 24 hours
Hot serves after dark: A popular spot for the all-time popular late-night prata or nasi goreng, Al-Jilani Restaurant is a magnet for supper seekers from the Bugis vicinity and those on their way home to various parts of the island. An extensive menu of assorted pratas, murtabaks, fried rice and kambing soup await the famished. Dining spills over onto the pathway, edging busy Bencoolen Street with ongoing traffic, art school students and the occasional lost backpacker. Be prepared to wait as the supper crowd tend to come in in unexpected waves throughout the supper hours. The 24-hour restaurant mainstays are fluffy pratas, mee goreng and nasi goreng, all at reasonable prices.
Added sides: Down your order with a swig of sweet and hot teh tarik or a cold ice milo!
Parklane Teochew Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle
Address: Coffee Express 2000 Food Court, Blk 231, Bain Street, #01-79 Bras Basah Complex
Opening hours: 24 hours
Hot serves after dark: Opened throughout the day and night while other stalls pull down their shutters as the sleeping hour approaches, Parklane Teochew Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle appears to have gathered a loyal fan base over the years. Originally located in Paradiz Centre and now in a cosy corner of Bras Basah Complex, the outlet serves up piping hot bowls of noodles to a 24-hour crowd seeking something light and tasty. Choose from minced meat noodle, Teochew mushroom dumpling noodle mini wok noodle. Prices start from $3.80 onwards for the noodles. If you want to feast on seafood for supper, you can always order one of the dishes on the menu at neighbouring stall Seafood & WuXiang, which opens till 1.30am.
Added sides: Do let your noodle maker know you would like extra veggies and noodles and he will oblige, at no extra charge!
Naj Restaurant Bugis
Address: 490 North Bridge Road
Opening hours: 24 hours
Hot serves after dark: Supper choices rule at Naj Restaurant, with about 100 different dishes spelt out on its all day and night menu! Pratas are given creative twists of flavours here; Fancy a try of its tissue chocolate, strawberry or banana ice cream prata? Or maybe you want to settle for the fried rice black pepper and roti John? Other dishes include rice and noodle cooked in a variety of ways with an assortment of ingredients. Seating spills over to the five-foot pathway and around the shop’s corner.
Added sides: Reasonably-priced supper choices, with something on the menu for everyone!
Seng Huat Eating House
Address: 492 North Bridge Road
Opening hours: 24 hours
Hot serves after dark: While one-half of the coffee shop dozes off, the other half at Seng Huat stays open to feed the post-midnight crowd with its 24-hour menu. Noodles rule at the deep end of the stall, with a choice of mushroom minced meat noodle or hand made fish ball noodle. There’s also hand made fish ball soup for those who prefer something a little lighter.
Added sides: Up at the front of the coffeeshop, supper seekers can try the Macau pork chop bun set, among dishes for a meatier night bite.
