While it may be smaller than most, the charming hawker centre is mighty with gastronomic gold
We did the math. Six substantial dishes plus a $2.50 putu piring and a round of sugarcane drinks split among four persons. Each had to fork out a meagre $7, which, if you look at Orchard Road's $6 mee pok noodles at a food court, is considered a steal when you dine at Haig Road Food Centre!
Located in the nook of Haig Road and Geylang, the food paradise is conveniently next to the wet market, so that fellow marketers, once done shopping, can adjourn next door for a breather of good food. Best part? The hawker fare is all at seriously competitive prices. We even chanced upon a store that sells economic rice (two veg + one meat) for less than $3. Since it's in the Malay neighbourhood, the centre boasts an extensive line up of Malay and Indian Muslim stalls, so that you can get your fix of roti john, mee rebus and nasi lemak.
Here, we rounded up seven dishes that you should try:
7. Putu Piring ($2.50), Traditional Haig Road Putu Piring
Clad in ebony white, three makciks were seen hovering over a silver steamer, directing their unwavering concentration to making putu piring like well-oiled machines. That was the scene at the storefront of this little stall, where only these Malay desserts are made fresh on the spot and sold at a mere $2.50 for a packet of five pieces. Similar to the Chinese tutu kueh, the puti piring is a round cake made of ground rice flour that encases a gooey heart of gulu Melaka. Lightly-salted grated coconut is served with the round cakes. Taste-wise, the simplicity of the dessert is what many would take delight in with its cloudlike cake almost disintegrating in the mouth, before the welcoming sweetness of the gula Melaka hitting the tastebuds later.
Unit No.: 01-07
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