3 Budget-Friendly Eateries Owned By Local Celebs

Chor Meng adds: “We opened our first stall in Hougang because I grew up here, so I’m familiar with the area. I know that there’s a crowd here at night, and mookata is popular with people looking to grab a drink and some barbecue.” Since its opening, stars like Ya Hui, Rui En and Ian Fang have been spotted here. Business has been so fab for the celeb towkays, they will open their second branch at Blk 504 in Bishan next month. You heard it here first.

With 14 items including prawns, instant noodles and mushrooms, this is one value-for-money set. You cook everything on an electric hotplate greased with cubes of aromatic pork lard, and surrounded by a moat of soup. We enjoy the fragrant and garlicky chicken and the fatty pork belly, grilled to a slightly charred finish. We like that the two fresh tiger prawns come shelled so we don’t have to dirty our hands. Chor Meng’s tip: “Add the grilled prawn heads into the broth and drink the soup towards the end of your meal for a more intense flavour.” Speaking of soup, it tastes a bit like spicy instant noodle soup after we added the seasoning that came with the noodles.

This Aussie wagyu chuck short rib is a monthly special with a limited amount served each day. Chor Meng says it’s his way of “giving back to his customers” as they’ve been very supportive. He adds smilingly: “We aren’t making much of a profit by selling this, but I think it’s too good not to share”. The beef slices are tender and melt in the mouth. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt on them while they’re on the grill.

Cheap and good Thai barbecue. But dress for the beach rather than a night on the town as things can get pretty hot and smoky here. Also, it gets crowded during dinner, especially on weekends. So go early at 5pm to avoid the crowd.


Blk 212, Hougang St 21, S530212. Tel: 9656-2655. Open daily Mon–Thurs 5pm–midnight; Fri–Sun 5pm–2am. Last orders 15 mins before closing. www.facebook.com/888-Mookata-1526239874117516/

Actor Ben Yeo, 39, together with hawker brands Tenderfresh, Kim’s Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee and Ah Boy Popiah, are behind this 75-seat eatery at the new Singpost Centre mall. They invested $250,000 in this venture, which offers hawker fare from three popular brands under one air-conditioned roof. They are: fried chicken chain Tenderfresh, Hokkien mee brand Warong Kim’s (a spinoff from the popular Kim’s Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee stall in Eunos), and Ah Boy Popiah (a fourth-generation iteration of Good Chance Popiah from Silat Ave). Ben says: “We think it’s a pity that the hawker trade in Singapore is slowly vanishing. The idea here is to gather some hawkers and work together to serve affordable and good hawker food in malls.”

Hawkerman is a casual eatery with barnyard-chic wooden furniture, a chalkboard menu and servers in hip military-esque uniforms. You order and pay at the cashier, then collect your food at the counter when it’s ready. A central kitchen­­ — run by a team of cooks trained by the original hawkers — prepares all the food here. “There are plans to expand and we hope to work with more hawkers in future,” says Ben, who’s a culinary grad from Shatec. He drops by from time to time when his schedule permits.

This set meal, which feeds two hungry people, features specialties from all three brands. The Bao Ka Liao (Hokkien for “including everything”) boasts seven dishes, including Tenderfresh’s Signature Fried Half Spring Chicken, Warong Kim’s Hokkien Mee, Ah Boy’s Hokkien Popiah, plus a dessert of Citrus Plum Watermelon. We especially like the chook: it’s crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Kim’s Hokkien mee is fried with prawns, squid and garnished with bits of deep-fried chicken skin instead of the usual pork lard, as Hawkerman has applied for halal certification. It’s reasonably umami and moist. Meanwhile, the popiah is savoury and has a nice crunch from the peanuts, but is overwhelmed by too much spicy chilli. Ironically, the dessert, which isn’t from any of the three brands but the central kitchen, turns out to be the star here. The sweet and sour plum sauce complements the refreshing watermelon cubes perfectly, and we wouldn’t hesitate to order it a la carte ($3.90).

This dish incorporates elements from all three brands — prawn stock from Warong Kim’s is mixed with the juices from Ah Boy Popiah’s stewed veggie filling to form a soupy kind of sauce that’s not typical of most lor mee dishes. This is drizzled over blanched noodles and garnished with crispy chicken skin bits from Tenderfresh, plus prawns, clams, tau pok, shredded chicken and mushroom. Quite comforting.

Get the best of both worlds in this east-meets-west cuppa. Condensed milk is added to a shot of robust espresso brewed with arabica beans. The sweet, sticky milk balances the acidity and bitterness of the espresso quite pleasantly. Think an angmoh version of Vietnamese-style coffee.

We applaud the towkays’ efforts in creating innovative dishes that combine flavours from various hawkers. It’s another way to keep Singaporean hawker food alive and kicking. It helps that the setting here is cool and comfy, too.


#B1-33 Singpost Centre, 10 Eunos Rd 8, S408600. Tel: 6747-0913. Open daily 11am – 10.30pm. Last orders at 10.15pm. www.facebook.com/hawkermansg

TV host and comedian Mark Lee, 48, together with his wife Catherine Ng, 44, partnered their two pals to open this casual eatery at Kallang Wave Mall in September. The four invested $280,000 into the biz. Mark also co-owns the Old Town White Coffee outlets in the same mall and at One KM. 13 Stages refers to the different stages in Mark’s showbiz career over the past two decades, ranging from a TV show extra to popular comedian, and now, a radio DJ and movie producer. Besides that, it also alludes to the coffee served here, which comes from 13 different states in Malaysia. The 45-seater ain’t fancy, it looks like a kopi chain, a la Ya Kun. You order at the counter and collect the food yourself.

The owners chanced upon Calanthe Art Cafe at Jonker Street in Malacca during a holiday, and were impressed by the fact they served coffee from the 13 Malaysian states under one roof. Mark thought it was a good idea to partner them. Now, they import the coffee powder directly from the Malaysian café. Besides coffee, the eatery also serves steamed chicken rice in seven different flavours such as Assam and Sesame. Mark says: “Singaporeans love chicken rice, and we decided to offer ours in bamboo steamer baskets so that they stand out from the rest out there.” He adds: “And our coffee is served in hipster-looking mason jars. We let our customers experience both Eastern and Western cultures in one meal.” If you want to catch a glimpse of famous peeps, you’re in luck. Newlyweds Jesseca Liu and Jeremy Chan, as well as 972 DJ Marcus Chin have dropped by. As for Mark himself, the towkay is here “whenever I have the time”.

13 Stages’ signature dish, which comes with soup and tasty chicken-flavoured rice. The drumstick is steamed so the bird is juicy and tender. Goes great with its ginger and garlic sauce topping. Mark declines to tell us what other ingredients are in the sauce, but we detect a hint of sweet, fragrant rice wine. We’d happily eat this again, especially if we have a concert to catch at the stadium nearby.

Like the Imperial Ginger Chicken, the sesame chicken is also steamed, but drenched in Japanese-style roasted sesame sauce instead. The creamy sauce gives the dish a nuttiness that pairs nicely with the soft tofu served on the side – but we found it a little too rich with the meat.

Can’t decide which coffee to order? Go for these three tasting cups, made with beans from three different Malaysian states. This month’s beans are from Perak, Negri Sembilan and Pahang. Think Malaysian kopitiam-style kawfee served in cute glass mugs, with crackers on a wooden tray. We like the kopi from Pahang, brewed with robusta beans and stirred with condensed milk — it’s intense and aromatic. Dessert lovers will appreciate the coffee from Perak, starring rarer liberica and robusta beans roasted with caramel for a slightly sweet finish.

A good variety of yummy, unusual chicken rice and kopi that won’t burn a hole in your wallet.


#01-41 Kallang Wave Mall, 1 Stadium Place, S397628 Tel: 6384-0502. Open daily 10am – 9pm. Last orders at 9pm.www.facebook.com/13-Stages-100404353942702/