2020 Guide to What to Eat at Raffles Place: 10 Raffles Place Food That’s Delicious and Affordable

Last Updated on 2020-01-14 , 11:48 pm

I can really empathise with those working around the Raffles Place area. I mean come on lah, who wants to go to work there and then spend a huge chunk of their pay on those Raffles Place food?

Cuz we all know that food at Raffles Place area is expensive AF, right?

One Raffles Place lunch = Three Jurong West lunches.

And unless you’ve got a helper or still living with your mom, meal preps probably aren’t very high on your to-do list, especially after a long-ass day at work.

So what do you do if you work in the Raffles Place area? Or if you know anyone working in the area?

Read on, of course.

Cuz I’m the fairy godmother you never asked for here to let you know what to eat at Raffles Place that won’t make you broke AF.

Raffles Place Food 1: Little Bowl

Little Bowl is located at the revamped NTUC Foodfare’s Food Emporium at Clifford Centre.

Almost everything on the menu is less than 10 bucks, so you can expect to spend anywhere from 5-8 bucks per person when you lunch here!

Meaning you can keep coming back every day if you want because it’s not goning to break the bank.

Little Bowl serves up some seriously delicious and high-quality food like their Mentaiko Salmon Bowl (damn good this one), Crispy Chicken Rice Bowl (the chicken cutlet served with this bowl is huuuuge), and the Spicy Prawn Noodles (this one is some serious restaurant-quality pasta).

The portions are generous and the food is amazing – you’ll soon be calling this your new favourite lunch spot!

• Address: 24 Raffles Place, #B1-01/10 Clifford Centre NTUC Foodfare, Stall 13, 048621
• Opening Hours: Mondays to Fridays, 10 am – 7 pm. Saturdays, 10am – 3pm. Closed on Sundays.

Raffles Place Food 2: Annalakshmi Janatha

If you haven’t heard of this Indian Vegetarian restaurant called Annalakshmi, you’re really missing out.

It’s got an amazing concept, where they believe that food is for sustenance and giving should come from the heart.

That’s why they don’t have prices. You simply eat as much as you want and ‘pay as you feel’.

They believe in cultivating a heart of giving. They also don’t believe that anyone should be deprived of good food.

Their food is delicious, by the way. So definitely visit this restaurant for yummy Indian-vegetarian food and pay as you feel after your meal.

• Address: 104 Amoy Street, 069924.
• Opening Hours: Mondays to Saturdays, 11 am – 3 pm. Closed on Sundays.

Raffles Place Food 3: Market Street Hawker Centre

This used to be the Golden Shoe Food Centre. Now it’s known as Market Street Hawker Centre.

And boy, oh, boy. The crowds flock to this place at lunchtime. And for good reason. The food here is not just good, but affordable too.

Your regular hawker centre prices, right in the CBD!

Over here, we recommend going for the Ah Liang Ipoh Hor Fun. The queue gets really long, so try to get an early/late lunch when choosing to eat here.

The Hor Fun is perfectly cooked, with just a flavourful dark sauce you can’t really find anywhere else in Singapore. It’s amazing.

Golden Nur is also a good bet if you are hankering after some Indian food. They are popularly known for their Fried Chicken Briyani. It is tasty, fatty (so not for those watching their weight) and absolutely worth it.

You won’t go wrong eating at most of the stalls here, and you also won’t break your bank.

So this can be a frequented lunchtime haunt.

• Address: 5 Cross St, Singapore 048418
• Opening Hours: Mondays to Fridays, 9 am – 6 pm. Closed on weekends.

Raffles Place Food 4: 109 Teochew Yong Tau Foo

This is another favourite lunchtime haunt by the Raffles crowd.

I mean firstly, who doesn’t love a good steaming bowl of Yong Tau Foo – especially on those rainy and cold days.

Soup or dry, the bowls are 6 bucks each with a minimum of 6 ingredients. Slightly pricier than your regular Yong Tau Foo, but still considered affordable within the CBD realm.

The broth is seriously very good, and they keep their ingredients as fresh as possible, so you won’t be disappointed by the quality of the food here.

• Address: 90 Circular Rd, Singapore 049441
• Opening Hours: Mondays to Saturdays, 11 am – 10 pm. Closed on Sundays.

Raffles Place Food 5: The Salted Plum

The Salted Plum serves up some yummy Taiwanese-inspired dishes, tapas style.

The food is priced at mainly 5 bucks and 10 bucks, making it another affordable go-to when you’re in the area.

They do have slightly pricier items on the menu costing 15 and 25 bucks, but they are for the fresh, premium meats like lobsters.

The food is across the board very rich and delicious. Portions are generous and sure to fill you up, and you will be hard-pressed to find a dish that doesn’t excite your taste buds.

We recommend the Fried Chicken with Nori Mayo, Braised Pork Belly and Smashed Potatoes with Salted Plum Powder – washed down with the ‘Shiny Rice’ of course.

And don’t leave without trying the Burnt Chilli Chicken Rice. It’s perfection.

All the dishes I mentioned are 10 bucks, but man, they’re gonna rock your socks off.

Your only regret eating here will probably be the amount of exercise you gonna have to do to burn off the calories. 

• Address: 10 Circular Rd, Singapore 049366
• Opening Hours: Mondays to Thursdays, 11:30 am – 2:30 pm (lunch) & 6 pm – 9:30 pm (dinner). Fridays, 11:30 am – 2:30 pm (lunch) & 6 pm – 9:30 pm (dinner) & 11 pm – 2:30am (supper). Saturdays and Sundays, 6 pm – 9:30 pm (dinner) & 11 pm – 2:30 am (supper).

Raffles Place Food 6: Lau Pa Sat Festival Market

You know that no Raffles Place eatery list will ever be complete without giving a shoutout to Lau Pa Sat, right?

Aiya, it’s so ingrained into Singapore’s culture and heritage we have to talk about it, you know. So please don’t eye-roll me or tell me you already know all this.

I know you know, lah, but still have to talk about it.

Cuz they do serve some yummy food that’s affordable.

And I need to meet my word count also, right.

We recommend Seng Kee Local Delights, for some true-blue fried food that we all love – Char Kway Teow. It’s cheap, full of yummy ingredients, got that signature wok hei, greasy and hits all the right spots.

We also recommend The Beef House for hearty, filling portions of noodles slathered with generous helpings of beef in a gooey, dark beef broth thats super yummy.

• Address: 18 Raffles Quay, 048582
• Opening Hours: 24 hours, every day

Raffles Place Food 7:  Hong Lim Market and Food Centre

Hong Lim Market and Food Centre doesn’t immediately spring to mind when you’re thinking of where to eat at in the CBD.

Makes sense, since it is located in the Chinatown area, so this is probably a more feasible lunch spot for those who have longer lunch breaks, or those that drive.

It’s worth the longer trip down though, because they serve really authentic, homegrown local fanfare that’s guaranteed to make you feel fifty shades of yum. 

We recommend Cantonese Delights for yummy fried chicken sitting atop Mee Kia (my fave noodle type, in case anyone was wondering). 

Ah Heng Curry Chicken Mee is also super yummy, with generous portions of ingredients to keep your tummy filled up till dinner time.

If you want some real quality Laksa, visit the Sungei Road Trishaw Laksa. It is the only laksa stall in Hong Lim to be awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2016.

And it’s not hard to see why – the laksa is mind-blowingly awesome. 10/10. Will go back every day to eat this laksa if I can. Unfortunately, I work at Bukit Batok 🙁

• Address: 531A Upper Cross St, 051531.
• Opening Hours: Every day from 7 am – 9 pm.
  

Raffles Place Food 8: Gochi-So Shokudo

Gochi-So Shokudo is an eatery in One Raffles Place that very honestly, isn’t super cheap or affordable.

So why am I talking about it? Because it has this one item on the menu that is damn good and relatively affordable.

Their Iberico Pork Belly Don. Which costs 10 bucks.

Flown in straight from Spain, their Iberico Pork is tasty and tops off delicious white rice together with a perfectly cooked Onsen egg, seaweed and spring onion.

They do have other delicious items on the menu, but they cost around 15 bucks (so maybe have these items just once in a while).

But you can keep going back for the Iberico Pork Belly Don – it’s tasty, great quality ingredients, filling and relatively affordable!

• Address: 1 Raffles Place, #B1-30 One Raffles Place, 048616
• Opening Hours: Mondays to Thursdays, 11 am – 9:30 pm. Fridays to Sundays, 11 am – 10 pm.

Raffles Place Food 9: China Square Food Centre

China Square Food Centre is another place you should frequent for lunch.

The food is cheap and delicious – what on earth would we do without hawker food…

Over here, meet your chicken rice hankerings at the chicken rice stall. One of the best chicken rice I’ve ever had.

They also have really, really good fish soup (get the fried fish soup with milk) – perfect for rainy weather when you just want something hot and comforting.

Their Yong Tau Foo stall is also popular, affordable and tasty. So you can customise your own bowl of happiness without breaking the bank.

The best part is, you can find places to sit here even during the lunch rush, so visit this place on your next lunch break!

• Address: 51 Telok Ayer St, 048441
• Opening Hours: Mondays to Fridays, 7 am – 8 pm. Saturdays, 8 am – 2 pm. Closed on Sundays.
  

Raffles Place Food 10: Tanjong Pagar Food Centre

Tanjong Pagar Food Centre is another favourite amongst people working in the Raffles area.

It’s easy to get to and comes with a variety of delicious food, priced at the hawker prices.

And to be honest, you can’t really go wrong with many of the stalls here either. They’ve all been around for ages mostly, and it’s because they sell very tasty food.

If you ask our recommendations though, we will ask you to get the Char Kway Teow at Peter Fried Kway Teow Mee.

Full of wok hei, surprisingly not greasy and full of flavour, you’ll be back for more

Soon Heng Food Delights will reward you with some awesome Lor Mee, Makan Sutera Nasi Lemak Pandan Rice will meet any and all Nasi Lemak cravings, and Ming Kee Cooked Food for anyone wanting to eat some classic cai png food.

The cai png has one of the longest queues at lunchtime usually, but they clear the lines fast. Their food is cooked frequently and not kept out for ages, and some popular items include their fried chicken cutlet.

• Address: 6 Tanjong Pagar Plaza, 081006.
• Opening Hours: Mondays to Saturdays, 8 am – 8 pm. Closed on Sundays.

And there you go. Lunchtime in the CBD will no longer suck your salary dry!

So you can’t say you going broke working in the area anymore.