Old Airport Road, where the runway used to be.

The place

Why Old Airport Road.

The name is literal. The centre opened in 1973 beside a former runway of Kallang Airport, Singapore’s first civilian airport, and the MICHELIN Guide calls it one of the country’s earliest purpose-built hawker centres. It closed for upgrading in mid-2024 and reopened on 30 September 2024 with new fans, lights and toilets.

What makes it special is depth: 168 stalls, many of them single-dish specialists with decades behind them. If you have done Chinatown and want the next level, this is it.

Nine stops

Nine Old Airport Road stops and what to order.

Unit numbers are from Eatbook, Shopee (May 2025) and the MICHELIN Guide (December 2025). Several stalls sell out or close on short notice.

The route

The order that works.

1. Arrive before the lunch rushLate morning gets you seats and short queues. Send one person to save a table with a tissue packet.
2. The three Bibs firstSplit the group: one to Nam Sing, one to Lao Fu Zi, one to To-Ricos. At Lao Fu Zi there are no buzzers — staff label plates by describing the customer, so wear something memorable.
3. Lor mee or prawn noodlesAdd one bowl from Xin Mei Xiang or Whitley Road. Both queue; both are worth it.
4. Something sharpToa Payoh Rojak cuts through all that frying. One plate for the table.
5. Fritters to finishBanana fritters from Geylang Lor 20, eaten standing up because they are too hot to sit with.

Take home

What to bring back.

• Pau from Rong Yi Handmade Local Pau (#01-01) — steamed buns that survive a bus ride. It opens at 7:30 a.m., per HungryGoWhere.
• Banana fritters, bagged — eat them within the hour.
• Your stall list. With 168 stalls, the unit number is the souvenir.

Timing and getting there

How to do Old Airport Road well.

• Take the MRT. Dakota station on the Circle Line is the closest, a short walk away.
• Check the days. Cho Kee cooks weekdays only, and Nam Sing rests on Mondays and sometimes closes on random days (Shopee, Eatbook).
• Order the Bibs first. They have the longest waits; put your order in, then wander.
• Use unit numbers. The floor is big. “#01-32” finds Nam Sing faster than any description.
• Return your tray. It is the rule at every hawker centre in Singapore.

Sharing math

How to eat Old Airport Road with friends.

• Noodles: one plate per two, and four different noodles on the table.
• Kway chap: one set for three. It comes as a spread of braised bits; everyone picks.
• Rojak: one plate for the table. It is a palate cleanser, not a meal.
• Fritters: one bag per two.
• Pay as you go, then even it out with the split bill calculator.

Copy this

Your Old Airport Road checklist.

Screenshot it and work through it at one table.

• ☐ Hokkien mee at Nam Sing — wetter or drier than expected? ___
• ☐ Char kway teow — black or white? ___
• ☐ How Lao Fu Zi described me: ___
• ☐ Lor mee or prawn mee? ___
• ☐ Oyster omelette — oysters counted: ___
• ☐ Rojak with century egg — brave? ___
• ☐ Unit number I’d walk straight back to: ___

Keep the trip

A tray from five stalls.

The classic Old Airport Road photo is one table holding plates from five different stalls. Snap it once in PlateDiary and every plate is cut out into its own save, grouped into one moment at the centre. Name them, star them, add the unit number in the note.

Prices stay in Singapore dollars as you paid them; PlateDiary never converts. Stamp the stalls in Stamps, and when you come back the place page shows your usual — probably the char kway teow.