1. Lau Pa Sat
OPEN18 Raffles Quay, Lau Pa Sat · Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer (DT18) or Downtown (DT17)
The 1894 cast-iron market at the Raffles Quay end, and the easiest place to feed a group that wants five different things. Inside, local, Asian, Western and Middle Eastern stalls share one hall under the clock tower. Weekday lunch is packed with office crowds, so come before 11.45am or after 1.30pm. The building never closes, but each stall keeps its own hours.
🍽 Hawker stalls under one roof, seats for big groups · ⏰ Open 24 hours, each stall keeps its own hours
2. Hong Kong Street Live BBQ Seafood
OPENStall 51 to 53, Lau Pa Sat, 18 Raffles Quay · Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer (DT18) or Downtown (DT17)
The big seafood stall inside Lau Pa Sat, and halal-certified on MUIS's own listing. Lau Pa Sat's 2025 Ramadan set featured sambal stingray, cereal prawns, sambal kangkong and oyster omelette, a good guide to the menu. Bring three or four people; this is a sharing stall, not a solo lunch.
🍽 Halal-certified, sambal stingray, cereal prawns · ⏰ check their socials for hours
3. Satay Street
OPENBoon Tat Street, beside Lau Pa Sat · Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer (DT18)
When the satay carts fire up on Boon Tat Street, the road fills with smoke and folding tables. Lau Pa Sat's own page counts nine carts. Order chicken, mutton and beef sticks with prawns to share, and grab drinks from the stalls inside. Lau Pa Sat's page gives 7pm on weekdays and 3pm on weekends, though another line on the same page says 7pm daily, so expect it from 7pm. We could not find the satay carts on MUIS's online halal list, so look for the certificate at the cart if you need it.
🍽 Satay carts, late-night open-air tables · ⏰ From 7pm daily by Lau Pa Sat's page (it also mentions 3pm at weekends), till about 3am
4. Pagi Sore
OPEN88/90 Telok Ayer Street, #01-01, Far East Square · Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer (DT18)
Indonesian cooking right by Telok Ayer MRT, going since 1989 according to their own site, and halal-certified: MUIS lists it and so does their Instagram bio. Get the ikan ota kukus, a whole leatherjacket steamed in an otah gravy, with tahu telor and kangkong belachan. It is a proper sit-down room, so it is the client-lunch answer when the hawker queues are too long.
🍽 Halal-certified Indonesian, ikan ota kukus, tahu telor · ⏰ check their socials for hours
Photo: Pagi Sore
5. ASAP & Co
OPEN70 Telok Ayer Street, #01-01, Far East Square · Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer (DT18)
A smoked-meat steakhouse in the old Amoy Hotel building. Asap is Malay for smoke, and the menu runs on the smoker: premium beef from several breeds and cuts. It has a lunch window and a dinner window, so check the hours before you go.
🍽 Smoked steaks, premium beef · ⏰ Far East Square lists 12pm to 3pm and 5pm to 11pm; its Instagram shows different hours, so check
6. 88 Hong Kong Roast Meat Specialist
OPEN19/20 China Street, #01-01, Far East Square · Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer (DT18)
Char siew, roast pork and roast duck over rice or noodles. Far East Square's own listing says owner Martin Ong roasts over charcoal instead of gas. It is closed on Sundays.
🍽 Charcoal char siew, roast pork, roast duck · ⏰ Mon to Sat 10am to 9pm, closed Sun
7. Ya Kun Kaya Toast
OPEN18 China Street, #01-01, Far East Square · Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer (DT18)
Kaya toast, soft-boiled eggs and kopi, the cheap CBD breakfast. Far East Square's listing traces Ya Kun back to a coffee stall in the 1940s. It closes at 3.30pm on weekdays and 3pm on weekends, so it is not a tea-time stop.
🍽 Kaya toast set, soft-boiled eggs, kopi · ⏰ Mon to Fri 7.30am to 3.30pm, Sat and Sun 7.30am to 3pm
8. OLLELLA
OPEN135 Amoy Street, #01-04, Far East Square · Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer (DT18)
Indonesian and Peranakan kueh, kueh lapis and nasi lemak from a halal-certified bakery: their own site says so and MUIS lists this outlet. Grab kueh dadar and lemper for the office, or a slice of salted egg kueh lapis with your kopi. Closed on Sundays, and Saturday opens later at 9.30am.
🍽 Halal-certified kueh, kueh lapis, nasi lemak · ⏰ Mon to Fri 7.30am to 3.30pm, Sat 9.30am to 3.30pm, closed Sun
9. Plain Vanilla
OPEN134 Telok Ayer Street · Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer (DT18)
The cupcake bakery, and at this CBD branch, a deli counter of hot meat, fish and vegetarian mains cooked to order. It is a solid takeaway lunch or a cake box for someone's office birthday. Opens at 7.30am, and on Sundays it closes earlier at 5pm.
🍽 Cupcakes, cheesecake, deli lunch plates · ⏰ Mon to Sat 7.30am to 7pm, Sun and PH 7.30am to 5pm
Photo: Plain Vanilla
10. Sarnies
OPEN136 Telok Ayer Street · Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer (DT18)
Their own site calls this the original Sarnies. Specialty coffee and big brunch plates, and it is pet-friendly by its site. It sits next door to Plain Vanilla, so coffee here and cake there is an easy split. It closes at 5.30pm, so it is not a dinner stop.
🍽 Specialty coffee, brunch, pet friendly · ⏰ Daily 7.30am to 5.30pm
11. Kulto
OPEN87 Amoy Street · Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer (DT18) or Maxwell (TE18)
Spanish restaurant run by chef-owner José Alonso, who is from Rioja. Start with the jamón ibérico croquettes and padrón peppers, then share the Ibérico pork. The private room seats 26, which makes it a good pick for a team dinner. Lunch and dinner are separate sittings, and the site lists no Sunday hours.
🍽 Spanish tapas, Ibérico pork, private room · ⏰ Mon to Sat 12pm to 2.30pm and 5.30pm to 10.30pm
12. My Awesome Cafe
OPEN202 Telok Ayer Street · Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer (DT18) or Maxwell (TE18)
Franck Hardy's cafe, open since Valentine's Day 2014 per its own site, at the Amoy Street end of Telok Ayer. Salads, sandwiches and platters by day, wine later on. Their site points you to Google for hours and they take bookings on WhatsApp, so message ahead for a group.
🍽 Salads, sandwiches, platters, wine · ⏰ check their socials for hours
13. Amoy Street Food Centre
OPEN7 Maxwell Road (MND Building Annexe B), at the Telok Ayer Street and Amoy Street junction · Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar (EW15) or Maxwell (TE18)
Two floors and 134 cooked-food stalls by NEA's count, and the CBD's lunch canteen. The stalls worth queueing for are split across both levels, so check the unit numbers below before you join a line. Queues peak from 12pm to 1.30pm on weekdays; go at 11.30am. Some stalls, Han Kee included, only open on weekdays.
🍽 CBD hawker centre, weekday lunch · ⏰ check their socials for hours
14. Han Kee Fish Soup
OPEN#02-129, Amoy Street Food Centre · Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar (EW15) or Maxwell (TE18)
Sliced fish soup with thick, fresh fish slices in a clear broth. Expect a lunch queue. Weekdays only, 11am to 3pm.
🍽 Sliced fish soup, clear broth · ⏰ Mon to Fri 11am to 3pm
15. A Noodle Story
OPEN#01-39, Amoy Street Food Centre · Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar (EW15) or Maxwell (TE18)
One dish: Singapore-style ramen, which is wanton mee and ramen in one bowl, with char siu, wantons and an onsen egg. Their own Instagram bio calls it the first and only Singapore-style ramen, and lists this stall plus a Changi Airport T1 branch.
🍽 Singapore-style ramen, wantons, char siu · ⏰ check their socials for hours
16. The Original Vadai
OPEN#02-84, Amoy Street Food Centre · Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar (EW15) or Maxwell (TE18)
Prawn vadai, the crunchy lentil fritter with a whole prawn pressed on top, plus the other vadai and fried snacks. MUIS lists this Amoy Street stall as halal-certified. It is the quick snack stop on the second floor when you do not have time for a full queue.
🍽 Halal-certified, prawn vadai, fried snacks · ⏰ check their socials for hours
