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Tekka Centre (Little India)
Bustling Little India hawker centre and wet market known for affordable Indian and multi-ethnic Singaporean hawker food....
Top Vegetarian Hawker Stalls You Wouldnt Believe Are Meat-Free
A neighbourhood-led guide to the best vegetarian hawker stalls across Singapore — meat-free versions of your favourite hawker dishes and where to find them.
You don’t have to be vegetarian to enjoy hawker meat-free — the flavours are unapologetically hawker.
Ask questions at the stall — many vendors are proud to explain how their meat-free dishes are made.
Why Singapore’s hawker scene embraces vegetarian food
Hawker centres have always been the city’s great social leveller — cheap, fast and unpretentious. In recent years many stalls have added meat-free options or gone fully vegetarian to serve plant-forward customers, devotees of Buddhist cuisine, and the growing flexitarian crowd.
You’ll find everything from mock-meat zi char and vegetarian char kway teow to coconut-rich laksa and Indian thosai counters, often run by families who’ve been hawking for generations. Eating meat-free at a hawker is as much about local culture and flavours as it is about diet.
Neighbourhoods and hawker centres worth visiting
Start with heartland favourites and heritage centres — Tekka Centre in Little India for hearty Indian vegetarian choices, Tiong Bahru for hip vegetarian kopitiam stalls, and Katong/Marine Parade if you want Peranakan-style vegetable dishes and laksa alternatives.
Don’t overlook larger complexes like Changi Village and the food courts around Bugis and Orchard for lunchtime veggie options aimed at the CBD crowd. Each neighbourhood has its own rhythm: Tekka hums at breakfast and lunch, Tiong Bahru is great for weekend brunch-style hawker discovery.
- Tekka Centre (Little India) — vegetarian thosai, prata, and Indian-style curries
- Tiong Bahru — modern kopitiam stalls with plant-based zi char and mock meats
- Katong & East Coast — Peranakan-influenced vegetable dishes and laksa alternatives
- Changi Village & hawker hubs — casual seaside makan with meat-free choices
What to order: vegetarian hawker dishes that surprise you
Vegetarian hawker stalls aim to reproduce classic textures and flavours. Look out for vegetarian char kway teow (wok-fried rice noodles with soy-protein or tau pok), mock-chicken rice where soy-based ‘chicken’ replaces meat, and plant-based zi char dishes using mushrooms, tofu and gluten-based proteins.
Other stalwarts include yong tau foo (choose vegetable and tofu items), mee siam with a tangy vegetarian gravy, and coconut-based vegetarian laksa. Many stalls also offer mixed-vegetable rice plates and rotating daily specials that borrow from Malay, Chinese and Indian neighbour cuisines.
- Yong tau foo — pick only veg and tofu to keep it fully meat-free
- Vegetarian zi char — mushrooms, eggplant, mock-meat, and bold sauces
- Laksa — ask if the stock is seafood-based; many stalls now offer coconut-vegetable broth
- Thosai & prata — reliably vegetarian and great for breakfast or supper
How to order, dietary checks and hawker etiquette
Ask — polite questions go a long way. Say “no lard” or “no egg” if you have preferences, and check whether broths or sauces contain fish sauce, oyster sauce or dried shrimp. Many vegetarian stalls clearly label dishes, but when in doubt ask the stall owner.
Be prepared for peak-time queues (12–1pm weekdays, evenings at popular centres). Bring both cash and a PayNow-ready phone — most hawkers now accept QR payments, but a small change of notes helps. Share tables if the centre is busy and clear your tray after eating.
- Ask about broths/sauces — common non-vegetarian hidden ingredients: fish sauce, oyster sauce, dried shrimp
- Bring cash + QR payment app (PayNow), and a packet of tissues for damp benches
- Peak times: weekday lunch and weekend brunch; go early for breakfast-only thosai stalls
- Respect queuing and table-sharing customs at busy kopitiams
A simple 3-stop meat-free makan trail
Make a morning-to-afternoon loop: start with breakfast at Tekka Centre (thosai and prata), hop on the MRT to Tiong Bahru for a mid-morning plate of vegetarian zi char or kopi and kaya toast, then head east to Katong for a coconut-style vegetarian laksa or Peranakan vegetable sides.
This route mixes MRT convenience with short walks between stalls and gives you a taste of different hawker cultures in one day. Time your visit: Tekka early (7–9am), Tiong Bahru late morning (10–11:30am), Katong for a leisurely lunch (12–2pm).
- Suggested order: Tekka Centre (Little India) → Tiong Bahru Hawker → Katong (East Coast)
- Allow 30–45 minutes per stall for sampling; wear comfortable shoes for short walks
- Use MRT lines (North-East, East-West, Circle) and short taxi rides to connect distant neighbourhoods
