A Hawker Lunch at Shunfu Market & Hawker Centre

Singapore - Updated September 2026

I recently returned to Shunfu Market & Hawker Centre after my original visit in 2023. This time I tried Leong Hainanese Chicken Rice, Mei Zhen Hakka Delicacies and several other stalls.  Shunfu Market & Hawker Centre, also known as Shunfu Mart Food Centre, is a neighbourhood hawker centre near Marymount MRT in Singapore. I took the Circle Line to Marymount MRT Exit A and walked about 10 minutes to explore some of the popular food stalls at Shunfu.

Leong Hainanese Chicken Rice at Shunfu Mart #02-22

My first stop was the highly regarded Leong Hainanese Chicken Rice #02-22. I was lucky to get the chance to try this popular stall, which has received attention from The Straits Times and well-known food bloggers including Miss Tam Chiak and Daniel Food Diary. The stall has also appeared on television, with owner Mr Neo Cheng Leong featured as a hawker mentor in a Mediacorp/CNA Insider documentary series.

So, was the chicken rice worth the attention? For me, absolutely. The chicken was very tender, and the rice was particularly delicious, cooked and soaked in rich chicken broth that gave every mouthful a wonderful flavour. At $4.50, it was a very satisfying plate of chicken rice and easily became the highlight of my lunch.

Next, I headed to Mei Zhen Hakka Delicacies #02-26 for their famous Hakka abacus seeds. These chewy, indented yam paste balls are becoming increasingly rare because making them traditionally requires a tremendous amount of manual work — steaming, mashing and shaping the yam paste by hand.

The plate cost $5.50, and I could understand why they are so sought after. The abacus seeds were beautifully stir-fried with plenty of dried shrimp or hae bee, mushrooms and turnip, then generously covered with fragrant fried shallots. There were so many layers of flavour — savoury, aromatic and slightly chewy — making this another dish I thoroughly enjoyed.

Then came my biggest disappointment of the day: the popiah from Heng Heng #02-25. Unfortunately, the preparation looked quite unappetising to me, and the chilli was simply chilli sauce rather than the kind of chilli accompaniment I was hoping for. The taste was ordinary, and at $2, it was easily the worst dish of my lunch.

To end the meal on a sweeter note, I tried the chocolate éclair from Chocolate N' Spice #02-12. At $2.50, it was packed with rich chocolate flavour and plenty of chocolate — a delicious little treat to finish the afternoon.

Overall, Shunfu gave me a great hawker experience, with the chicken rice and Hakka abacus seeds standing out as the stars of my visit. Sometimes, exploring a neighbourhood hawker centre is like opening a treasure box — you never know what delicious discovery awaits you.