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Fishball Noodles

Teochew immigrant hawker tradition — handmade fishballs from pounded fresh fish were a Teochew coastal specialty, adapted into a noodle soup by Singapore's hawkers in the post-war decades.

MildEasy to eat
Fishball Noodles

Story

Fishball noodles is Singapore's most reliable bowl: thin yellow noodles or bee hoon in a clear pork-and-anchovy broth, topped with bouncy fishballs, fishcake slices, and minced pork, with a small side of chilli sauce.

Shiok Factor

The dish is Teochew in origin — fishballs made from fresh fish pounded until springy were a signature of Teochew coastal cooking, and the hawkers who sold them in Singapore's streets built a simple, inexpensive bowl around them

Eaten for breakfast or lunch, it is the dish that most Singaporeans ate at school canteens and at void-deck stalls every week for the entirety of their childhood. The broth should be clean and savoury. The fishballs must bounce when pressed. These are the only two requirements.

🏷️ Key Ingredients

Tap any ingredient to learn its role

🥢 How to Eat Like a Local

  1. 1

    Order dry if you want to taste the noodle sauce quality, soup if you want to judge the broth — both are valid entry points

  2. 2

    Press a fishball with your chopstick before eating — the bounce confirms whether they are handmade

  3. 3

    Add chilli sauce to the dry version first, then vinegar — the order matters for balance

  4. 4

    Eat the fishballs while they are hot and still firm — they become spongy as they cool in the soup

  5. 5

    The dry version's sauce pools at the bottom of the bowl — mix from the bottom before your first bite

Tap each step to highlight

🌡️ Shiok-O-Meter

Rated by locals, not algorithms

🌶️

Spice Hit

Like drinking warm water lah

2/10Mild Lah

Napkin Alert

Eat with one hand, no problem

2/10Clean Eat
🎵

Flavour Depth

Got layers, worth exploring

6/10Not Bad Lah
🕐

Queue Game

Walk in, sit down, eat

5/10Short Wait
💰

Shiok Value

Money well spent

8/10Good Value

Overall Shiok Score

🤷 Try First, See How

46/100

Where to Find the Best

Fishball noodle (mee pok) stalls are found in most hawker centres and kopitiams, usually serving mee pok, mee kia, kway teow or bee hoon, dry or soup. Stalls that shape their own fishballs in-house often draw early-morning queues and sell out by lunch.

Best Paired With

  • A cup of kopi-o
  • the chilli sauce from the stall
  • nothing else. Fishball noodles is a complete and self-contained meal.
📍

Best Fishball Noodles in Singapore

Checked against recent food guides — not sponsored

  • 1

    LiXin Teochew Fishball Noodles

    Toa Payoh•Kim Keat Palm Market & Food Centre, #01-20, 22 Toa Payoh Lorong 7

    Michelin Bib Gourmand (2026) original stall, pushcart roots since 1968. Order dry mee pok with the spicy house chilli and lard; handmade yellowtail fishballs. Kim Keat Palm is closed for repairs until about mid-December 2026.

    📍 Open in Maps
  • 2

    Xin Lu Teochew Fishball Noodles

    Queenstown•Mei Ling Market & Food Centre, #02-05, 159 Mei Chin Road

    Ex-Margaret Drive stall with large, bouncy fishballs shaped in-house from yellowtail and wolf herring. Go dry and add extra fishballs.

    📍 Open in Maps
  • 3

    Hui Ji Fishball Noodles

    Tiong Bahru•Tiong Bahru Market, #02-44, 30 Seng Poh Road

    Tiong Bahru favourite: firm fishballs, bouncy fishcake and fish dumplings, with a ketchup-tinged chilli and light sweet soup. Add crispy lard or yong tau foo.

    📍 Open in Maps

Fishball Noodles: questions people ask

Where can I eat the best fishball noodles in Singapore?

Our picks are LiXin Teochew Fishball Noodles (Toa Payoh), Xin Lu Teochew Fishball Noodles (Queenstown) and Hui Ji Fishball Noodles (Tiong Bahru). Each one is checked against recent food guides; see the full list with addresses on this page.

How much does fishball noodles cost in Singapore?

Expect to pay about S$4–6.50 (hawker bowl usually S$4–5; food-court and upsized bowls more).

Is fishball noodles spicy?

Only mildly. Fishball noodles has a gentle warmth rather than real heat.

How do you eat fishball noodles like a local?

Order dry if you want to taste the noodle sauce quality, soup if you want to judge the broth — both are valid entry points. Press a fishball with your chopstick before eating — the bounce confirms whether they are handmade.

Find It At These Hawker Centres

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