Singapore Food Heritage
← Back to Food HeritageNgoh Hiang
Hokkien and Teochew immigrant tradition adapted by Peranakan kitchens — ngoh hiang (五香, five spice) takes its name from the five-spice seasoning in the signature pork roll.
Story
Ngoh hiang is Singapore's most satisfying fried platter: a spread of minced pork and prawn rolls wrapped in tofu skin and deep-fried, served alongside fried fish cake, prawn fritters, and other morsels, dipped in a sweet plum sauce or chilli.
Shiok Factor
The Hokkien and Teochew communities brought the concept; the Peranakan community adapted it into a feast format; hawker stalls reduced it to a daily snack
At its best, the minced pork roll — the classic piece — is aromatic with five spice, crispy on the outside, and juicy within. It is the kind of food that is difficult to stop eating once started.
🏷️ Key Ingredients
Tap any ingredient to learn its role
🥢 How to Eat Like a Local
- 1
Order the classic five-spice pork roll as your anchor, then build the rest of the selection around it
- 2
Eat while hot — the tofu skin wrapper loses its crispness within minutes of leaving the oil
- 3
Dip into the sweet plum sauce rather than the chilli — the plum sauce was designed specifically for ngoh hiang
- 4
Cut the pork roll at an angle to expose the filling — you eat more confidently when you can see what's inside
- 5
Mix pieces — a bite of pork roll, a bite of fish cake, a bite of prawn — the variety is the eating experience
Tap each step to highlight
🌡️ Shiok-O-Meter
Rated by locals, not algorithms
Spice Hit
Like drinking warm water lah
Napkin Alert
Eat with one hand, no problem
Flavour Depth
Cannot stop eating
Queue Game
Walk in, sit down, eat
Shiok Value
Money well spent
Overall Shiok Score
🤷 Try First, See How
Where to Find the Best
Old Airport Road Food Centre, Geylang Serai, and various hawker centres island-wide — most hawker centres have at least one ngoh hiang stall with a glass case display.
Best Paired With
- Sweet plum sauce for the pork rolls
- chilli sauce for the prawn fritters
- a bowl of congee for the complete ngoh hiang experience.
Best Ngoh Hiang in Singapore
Locally verified — not sponsored
- 1
Lim's Ngoh Hiang
Kallang•Old Airport Road Food Centre, #01-100, 51 Old Airport RdThe most comprehensive ngoh hiang selection in Singapore — over 15 items daily, fried to order
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Chinatown Complex Ngoh Hiang
Chinatown•Chinatown Complex Food Centre, 335 Smith StreetThe Teochew-style version — slightly less five spice than the Hokkien interpretation, with a larger prawn component
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Tiong Bahru Ngoh Hiang
Tiong Bahru•Tiong Bahru Market, #02-20, 30 Seng Poh RoadNeighbourhood favourite — the glass display case is always full in the morning and empty by 1pm
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Find It At These Hawker Centres
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