Food
Where to eat at Fortune Centre for under $10
A central-district building where a full meal still costs single digits. The stalls that hold the line, and what to order at each.
Fortune Centre sits four minutes from Bencoolen MRT, in a part of town where a sandwich costs twelve dollars. Inside, a full meal under ten is still normal. Here is where.
Under $7
Su Shi Piao Xiang (#01-01) is the floor price. Vegetarian cai fan with a couple of dishes lands around five to six dollars, and the set comes with barley. Open from 7am.
Diner's Shack (#02-31) does one thing: fish soup, around $6.30 with mee sua, thick skinless batang slices, ginger and tomato in the broth. Curry chicken is the only other item. Closed Sundays, queues at opening.
Bodhi Deli (#03-26/27) does vegetarian versions of hawker staples — mee siam, wanton mee, chicken rice, lu rou fan — in the same range, with plenty of seating even at peak.
Tian Yuan (#01-16) runs a different noodle soup daily. Low salt, low oil, ginger-forward. Dessert is usually a couple of dollars more.
$7 to $10
Pine Tree Cafe (#02-13/21) does yong tau foo where you pick your own ingredients, plus a dry mala that has a following. Tracy Juice Culture (#01-34) sells the mushroom udon at around $9.90 — a thick creamy mushroom broth with no cream in it, which is the single most recommended dish on Level 1.
Hangawi Korean Food (#02-18) does ginseng chicken at about $11.50 for a half portion, and most set meals under ten, each with two side dishes.
Little Pandan Nasi Lemak (#04-15B) sits around $10 for ayam merah with a fried egg — generous enough that people mention the portion before the price.
Seva Cafe (#03-19) and Little Nonya's Cookies (#04-10) both keep most mains under ten.
Worth knowing
Prices drift and this is a guide, not a menu. Several stalls are cash or PayNow only. A few of the smaller operators charge a little extra for card.
And one deliberate exception: New Green Pasture Cafe (#04-22) will run you $25 to $30 for two dishes. It is organic and says so. If budget is the constraint, it is not the floor to start on.