Located in a shopping mall China Town Complex in Singapore's Chinatown. A simple sign with the names of dishes, plastic utensils, ordinary chopsticks and a place in a common food court - the kiosk is no different from dozens of competitors located in the neighborhood and from 15 thousand other Singapore eateries. But it is precisely to this unremarkable shop window that meter-long queues are now lining up. The news that among the 29 restaurants featured in a recently introduced city guide Michelin, turned out to be a simple diner, quickly flew around Singapore.

The queue at the street food kiosk Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle

tripadvisor.com | wilsonhocw

However, in the menu Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle the most common dishes appear: chicken with rice or noodles or vegetables in oyster sauce. The cost ranges from 2.50 to 4 Singaporean dollars, and the most expensive item is grilled chicken for $14. Although the inspectors Michelin out of thousands of Singapore stalls, this one was chosen, the owner and chef of the establishment, 51-year-old Jang Hong Men, is not going to raise prices yet.

Jang Hong-men

tripadvisor.com | wilsonhocw

"I am so excited. I never knew diner food could enter the global stage,” Jang Hong Myung said in an interview with the agency. Reuters. He expressed the hope that such an award will be an incentive for young people to open their street food outlets, since now it is mostly the elderly who do it.

“There was a queue in front of my diner even before I opened it at 9:30 in the morning,” he said in an interview. CNBC Tan Chai Sen, owner of the second Michelin-starred eatery on Crawford Lane. However, this is not uncommon: it is believed that in Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle serve the best bak chor mi in town - traditional egg noodles with minced pork.

“There are a lot of bak chor mi places in Singapore, but this is the best of the best. The noodles are cooked perfectly: not too soft and not too hard, something like al dente. And it is very tasty, with a large portion of black vinegar. Yes, the waiting time may seem insane - 45 minutes, but believe me, it's worth it, ”said about Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle one of the website users tripadvisor. However, some visitors experienced less positive feelings. “Servings are small and start at $5. Due to its popularity, noodles are too expensive and the wait is very long, ”says one of the reviews. However, the inspectors Michelin were not afraid of either queues or too expensive noodles and awarded Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle star.

Tan Chai Sen

Sam Kang Li/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“I was very happy to receive this award. Why did they choose me? I don't know. I heard about the guide Michelin, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with my diner,” admitted Tang Chai Sen.

According to the guide, one star Michelin Awarded to an establishment that offers "high quality food worth stopping by." “Singapore is located at the crossroads of trade and commercial routes, the influence on gastronomy here is very diverse, and dishes are enjoyed by both locals and tourists. This is the place where our inspectors discovered real treasures,” said the international director Michelin guides Michael Ellis.

Traditional Asian restaurants with simple interiors and limited seating have already received stars. Michelin: in 2015, for example, this award was awarded to the Tokyo ramen Tsuta. And in November last year, inspectors first began recommending street food establishments, introducing this category in the guide for Hong Kong and Macau. However, according to representatives Michelin Group, street food format Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle And Hong Kong Soy Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle stars were awarded for the first time.

Singapore is an amazing country. In just 30 years, it has evolved from a criminal port city into the most modern, safe and prosperous city-country on the planet. Today it is a city that gives birth to creative people - designers, architects, artists, musicians, photographers, fashion designers and excellent chefs.

In this wonderful country there are no slums, traffic jams and almost no crime. Their streets are so clean that eateries and street cafes are rated on par with the most fashionable and expensive restaurants.

Fast food, Michelin and gourmets - the stars aligned

Knowing the history of Singapore and its current state, it is not surprising that two street vendors have already been awarded a Michelin star. The famous restaurant guide honored Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle and fast food Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice.

The owner and chef of Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice, Chan Hon Meng, said: “I never thought that street trading could become a global trend.” He also expressed the hope that future generations will love establishments of this kind.

It is worth noting that the most famous restaurateurs in the world fight for Michelin stars. Even one Michelin star immediately brings the restaurant to the level of the world elite and gathers crowds of gourmets. Two stars means that it is worth making a detour during the trip to visit it, three - the restaurant is worthy of a special trip.

So two street cafes in Singapore received what is called a “star from heaven” and became on a par with famous restaurants all over the world.

The cheapest food in the guide

Prices at the now world-famous eatery start at 2.5 Singapore dollars, which is about 40 UAH, and the most expensive dish costs 14 Singapore dollars.

Chan Hong Meng, after receiving the award, said that he would not raise prices in his cafe. And the next day, as always, he opened his tent on time. After all, every morning there is a queue for noodles with chicken and rice cooked according to a special recipe.

What you need to do to get a Michelin star

Now celebrity chef Chan Hong Meng started working at the age of 16 helping his parents in Malaysia. And he was trained in the wisdom of cooking by a famous Hong Kong chef. That is why the word Hong Kong is present in the name of his institution.

While teaching Chan Hong Meng, his mentor once joked that the most he could achieve was to get into the Michelin guide. And now, after many years of hard work, on one very ordinary day, the staff of the famous guide came to his tent and invited him to the appointment ceremony. At their invitation, the chief asked in surprise: “You must be joking?” and clarified whether an outdoor tent could be awarded a restaurant award.

The famous Michelin restaurant guide himself comments on his actions as follows: “We rate the food, not the place.” And it is true. After all, often gourmets specially go to a restaurant with 2-3 Michelin stars, anticipating the pleasure not only of food, but also of silver cutlery and waiters in snow-white gloves. However, sometimes they get "just" a good dinner and then experience some disappointment.

Help for travelers in Singapore

If you are planning a trip to Singapore and are a fan of tasty food or if you want to try Michelin-starred dishes, write down the addresses of the eateries:

335 Smith Street

#02-166 Chinatown Complex Market & Food Center

Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle

Not every beautiful and expensive fine dining restaurant qualifies for inclusion in the famous Michelin Red Guide, the most famous and influential of restaurant ratings. Just imagine how surprised Chan Hong Myung, head of Singapore's Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle street food establishment, was surprised when his place of work was awarded an honorary Michelin star. In his stall, he sells noodles and chicken rice.

Chan, a 51-year-old Malaysian who has been in the food industry for 35 years, says he was stunned when restaurant reviewers invited him to an awards ceremony. “When I received the invitation, I had a lot of doubts about the reality of what was happening,” said Chan Hong Meng.

“I asked them if this was a joke, because why would Michelin reviewers suddenly come to my tent. I have never heard of a street vendor receiving this prestigious award. But they told me that they evaluate only the quality of the food, and not the institution itself. I never thought that a street food vendor could go global,” he shared in an interview with Reuters.

Chan serves about two hundred visitors a day, and huge crowds of people regularly line up to his tent. His signature chicken soy sauce with noodles or rice, which costs only about 100 rubles per serving, is now the cheapest Michelin-starred dish in the world.

Do you think that the restaurant with a star Michelin- necessarily a very expensive, artsy place with incredible dishes, right? Singaporean chefs have refuted this misconception. Two street eateries from Singapore have made history by becoming the first fast food cafes in the world to receive the prestigious Michelin star culinary award.
Peking duck, egg noodles with pork and secret ingredient, fried rice with chicken - street eateries where prices start at $ 1.5 - have been awarded Michelin stars and put on a par with luxurious French restaurants.

Singapore became the first country in Southeast Asia and the fourth in Asia to be rated by the Michelin Guide. The Michelin Red Guide is the most famous and influential of the restaurant ratings, the most influential restaurant guide of the last century. The mere mention in the rating adds +100500 to the establishment to its reputation and popularity. The grading system hasn't changed in a long time. If an institution stands out in its segment, the company gives it one star. When it makes sense to adjust the itinerary of your trip for the sake of the cuisine, the restaurant is awarded two stars. Well, if the chef is more brilliant than the Nobel laureates and for the sake of his dishes you can give up on the other side of the world - the place gets three stars.

located in the China Town Complex in Singapore's Chinatown. A simple sign with the names of dishes, plastic utensils, ordinary chopsticks and a place in a common food court - the kiosk is no different from dozens of competitors located in the neighborhood and from 15 thousand other Singapore eateries. But it is precisely to this unremarkable shop window that multi-meter queues are now lining up.


The news that among the 29 restaurants featured in a recently introduced city guide Michelin, turned out to be a simple diner, quickly flew around Singapore.

According to the guide, one star Michelin Awarded to a very good establishment in its category that offers high quality food. A Chinese noodle vendor in Singapore has received a Michelin star - and this is the first time a fast food chef has received a culinary Oscar.


Traditional Asian restaurants with a simple interior and a small number of seats have already received their stars. Michelin: In 2015, for example, Tokyo ramen shop Tsuta received this award. And in November last year, inspectors first began recommending street food establishments, introducing this category in the guide for Hong Kong and Macau. However, according to representatives Michelin Group, street food format establishments and Hong Kong Soy Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle stars were awarded for the first time.

"What is this, a prank?" - this is how street chef Chan Hong Meng reacted when Michelin representatives nominated his tent for a prestigious award. “We value the food, not the place,” he was told.

Jang Hong Meng runs a street food stand Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle in Singapore for 35 years.


He grew up in a family of Malaysian farmers, left school at fifteen and learned to cook to help his parents. Every morning, people line up in front of his Chinatown tent to try the famous soy sauce chicken noodles:

Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle


“Of course, I know about the Michelin guide, but I could not even imagine that they also evaluate street food,” Chan admits. “This is an incredible honor for me.”

However, in the menu Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle the most common dishes for Singaporeans appear: chicken with rice or noodles, Peking duck or vegetables in oyster sauce.

Now the establishment sells about 150 servings of chicken a day and is open until the last visitor, and in the meantime, visitors are ready to stand in line for more than 3 hours. The cost ranges from SGD 2.50 to SG$ 4, with Peking Duck and Grilled Chicken at $14 being the most expensive item.

Although the inspectors Michelin out of thousands of Singaporean stalls, this one was chosen, the owner and chef of the establishment, 51-year-old Jang Hong Men is not going to raise prices yet.

The owner of the second "Michelin" diner Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle on Crawford Lane - Tan Chai Sen.


In the morning, the queue in front of his diner is built long before opening. It is believed that in Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle serve the best in town Bak Chor Mee - traditional egg noodles with minced pork. The most important aspect of this dish is the sauce. It is believed that the taste of the sauce characterizes the skill and experience of the cook. In Singapore, the value of the sauce for this dish is compared to the value of the sauce for Italian pasta. The sauce consists of 4 components: chili, oil, vinegar and a number of seasonings. No less attention is paid to the process of cooking the noodles themselves - they should turn out elastic and not stuck together. To do this, during the cooking process, it is vigorously tossed, and also immersed alternately in hot and cold water.

“Singapore has a lot of bak chor mi places, but this is the best of the best. The noodles are cooked perfectly: not too soft and not too hard, something like al dente. And it is very tasty, spicy, with a large portion of black vinegar.

"Yes, the waiting time may seem insane - 45 minutes, but believe me, it's worth it," they say about Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle regular visitors.

Inspectors Michelin were not afraid of either queues or too expensive noodles and awarded Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle star.

“Singapore is located at the crossroads of trade and commercial routes, the influence on gastronomy here is very diverse, and dishes are enjoyed by both locals and tourists. This is the place where our inspectors discovered real treasures,” said the international director Michelin guides Michael Ellis.

The story of how street chefs from Singapore became the owner of a prestigious star Michelin, convincingly proves that dreams come true if you persistently go towards their implementation.

It is believed that a Michelin-starred restaurant is necessarily a gourmet establishment, a meal in which can seriously hit your pocket. This is partly true, but try the best dishes in the world and for very little money.

The criteria by which Michelin stars are awarded is very vague: the institution must demonstrate "excellent cuisine in its category", so hundreds of places around the world have a chance to be included in the guide.

However, only 28 new restaurants were added to the 2016 Michelin Guide. The most remarkable thing is that street establishments got into it for the first time.

They were two eateries in Singapore - and. As you can guess from the names, one of them serves noodles with pork, and the other - chicken and rice.

Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle is located in the center of Singapore, close to the Arab quarter. The establishment occupies the first floor of an ordinary high-rise building, fluorescent lamps and plastic tables represent its entire decor.

Despite being featured in the Michelin guide, prices at Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle remain remarkably low. You can eat here for only five dollars. For that kind of money in most restaurants - whether Michelin-starred or not - you can only drink a cup of coffee.

The main dish here is Gan Mian, tender pork with noodles in spicy sauce and broth. The chefs of the establishment, who, after becoming famous, have almost no time to talk, say that main ingredient dishes - just pork, without specifying which parts went into preparations.

Another cafe, Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle, is located at Chinatown Complex, Singapore's largest outdoor food court. The queue for a small tent stretches for hundreds of meters, and you will have to stand in it for about two hours. A real test for those who want to try Michelin-starred street food - the complex is stuffy, steam comes from open kitchens, all this complements the already hot tropical climate of Singapore.

The signature dish, chicken and rice in soy sauce, will cost $1.50. The establishment serves 180 servings of such chicken daily; because of a confession that suddenly fell upon him, the chef of the establishment, Jang Hong Myung, is forced to spend 17 hours in the kitchen.
When contacted by Michelin, the 52-year-old chef said he thought the call was a joke. “I never thought that critics of this level could pay attention to street food,” he says. Jang Hong-men hopes that the success of his cafe will attract young people into the business: now, street food in Singapore is mainly run by the older generation. He started cooking himself when he was about 20 years old.

In 2017, Chan Hong Myung opened a second restaurant - Hawker Chan restaurant with 80 seats, located near the original point. It finally has air conditioning, so waiting for the legendary rice with chicken has become much more comfortable. There is also the possibility to take food away. You have to pay for comfort - prices in the new establishment have increased. Now lunch there will cost four dollars, which is still incomparable with other Michelin restaurants.

The Michelin Guide for 2017 has not yet been released, so it is not known if the new establishment will bring another star to the Singaporean chef. However, even without it, the line of people wishing to get into a new institution on the day of its opening was no less than in the former eatery in Chinatown Complex.

How to find establishments:

Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle: 466 Crawford Lane, Singapore
Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle: Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre, 335 Smith St, Singapore
hawkerchan: 78 Smith St, Singapore

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