So much delicious hawker food out there, so little time to try it all.
The Straits Times will be offering a solution to this perennial problem next month - in the form of the one-day-only ST Hawker Masters Hopping Trail.
Hosted by Life editor Tan Hsueh Yun and sponsored by gas supplier City Gas, Ms Tan will take 10 ST readers to savour food from winners of The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao's Hawker Masters awards, and other stellar hawkers.
The 10 readers will be chosen via a contest, which is open to all ST subscribers. Those who are picked can each take along one guest.
Ms Tan has curated a selection of at least eight hawker master stalls in five hawker centres.
On Sept 16, these readers will gather at Singapore Press Holdings' News Centre in Toa Payoh North, before being whisked away to their first stop - Maxwell Food Centre.
One of the highlights at this stop is fried oyster cakes, which are crispy on the outside and stuffed with oysters on the inside.
Ms Tan says: "These oyster cakes are not common, so we'd better get our fill before they disappear. I love watching them being made."
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WANT TO BE ONE OF THE 10 LUCKY ST READERS GOING ON THIS TRAIL?
If you are an ST subscriber, take part in this contest and stand a chance to be selected.
How to participate:
•Download the SPH Rewards app
•Look for the Rewards section
•Save this deal in your e-wallet
•Press the "E-mail" button on the "Details" page and answer the following question: "Tell us who you would like to take on the trail and why?"
•In your e-mail, include your name, NRIC number, mobile phone number and home address
The feasting continues at the second stop, Amoy Street Food Centre.
The two stalls Ms Tan has selected here are Piao Ji Fish Porridge and Yuan Chun Famous Lor Mee.
Both stalls were crowned Singapore Hawker Masters in 2014, during the fifth edition of the annual hawker hunt by The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao.
She says: "The slices of fish are thick and luxurious. The broth is robust and the smart diner will drink it all up. But what makes this dish sing is the secret ingredient: cubes of crisp lard buried under the fish. They make this hawker dish a little naughty, but they also make it mighty good."
After these hearty dishes, the group will then journey to the east, where they can beat the noonday heat with Ye Lai Xiang Cheng Tng at Bedok Corner Food Centre.
Hass Bawa Mee Goreng at Marine Parade Central Market and Food Centre is the next stop.
Like Piao Ji Fish Porridge and Yuan Chun Famous Lor Mee, Hass Bawa was similarly lauded as one of the Singapore Hawker Masters in 2014.
It was a winner because the stall's mee goreng is said to be fragrant, with an appetising appearance, and the noodles are not overly oily.
The final stop is East Coast Lagoon Food Village, where the group will tuck into hearty sticks of meat from Haron Satay and quench their thirst with fresh coconut water.
With satisfied tummies, the group will then head back to News Centre.
Ms Tan says: "Come hungry."
