[dropcap size=small]F[/dropcap]ifty hawker stalls and restaurants have made it to the Bib Gourmand list for this year’s Michelin Guide, up from 38 last year. Among them are 17 new stalls, and five have been dropped from last year’s list.
(Related: The full list and a field guide to the hawkers of Singapore’s Michelin Bib Gourmand 2017)
Among those new on the list are mutton soup Chai Chuan Tou Yang Rou Tang in Bukit Merah View Food Centre, Chuan Kee Boneless Braised Duck at Ghim Moh Market & Food Centre, Fresh Taste Big Prawn Noodle at Zion Riverside Food Centre and Rolina Traditional Hainanese Curry Puff at Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market & Food Centre.
New restaurants on the list include Sik Bao Sin in Geylang, an air-conditioned offshoot of zi char place Sik Wai Sin, also in Geylang. The Coconut Club in Club Street, which serves nasi lemak, made the list, as did Muthu’s Curry in Little India.
Dropped from the list are Peony Jade, Shish Mahal, 328 Katong Laksa, Liang Zhao Ji Duck Rice and ramen restaurant Tsuta.
The Bib Gourmand list recommends places that offer good value meals. Not to be confused with the coveted Michelin Star, these Bibs are handed out to smaller-scale eateries, hawker stalls or restaurants that plate up “good value” meals – for less than S$45 per head.
This “cut-off” point varies from country to country. In most European cities, the figure sits at 35 euros (S$52); it’s 5000 yen ($64) in Japan, and HK$300 ($52) in Hong Kong.
The inspectors cast their nets wider in drawing up the Bib Gourmand list, visiting popular haunts such as Ghim Moh Market & Food Centre, Zion Riverside Food Centre and Bukit Merah View Food Centre.
Those living in the eastern part of Singapore will either cheer or rue the list. Observers have pointed out that few quality eating places there have made the list. This year, the inspectors gave the east some love, picking hawker stalls at Old Airport Road Food Centre and Fengshan Market & Food Centre.