Bugis

This hole-in-a-wall zi char stall on the second floor of Sim Lim Square is a popular lunch spot for students and office workers in the area. Despite being probably the best salted egg chicken rice dish out there, it doesn't get much coverage on social media. That's good for you, because you don't have to fight the crowds to order their signature Salted Egg Chicken Rice ($5). While you might be tempted to go with the pork, this is the one place you should opt for chicken — it is far more tender and soaks up the salted egg sauce very well. Burpple Tastemaker Xing Wei Chua loves how the dish is served in a mini metal wok, "drenched in a creamy flavourful sauce, and that the chicken chunks are completely covered with salted egg goodness". Complete your meal with an addition of a runny sunny-side up egg ($0.50). There are two adjacent stalls solely dedicated for seating, but to secure a seat fast, we recommend coming in a small party — some to reserve the seats while the others order.
Avg Price: $10 per person
Photo by Burpple Tastemaker Xing Wei Chua

This unassuming store in the basement coffeeshop of Sim Lim Square is where we would head to on a cool day. Quan Co Ba serves familiar Vietnamese dishes like their signature Mixed Beef Kway Teow ($6) — a true belly-warmer chock full of thinly sliced beef, meatballs and slippery rice noodles. For Burpple Tastemaker Jason Wong, it's the Stewed Beef ($6) that hit the sweet spot. There's an option to get noodles, rice or bread with it, and he recommends ordering the noodle soup version. Slippery rice vermicelli noodles soaked in a sweet and fragrant beef broth "whose spice gradually creeps up on you, culminating in a tongue tingingly pleasant fireness in the mouth". If rice rolls are your jam, Tastemaker Jason implores you to try the Vietnamese Ham Rice Roll ($6) — a variant of the usual rice spring rolls that features thin, delicate rice sheets topped with bouncy Vietnamese sausage and fried shallots. He explains while the dish is typically eaten for breakfast, he could have it at any time of the day!
Avg Price: $10 per person
Photo by Burpple Tastemaker Jason Wong