13 best popiah stalls in Singapore to try

By Toh Ee Ming October 11, 2023
13 best popiah stalls in Singapore to try
Juicy, tender and flavourful — the best traits of a popiah. Photo: Qi Ji

Popiah is among one of Singapore’s most beloved local delicacies

Popiah, which means “thin pancake” in Teochew, is a roll filled with slow-cooked shredded turnip and other vegetables such as carrot, lettuce and bean sprout. Other ingredients include egg, garlic and ground peanuts. Some variations of popiah feature crab stick and prawn.

The ingredients are wrapped in a thin flour skin that has a layer of sweet sauce, chilli and garlic spread on it. The roll is then sliced into bite-sized pieces. 

The popiah is said to have originated from China’s Fujian province, where it was eaten during spring when there would be an abundance of vegetables. A common hawker food, the snack is typically served alongside local dishes such as rojak and kueh pie tee.

Behind its unassuming appearance lies a burst of flavours and a medley of ingredients that are freshly prepared every day.

We bring you a list of the best popiah in Singapore, featuring outlets that marry both traditional and the modern and which have been satisfying cravings for generations.

1. Good Chance Popiah Eating House

Block 149, Silat Avenue, 01-58 
Open: Tuesday to Sunday (11am to 2.30pm, 5.30pm to 9.30pm)

popiah singapore
Good Chance Popiah Eating House has been serving traditional Hokkien popiah since 1977. Photo: Good Chance Popiah Eating House/Facebook

Why visit? Good Chance Popiah is a family-run eatery that has been operating since 1977 across three generations. It was founded by former reporter and Singapore national basketball team coach Hou Shen Hu, who turned to the food trade when he retired. 

Now run by his grandson, the eatery specialises in Hokkien popiah, served in DIY sets. For these stalwarts, making your own roll is all part of the fun. There are also zichar-style dishes you can order to complement your popiah.

Price range: $$

Crowd favourites: Get the six-piece DIY popiah set ($26), which is served with turnip, popiah skin, sliced omelette, lettuce, bean sprout, sweet sauce, chilli and garlic paste, coriander and minced peanut.

Add on dishes such as its handmade prawn roll (from S$16.80) and Ah Gong seafood vermicelli (from S$10.80) to round up your meal.

Read about how Good Chance makes its popiahs.

2.   Ann Chin Handmade Popiah

Multiple outlets islandwide
Operating hours vary across stores

popiah singapore
Ann Chin Popiah has been one of the strongest popiah contenders for years. Photo: Ann Chin Popiah/Facebook

Why visit? Ann Chin Popiah has been a pioneer of handmade popiah skin in Singapore since 1958. It has 10 outlets islandwide and its flagship store is easily everyone’s go-to for popiah at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre, as the flagship store was awarded the Michelin Plate in 2019. 

Ann Chin is known for its wafer-like popiah skin, often made of wheat flour. The staff moulds each piece of popiah skin individually by hand. Fun fact: It takes at least six months of training for its popiah makers to produce a skin with perfect texture and elasticity. The popiah is then generously stuffed with crunchy and juicy ingredients.

Price range: $$

Crowd favourites: Its popiah (S$2.50 each) is packed to the brim in a handmade skin with ingredients such as an in-house sweet sauce and chilli, lettuce, beansprouts, crushed peanuts, housemade crispy bits, hard-boiled egg, and turnip strips.

You can also get its popiah DIY party set (18 rolls, S$38) and fun-sized kueh pie tee set (30 cups, S$30)  for your small home party.

3.  Kway Guan Huat Joo Chiat Popiah

95 Joo Chiat Road
Open: Tuesday to Sunday (9am to 2pm)

popiah singapore
Kway Guan Huat Joo Chiat Popiah is known for producing soft, chewy and paper-thin popiah skins. Photo: Kway Guan Huat Joo Chiat Popiah/Facebook

Why visit? Few places in Singapore make popiah skin that is as soft, chewy, resilient, and paper-thin as Kway Guan Huat Joo Chiat Popiah. Located in a pre-war shophouse restaurant in the conservation area of Joo Chiat, the staff have been making and selling popiah skin for more than 70 years.

They continue to mix it the old-fashioned way by hand — exactly how it used to be done in Fujian. This commitment to preserve Singapore’s food heritage has earned it a place in the National Heritage Board’s historical food trail in Joo Chiat.

Be there on weekend mornings to watch the popiah skin masters work with dollops of dough in mid-air and coax paper-thin popiah skins out of baked dough on a searing hot pan.

Price range: $$

Crowd favourites: The DIY standard set (S$68) is the stall’s most popular set. It comprises   600g of popiah skin, one box of main seafood filling, fresh chilli padi paste, black sweet sauce, ground peanuts, crispy fritters, green lettuce, and shredded cucumber. 

Cooked with minced scallop and crab meat, the main filling combines a delicate mix of carrots, bean curd and turnips. You can make about 15 to 20 popiah rolls from the set, depending on the size of your popiah-rolling.

4. Ah Long Pancake Popiah @ Bistro 8

31 Kelantan Lane, 01-12
Open: Monday to Sunday (8pm to 6pm)

popiah singapore
The humble Ah Long Pancake serves great popiah. Photo: Ah Long Pancake Popiah

Why visit? Known for its Paya Lebar outlet, Ah Long Pancake Popiah just opened its latest outlet at Kelantan Lane in Jalan Besar.

The stall serves up affordable popiah, featuring shredded cucumber instead of the usual beansprouts. Its crunchy bits and crushed peanuts also provide a refreshing crunch.

It’s simple, underrated but doesn’t disappoint in its aromatic flavours.

Price range: $

Crowd favourites: Other than the traditional popiah (S$2), the chicken floss salad popiah (S$2.60) is an interesting twist. It comprises mayonnaise, peanut bits, chicken floss and cabbage wrapped in popiah skin.

As its name suggests, Ah Long also serves crispy pancakes (from S$1.20) with a variety of flavours, such as peanut, chicken ham and cheese and tuna.

5. Qi Ji  

Multiple outlets islandwide
Operating hours vary across stores

popiah singapore
Qi Ji’s popiah is generous and delicious. Photo: Qi Ji/Facebook

Why visit? Known for its fuss-free yet tasty nasi lemak sets, Qi Ji’s popiah has also garnered a loyal fanbase for its consistently good and quality handrolled popiah, which comes in a few variations. The halal-certified rolls are generously stuffed and extremely flavourful. 

Price range: $

Crowd favourites: While it has a regular popiah, we recommend the popiah with prawn filling (S$3.20), that comes with big and juicy prawns wrapped in popiah skin, homemade sweet sauce, garlic, lettuce, beansprouts, crispy bits, egg, and turnip.

Alternatively, the premium popiah premium with chicken (S$4.20), features a delicious combination of chicken bits, cucumber, carrot, crab bits on top of the usual popiah filling.

6. Rojak, Popiah and Cockle

Maxwell Food Centre, Stall 56, 1 Kadayanallur Street
Open: Monday to Tuesday, Thursday to Sunday (11.30am to 8.30pm)

popiah singapore
Rojak, Popiah and Cockle lives up to its name in serving simple but tasty popiah. Photo: @chiaksimi/ Instagram

Why visit? Located in the bustling Maxwell Food Centre, this stall, as its name suggests, sells rojak, popiah and cockles, but is best known for offering one of the more affordable popiahs in Singapore. It is also a Michelin-recommended hawker stall and we hear it sells out pretty early every day. Get there early if you want to give it a go.  

Price range: $

Crowd favourites: Generous and fully stuffed, the popiah (S$1.50 each) is a must-try with egg, beansprouts and the unusual inclusion of vermicelli.

Its rojak (S$5) is also highly recommended by regulars, with some saying the balanced sweet-savoury dish is one of the best ones they’ve tried.

7. Fortune Food

Multiple outlets islandwide
Operating hours vary across stores

popiah singapore
Taste the warm deliciousness and simplicity of a roll of popiah in your own home with the Fortune Food DIY party sets. Photo: Fortune Food/Facebook

Why visit?  Fortune Food started as a humble stall in Geylang Bahru Food Centre, but has since expanded to multiple locations islandwide. It has become a trusted name in the local food scene, known for its quality handmade popiah and crispy, flavourful kueh pie tee.

Fortune Food prides itself on its fresh, handmade popiah skin that has a wafer-thin and pliable texture, the cornerstone of a delicious popiah. 

Crowd favourites: If you’re having a feast at home Fortune Food specialises in party food, such as bundles for a certain group size.

Or you could get its DIY popiah sets (from S$26 for nine rolls), where you’ll get everything you need to make the perfect popiah, including handmade popiah skin, cooked turnip with carrot, minced garlic, crispy bits, grated peanuts, eggs, and coriander leaves accompanied with sweet sauce and sambal chilli. Also recommended is the ayam koro bun set (from S$29 for eight pieces).

8. Souperstar 

Multiple outlets islandwide
Operating hours vary across stores

popiah singapore
The Chicken Masala Popiah offers a tasty and aromatic burst of flavour. Photo: Souperstar/Facebook

Why visit? Popiah and western soup? It may sound like an unlikely combination, but Souperstar manages to successfully weave both nostalgic and modern tastes together. Run by the daughters of the folks behind Fortune Food, Souperstar is the pair’s way of preserving Singapore’s food heritage while taking their family business to another level.

They do this by presenting the traditional food with a twist. Case in point, besides the usual popiah filling, you can opt for fusion rolls, which come in flavours such as seafood wasabi mayo, sweet Thai chicken, masala chicken and chargrilled teriyaki chicken.

Price range: $

Crowd favourites: Adventurous souls will love the seafood wasabi mayo popiah (S$6.50), comprising fresh prawns, tuna chunks, rolled together with crispy bits, cucumber slices, wakame seaweed, cherry tomatoes, mixed lettuce and red onion, topped off with wasabi mayonnaise.

The masala chicken popiah (S$6) comes with chicken masala, paneer cheese, crispy curry leaves, red onion, mixed lettuce and shredded cucumbers.  

9. Ping Kee Popiah

Sembawang Hills Food Centre,  01-32, 590 Upper Thomson Road
Open: Tuesday to Wednesday (11.15am to 8pm), Thursday (10am to 5pm), Friday to Sunday (11.15am to 6pm)

popiah singapore
Ping Kee Popiah at Sembawang Hills Food Centre attracts old-timers and newcomers alike. Photo: @george.kooi/ Instagram

Why visit? Ping Kee Popiah at Sembawang Hills Food Centre remains a draw to residents in the area, for it serves up homely popiahs and kueh pie tees for a hearty breakfast or teatime snack. 

Each popiah is stuffed to the brim with braised turnip, crunchy beansprouts, hard boiled egg, grounded peanuts and lap cheong (Chinese sausage). We like that its popiah skin is a little thicker and chewy for a nicer bite, and its sturdiness holds the fillings well.

Price range: $

Crowd favourites: Watch as the uncle prepares the popiah (S$1.80 each) on the spot, with a generous slathering of sauce and fillings. Regulars swear by its balanced and unique taste that still manages to come across as comfortingly traditional.

10.  Old Long House Popiah

Kim Keat Palm Market and Food Centre, 01-03, 22 Lorong 7 Toa Payoh
Open: Wednesday to Sunday (6.30am to 2.30pm)

popiah singapore
Popiah freshly made at Old Long House. Photo: Albert Lim/Facebook

Why visit? Old Long House Popiah has been preparing fresh popiah with its own traditional secret recipe since 1930. The stall doesn’t use MSG, artificial colourings, preservatives, pork, lard, or seafood in its turnip mix. 

Price range: $

Crowd favourites: Deemed by some to be one of the best popiah in Singapore due to its authentic taste and the addition of crab stick, each popiah (S$1.80) comes with a fairly dry turnip mix that holds up firmly.

We suggest adding chilli, which gives it a nice zing. We hear that Old Long House adds crispy fried fish batter into its popiah, which makes it all the more yummier.

11. Miao Sin Popiah

Balestier Market, 411 Balestier Road
Open: Monday to Tuesday (11am to 9pm), Thursday to Sunday (11am to 9pm)

Why visit? Established by a veteran hawker in 1980, Miao Sin has since relocated a few times before it made a home at Balestier Road. The skin is slightly drier, holding together light yet flavourful fillings.

Price range: $

Crowd favourites: Pop a slice of popiah (S$2 each) in your mouth and you’ll be bowled over by the fragrant, juicy turnip filling, crispy fish bits, dried shrimp floss and chewy popiah skin. The elderly couple helming the stall also fries up a mean plate of carrot cake

12. Bao Bao Popiah 

81 Marine Parade Central 
Open: Daily (10am to 5.30pm)

popiah singapore
Bao Bao Popiah offers tasty popiah. Photo: Bao Bao Popiah/Facebook

Why visit? Get your popiah fix from Bao Bao Popiah at Marine Parade Central, which has been around for 40 years. It prides itself on having one of the most authentic and crispiest popiah in town. 

Price range: $

Crowd favourites: This popiah ($2) has a soft and chewy skin with moist flavourful filling and a slightly sweet tasting seasoning. The filling consists of white radish shreds, carrot shreds, beansprouts, egg, grated peanuts and mushroom slices.

You can also get its DIY popiah party set (from S$68 for 10 adults) delivered to your door. 

13. Jia Dong Shu Shi Popiah

Dunman Food Centre, 02-17, 271 Onan Road
Open: Morning till noon

popiah singapore
This delicate popiah comprises a flavour-packed bite. Photo: @yau_gui/Instagram

Why visit? This old-school popiah stall’s story is born from humble beginnings — it first started at a cart outside the old Palace Theatre cinema along East Coast Road, until it moved into Dunman Food Centre in the late 1970s.

Its delicious popiah is freshly made, chewy and packed with a myriad of flavourful ingredients such as well-stewed vegetables and crunchy fried pork lard bits.

Price range: $

Crowd favourites: The only thing you need to think about is the number of rolls you can finish. Feast on its underrated, tasty popiah at just S$1.80 per roll. We recommend adding chilli to enhance its flavour.

Craving more comfort food? Read our stories on the best Vietnamese food in Singapore or unique chicken rice offerings by these three brothers

Good Chance Popiah Eating House, Ann Chin Handmade Popiah, Qi Ji, Rojak, Popiah and Cockle, Fortune Food and Souperstar are on the GrabFood delivery service and offer free delivery (up to S$3 off) with GrabUnlimited.

Do explore the new GrabFood Dine-in service for awesome deals.

You can also book a ride to try popiah in Singapore.


Toh Ee Ming-HungryGoWhere

Toh Ee Ming

Author

Ee Ming is a storyteller with a love of photography, insightful reads, films, and offbeat and obscure places. Her work has appeared in outlets such as the Associated Press, South China Morning Post, National Geographic, CNBC and Southeast Asia Globe.

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