Must-share eats 2026 – Part 2
We’ve found some great eats across our town so far in 2026. Here’s the second of our 2-course series covering our favourite food discoveries.
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Hello again! We said in Part 1 that it had been tough to narrow our recommendations down to just one per Division.
As you can probably tell based on the large number of dishes recommended per Division here in Part 2, things have not gotten any easier for us. 😅
Nonetheless, this has been a thoroughly enjoyable problem to have and we hope you will love these food finds as much as we did. Bon appetit!
Eightisfy Western
Radin Mas
By now, many people may have heard of this popular hawker stall serving freshly handmade pasta. If not, here’s a quick introduction.
Eightisfy’s chef-owner, CK, previously operated a Western food stall in Aljunied before joining Cicheti, one of Singapore’s well-known Italian restaurant groups. After honing his skills in Italian cuisine there, he opened Eightisfy in April 2022 with two partners. His partners have since moved on, and CK now runs the stall as a one-man show.
Eightisfy has two distinct personalities. During lunch, it serves familiar Western hawker favourites such as chicken chop and fish & chips. Come evening, the stall switches gears and focuses on restaurant-quality handmade pasta.
As Eightisfy is within walking distance of our office, we gathered a sizeable crew and ordered almost CK’s entire pasta menu.
What stood out immediately was how each of the five main dishes featured a distinct sauce, thoughtfully paired with a pasta shape that complemented its flavours and texture.
The Pistachio Pesto Fettuccine was creamy yet surprisingly light and herbaceous. Shaved Parmesan added a pleasant saltiness, while crushed pistachios brought a gentle nuttiness and satisfying bite.
Seafood lovers should look out for the Mini Lobster Tagliolini. It delivered an intense umami punch, packed with concentrated crustacean flavour. The Squid Ink Tagliatelle ventured into similarly seafood-forward territory, but offered a fresher, brighter profile thanks to its zesty tomato base.
As expected, the two meat-based pastas were the richest of the lot.
The Duck Ragu Mafaldine came with a thick, meaty sauce balanced by the natural sweetness of cherry tomatoes. It was hearty and deeply satisfying, but the Bianco Beef Vesuvio took richness to another level.
The pasta and tender beef were completely coated in a decadent creamy white sauce, finished with a sprinkling of spicy-salty chilli crisp that helped cut through the richness. Finish the entire plate on your own and you may find yourself wanting a lie-down afterwards.
For those planning to linger over a few drinks after dinner, CK also serves reliable renditions of familiar bar snacks. We ordered the chicken wings and truffle fries, and both comfortably ticked all the right boxes.
If you’re planning a visit to Eightisfy, here are three things to keep in mind:
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Fresh handmade pasta has a softer texture. Don’t expect quite the same al dente bite you would get from dried pasta.
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Be prepared to wait. There are often plenty of customers and only one cook, but your patience will be rewarded.
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Arrive early. Popular dishes can sell out quickly.
We hope your meal at Eightisfy will be just as memorable as ours was.
Eightisfy Western
Maddox Canteen Bar
3752 Bukit Merah Central
Opens 11:30am – 2:30pm, 5:30pm – 8:00pm (Tue-Fri) | 5:30pm – 8:00pm (Sat)
Pasir Panjang Food Centre
Telok Blangah
This has to be one of the most conveniently located hawker centres in our town, literally a stone’s throw from Pasir Panjang MRT Station.
It’s open and airy, with many highly recommended stalls. Since there was so much to try, the team showed up in full force and ordered up a storm.
We started with a healthy-sounding fruit rojak from KS. There was the usual selection of fruits, cucumber and crispy bits, but as any rojak lover knows, the main flavour of the dish comes from the umami-rich funk of the thick, sticky and addictive prawn paste. A good indication that this is a winning combo: our resident Penangite grudgingly admitted to preferring this to the fruit rojak from his hometown.
Next up was the seafood and tze char stall, Xin Fu Ji. We got the salt & pepper prawns which were fresh, firm and bouncy, nicely seasoned, and fried so crisp that almost all the shells were edible and, for some greens, a very competently executed stir-fry of shimeji mushrooms and Chinese chives.
More protein came from Alan Seafood BBQ. Their stingray was superbly cooked: juicy, tender and slightly smoky, with an intensely flavourful marinade of spices and local herbs. It was so good that we had to add on an order of squid, which was also perfectly cooked in that same tasty marinade.
Finally, for carbs, we got two signature dishes from Fatty Ipoh Noodles. Both the Moonlight Hor Fun and Crispy Hor Fun with Creamy Egg Sauce were the epitome of comfort food. One had sweet-salty, caramelised dark soy sauce notes, while the other offered a gentle savouriness and a delightful interplay between the crispy noodles and the thick egg sauce, with soft, smoky noodles underneath.
We had dinner at Pasir Panjang Food Centre, but there are some popular stalls that we’re curious about and which are only open earlier in the day. We’re definitely returning to try those. And with the Circle Line now complete, it’s easier than ever for you to do the same!
Pasir Panjang Food Centre
121 Pasir Panjang Road
PÖONSTI
Moulmein-Cairnhill
About an eight-minute walk from Farrer Park MRT, PÖONSTI is tucked away along a row of shophouses and can be quite easy to miss.
Given its location and unassuming shopfront, the cafe feels a little like a neighbourhood haunt, with residents and those working nearby likely making up much of the crowd, especially on weekdays.
We started with the Truffle Fries, an easy crowd-pleaser. The truffle aroma hit us as soon as the plate landed on our table, and the thick-cut fries were crispy and well-seasoned with salt and truffle oil. Those expecting a mountain of grated cheese might be a little disappointed, but we enjoyed them nonetheless.
We also tried two of their Weekday Set Breakfasts.
The first came with pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon and tomatoes. The pancakes were fluffy, although the syrup didn’t quite taste like real maple syrup to us. The bacon was satisfyingly crispy, and we appreciated that the tomatoes were properly roasted to bring out their natural sweetness. The scrambled eggs were decent too — tasty, diner-style eggs that called for a knife and fork to dig into.
Our other set came with sourdough, scrambled eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes. The sourdough held up well without getting soggy, though some might find it a little too toasted. It paired nicely with the whipped chive butter, while the mushrooms were cooked well.
Now, for the highlight of the meal and the reason we came all the way here: the Rösti!
PÖONSTI offers a selection of toppings ranging from the indulgent Maguro (Tuna) Tartare to the classic sour cream and chives. We went for the Cured Salmon Rösti with ricotta and pickled onions.
The cured salmon was an instant hit and, dare we say, probably better than most smoked salmon you would find on supermarket shelves. The ricotta and pickled onions made for a creamy, tangy combination reminiscent of the classic sour cream accompaniment.
The rösti itself was interesting. The crust was nicely crispy but also a little on the thick side, enough to make us wonder whether it had been deep-fried rather than pan-fried. The result was a very crisp exterior surrounding soft, cooked potato strips inside.
It’s quite different from the rösti you might find elsewhere, which tends to be closer to the thickness of a pancake, with a thinner golden-brown crust and a more even cook throughout. Whether that’s a good or bad thing will probably come down to how you like your rösti.
We also ordered the Smashed Avocado Rösti, topped with a jammy egg, and jammy it was. The yolk reminded us of a well-made medium-boiled ramen egg. Together, the avocado and egg made for a rich, creamy combination that paired really well with the crisp rösti.
To drink, we had coffee and a chai latte, both of which were good. The cafe also has a selection of matcha drinks, along with alcoholic options including beer, wine and sake, though we didn’t partake in those this time.
PÖONSTI might be a little out of the way for those who don’t live or work nearby, so it may not become everyone’s regular haunt. But for rösti lovers, or cafe-hoppers looking for something a little different, we’d say it’s worth making the trip at least once…maybe twice.
PÖONSTI
127 Owen Rd, Singapore 218931
Opens 9am to 4pm (Mon to Wed), 9.30am to 4pm (Thu to Sun)
Chu Liu Xiang Kung Fu Mala Hot Pot
Buona Vista
Nestled between the HDB blocks at Holland Close, Chu Liu Xiang Kung Fu Mala Hot Pot was a popular choice among working professionals from the nearby office buildings when we visited for lunch on a weekday.
The stall was essentially a one-man show, with the chef handling everything from taking orders and cooking to restocking the mala ingredients. A bit of a wait during peak hours is therefore inevitable, so it’s best to plan ahead.
Despite the limited manpower, the stall offers a surprisingly sizeable selection of Northern Chinese dishes, from Mala Xiang Guo and Diced Chicken with Dried Chilli to Grilled Fish with Pickled Vegetables.
For the Mala Xiang Guo, you pick your ingredients from the well-stocked shelves at $2.18 per 100g before telling the stallholder your preferred spice level.
We went for medium spicy (zhong la), and flavour-wise, there was a sizeable punch of saltiness and numbing spice, but at a manageable heat level. Dare we say, the flavours might have been toned down slightly to suit local tastes. For those who prefer a stronger spicy kick in their Mala Xiang Guo, opting for a higher spice level would probably do the trick.
Next up was the Diced Chicken with Dried Chilli (La Zi Ji). The deep-fried chicken packed a serious amount of heat and was tasty, though slightly on the dry side. If you really want to set your mouth on fire, feel free to chomp down on one or two of those dried chillies.
The Spicy Sichuan-Style Twice-Cooked Pork was probably our favourite dish of the meal.
For those unfamiliar with the dish, sliced pork, usually pork belly, is first blanched before being stir-fried with vegetables in a sauce built around fermented broad bean and chilli paste. It definitely delivered the bold, intense flavours (zhong kou wei) associated with traditional Chinese cooking.
The fatty slices of pork had a slight chew to them, while the vegetables were cooked well and soaked up plenty of flavour from the sauce. Put everything over a bowl of rice and you’ve got a very satisfying meal.
We rounded things off with the Tomato Scrambled Eggs, another classic that went very well with rice. The tomatoes came in relatively chunky pieces, and the eggs were nicely cooked, although we found the dish a little too saucy. There was also that unmistakable hint of ketchup, which some stalls use to give the dish an extra boost of sweet, tangy tomato flavour.
With its sizeable menu of Northern Chinese classics and wide selection of Mala Xiang Guo ingredients, Chu Liu Xiang Kung Fu Mala Hot Pot is well worth checking out if you’re in the Holland area.
Chu Liu Xiang Kung Fu Mala Hot Pot
6 Holland Cl, Singapore 271006
Opens 11am to 9pm (Mon to Sun)
