Yishun Park Hawker Centre is the latest hawker centre which comprises of a three-storey complex managed by Timbre Group, located at the junction of Yishun Ring Road and Yishun Avenue 11.
Above the hawker centre are two level of parking space. Do take note that they do not have free parking on Sundays and public holidays.
They have even pinball machines just beside the drinks shop, at $1 per game.
You can top-up using cash to your the Tuck Shop app account via the machines located at the center of the Hawker Centre. The only way of topping-up is by cash at the moment (which kind of defeat the purpose of going cashless).
You can choose to scan the QR code on the Tuck Shop app to pay for your purchases, or you can also use the traditional way via cash. When you purchase food at Yishun Park Hawker Centre, you will have to put an extra $1 deposit for the food tray. The deposit will be returned when diners leave their trays at the return station. The purpose of this is to encourage diners to clear their own table by returning the trays for the next diner to use the table.
By using app credit, you will enjoy 10% off food purchases within Yishun Park Hawker Centre.
Enough of all the administrative information, let's get the food!
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Ajisai Japanese Ramen (#01-42)
Operating Hours: 10 AM - 9 PM
Operating Days: Daily
Opened by real Japanese chef, Saito Hiroki, who is 74 this year.
The decoration of their menu looks like you are at an authentic stall in Japan, and what's more attractive is their ramen priced as low as $3.50.
Their signature dish is the Pork Chashu Ramen ($3.50) as recommended by the owner, look at all the items that were sold out just in the afternoon.
It looked very simple, the broth was made up with the combination of pork and chicken bone. As for the tastewise, for the price, there was a hint taste of the Japanese ramen, but do not expect the standard to be like anything near the usual restaurant style. Well, at least they are not using Maggi mee to cook it.
Laying on top of the noodles was a slice of pork char siew with alternating layers of fat and meat. The meat was tasteful, but the texture was similar to any other pork, however, a bit overcooked and not that tender.
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Hua Hua Cooking & Eating 花花 (#01-41)
Operating Hours: 6 AM - 10 PM
Operating Days: Daily
The Hokkien Mee and Char Kway Teow stall is opened by a Vietnamese living in Singapore since 2005. And she speaks very fluent Mandarin!
I was attracted by some patrons who order her Char Kway Teow, so I went ahead to order it as well. This stall is located just beside the Ajisai Japanese stall.
Unlike other hawkers who fry up their noodles ahead in big batches, they cook each plate individually.
The taste of their Char Kway Teow is undoubtedly different from most of the other Char Kway Teow I've tasted. From the first bite, I can taste Fish sauce, and they are very generous with the amount of fish cake, cockle and dark sauce used. All the ingredients were also very fresh!
I would personally recommend you to try this stall.
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Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang (#01-33)
Operating Hours: 7.30 AM - 8.30 PM
Operating Days: Closed on Mondays
It is a halal stall where Rice is served with Indonesian-style grilled chicken opened by a couple. Some interesting fact is that they have worked as Cabin Crew at the same airline before this, and that makes me wonder why they have decided to venture into the food industry.
This stall offered their signature dish, a fusion of Malay and Indonesian dish name Ayam Taliwang, where the chicken thigh is marinated before being grilled.
This stall has constant queue which we didn't want to miss out as well.
You get to choose to have either sweet chili or spicy chili. The sweet chili was well-balanced, not very spicy, the spicy chili which was very good and additively spiky to my tongue.
Coconut fragrant rice, fried chicken, egg, tempeh, peanuts and ikan bilis - all on the plate.
Although all the items are pretty standard, I enjoyed the coconut fragrance that the rice carries and their marinated chicken thigh, which is marinated before being grilled. One of the dishes not to miss when you are in this hawker centre.
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Ah Tan Wings Har Cheong Gai & Chicken Wings (#01-40)
Operating Hours: 11 AM - 1 PM & 6 PM - 9 PM
Operating Days: Closed on Wednesdays
This stall has the longest queue I've seen so far in this hawker centre. It was operated by a pair of brother and sister aged 28 and 25 years old respectively. They are indeed the young hawkers of the new generation! They mainly serve prawn paste chicken, and Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) as the selling items on their menu.
They are open only at 6 PM, however, when we were there at 7 PM the queue was very long!
When it was my turn, I saw that the shrimp paste wings, Okonomiyaki were all sold out! So we were left with Atas Har Cheong Gai cutlet.
The cutlet was made up with 2 pieces of fried prawn paste chicken, with shaker fries and salad.
The fries and salad were good, but what amazed us was the cutlet! Their cutlet was very crispy with every cut, just cutting it can be a satisfaction to one. The meat was tender and really have full taste of the prawn paste! Each bite was a pleasure to my tongue!
While their Atas cutlet is priced at $7, it is worth it for the taste and texture. I will definitely come back for their Okonomiyaki and their shrimp paste chicken wing alongside with the cutlet.
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Tuck Shop
Operating Hours: 6 AM - 10 PM
Operating Days: Daily
The Hawker Centre’s only drink stall. It is actually a combination of a self-service retail store and gastro bar! Not only they sell kopi and toasts, they also offer cappuccinos, lattes and even beer!
Most of items were self service, including ice.
They even have beer on tap counter!
So once you have ordered everything, you will have many trays on your table. You cannot give your tray to cleaners to clear up as they will cost you $1. You will need to return the trays to the return counter for your $1. Now, they only have 1 tray return location near the entrance, which you might need to walk a distance to return the trays if you are seated at the far end of the hawker centre. You are only able to put 1 tray at a time at their tray return counter, else they might recognize it as just 1 tray and return you just a dollar. During peak hours, what we've encountered was the "Tray Jam", as we have to queue just to return our trays. At the end of the day, I have 6 $1 coins back into my pocket.
All in all, Yishun Park Hawker Centre is a modernized hawker centre trying out a cashless concept. However, we felt that they have still defeat the purpose of going cashless as you will still need to use your cash to top up for the credits. You will also end up having many coins with you when you leave the place from all the tray returns.
As all the hype of this new hawker centre right now, crowd will definitely be expected. Do try to avoid visiting during weekend dinner time.
I would define Hawkerman as a trendy food court more than a restaurant itself as you do not need to pay for any service charges, which that means All the price listed on the menu are all nett prices.
