Maxwell Food Centre smells of chicken rice before you even step inside.
That’s the reputation. The long queues at Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, the chefs who flew in just to taste it, the plates passing hand to hand under the fans. If you’re vegetarian, it’s easy to assume you’ve come to watch other people eat.
You haven’t.
Tucked among the famous hawker stalls are handmade kueh coated in fresh coconut, appam poured from fermented rice batter, and a bowl you can build yourself with rice, greens and dressing. Some are traditional dishes and full meals. Most are small, honest snacks. All of them mean you don’t have to leave hungry.
In this guide, you’ll find 11 vegetarian foods worth your time at Maxwell Food Centre, each with its stall number, price, opening hours and what to order. We’ll also be honest about what isn’t vegetarian, which stalls have closed, and how to check ingredients when a hawker kitchen serves both meat and meatless food.
Quick takeaways:
Traditional Delight (#01-29) is the one fully vegetarian stall in this guide.
MAXWELL79 (#01-79) is your best full-meal option, with build-your-own bowls from S$5.90.
Prices start from as little as S$0.80, so snacking your way through is easy on the wallet.
“Vegetarian-friendly” isn’t the same as fully vegetarian, so ask when it matters to you.
Maxwell Food Centre sits at 1 Kadayanallur Street, Singapore 069184, in the heart of Chinatown. The Maxwell MRT (TE18)is just walking distance. The centre generally runs from around 8am to 10pm daily, though every stall keeps its own hours, which is why we’ve listed them individually below.
Vegetarian Food at Maxwell Food Centre: Quick Comparison
Rank | Food | Stall | Stall No. | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Traditional Delight | #01-29 | Check stall | Fully vegetarian snack | |
2 | Traditional Delight | #01-29 | Check stall | Savoury vegetarian bite | |
3 | Traditional Delight | #01-29 | Check stall | Small sweet treat | |
4 | Mr Appam | #01-99 | S$4 for two | Breakfast or snack | |
5 | Mr Appam | #01-99 | S$3.20 | Dessert-style appam | |
6 | MAXWELL79 | #01-79 | From S$5.90 | A proper full meal | |
7 | Lakeview Kim Goreng Pisang | #01-30 | From S$1 | Easy fruit fritter | |
8 | Lakeview Kim Goreng Pisang | #01-30 | From S$1 | Less-sweet snack | |
9 | Lakeview Kim Goreng Pisang | #01-30 | From S$1 | Traditional sweet snack | |
10 | Heng Heng | #01-31 | S$0.80/pc, S$3.70 for five | Heritage kueh | |
11 | Heng Heng | #01-31 | S$3.70 for five | Grab-and-go kueh |
Best Vegetarian Food at Maxwell Hawker Centre
1. Sweet Potato Balls at Traditional Delight
Stall: Traditional Delight
Stall number: #01-29
Price: Prices vary; check stall for current rates
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 8:30pm; closed Monday
If you want to eat without negotiating, this is where to start. A current 2026 Maxwell guide describes Traditional Delight as a vegetarian-only stall, which is a rare and welcome thing here. No asking about stock, no checking sauces. Just pick and eat.
The sweet potato balls are the item to look for. The guide notes they carry a denser sweet-potato centre rather than being mostly hollow, which is the difference between a snack that satisfies and one that disappears in one bite.
They’re fried, so let’s be honest about that. They’re a treat, not a health food, no matter how much sweet potato is inside.
Recommended dish: Sweet Potato Balls
Healthy Tip: These are deep-fried, so share a portion if you’re sampling several things across the centre.
2. Vegetable Fritters at Traditional Delight
Stall: Traditional Delight
Stall number: #01-29
Price: Prices vary; check stall for current rates
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 8:30pm; closed Monday
For something savoury from the same vegetarian-only stall, the vegetable fritters do the job. When so much of the meat-free food at a hawker centre leans sweet, a savoury bite is a small relief.
They come from a kitchen that only cooks vegetarian, which takes the guesswork out entirely. That alone makes them worth a stop for anyone who’s tired of asking, “Is there any meat in this?”
Recommended dish: Vegetable Fritters
Healthy Tip: Since these are deep-fried, treat them as one part of a fuller meal rather than building lunch out of fried items alone.
3. Sesame Balls at Traditional Delight
Stall: Traditional Delight
Stall number: #01-29
Price: Prices vary; check stall for current rates
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 8:30pm; closed Monday
Sometimes you don’t want a meal. You want one small sweet thing while you wander Chinatown. The sesame balls fit that moment.
They round out Traditional Delight’s spread of vegetarian snacks, and they’re the kind of thing you buy on the way out rather than sit down for.
Recommended dish: Sesame Balls
Healthy Tip: Enjoy it as a treat. Being vegetarian doesn’t make a fried sweet nutritionally superior to any other.
4. Original Appam at Mr Appam
Stall: Mr Appam
Stall number: #01-99
Price: S$4 for two
Opening hours: Wednesday to Monday, 9am to 8pm; closed Tuesday
Appam is a South Indian pancake made from fermented rice batter, and Mr Appam builds its whole stall around it. If most of Maxwell feels Chinese to you, this is a genuine change of pace.
The Original Appam is the most straightforward version, which is exactly why we recommend it here. Two for S$4 makes it an easy breakfast, a light snack, or a quiet dessert. The stall also uses no pork or lard, a useful detail for many diners.
The plain version also gives you more say over sweetness than the heavily topped ones, since you decide what to add.
Recommended dish: Original Appam, S$4 for two
Healthy Tip: The plain appam lets you control how much sweetness goes on top. It isn’t automatically lower-calorie than other pancakes, so enjoy it for what it is.
5. Butterfly Pea Gula Melaka Appam at Mr Appam
Stall: Mr Appam
Stall number: #01-99
Price: S$3.20
Opening hours: Wednesday to Monday, 9am to 8pm; closed Tuesday
For visitors who want something more distinctive, this is the appam to try. The butterfly pea gives it colour, and the gula melaka, a dark palm sugar, brings a deep caramel sweetness that’s very Southeast Asian.
Same fermented rice batter, same no-pork-no-lard kitchen, just a more dessert-leaning version. At S$3.20, it’s an affordable way to taste something you won’t find back home.
Recommended dish: Butterfly Pea Gula Melaka Appam, S$3.20
Healthy Tip: Gula melaka is still added sugar. It’s worth enjoying for the flavour, not because palm sugar is somehow a “healthier” sugar.
6. Build-Your-Own Vegetarian Bowl at MAXWELL79
Stall: MAXWELL79
Stall number: #01-79
Price: From S$5.90
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 11am to 3pm
Here’s your actual meal. While much of this guide is snacks and kueh, MAXWELL79 is where you can sit down to something substantial.
According to the stall’s own website, you build your bowl from rice, soba, pasta or salad, choosing up to two bases, plus toppings, protein and dressing. The site says vegetarian bowls are available and that the kitchen uses no pork and no lard. Bowls start at S$5.90, which is fair for a customisable meal in the CBD.
The real advantage is control. You decide how much of the bowl goes to vegetables versus base, which you can’t do with a fixed fried snack. Note the current published hours are weekday lunch only, Monday to Friday from 11am to 3pm, with weekend and dinner service still to come.
Recommended dish: A vegetarian bowl built around plenty of vegetables, from S$5.90
Healthy Tip: Lead with the vegetables, then pick your base, protein and dressing to match your appetite. It’s the easiest bowl here to shape around what you actually want.
7. Fried Banana at Lakeview Kim Goreng Pisang
Stall: Lakeview (Upper Thomson) Kim Goreng Pisang
Stall number: #01-30
Price: From S$1
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 24 hours
A 2026 guide describes this as one of Maxwell’s few vegetarian-friendly stalls, and the fried banana is the easiest thing on the menu to recognise and love. Goreng pisang is a familiar comfort snack across Singapore, and here it starts from just S$1.
The 24-hour opening (Tuesday to Sunday) is genuinely handy, whether you’re after an early bite or a late one.
Keep in mind that “vegetarian-friendly” isn’t the same as fully vegetarian, so if you’re strict, it’s worth a quick word with the stall.
Recommended dish: Fried Banana, from S$1
Healthy Tip: Fruit is fruit, but deep-frying changes the picture. Enjoy it as a snack rather than expecting the same as a fresh banana.
8. Fried Sweet Potato at Lakeview Kim Goreng Pisang
Stall: Lakeview (Upper Thomson) Kim Goreng Pisang
Stall number: #01-30
Price: From S$1
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 24 hours
If banana or red bean feels too sweet, the fried sweet potato is the gentler choice from the same stall. It’s a traditional fritter with a milder, more earthy flavour, and it starts from S$1 like the rest of the range.
Recommended dish: Fried Sweet Potato, from S$1
Healthy Tip: As with all fritters here, this isn’t the same as steamed or baked sweet potato. Treat it as a small snack, not a side dish.
The 24-hour opening (Tuesday to Sunday) is genuinely handy, whether you’re after an early bite or a late one.
Keep in mind that “vegetarian-friendly” isn’t the same as fully vegetarian, so if you’re strict, it’s worth a quick word with the stall.
Recommended dish: Fried Banana, from S$1
Healthy Tip: Fruit is fruit, but deep-frying changes the picture. Enjoy it as a snack rather than expecting the same as a fresh banana.
9. Fried Nian Gao at Lakeview Kim Goreng Pisang
Stall: Lakeview (Upper Thomson) Kim Goreng Pisang
Stall number: #01-30
Price: From S$1
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 24 hours
Nian gao is a sweet, sticky rice cake with plenty of history behind it, and Lakeview fries it into a warm, chewy fritter. For tourists, it’s a gentle introduction to a very traditional Chinese sweet, and it stays within the stall’s vegetarian-friendly range.
Fritters here start from S$1, so it’s an easy one to add when you’re sampling a few.
Recommended dish: Fried Nian Gao, from S$1
Healthy Tip: It’s a sweet rice cake, and this one’s fried, so it’s a good candidate for sharing when you’re tasting your way around.
10. Tapioca Cake at Heng Heng
Stall: Heng Heng Ondeh-Ondeh & Tapioca Cake
Stall number: #01-31
Price: S$0.80 per piece, or S$3.70 for five
Opening hours: Morning hours; published schedules range from 7am to 1pm and 8am to 2pm, Monday to Saturday; closed Sunday
Heng Heng has been making handmade kueh at Maxwell for more than 40 years. That kind of longevity says something no marketing ever could.
The tapioca cake is coated in fresh grated coconut, which gives it a soft, slightly fragrant finish that sets it apart from the centre’s savoury plates. At S$0.80 a piece or S$3.70 for five, it’s one of the most affordable things in this guide, and it travels well if you’re exploring Chinatown on foot.
One honest note: sources differ on the exact hours, so go in the morning and don’t count on it being there late. Once the day’s kueh sells out, it’s gone.
Recommended dish: Tapioca Cake, S$0.80 per piece or S$3.70 for five
Healthy Tip: It’s a traditional sweet. Keep the serving size in perspective rather than treating tapioca and coconut as a health food.
11. Ondeh-Ondeh at Heng Heng
Stall: Heng Heng Ondeh-Ondeh & Tapioca Cake
Stall number: #01-31
Price: S$3.70 for five (S$0.80 per piece)
Opening hours: Morning hours; published schedules range from 7am to 1pm and 8am to 2pm, Monday to Saturday; closed Sunday
If you try one thing from Heng Heng, make it the ondeh-ondeh. These little pandan-green balls hide a gula melaka centre that bursts when you bite in, then get rolled in fresh grated coconut. It’s a small, quiet joy of a snack.
For overseas visitors, this is one of the friendliest introductions to Nyonya-style kueh you’ll find. Five for S$3.70 is easy to justify.
Same morning-only advice applies. Get there early, because these sell out.
Recommended dish: Ondeh-Ondeh, S$3.70 for five
Healthy Tip: That gula melaka centre is sugar. Enjoy the flavour without thinking of palm sugar as better for you than any other..
Vegetarian Hawker Food at Maxwell Beyond Hainanese Chicken Rice
Let’s be clear about what Maxwell is best known for, because it isn’t vegetarian food.
The centre’s fame rests largely on Hainanese chicken rice. Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice (#01-10/11, from S$5, Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 8pm) draws long queues and has been visited by well-known chefs such as Anthony Bourdain and food personalities over the years. Nearby, Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice (#01-07) is another long-running option.
You’ll also see the Maxwell Fuzhou Oyster Cake (#01-05), which the Michelin Guide notes is made with minced pork, oysters and prawns. It’s a famous Maxwell dish, but it is firmly not vegetarian.
Why mention them at all? Because if you’re a flexitarian dining with friends, this context matters. Your companions can queue for the chicken rice while you pick up appam or a bowl from MAXWELL79. Everyone eats well, at the same table.
You might also spot online menus that surface vegetarian-labelled dishes such as mapo tofu at Taste of Jiang Nan (#01-62). We couldn’t verify the current recipe, so if that tempts you, confirm the ingredients at the stall before ordering rather than assuming.
A note on “vegetarian-friendly” versus fully vegetarian
This is the one thing worth understanding before you order.
A “vegetarian-friendly” stall serves meat-free options but isn’t exclusively vegetarian. Hawker kitchens often prepare vegetarian and non-vegetarian food in the same space, sometimes with shared equipment or oil.
If you avoid any of the following, it’s worth a quick check with the hawker before ordering:
Meat stock
Fish sauce
Shrimp paste
Lard
Egg
Dairy
Shared frying oil
This isn’t cause for alarm. A short, polite question is usually all it takes, and most hawkers are happy to tell you how something’s made.
Maxwell Food Stalls Unwrapped: FAQs You Didn’t Know You Needed
Does Maxwell Food Centre have vegetarian food?
Yes. Verified current options include the vegetarian-only Traditional Delight (#01-29), vegetarian bowls at MAXWELL79 (#01-79), vegetarian-friendly fritters at Lakeview Kim Goreng Pisang (#01-30), and traditional kueh at Heng Heng (#01-31).
Is there a fully vegetarian stall at Maxwell Food Centre?
Traditional Delight at #01-29 is described by a current 2026 food guide as vegetarian-only. Not every stall in this guide is exclusively vegetarian, so this is the one to rely on if you want no ambiguity.
Is Maxwell Food Centre good for vegans?
Be cautious. Some foods may be plant-based, but vegan status isn’t verified for every dish here. Check for egg, dairy and shared cooking oil directly with the stall before ordering.
What is the cheapest vegetarian food at Maxwell Food Centre?
Prices change, so there’s no single “cheapest” item. That said, Lakeview’s vegetarian-friendly fritters are published from S$1, and Heng Heng’s tapioca cake is S$0.80 per piece. These are among the lowest-priced verified choices in this guide.
What happened to the Hum Jin Pang stall at Maxwell?
China Street Hum Jin Pang (#01-28) closed in August 2026 after more than 40 years. It’s no longer an operating recommendation.
What is Maxwell Food Centre famous for?
It’s best known for hawker classics, especially Hainanese chicken rice at stalls like Tian Tian. Vegetarian diners have their own worthwhile options, from appam and build-your-own bowls to traditional kueh.
The Takeaway
Maxwell Food Centre will always be a chicken rice town first. That’s fine. It just doesn’t mean vegetarian visitors are left with an empty tray.
Between a warm bowl from MAXWELL79, plain appam from Mr Appam, and a handful of coconut-dusted kueh from a stall that’s been at it for four decades, there’s a real meal and a real story waiting here. Start with Traditional Delight if you want certainty, come early for the kueh, and don’t be shy about asking how something’s made.
If you’re after a spot with a much larger concentration of dedicated vegetarian eateries, Healthy Food Guide’s guide to vegetarian food at Fortune Centre is worth a read next.
For now, though, Maxwell has enough to keep you full and curious. Go and eat.
