Top 10 vegetarian and vegan food in Chinatown you must try

10 places to try, one by one

1. 1. Ascend Vegetarian (18 Cross) 蔬升

   

   Its Instagram describes the restaurant as 100% vegetarian with no onion and no garlic. A second outlet is at Esplanade Xchange.

   Must try: Malatang, where you pick your own ingredients ($3.50 per 100g plus a $1 base fee)

   💬 Diners rave about the mala, which is not overly spicy, a soup that tastes healthy with no MSG taste, and more vegan variety in soup and ingredients than a rival mala tang shop.

   • 📍 18 Cross Street
   • 🚇 About 2 minutes from Chinatown MRT
   • 🕒 Daily 10am–9pm
   • 💰 Mid-range ($$) · Restaurant

   See photos, menu and reviews →

2. 2. Eight Treasures Vegetarian Restaurant

   

   A Chinese vegetarian restaurant a minute from Maxwell MRT, and a published listing notes that no onion or garlic is used.

   Must try: Veg Satay, Bamboo Pith & Asparagus Delight, Steamed Mock Fish Teochew Style, Olive Fried Rice

   💬 Diners describe a Chinese vegetarian restaurant with clear menu labels, food that arrives quickly and pleasant staff, and several say it suits vegans. A few call it a family favourite.

   • 📍 282 South Bridge Road
   • 🚇 About 1 minute from Maxwell MRT
   • 🕒 Tue–Fri 11:30am–2:30pm and 6pm–9:30pm; Sat–Sun 11:30am–2:30pm and 5pm–9:30pm; closed Mon
   • 💰 Mid-range ($$) · Restaurant

   See photos, menu and reviews →

3. 3. Yi Xin Vegetarian

   

   A restaurant on Temple Street, a minute from Chinatown MRT, with vegan, vegetarian and healthy options listed.

   Must try: Olive Fried Rice, Gao Kee Vege Soup, Curry Noodle, Penang Assam Laksa

   💬 Diners call it an all-vegan restaurant in Chinatown with an amazing variety, say staff told them all the food is vegan and that garlic is not used, and praise the vegetarian laksa.

   • 📍 45 Temple Street
   • 🚇 About 1 minute from Chinatown MRT
   • 🕒 Mon–Sat 8:30am–9pm; closed Sun
   • 💰 Mid-range ($$) · Restaurant

   See photos, menu and reviews →

4. 4. YiSuPin Vegan 一素品

   

   A vegan stall at People's Park Centre, closed on Wednesdays.

   Must try: Kolo Dry Noodles, Vegan Rendang Nasi Lemak, Vegan Bak Kut Teh, Vegan Hainanese Chicken Rice

   💬 Diners call it a vegetarian food stall upstairs in People's Park Centre in Chinatown, one of many good options there.

   • 📍 101 Upper Cross Street
   • 🚇 About 1 minute from Chinatown MRT
   • 🕒 Mon–Tue, Thu–Sun 9:30am–7pm; closed Wed
   • 💰 Budget-friendly ($) · Hawker

   See photos, menu and reviews →

5. 5. Bai Wei Vegetarian

   

   A build-your-own soup stall at Chinatown Complex: pick a base, then add ingredients.

   Must try: Build-your-own soup (original $6.50, curry, tomato or mala $7.50), curry noodle soup and laksa

   💬 Diners praise the mala soup as rich and flavourful, the tomato soup as sweet, tangy and savoury, and the owners as patient in explaining the bases and pricing. One says the curry soup blends curry, mala pot and yong tau foo into one dish.

   • 📍 Blk 335 Smith St, #02-196 Chinatown Complex, Singapore 050335
   • 🚇 About 2 minutes from Chinatown MRT
   • 🕒 Tue–Sun 8am–4pm; closed Mon
   • 💰 Budget-friendly ($) · Hawker

   See photos, menu and reviews →

6. 6. Fire Flies Vegetarian (Chinatown) 客家擂茶

   

   Formerly Thunder Tree, a Hakka stall at People's Park Centre serving thunder tea rice.

   Must try: Lei cha (thunder tea rice), lei cha kolo mee, a lion's mane mushroom brown rice set ($7.80) and sweet and sour tempeh ($2)

   💬 Diners rate the lei cha as among the best vegan versions in Singapore and praise the fried mushrooms, tempeh and friendly staff. One says it is crowded at lunch with hard-to-find seats and recommends takeaway.

   • 📍 101 Upper Cross St, B1-06 Stall 10 People Park Centre, Singapore 058357
   • 🚇 About 2 minutes from Chinatown MRT
   • 🕒 Mon–Sat 10am–7pm; closed Sun
   • 💰 Budget-friendly ($) · Hawker

   See photos, menu and reviews →

7. 7. Yuki Duyen Chay

   

   A vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant a minute's walk from Maxwell MRT, open until 11pm.

   Must try: Banh xeo (savoury pancake), vegetarian rice noodles, a broken rice plate, sushi, pho and banh mi

   💬 Diners are split on the banh mi: one called it the best they had eaten and praised the coffee, another found it a letdown after a trip to Hoi An. Others describe the food as affordable, the room as clean and the service as good.

   • 📍 12 Sago St, Singapore 059019
   • 🚇 About 1 minute from Maxwell MRT
   • 🕒 Daily 11am–11pm
   • 💰 Mid-range ($$) · Restaurant

   See photos, menu and reviews →

8. 8. D'life Signature (Chinatown)

   

   The sit-down option in Chinatown, at Chinatown Point, a minute from Chinatown MRT.

   Must try: Individual Shark Fin Soup, Penang Fried Kuey Teow, Fyshball Congee, Local Laksa

   💬 Diners praise a revamped, clearly labelled menu and a good set lunch at Chinatown Point.

   • 📍 133 New Bridge Rd, #02-37 Chinatown Point, Singapore 059413
   • 🚇 About 1 minute from Chinatown MRT
   • 🕒 Daily 11am–9pm
   • 💰 Mid-range ($$) · Restaurant

   See photos, menu and reviews →

9. 9. Hao Xiang Ju Cooked Food 好香居素食

   

   A hawker stall on Smith Street that opens at 5:30am, so it is a breakfast and early lunch stop.

   Must try: Vegetarian bee hoon

   💬 Diners call it one of the very best vegetarian bee hoon from a 50-year-old stall, though one found S$5 expensive for a small plate.

   • 📍 335 Smith St, #02-142, Singapore 050335
   • 🚇 About 2 minutes from Chinatown MRT
   • 🕒 Daily 5:30am–1:30pm
   • 💰 Budget-friendly ($) · Hawker

   See photos, menu and reviews →

10. 10. Oat & About

    

    Small-batch oat milk ice cream, described as plant-powered, dairy-free and halal-friendly.

    Must try: Black Sesame Ice Cream, Mango Sticky Rice, Intense Chocolate

    💬 Diners call it the best ice cream they have had, with black sesame, roasted pistachio and a kueh salat flavour with real glutinous rice bits, though one found a matcha drink poorly mixed.

    • 📍 33 Erskine Rd, #01-04, Singapore 069333
    • 🚇 About 1 minute from Maxwell MRT
    • 🕒 Mon–Thu, Sun 12:30pm–9pm; Fri–Sat 12:30pm–10:30pm
    • 💰 Budget-friendly ($) · Dessert

    See photos, menu and reviews →

Good to know

• Getting there: most places are a five to ten minute walk from Chinatown MRT exit A. Outram Park MRT and Maxwell MRT are close alternatives, and the stalls inside Chinatown Complex are easiest straight from Chinatown MRT.
• The hawker stalls in and around Chinatown Complex and People's Park Centre are the cheapest way to eat here, and they are at their best at lunch. The sit-down vegetarian restaurants along Smith Street and South Bridge Road are the move for dinner or a group.
• Around Vesak Day and the ninth lunar month, extra stalls across Chinatown Complex switch to vegetarian menus and the regular vegetarian places fill up fast. Come early or expect a queue.
• If you keep a stricter diet, ask for 斋 (Buddhist vegetarian). Plenty of stalls here already cook that way, with no egg, no dairy, no onion and no garlic.
• Chinatown is small and walkable, so do a lap before you settle. You will pass three or four vegetarian options you did not know were there.
• Hawker stalls here generally finish by mid-afternoon: Hao Xiang Ju closes at 1:30pm, Bai Wei at 4pm and Lian Xin Vegetarian at 4:15pm. For evening meals, look to the restaurants, such as Yuki Duyen Chay (until 11pm), Ascend, Yi Xin and D'life Signature (until 9pm).
• Several places close on one fixed day: YiSuPin Vegan and Pu Xiang Vegetarian are closed on Wednesdays, Eight Treasures and Bai Wei on Mondays, and 3WAY Soul Cafe is open weekdays only.

All 16 places in the directory

Ascend Vegetarian (18 Cross) 蔬升

4.9(3)

Open Now · $$ · Restaurant · Vegetarian

Chinatown

Bai Wei Vegetarian

4.9(3)

Closed Now · $ · Hawker · Vegetarian

Chinatown

Oat & About

4.9(3)

Open Now · $ · Dessert · Cafe · Vegetarian

Chinatown

3WAY Soul Cafe

4.8(3)

Closed Now · $$ · Cafe · Vegetarian

Chinatown

Any1 Choco

4.7(3)

Open Now · $$ · Cafe · Dessert · Vegan

Chinatown

Pu Xiang Vegetarian

4.7(7)

Closed Now · $ · Hawker · Vegetarian

Chinatown

YiSuPin Vegan 一素品

4.7(5)

Closed Now · $ · Hawker · Vegan

Chinatown

Healthy Vegetarian Food

4.6(7)

Closed Now · $ · Hawker · Vegetarian

Chinatown

Yi Xin Vegetarian

4.6(5)

Open Now · $$ · Restaurant · Vegetarian

Chinatown

Eight Treasures Vegetarian Restaurant

4.5(3)

Open Now · $$ · Restaurant · Vegetarian

Chinatown

Fire Flies Vegetarian (Chinatown) 客家擂茶

4.5(5)

Closed Now · $ · Hawker · Vegan

Chinatown

Lian Xin Vegetarian

4.5(3)

Closed Now · $$ · Restaurant · Vegetarian

Chinatown

Yuki Duyen Chay

4.5(3)

Open Now · $$ · Restaurant · Vegetarian

Chinatown

D'life Signature (Chinatown)

4.3(4)

Open Now · $$ · Restaurant · Vegetarian

Chinatown

Hao Xiang Ju Cooked Food 好香居素食

4.2(3)

Closed Now · $ · Hawker · Vegetarian

Chinatown

Su Xiang Chinese Vegetarian Cuisine

3.6(3)

Open Now · $ · Hawker · Vegetarian

Chinatown

Common questions

Where can I find vegetarian food in Chinatown, Singapore?

Vegetarian and vegan places are spread across Chinatown, most within a ten minute walk of Chinatown MRT. Look for sit-down vegetarian restaurants along Smith Street and South Bridge Road, cheap hawker stalls inside Chinatown Complex and People's Park Centre, and vegan cafes around Pagoda Street and Sago Street.

Is there vegan food in Chinatown or only vegetarian?

Both. Alongside the vegetarian restaurants there are a few fully vegan spots, and many of the Buddhist vegetarian hawker stalls leave out egg and dairy anyway. At a hawker stall, ask whether a dish contains egg if you need to be sure.

Can I bring friends who eat meat to Chinatown's vegetarian restaurants?

Yes, it is one of the better neighbourhoods for a mixed group. The sit-down restaurants do convincing mock-meat versions of sweet and sour pork, char siew rice, sesame chicken and bee hoon that most people enjoy without missing the meat.

What time do Chinatown's vegetarian stalls open?

The hawker stalls are lunch-focused, roughly 11am to 2pm, with some carrying on into the early evening. The larger vegetarian restaurants keep normal lunch and dinner hours, so they are your option later in the day.

Is there vegan food in Chinatown?

Yes. YiSuPin Vegan at People's Park Centre is a vegan stall, Any1 Choco on Telok Ayer Street is a vegan chocolate café, and Fire Flies at People's Park Centre is listed as a vegan stall. Oat & About sells dairy-free oat milk ice cream.

Is there vegetarian food inside Chinatown Complex?

Bai Wei Vegetarian at #02-196, Chinatown Complex (Blk 335 Smith Street) is a build-your-own soup stall open Tuesday to Sunday from 8am to 4pm. Hao Xiang Ju Cooked Food is nearby at 335 Smith Street (#02-142).