Toàn quốc: Satay Guan

A food visit to the Balestier area isn’t complete without a stop to whampoa market . Sometimes known as Whampoa Drive Food Centre, the huge complex is split into two blocks and a wet market, where you’ll be spoiled for choice by the variety of stalls. The “Morning Market” at Blk 91 serves the early birds, while Blk 90 next door only gets busy later in the day. But no matter the time of day you drop by, there’ll always be something open, even if it’s at 2am on a Sunday night (except when it's closed for cleaning, of course).

This guide focuses more on the hidden gems of Blk 90, where most of the stalls are open from late afternoon onwards, thus its other nickname as the “Night Market”.



A popular supper spot, Satay Guan is one of the hidden gems in Whampoa Makan Place. Despite the lack of a long queue, their satays are in high demand with the two ladies turning over orders as quick as every couple minutes. You don’t need to wait long for piping hot satay here!

A minimum of 10 sticks per order is required, with chicken, mutton, and pork available. Each stick is $0.60.



Their satays are well marinated before being grilled on the charcoal. The best is the pork satay, which comes with juicy chunks of fat skewered in between tender pieces of pork. When dipped into the peanut sauce, every bite is flavourful. The chicken satay is slightly less punchy probably due to the absence of fat, but just as tender. Satay Guan’s honey glazing is on the sweeter side and balances well with the slightly charred meats.



The peanut sauce is smooth with finely ground peanuts and infused with tangy pineapple sauce. I usually prefer chunky peanuts for that crunch, but I found that their peanut sauce added another layer of taste to the satays without taking too much attention away from the meat.

The rice was the only lacking part of the dish. They were hard and didn’t have much taste, even when dipped in the peanut sauce.

Previously the ladies managing the store would deliver your order to your table, but recently they’ve moved on to self-collection. On the weekends, they start selling as early as 3pm.