Loo's Hainanese Curry Rice

Loo's Hainanese Curry Rice is a family-run hawker stall on the food level of Tiong Bahru Market. It serves Hainanese curry rice: a plate of rice with the dishes you pick, finished with the stall's curry. The Loo family has cooked to the same recipe since 1946.

The business began on Tian Lye Street in Tanjong Pagar, where Mr Loo Niap Tan and his brother fed port workers. It moved to Telok Blangah in 1978 and then to Tiong Bahru in 1990, where the stall first took the Loo name. Second-generation owner Mr Loo Kia Chee took over from his father in 1979. In 2022 the stall moved from its old coffee shop into two units inside the market. The founder's granddaughter, Dawn Loo, joined full-time in 2025 after training under her father.

What to order

The plate mixes three traditions. The curry recipe came from a relative who cooked for a Peranakan family. The pork chop follows Hainanese cooks who worked for British households. The braised pork is made the Hainanese way. The curry itself takes three days to prepare.

• Fried pork chop: a thin cut coated in crushed biscuit crumbs and fried until crisp. It is one of the stall's best-known dishes.
• Braised pork belly: soft pork belly braised the Hainanese way with soy sauce and spices.
• Sambal squid and sambal prawns: pick these if you like spicy food.
• Curry chicken and assam fish: both cooked with the house curry.
• Braised cabbage and Hainanese meatballs: simple sides that round out the plate.

A good first plate is rice with pork chop, braised pork and cabbage, plus a spoon of sambal squid. The sambal dishes add heat, so take less if you prefer mild food.

The setting

This is a hawker stall, so you queue, point at the dishes you want and pay at the counter. You then eat at the shared tables of the food centre. Service is quick, so the line moves steadily. Expect a queue from mid-morning, as the stall is well known in the area.

Good to know before you go

• Come early. The stall opens in the morning, closes by mid-afternoon and shuts one day a week. Popular dishes can sell out well before closing.
• Tables are shared. Our guide on how to chope a seat explains how locals save a table.
• If you are new to choosing dishes over rice, read how to order economy rice. The idea is much the same.
• Many dishes contain pork or seafood, so ask the stall if you have dietary needs.

Getting there

The stall is at #02-67/68 in Tiong Bahru Market, 30 Seng Poh Road. The official website lists Tiong Bahru MRT station on the East-West Line as the nearest station.

Nearby

On the same food level, Skirt & Dirt serves burgers if your group wants something different. After lunch, walk off the meal around the Art Deco blocks of Tiong Bahru Estate, or follow our Tiong Bahru heritage walk. Find more stalls like this one under hawker favourites, or browse all restaurants in Tiong Bahru and Alexandra.