We Singaporeans love many things, including Bubble tea, weekend getaways, and, most importantly, international snacks. This time, we’ve gathered a list of Chinese supermarkets in Singapore to satisfy all your sinful mala and hot pot cravings without having to fly to China.
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With 33 stores across the island and 4 24-hour outlets, Scarlett Supermarket takes the spot for the most prominent Chinese supermarket chain in Singapore. Customers can shop for products ranging from flavourful snacks and sweet drinks to fresh produce and frozen goods – all at pretty affordable prices.
Scarlett also houses famous brands like the Haidilao self-heating hot pot and Hai Chi Jia’s spicy noodles.
Those who’ve shopped at Scarlett before will know about their grab snacks. For $5, you can choose from 10 packs of goodies. It’s value for money, and you can try many different flavours.
What’s better, their newly opened Westgate outlet has food stalls, a mala store, and a live seafood section.
Full list of Scarlett Supermarket locations
Image credit: Yue Hwa Chinese Products
You might have heard about Yue Hwa Chinese Products from your mom or grandma when discussing where to buy traditional Chinese medicine in Singapore. The brand has 3 stores island-wide, with its 6-storey departmental store in the heart of Chinatown.
The stores are every mom’s dream, boasting an extensive range of Asian health products and medicines. There are ointments for muscle aches as well as herbal powders for cough, flu, and sore throats; name it, and they probably have it.
The department store also sells other lifestyle items. Head to Level 3 to shop for souvenirs and traditional clothing like Cheongsams, while the Asian Market at Level 4 is where you want to be if you’re looking for all the fun snacks.
You’ll be thrilled to find MoNo SG at Level 2 of the Chinatown building. This is where you pay for a box from $10-$25 and mix and match snacks as long as they fit nicely. Some finds include hot pot soup bases, unique chip flavours, and cup noodles.
As MoNo’s concept store promotes sustainability, the snacks have shorter expiry dates and switch up regularly depending on the stocks from distributors.
Full list of Yue Hwa Chinese Products locations
Calling all easties and westies, KUN HAI SHOP is a small-sized Chinese grocery store located in The Clementi Mall (#04-31), Tampines 1 (#03-11), and People’s Park Complex (#01-84D).
In addition to its extensive variety of snacks and confectioneries, KUN HAI also offers hot food at selected outlets. Chinese crepes – or Tianjin-style jianbing – are made to order and available at the Clementi and Chinatown outlets. You can get the original flavour at $5. Other ingredients like egg and pork floss can be added to your crepes from $0.50.
The Clementi Mall outlet also serves $0.80 ice cream cones, the flavours of which change periodically.
Octobox is a self-operated, unmanned convenience store that utilises technology like palm scanners and smart barcodes for easy payments. The stores are open 24 hours a day, and with outlets at NTU and NUS, they are a go-to spot for students living on campus who are feeling peckish at ungodly hours.
At Octobox, you can find unique snacks, drinks, ice cream, and even instant hot pots from famous brands like Haidilao and Shoo Loong Kan. You can also shop for skincare products, laundry items, and over-the-counter medicines.
Full list of Octobox locations
This one’s for the mommies. Fancy Mart is a lifestyle store that sells entertainment for young ones. It sells toys, paint-by-numbers kits, soft toys, and cute home decorations. POP MART lovers, there are also surprise boxes that are Hello Kitty and Snoopy-themed to add to your collection.
Of course, we can’t forget about the food. Customers can choose from a huge selection of Chinese-imported snacks and drinks. There’s renditions of American Goldfish crackers in flavours like tomato and honey milk, chocolate-covered strawberries, and yam-flavoured potato chips.
Founded in 1976, Da You Departmental Store feels like stepping into an old-school snacks store. It’s a place to visit for all your household needs. Alongside the usual staples you can find here – such as tinned food, rice, and cooking oils – there’s a section with snacks like Taiwanese mochi, cuttlefish strips, and wife cakes.
Outside the shop, you will see racks of on-sale clothes and accessories for those who enjoy thrifting. Don’t be quick to shame these for aunties’ and uncles’ fashion. Who knows, you might be able to find some with cool prints and revamp them into something you’d rock.
If you’ve been a regular patron of NTUC with your family, you may have noticed the food fair pop-ups by Food People. They rotate around different Fairprice outlets and aim to make international goodies accessible for everyone.
The set-ups usually display authentic Taiwanese goodies, such as jellies, cooking condiments, and fruit vinegar syrups. If you’d rather shop in the comfort of your home, check out their online store, which has more options for frozen seafood, steamed buns, and Taiwanese sausages.
For regular updates on their pop-ups, check out Food People’s Facebook.
Taobuy188 Snack Shop is a must-scroll Shopee store when looking for exotic Chinese snacks. If you’re feeling adventurous, add the mala duck neck sticks ($4.90) or ready-to-eat chicken feet ($6.80) to your cart.
Coriander lovers, you won’t want to miss out on the spicy, fragrant coriander-flavoured cup noodles ($4.40). Or, for a safer bet, there are tons of sweet and spicy noodles to choose from.
Check out TaoBuy 188’s Shopee store.
With all that the Chinese supermarkets offer, we’d never have to worry about going hungry. We’re truly spoiled for choice, with so much variety in each store.
For more supermarket finds:
Cover image adapted from: @yuehwasingapore, @westgatesg via Instagram
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