The Ultimate $15 and Under CBD Lunch Guide: Tanjong Pagar

Delicious and affordable food is no rare sight in Tanjong Pagar with hawker centres like Maxwell, Amoy Street and Tanjong Pagar Food Centre located within walking distances from most offices. But there are days when we just don’t feel like fighting for seats or sweating it out in stuffy spaces. Instead, having a meal at an air-conditioned restaurant is a welcomed change. In this guide we’ve compiled a list of cafes and restaurants that serve lunch specials that you and your colleagues can enjoy for $15 or less.

Tanjong Pagar Road Hanare

Lunch hour is precious and we’d much rather spend our time enjoying a meal instead of waiting in line. You can beat the long queue at Teppei by heading around the corner to its sister outlet Hanare instead. Hanare’s daily lunch specials start from $13.50 and comes with a mini buffet of 4 side dishes, miso soup, tea and rice. If you have slightly more to spend, we highly recommend their Bara Chirashi ($17.60) where you get a generous mountain of seasoned sashimi on a bed of Japanese short grained rice. Hanare, 1 Tras Link, Orchid Hotel, Singapore 078867 (Image: @biteclubsg)

Pho Stop

Amongst the sea of Korean restaurants located along Tanjong Pagar road, Pho Stop offers some variety with their satisfying bowls of piping hot Vietnamese Pho. Their Beef Feast Combo Pho ($9.40) comes with slices of ribeye beef, beef brisket, beef balls and beef marrow served with fresh rice noodles. The broth had an intense beefy flavour guaranteed to leave you satisfied and they are also not stingy with their meat. Each spoonful you slurp up will always have a bit of everything. We also recommend their Deep Fried Spring Rolls ($5.00) made with a mixture of meat and black fungus for texture. Pho Stop, 72 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088493 (Image: @biteclubsg)

Hakata Ikkousha Ramen

Tanjong Pagar is known to house the best ramen eateries in Singapore and out of all the options available, we recommend Hakata Ikkousha Ramen. Their Tonkotsu Standard ($12.00) stands out amongst the rest for its creamy and full-bodied broth, which complements their thinly sliced cha shu and straight noodles. Fans of spicy ramen might also want to try their God Fire Ramen ($13.50), which might just leave you in tears. Each bowl of ramen ordered entitles you to unlimited servings of hard boiled eggs. You can also check-in on Facebook to receive a free flavoured egg. Hakata Ikkousha Ramen, Blk 7 Tanjong Pagar Plaza #01-104B, Singapore 081007 (Image: Hakata Ikkousha Ramen Facebook Page)

Drury Lane

Drury Lane is a cozy two-storey café that serves excellent food and coffee. If you’re a fan of breakfast foods, try Big 94 ($14), which comes with eggs, beef sausage, mushrooms, honey cured bacon, baked beans and toast. They also have other breakfast favourites like Eggs Benedict ($12) and Bacon Baked Eggs ($12). We also appreciate the fact that they change their specials every week so you’ll always have a different option when you head down for lunch. You can check their Facebook page for the latest updates on what the specials of the week are. Drury Lane, 94 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088515 (Image: @biteclubsg)

Kko Kko Nara

Kko Kko Nara stands out from all the other Korean restaurants along Tanjong Pagar Road specializing in crispy and delicious fried chicken. While their fried chicken falls outside our budget (a small plate of wings will cost you $20, while a large plate will set you back $40), they do have a lunch menu available from 11am to 3pm that is much more affordable. Their Kimchi Jji-Gae is priced at a reasonable $12 and their Bool Go Gi Deob Bab costs $13 for chicken or pork and $15 for beef. Kko Kko Nara, 57 Tras Street #01-01, Singapore 078996 (Image: @biteclubsg)

Wabar

Don’t let the glowing rows of neon alcohol bottles fool you; Wabar has more to offer than just post-work drinks. Wa Bar’s lunch buffet is priced at $15++ and offers an amazing variety of dishes including kimchi fried rice, spicy and garlic soy sauce fried chicken, salad and Korean side dishes. Definitely an option to consider if you have the luxury of time to fully enjoy the buffet during your lunch break. Wabar, 64 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088485 (Image: Wabar Facebook Page)

Two Blur Guys

Gone are the days where the only place that served a good burger in Singapore was Burger King. With specialty burger shops popping up all over our island, Two Blur Guys has consistently ranked as one of the city’s top spots for a quick burger fix. From classics like their Prime Beef Burger ($13.95) to more unique options like their Duck Rilette Burger ($12.95), Two Blur Guys ensures that every burger that reaches you is lovingly crafted and tasty enough that you wouldn’t mind using your bare hands to tuck in. Two Blur Guys, 1 Tras Link, Singapore 078867 (Image: OpenRice user gninethree)

TwoMen Bagel House

Located at the new extension of Icon Village, TwoMen Bagel House is not to be confused with Two Blur Guys despite their very similar names. This eatery focuses on serving premium bagels at affordable prices with many of the items on the menu going for less than $10. We enjoyed our Breakfast Bagel ($7.90) that was served with streaky bacon, hash brown and a runny sunny side egg. You also have the option to add a sausage for an additional $2.50. Other popular options include their LOX Bagel ($11.90) – their take on the classic smoked salmon bagel served with cream cheese, dill, capers and pickled beets. TwoMen Bagel House, 16 Enggor Street, Singapore 079717 (Image: @biteclubsg)

Anson Road The Wicked Garlic

The first floor of International Plaza is jam-packed with food options catering towards the lunchtime office crowd. Among them is The Wicked Garlic, a humble eatery that serves pasta, risotto and pizza at affordable prices. When our Linguine Alla Vongole ($9.70) arrived at our table, we were shocked to find at least 20 meaty clams on our plate, much more than what we were expecting for the price. Alongside its consistent quality, prices of most dishes here such as the Curry Prawn Risotto (pictured) are kept under and the ingredients that matter are definitely not skimped on. The Wicked Garlic, 10 Anson Road, #01-37, International Plaza, Singapore 079903 (Image: The Wicked Garlic Facebook Page)

Jung Ga Ne

Jung Ga Ne is only about a month old but has already started to draw in a lunch crowd. Every item in their lunch set menu is less than $15 and is served with five Korean side dishes including thick cuts of spicy and sour kimchi. Their Dolsot Bibimbap ($13.90) had the perfect mix of crunchy vegetables, sweet seasoned beef and rice that had become crispy in texture due to the hotstone. They also have a grilled mackerel fish set that is priced reasonably at $12.90. Jung Ga Ne, 10 Anson Road, #02-59, International Plaza, Singapore 079903 (Image: @biteclubsg)

The Hot Kitchen

On some days, a midday drink feels like an absolute necessity. The Hot Kitchen not only has beers and other alcoholic drinks to chase your work blues away but they also do a set lunch for two ($25) that features a 12 inch pizza, two soups of the day and two non-alcoholic drinks. For your pizza, options include Meat Lovers, Hawaiian, Pepperoni, Vegetable Heaven and Margarita. They also have all day specials you can complete your set with including a one for one house wine deal or a full pint of draught beer at $12. The Hot Kitchen, 2 Mistri Road, Singapore 079624 (Image: The Hot Kitchen Facebook Page)

The Lawn

While there are a ton of specialty salad shops in Tanjong Pagar, The Lawn is our favourite because of its customizability and premium toppings. You can choose to create your own salad for $9.90 with five toppings, one dressing and take your pick from ten grilled items like Black Pepper Duck Breasts or Prawns with Garlic. Alternatively, you can also order their tried and tested Chef’s salads, Sweet and Chic ($12.90), Crunches with Munches ($13.90) or Hunky Dory ($13.90). They also serve olive rice if you need something more substantial to fill you up on top of those leafy greens. The Lawn, 8 Shenton Way #B1-11, AXA Tower, Singapore 068811 (Image: The Lawn Facebook Page)

Warung Lele

There aren’t many halal restaurant dining options in Tanjong Pagar so Warung Lele is a real life saver especially if you have Muslim colleagues. You can choose to order an array of Indonesian dishes to share such as Nila Bakar or grilled barbeque Nila fish. Alternatively, they also have a range of set menus you can choose from depending on the number of people you’re are dining with or an express lunch dishes that change weekly. This includes Nasi Briyani, Nasi Ayam Panggang or Longtong Sayur at $4.50 to $5.50. Warung Lele, 8 Shenton Way, Singapore 068811 (Image: OpenRice user Monera)

Maxwell Road Moi Lum

Award-winning Moi Lum has established itself as the dining destination for authentic Cantonese food since the 1920s. While most head down to Moi Lum for their famous Roast Chicken and other specialty dishes, we were surprised to find that they have a selection of set lunches as well. Their Signature Value Set Lunch ($7.90) includes options like sliced fish hor fun and smoked duck noodles, while the Traditional Cantonese Set Lunch ($8.90) has a variety of steamed meats and rice served with a side of double boiled soup. Seeing as how these same dishes would cost approximately the same amount at a food court, we think the set lunch at Moi Lum is a pretty good deal! Moi Lum, 38 Maxwell Road, Singapore 069116 (Image: @biteclubsg)

Duxton Road While Duxton may be a food haven, most of them fall out of our $15 lunch time budget. Fortunately, we were able to find a couple of places in and around Duxton that serve more affordable fare. Latteria Mozzarella

Latteria Mozzarella has 6 classic pastas available at $15++ during lunch. Their Spaghetti Carbonara is served with a poached egg, as well as thin slices parma ham and options like Linguine with Prawns and Pesto that caught our eye. Though pricier than most other options on this list, the ambience of the restaurant will take you away from the hectic pace of work as it the same sense of serenity you would get at the Italian countryside. Latteria Mozzarella, 40 Duxton Hill, Singapore 089618 (Image: @biteclubsg)

Miss Molly's

A gorgeous display of rainbow cakes, whoopie pies and dark chocolate tarts greets you as you step into the whimsical world of Miss Molly’s. Aside from pretty desserts, you can also enjoy affordable set lunches that come with soup and homemade ice tea. Their Grilled Kaffir-lime Chicken ($12.80) is an interesting East meets West fusion dish served with homemade Thai sweet chilli sauce and buttered rice. Staples like Fish and Chips ($12.80) and Prawn Aglio Olio ($12.80) are also featured on their set lunch menu. Miss Molly's, 2 Craig Road, Singapore 089662 (Image: Miss Molly's Facebook Page) See Also: Explore these eats in the area On a budget? Check out these steaks for under $20

Written by: Nicole Marie Ng (Main image: Two Blur Guys)