Jek Pui Curry Rice (The Tableless Curry)

For more than seven decades, Jek Pui has served rich Thai-Chinese curries from a cart on the corner of Mangkon Road — with one famous quirk: there are no tables. Diners perch on cheap red stools along the pavement, plates balanced on their knees, shuffling for a seat in a nightly game locals nicknamed “musical chairs.”

Why It’s Interesting

It’s street food stripped to its essence, and it’s genuinely delicious — ladlefuls of green curry, stewed pork, and the sought-after yellow curry spooned over rice for pocket change. The communal, table-free scramble (which even featured on Netflix’s Street Food) is half the fun and unlike almost anywhere else in the city.

Getting There

It’s on Mangkon Road at the edge of Chinatown, a short walk from Wat Mangkon MRT. Come hungry in the late afternoon, grab a stool the moment one frees up, and don’t overthink the seating.