Discover Local Singapore: What to Do Around Mercure ICON Singapore City Centre

At Mercure, we believe you shouldn't need a guidebook to feel like you belong somewhere. That's the idea behind Discover Local: since 1973, every Mercure hotel has been built around its neighbourhood, not just dropped into it — from the décor on the walls to the flavours on the menu. Step into any Mercure and our teams are on hand with the kind of tips you won't find in a guidebook: the market stall locals queue for, the bar where nobody speaks English, the walk that skips the crowds. They live here. They know. Discover Local isn't a generic city guide — it's a short, honest list of the restaurants, markets and neighbourhoods our own hotel teams actually recommend to guests, updated as the city changes around us. Below, you'll find our picks for Singapore, an interactive map to help you find your way, and answers to the questions travellers ask us most. So — where will Discover Local take you?

Singapore in 5 picks

Chinatown Complex hawker stalls

One of the biggest hawker centres in Singapore, and home to some of its most talked-about stalls. Go mid-morning to avoid the lunchtime queue.

Telok Ayer Street

A row of restored shophouses and the Thian Hock Keng Temple, one of Singapore's oldest. Quieter than the main Chinatown strip, and right by the hotel.

Tiong Bahru Market

A wet market and hawker centre in a 1930s art deco estate, a short MRT ride away — chwee kueh and lor mee from stalls that have been at it for decades.

Amoy Street Food Centre

A lunchtime institution for the office crowd, with a dense cluster of hawker stalls just steps from Telok Ayer.

Duxton Hill

A short walk from Chinatown, this stretch of restored shophouses is now home to bars and restaurants — a good change of pace after a hawker-centre afternoon.

Where to eat
Start at a hawker centre, not a restaurant — chwee kueh, Hokkien prawn mee and lor mee are the everyday dishes worth chasing. Chope a seat with a tissue packet if you need to, order at the stall directly, and don't expect table service. Amoy Street and Chinatown Complex are both an easy walk from the hotel.
Chinatown, block by block
Telok Ayer, Amoy Street and the main Chinatown strip each have a slightly different character — historic shophouses, lunchtime hawker stalls, and tourist-facing souvenir streets, all within a few minutes of each other. It rewards wandering rather than a fixed route.
Right outside your hotel
Mercure ICON Singapore City Centre is directly connected to Chinatown and Telok Ayer MRT stations via the ICON Link underground dining and retail link — you can reach the neighbourhood\u2019s hawker stalls and shophouses without stepping outside.
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FAQ

Locals often leave a tissue packet on a table to mark it as taken — known as 'choping' a seat. It's an accepted local custom, not a workaround.

It's a short MRT ride away, not walking distance — but easy to reach given the hotel's direct MRT connection.

Yes — Mercure ICON Singapore City Centre connects directly to Chinatown and Telok Ayer MRT stations via the ICON Link.

Where to sleep

See Mercure hotels in Singapore, all within reach of these picks.

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Where to sleep

See Mercure hotels in Singapore, all within reach of these picks

View hotels