Albert Centre

Missing your bulk bins at Whole Foods? This is the place to go. On the 3^rd floor of this building are a bunch of little shops selling various dry goods out of giant bags. I come here for the nuts — almonds, cashews, pistachios — which sell at a lower price than at the grocery store, and are way fresher. You can even ask for a sample before buying. I favor the more crowded stores, which have a higher turnover. The shop assistant will fill the bags for you, so it’s somewhat sanitary despite not having pulldown dispensers.
There are also other local snacks, like those little fried shrimp rolls, seaweed rice crackers, spicy tapioca chips, selling for less than at your nearby supermarket. Best of all, they are available year round, not just during Chinese New Year. This is where I head to buy snacks when I visit people in other countries.
Besides snacks, they also sell other dried Chinese goods like mushrooms, sea cucumbers, oysters, pickled vegetables, but I don’t really go for those. With so many stores side by side, I’m sure the prices are competitive.
The food center on the first floor has a good variety of local food, and tends to have more stalls open during the day than at night.
4 stars, coz I don’t like the messy surroundings.

Food! Food! Food!
There’s almost everything here. Just love it!
Hainanese Chicken Rice, Chicken Curry, Black Carrot Cake, Wonton, etc. Most dishes are 4 SG or less.

The dried goods section on the second floor is where all the Chinese aunties go for their necessities come festival time. The wet market is tiny but has some good vendors. The vegetable stall has got very fresh produce and there’s a little old lady who sells nice fat chickens. I also like the butcher at the end of the row — run by a nice couple who always have good stuff on offer. And everything is always reasonably priced — cheaper than cold storage for sure.
The cooked food market is da bomb. Always bustling and filled with really good stalls. My fav are the Queen Street Prawn Noodles and the economic bee hoon stalls for an artery clogging brekkie.