OK, as Singapore resident - not a Singaporean, but have been living here for >6 years, I can add couple of points from local standpoint.

A lot (if not all) locals will laugh at Michelin star system to determine best places to eat. And a lot of them would consider SGD $10 for char-sew a rip off, no matter how many starts or bells and whistles it has because it is 3x of the normal price.

And if you are local, you will be noticing that in that 40 min wait line you see almost no locals any more - it is 95% packed with tourists, and people who have known the establishment for a while, will say that not only food got price increase 3x since that award, but quality has deteriorated as well. Why bother if you can sell this stuff to tourists to 3x-10x of the usual price, guaranteed that they will never return and won't compare your food to other places.

If you want to taste real hawker food, you need to get away from touristy places, go to hawker center across Khatib MRT station, Old Airport Hawker center, Zion Road hawker center, Tiong Bahru - there are number of them.

I can just substitute myself as the writer and Hong Kong as the location.

Does Landlord price the renewal on the number of stars in SG like they do in HK?

Welcome. :)
Do they? And why I am not surprised...

Wait for the sequel:
CRAZY RICH ASIAN LANDLORDS

The original location ( hawker centre/Chinatown Complex Market) is managed/regulated by a government agency (NEA) and owned by HDB (govt agency too)
https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/...ement/overview

It's done thru a bidding process (at least for new stalls, not sure about renewals). 3-year Bids for cooked food stores are around $1-3k plus $500monthly rent)
https://www.nea.gov.sg/corporate-fun...tender-notices

For The newer facility (standalone air-conditioned restaurant ) , it's possible for landlord to raise rent? Not sure if there are any local laws limiting it

I've always wondered how this is the gauge. I'll take a small hole in the wall with delicious food at a reasonable price than some mega expensive *insert how many stars they have as a gauge as to where the 'best' food is.

IMO, Singapore can't even better it's neighbours.

This I had to read several times and each time burst out laughing. Only Singaporeans believe this!!

The Cantonese food is done better in Hong Kong, the Malay food done better in Indonesia and Malaysia, the Perankan food done better in Malaysia and ironically, the Indian food is better in the UK...

If you really want to look for good melting pot of cuisines, go to Penang

Unfortunately their standards have dropped alot at the franchise stores. Never tried at the original hawker stall though.

Yes I read some reviews saying the franchise stores are nowhere near the quality of the original one. We visited the one in Chinatown, which is the one and true original hawker ;) We thought it was really good. Everything was just on par.

Thanks for the tips on finding more awesome food ;) We really liked Singapore in terms of food as we've never discovered a place that does so many different kinds of food in one small area with a consistent good quality. Of course you will find better foods if you go to the place it's from. The best pho I ever had was in HCMC in Vietnam, which will be hard to beat. But the one we had in Singapore was really good and just a few minutes later we had some great Laksa.

It is very expensive compared to similar stalls in Singapore.
The food is just ok, nothing spectacular.

Went there once a few years ago and didnt go back since and that type of noodle dish is one of my favs.
So that says a lot, for me at least.

One place I want to try but havent really go to is a fishball noodle dish stall run by a Japanese family in a hawker center.
Supposed to be quite good and comes with a slight japanese take on it.
"Ah Hoe mee pok" i think is the name.

My wfie, I and another FTer were at Hill Street earlier this year. We live in Singapore and it was his first visit to Singapore. I seem to recall we waited an hour and a half at least. I agree. The food was ok, nothing special. For the life of me I can't understand why people are willing to wait in the line.