How to Open a Fish Soup Stall in Singapore

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Official rules and fees quoted were taken from the agency pages linked below, checked on 28 September 2026. Confirm the current position with each agency before you sign a lease or pay a deposit.

Fish soup is one of Singapore’s most popular hawker dishes: sliced fish or fried fish in a clear or milky broth, with bee hoon, rice or thick noodles, and a side of chilli padi in soy sauce. The recipe looks simple, but the business depends on buying good fish every day, keeping the broth consistent and serving fast. Our guide on how to start a hawker stall covers NEA tenders and the basics. This article covers what is specific to fish soup.

Choose your fish soup format and location

Menu style	What it involves
Sliced fish soup	Fresh fish sliced daily and poached to order in clear broth
Fried fish soup	Battered or floured fish fried in batches, often served with milk in the broth
Fish head bee hoon	Fish heads chopped and fried or poached, in a richer, often milky soup
Mixed seafood soup	Fish plus prawns, clams or fish maw, at a higher price point

Most fish soup stalls trade in hawker centres, coffee shops or food courts, where the lunch crowd is. NEA runs a monthly tender for hawker stalls. NEA’s Becoming a Hawker page says applicants must be Singapore Citizens or PRs aged 21 or above, and no one may rent more than two cooked food stalls in NEA-managed centres. For coffee shop stalls, rent is agreed with the operator; see our guide to coffee shop stall rental.

Licences and training

SFA’s licensing page says NEA helps hawker stall operators get their SFA licence as part of tenancy administration, so you do not apply separately. A stall in a coffee shop, food court or canteen needs a Food Stall Licence, which SFA lists at $32 a year or $64 for 2 years, while hawker stalls are charged a reduced $13 a year (SFA). A stall that runs its own seating area inside a multi-unit Food Shop needs a Food Shop Licence instead.

All food handlers must complete the WSQ Food Safety Course Level 1, which SFA says is 6 hours of training plus a 1.5-hour assessment, with retraining within 10 years (SFA). SFA’s advisory to food businesses reminds operators that this applies to part-time staff too. Our noodle stall guide covers stall layout and equipment in a similar format.

Fresh-fish sourcing and daily costs

Fish quality decides whether customers come back. Most stalls buy daily or every other day from fishmongers or seafood wholesalers who deliver early in the morning. Some owners also buy at Jurong Fishery Port. SFA’s Jurong Fishery Port page says the port has a wholesale fish market open to the public, operating 24 hours a day except Monday mornings between 2am and 6am, with ice-crusher stalls on site.

• Agree specifications. Fish type, size, whether it is filleted or whole, delivery time and temperature. Reject fish that does not meet the standard.
• Keep a second supplier. Supply of particular fish can be tight after bad weather or during festive periods.
• Record the daily price. Fish prices move, so note what you paid each day and calculate cost per bowl weekly.
• Track yield. Weigh fish before and after filleting. Yield varies by species and supplier, and it changes your real cost per portion.

Batang (Spanish mackerel) is a common fish soup choice. SFA’s heavy metals page lists king mackerel, known locally as batang, among predatory fish that accumulate more mercury, and advises consumers to limit such fish. SFA also says its tests show heavy metal levels in seafood sold in Singapore are acceptable, and that cooking does not reduce them. Offering other fish such as red grouper or snapper gives customers choice. Our guides to supplier management and goods receiving cover supplier terms and checks.

Handling raw fish safely

Raw fish is high-risk, so handle it carefully from delivery to the pot:

• Keep fish on ice or in a chiller at 4°C or lower from delivery until it is cooked.
• Use separate chopping boards, knives and containers for raw fish and cooked food; SFA suggests colour-coding utensils (SFA advisory).
• If you use frozen fish, thaw it in the chiller, in a microwave, or sealed in ice water, never at room temperature, and do not refreeze it (SFA thawing guidelines).
• Slice only what you expect to sell in the next period, and keep sliced portions chilled.

If you want to sell raw fish dishes, such as raw fish slices with porridge, check SFA’s rules first. SFA says raw freshwater fish has been banned in ready-to-eat raw fish dishes since 5 December 2015, and food stalls in hawker centres, coffee shops, canteens and food courts must show SFA they meet requirements, such as cold chain and layout, before selling ready-to-eat raw fish dishes (SFA). SFA’s raw fish page adds that such fish should be kept at 0°C to 4°C.

Broth batching

The broth is your signature. Most stalls make a base stock from fish bones, ikan bilis, soya beans or other ingredients early in the morning, then top it up during the day. Plan batches so you never run out at 12.30pm and never throw away half a pot at closing:

• Stage the batches. One large batch for opening, and a second started mid-morning for the lunch peak.
• Hold hot. SFA says food not eaten straight away should be kept at 60°C or higher or refrigerated at 4°C or lower (SFA). Keep the soup pot on a steady simmer.
• Cool leftovers fast. SFA advises dividing large amounts into smaller portions for quicker cooling (SFA). If in doubt, discard.
• Milk and egg. If you add evaporated milk or egg to order, keep them chilled and add at the last step.

Use your POS sales by hour to plan batch sizes. After a few weeks you will know how many bowls you sell by 11.30am, 1pm and closing.

Speed for the lunch crowd

A fish soup stall may serve most of its bowls in two hours. Speed comes from preparation:

• Pre-portion sliced fish, vegetables and noodles into bowls or trays before 11am.
• Keep two or three pots of broth at a rolling boil so several bowls cook at once.
• Fry fish in batches ahead of the peak and keep it crisp on a rack, not in a closed container.
• Take orders and payment first, give a number, and call it when the bowl is ready.

A queue number shown on a display lets customers sit down instead of crowding the counter.

Pricing by fish type

Different fish cost very different amounts, so most stalls price by fish type and style. Build your menu as a matrix rather than a flat list:

Choice	Examples	How to set it up
Fish type	Batang, red grouper, snapper, pomfret	Separate items or a priced modifier group
Style	Sliced, fried, fish head, mixed	Required choice on each order
Carbohydrate	Bee hoon, thick bee hoon, rice, yi mian	Required choice, usually no charge
Add-ons	Add milk, add egg, extra fish, bitter gourd, tomato	Optional priced modifiers

Review prices when your average fish cost moves. Our menu price increase guide covers how to raise prices without losing regulars. We do not quote market prices for fish or bowls here because they vary widely by fish, supplier and location.

Equipment, grease and allergens

A fish soup stall needs high-output burners, large stock pots, a noodle scalder, a chiller or ice chest for fish, and a fryer if you sell fried fish. PUB says all establishments that handle food, including hawker centres and coffee shops, require grease traps (PUB); our grease trap guide explains maintenance. Bag fish waste tightly and dispose of it promptly to control smell and pests.

SFA lists fish, milk, egg, wheat, soya beans and crustaceans among the most common allergens (SFA). Fish soup can contain several of them, especially if you add milk, egg or prawns. Train staff to answer questions and mark allergens on the menu board.

POS setup and opening checklist

• Stall ordering. ChaChaCha’s hawker POS handles fish type, style, noodle choice and add-ons as custom modifiers, with English and 中文 interface and kitchen tickets.
• Queue numbers. The queue system shows numbers on a digital display and can send SMS notifications.
• Payments. PayNow, PayLah!, NETS, Visa/Mastercard and GrabPay with automated reconciliation. AppsPOS, which powers ChaChaCha, is a NETS Certified Vendor.
• Cost control. Recipe-level stock deduction and recipe costing per bowl, and sales reports by hour for batch planning.

The POS keeps taking orders if the internet drops. Pricing is quote-based, and AppsPOS is approved under the EDGE Grant; see our grant guide and the hawker productivity grant guide.

1. Stall secured and licence confirmed with NEA or SFA.
2. Two fish suppliers agreed, with specifications and delivery times.
3. Broth recipe and batch plan written down.
4. Price matrix by fish type and style costed.
5. Prep routine and queue flow tested before opening day.

Want to see fish-type pricing and queue numbers set up for your stall? Talk to us for a demo and a quote.