Online reservations for free food coupons at the Ngee Ann Teochew Cultural & Food Festival are fully taken, so the walk-up queue at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza is now the only way to get one. The Ngee Ann Cultural Centre, which runs the festival with sponsorship from The Ngee Ann Kongsi, will give out 100 complimentary food coupons worth S$20 each at every distribution slot from Friday, 2 October to Sunday, 4 October 2026.
The festival takes over Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza at 391 Orchard Road, co-organised by the Teochew Federation (Singapore). The food fair opens in two sessions a day, 10am to 2pm and 5pm to 9pm. Friday starts later. An invitation-only opening ceremony holds the plaza from 10am to noon, and the fair opens to the public at 12pm.
Six coupon slots a day, one coupon each
On Friday, coupons go out at 11am, 12pm and 1pm, then at 5pm, 6pm and 7pm. On Saturday and Sunday the morning slots move up an hour, to 10am, 11am and 12pm, with the same three evening slots. That is 600 walk-up coupons a day, or 1,800 across the three days.
Collection is at the Festival Entrance Counter. Each person gets one coupon, and it is valid only on the day it is collected. NRIC or another valid ID must be shown, and the organiser records the name and the last three characters of the ID number to stop repeat claims.
The online round opened at 9am on 1 September and is now closed. Those who registered were told they would hear within two weeks whether they had a coupon and how to collect it.
What is on the menu
Three signature plates lead the list: Kityang stir-fried kway teow with bamboo shoots, Nan Ao seaweed fried rice, and Teochew braised duck rice with tau kwa. The kueh table carries rice png kueh, herbal cudweed kueh, crystal bamboo shoot kueh, wu mi kueh (chive crystal dumplings) and mini bak chang.
Fried items include guo rou, gan hua liver rolls, hei zhor prawn rolls and bamboo shoot dumplings. Soups are beef ball, chicken ball and kway teow. Orh nee, ah bo leng, tau suan, luo tang qian, tau sar piah and maltose candy sit on the dessert side, and the drinks are built around Dancong tea, served iced, hot or as a tea gelato.
What each dish costs in coupon value has not been published, so how far one S$20 coupon stretches is still unknown. The organiser says the food line-up may change without notice.
Five opera and music troupes over three days
Teochew opera and music run from 11am to 1pm and 6pm to 8pm. After Friday’s opening ceremony, all five troupes share the midday programme, and Chui Huay Lim Teochew Opera Group has Friday evening to itself.
Er Woo Amateur Musical & Dramatic Association plays on Saturday morning. Nam Hwa Opera takes Saturday evening. Thau Yong Amateur Musical Association has Sunday morning. The Teochew Drama Association closes the festival on Sunday evening.
Orchard MRT, on the North-South and Thomson-East Coast lines, and Somerset on the North-South Line are the nearest stations. Drivers are directed to the Ngee Ann City car park at B3 or Level 6.
