Makan kaki, kopi kaki, gym kaki: how to find your people in Singapore

A makan kaki is a food buddy, the friend you call when you want to eat somewhere good. "Makan" is Malay for eat and "kaki" is Singlish for a companion you share an activity with, so the same idea gives you a kopi kaki, gym kaki or jogging kaki. To find one, pick a regular food or activity ritual, invite one person, and keep it going.

What "kaki" means

In Singlish, a kaki is a friend or companion, most often someone you do a particular thing with. Honeycombers' Singlish guide sums it up with a classic example: "She's my makan kaki. We hunt down hidden hawker gems every week together."

The word's roots are a little tangled, which is very Singlish. The Chimbridge Singlish Dictionary links it to the Malay kaki, meaning leg or foot, which is also used for someone who is fond of an activity. That explains the activity sense, as in kopi kaki or mahjong kaki. It adds that the plain "friend" meaning may come from the Hokkien ka ki nang, roughly "one of us", and that the two may have merged because they sound alike.

Whatever its origin, the idea is useful: friendships often grow fastest around a shared habit.

The kaki family

• Makan kaki: your food buddy, for hawker hunts, new openings and supper runs.
• Kopi kaki: the friend you meet for kopi or coffee, often at the same kopitiam each time.
• Gym kaki: someone you train with, who makes it harder to skip a session.
• Jogging kaki: a running partner for early-morning loops.
• Badminton kaki: your regular court partner.
• Mahjong kaki: the people who complete your table.

Why food is the easiest place to start

Singapore's hawker centres were made for this. When UNESCO inscribed Hawker Culture in Singapore on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2020, its decision described hawker centres as "community dining rooms" where people from all backgrounds gather to eat. Food gives you something to talk about, a natural end point, and an easy excuse to meet again ("we still haven't tried the other stall").

Makan kaki ideas by area

Planning a food outing is simple when you have a theme. A few well-known hawker centres to build plans around:

• Chinatown: Maxwell Food Centre and Chinatown Complex Food Centre. Go early on weekdays, as popular stalls sell out.
• Tiong Bahru: Tiong Bahru Market, about five minutes' walk from the MRT, is a classic weekend breakfast. Some stalls open from 5.30am and sell out by noon.
• Raffles Place: Lau Pa Sat's Satay Street comes alive in the evenings, which makes it a good after-work meet.
• Little India: Tekka Centre sits right above Little India MRT, with biryani and prata worth sharing.
• Serangoon: Chomp Chomp Food Centre in Serangoon Gardens is evening only, with most stalls opening around 5 to 6pm. There is no MRT station nearby, so plan your ride.
• East side: Old Airport Road Food Centre, about two minutes from Dakota MRT, is a big, varied centre that is quieter after 2pm.

Stall hours change and some close without notice, so check before you go.

A good makan kaki ritual has a theme: one dish across three hawker centres, one new neighbourhood each month, or a "the queue is the point" Saturday. Themes give people a reason to come back.

Kopi kaki ideas

Kopi is the lowest-pressure meet-up there is. It takes 30 minutes, costs very little, and works before work, at lunch or on a weekend morning.

• Pick a regular spot near both of you, such as a kopitiam in Toa Payoh or Katong.
• Set a standing time, for example the first Saturday of each month.
• Try a structured coffee. Timeleft runs coffee meet-ups for small groups of strangers in Singapore on Saturdays at 3pm, if you would like to meet new people rather than one person.

Gym kaki and jogging kaki ideas

• ActiveSG gyms are inexpensive at S$2.50 an entry for citizens and PRs (S$3.30 standard), which makes it easy to agree a regular session with a friend.
• Run clubs are the fastest way to find a jogging kaki, and most are free. See our guide to running groups in Singapore.
• Badminton and table tennis are naturally social. Our guide to finding badminton and table tennis partners covers booking and prices.

How to find your kaki

1. Start with people you already know. A colleague who always talks about food is a makan kaki waiting to happen. Invite them to one specific place.
2. Join a group. Meetup lists Singapore groups such as I Walk I Hike I Eat I Travel, which combines outings with food, plus game nights and other social groups.
3. Try a group meal. Formats like Timeleft's dinners match you with strangers. Our guide to dinner with strangers in Singapore compares the options.
4. Host a small crawl. Invite four to six people, pick a hawker centre and a time, and ask everyone to bring a friend.
5. Follow up. If someone was good company, suggest the next outing before you say goodbye.

Meeting a new kaki safely

Hawker centres and coffee shops are public and busy, which makes them ideal for first meet-ups. Tell a friend where you are going, make your own way there and home, and keep personal details private until you know someone. Never send money or gift cards to someone you have not met in person. If anything feels off, call the ScamShield Helpline on 1799.

A new option: Now I'm Open

Now I'm Open is a new, free web app from Singapore, launched in October 2026 for adults 18 and over. It is still small, so be patient while it grows.

Posting a kaki request is the whole idea. In Friends mode, you write a short card such as "Open to a chicken rice crawl in Chinatown, Sat lunch" or "Open to a weekly gym session in Bishan, 7am". You see like-minded people nearby by area only, and you connect only when you both say yes. Signed-in members see each other's photos, selfie verification gives a Verified badge, and you can leave a reference after you meet. Women can choose to show their cards only to women.

Not sure which kaki you need most? Take the one-minute quiz, or read how to make friends in Singapore.