The revamped Old Airport Road food centre is winning back regulars after its $5.8m facelift
By Huang Lijie
FOOCHOW fishball noodle seller Siah Wee Leng had to close his shop just four hours after re-opening it at the newly upgraded Block 51 Old Airport Road food centre.
He had sold out everything.
Business is back and even better at the 34-year-old food centre, which closed in March last year for a $5.8 million facelift under the National Environment Agency's Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme (HUP).
It re-opened last Sunday.
Of the 180 food stalls operating at the centre before the upgrading, 163 have returned, including popular stalls such as Toa Payoh Rojak and Mattar Road Seafood Barbecue (see other story).
When the centre closed for renovations, 74 food stalls relocated to a temporary spot behind the centre, including most of the famous ones.
However, many old-time customers stopped patronising the relocated centre.
'The old food centre was bad but the temporary site was even hotter and more stuffy,' said Mr Robin Koh, 35, a manager in the optical industry who used to eat there two to three times a week prior to its revamp. He stopped dining there during the centre's closure.
According to 10 hawkers LifeStyle spoke to who moved to the temporary centre, business dropped by 20 to 30 per cent.
The revamped hawker centre, which has 168 food stalls - five are yet to be occupied - has, however, won back its regulars with its clean look and better ventilation.
Filthy floor and wall tiles and grimy tables and stools have all been replaced.
A new mechanical exhaust system, which reduces cooking fumes, was installed.
There is even an alfresco dining area with 30 umbrella-shaded tables located in the food centre's open plaza.
Curious visitors checking out the improved two-storey food centre have added to the re-opening buzz.
Technician Jeffrey Tan, 42, who had never been there, came on his day-off from work last Tuesday.
'If I'm ever around the area again, I'll be sure to drop by to enjoy good food in a clean environment,' said Mr Tan, who lives in Bedok.
The hawker centre is one of 80 selected for HUP, a 10-year plan launched in 2001 at an estimated cost of $420 million.
To date, 58 have been upgraded, including Adam Food Centre, Chomp Chomp Food Centre and Newton Food Centre.
Renovations are going on at six other locations, including Block 37A Teban Gardens Road, slated to re-open by the end of this year, and Block 335 Smith Street, to be completed early next year.
The list of 16 other food centres scheduled for upgrading has not been finalised, said an NEA spokesman.
Most customers embrace the improvements at Old Airport Road, but Mr David Ngu, 60, who has frequented the food centre for the last seven years, cautioned: 'This place is new, so naturally, it appeals to the senses. The challenge lies in maintaining the place as it is in the long run.'
While the stalls on the first floor are drawing crowds, business is a lot quieter for the 54 shops on the second floor which sell everything from clothes to children's toys.
Madam Lily Tan, 52, who owns a store providing alteration services, said in Mandarin: 'There has been no spill-over from the food business downstairs.
'I hope things will change in the next few weeks.'
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Food, glorious food
WELL-KNOWN food stalls are getting a new lease of life at the revamped Old Airport Road Food Centre
Hua Kee Hougang Famous Wan Ton Mee,
01-02
Open: 11am to 11pm, closed on Mondays
Famous for: Wonton noodles, $3/$4
Waiting time (peak periods): 30 minutes
Meng Kee Minced Meat Noodle and Foochow Fishball,
01-103
Open: 6pm to midnight, closed on Sundays
Famous for: Foochow fishball noodles, $3/$4
Waiting time: 20 minutes
To-Ricos Guo Shi (kway chap),
01-135 and 01-136
Open: 11.30am to 4.30pm, closed on Mondays
Famous for: Pig trotters, $4
Waiting time: 30 minutes
Lao Fu Zi Fried Kway Teow,
01-12
Open: 11am to 11pm daily
Famous for: Fried Kway Teow, $3/$4/$5
Waiting time: 15 minutes
Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee,
01-32
Open: 11am to 7pm, closed every first and 15th day of the lunar calendar
Famous for: Hokkien noodles, $3/$4/$5
Waiting time: 40 minutes, but customers can call 6440-5340 to pre-order starting Tuesday
Xin Mei Xiang Prawn Mee,
Lor Mee, 01-116
Open: 7am to 3pm daily
Famous for: Lor Mee, $3/$4
Waiting time: 30 minutes
Mattar Road Seafood Barbecue,
01-63
Open: 4 to 11pm, closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Famous for: Charcoal-grilled chilli crab, $28/kg
Waiting time: 30 minutes
Toa Payoh Rojak,
01-108
Open: Noon to 8pm, closed >on Sundays
Famous for: Rojak, $2/$3/$4/$5
Waiting time: 30 minutes.
Cho Kee Noodles,
01-04
Open: 11.30am to 11.30pm, closed on alternate Wednesdays
Famous for: Wonton noodles, $3/$4
Waiting time: 20 minutes
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