Sembawang gets first new hawker centre in 30 years
After a close to three-year delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre opened on Saturday, marking it the first such new facility in Sembawang in about 30 years.
The site, formerly Chong Pang Village, used to have a wet market and hawker centre till it was demolished in the 1980s.
Speaking at the hawker centre on Saturday, Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung, who is also an MP for Sembawang GRC, said: “There are many interesting features in this hawker centre. Cost of living is always an issue, and with the hawker centre now, we can generally lower the food prices for residents.”
The 800-seat facility has 44 stalls, with only one vacant. Four sell halal food, another four Indian fare, and the rest is a mix of other Asian offerings.
On Saturday morning, most of the tables were taken up and long queues formed at some stalls.
Residents said the hawker centre is a long-awaited addition to the community. For Mr Joshua Batula, a 27-year-old software engineer, it is a five-minute walk from his home and gives him more food choices.
“It has been quite a wait, and residents here were eagerly expecting this to open. Before this, if I wanted hawker food, there was only one similar food court nearby.
“The layout here is also quite special because it is close to the park connector and other sports facilities, which is good for me because I play sports.”
Said Ms Kalin Tan, 52, who has been a Sembawang resident for more than 30 years: “I came down today because I heard it was the opening and I wanted to look around. The food is not bad although (the price) is a bit on the higher side.”
Ms Tan, who is self-employed, previously had to go to Chong Pang Market and Food Centre in Yishun to get hawker food.
The new hawker centre is part of the Bukit Canberra integrated sports and community hub, which will have other facilities such as a multipurpose hall, a swimming complex and a polyclinic. The pools and gym are expected to be ready in the first half of next year while the multipurpose hall is already open. The roll-out dates for the other facilities have not yet been announced.
The hawker centre has a mobile app which allows patrons to place orders and pay as well as receive a notification to collect their food when it is ready.
Points earned via the app can be used to off-set the price of subsequent purchases. From next year, a Pay-It-Forward programme will enable people to buy meals for less fortunate groups.
There is also an in-house nutritionist to ensure that food options remain as healthy as possible, with the calorie count displayed next to each food item on the menu.
Mr Ong acknowledged that some of the food prices are slightly higher, especially for more creative dishes from younger entrepreneurs that may require more effort.
“The important thing is to have choices. We have some that are more expensive, and some that are more traditional and simpler that cost less,” he said, adding there are discount programmes as well.
Each cooked-food stall has two main food items priced under $3.50, and there is a 10 per cent discount off regular-priced purchases at all stalls for Community Health Assist Scheme as well as Pioneer and Merdeka Generation cardholders.
Saturday’s healthy customer traffic is a welcome sight for the stall operators like Mr Muhammad Syarafuddin who relocated from Block 101 Yishun Avenue 5, where he sold putu piring, a traditional Malay snack.
He has expanded his menu to offer burgers, spaghetti and other Western foods at his new stall, bege.rack.
He said: “We thought this place was good, it’s new, there are sports facilities nearby, there will be better traffic. It’s still early so it’s hard to tell how business will be but hopefully it will all go well.”
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