Smith Street Food Centre reopens after $17.3m facelift
By Samantha Eng , Chen Meiyue
Brighter, cleaner and more airy.
That's the opinion of many stallholders and customers when asked by The Sunday Times to describe the revamped Smith Street Food Centre.
The three-storey market and food centre, closed in July 2006 for upgrading, reopened last Thursday.
It now boasts more seats, better lifts and escalators as well as ramps and wheelchair-friendly tables.
The upgrading took 22 months and cost $17.3 million. During this period, half the stalls were relocated to a temporary site in Outram Road.
Commenting on the makeover, IT professional Paul Ng, 36, said: 'The old food centre cannot hold a candle to this one. It used to be hot and dark, but now it is bright and airy.'
Retiree David Chow, 58, noted that the extra fans and new table arrangements have made the place cooler and more pleasant.
Noodle stall assistant Tay Ah Seng, 60, said Singaporeans are particular about cleanliness, 'so more customers will come now that it is cleaner'.
But tenants in the wet market at the basement preferred the old market or even the temporary site.
Said a seafood seller, who wanted to be known only as Madam Huang: 'The basement is hot and stuffy because of the cover installed for the lights.
'The temporary site was better because it had a big parking space for customers and delivery trucks.'
Rent has also increased for all stall owners. For example, the rent for cooked food stalls used to range from $160 to $546, depending on whether it was subsidised, tendered or at market rates. Now, the range is between $320 and $1,100.
And while the revamp has generally got the thumbs up, nostalgia still reigns for one stallholder.
Said fruit seller Lim Mun Wai, 44: 'This place is too modern. The old-time Chinatown feel is no longer here. We are now just like any market and no longer attractive to tourists.'
While the revamped food centre makes for a cooler and more pleasant dining experience, some tenants feel it has lost its old-time Chinatown feel. -- ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
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