Newton Food Centre

Newton Food Centre
纽顿熟食中心 (Chinese)
Pusat Makanan Newton (Malay)
நியூட்டன் உணவு மையம் (Tamil)
Map
Former namesNewton Circus Hawker Centre (1971–2005)
General information
LocationNewton, Singapore
Address500 Clemenceau Avenue North
229495
Coordinates1°18′43″N 103°50′22″E / 1.3119156°N 103.8395698°E / 1.3119156; 103.8395698
Opened1 January 1971 (1971-01-01)
Renovated1 July 2006 (2006-07-01)
CostS$96,800
Renovation costS$4.8 million
LandlordNational Environment Agency
Technical details
Floor area3,130.53 m2 (33,696.7 sq ft)
Renovating team
Architect(s)CPG Consultants
Other information
Number of stores83
Public transit access NS21 — DT11  Newton

Newton Food Centre is a hawker centre in Newton, at the intersection of Newton Circus and Clemenceau Avenue North.

The food centre was promoted by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) as a tourist attraction for sampling Singaporean cuisine. It was first opened in 1971 and it closed down in 2005 as the government wanted to revamp the food centre.[1] The food centre then went through a major renovation before reopening on 1 July 2006.[2]

History

Newton Circus Hawker Centre (1971–2005)

Newton before the renovations

Newton Food Hawker Centre was one of the first two hawker centres built by the Government to house illegal street hawkers, with the other being Adam Road Food Centre.[3] Construction began in November 1970 at a cost of S$96,800, and officially opened in January 1971.[1][4] Newton housed 56 hawkers who previously operated along Bukit Timah Road, without proper hygiene facilities.[4]

On 13 October 1976, the Ministry of Environment announced a S$110,000 extension plan to house 32 more hawkers, bringing the total number of stalls to 88.[5][6]

Due to its close proximity to the city, many tourists patronised Newton. However, incidents of serving only tourists and overcharging rose gradually. In December 1988, hawkers were warned that they have to serve all customers equally, or be answerable to the Ministry of Environment.[7] In November 1991, a stall made the headlines after showing two sets of prices for the same dishes — $3, $4, $5 beside the signage, and $6, $8, $10 in Japanese. The stallowner claimed that the dishes and portions were different, hence the different set of prices.[8] In December 1992, an Indonesian tourist wrote in to The New Paper detailing his overcharging experience at Newton:

I am an Indonesian tourist, and had an experience I never thought I'd have in Singapore. On Nov 28, I was at Newton Circus Hawker Centre and saw a stall sign stating that mee goreng and mee rebus were being sold at $2 each. I ordered one packet of each for take-away.
Imagine my surprise when the stallholder rudely told me: "We only sell mee goreng at $3. You can go to the other stall to buy if you can only afford $2 a packet."
He even repeated this to make sure that I had heard what he said. I was shocked, but a Malaysian tourist standing near me confirmed that he had been treated the same way.
The stallholder could have simply said the price was not as stated; I would not have had a problem paying the extra $1. But I never expected such rudeness.
This can be bad for Singapore's image if it is allowed to continue.[9]

On 14 October 1994, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced plans to demolish the hawker centre to ease traffic congestion at Newton Circus and develop high-density residential properties.[10] Members of the public and hawkers voiced concern and pleaded URA to reconsider the plans.[11][12][13] On 30 April 2004, Member of Parliament for Tanglin–Cairnhill Indranee Rajah announced the closure of Newton for a major renovation, effectively shelving the plans by URA.[14]

Newton Food Centre

Newton in 2006

Costing S$4.8 million, Newton Circus Hawker Centre reopened as Newton Food Centre on 1 July 2006, housing 83 hawkers.[2][15][16]

Controversies

Despite being promoted by the Singapore Tourism Board for sampling Singaporean cuisine, Newton Food Centre is often criticised by locals for overpricing and mediocre food quality.[17][18] Past issues such as incessant touting, overcharging and harassment of customers by over-zealous stall owners still remained.[19][20][21]

On 14 March 2009, six American tourists were charged S$491 for a meal at Tanglin's Best BBQ Seafood. In this case of flagrant overcharging, The National Environment Agency imposed a 3-month ban on the stall and banned his assistant from working there for one year.[22]

Present day

Newton Food Centre remains as one of the most popular hawker centres in Singapore.[18] Some stalls have also been featured in the Michelin Guide.[23][24]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "$100,000 hawker complex". The Straits Times. 27 November 1970. p. 7. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  2. ^ a b Mulchand, Arti (15 May 2006). "New Newton Food Centre gets that old colonial charm". The Straits Times. p. 2. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Six more hawker areas for Singapore". The Straits Times. 7 May 1972. p. 6. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Hawker stalls with garden setting soon". The Straits Times. 11 December 1970. p. 7. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  5. ^ "Bigger food centre". New Nation. 13 October 1976. p. 4. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  6. ^ "32 MORE FOOD STALLS AT NEWTON". The Straits Times. 14 October 1976. p. 8. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  7. ^ "'Tourist-only' hawkers warned". The New Paper. 12 December 1988. p. 8. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  8. ^ Kong, June (4 November 1991). "Higher prices for Japanese?". The New Paper. p. 11. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  9. ^ Gurnani, Rendy (14 December 1992). "Sign said $2, hawker, $3". The New Paper. p. 6. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  10. ^ Abdul Hadhi (15 October 1994). "Newton hawker centre to make way for high-density housing". The Business Times. p. 1. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  11. ^ "Fond memories". The New Paper. 20 January 1995. p. 9. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  12. ^ Smoot, Kelley (3 January 1997). "Preserve popular Newton Circus, please". The Straits Times. p. 42. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  13. ^ Tee, Edmund (6 July 1997). "Regulars sorry Newton stalls' days are numbered". The Straits Times. p. 33. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  14. ^ "Newton food centre to close for facelift". The Straits Times. 1 May 2004. p. 4. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  15. ^ Urban Redevelopment Authority (22 September 2005), 5 YEAR TEMPORARY PERMISSION FOR PROPOSED REBUILDING OF NEWTON FOOD CENTRE
  16. ^ Urban Redevelopment Authority (20 April 2006), AMENDMENT TO 5 YEAR TEMPORARY PERMISSION FOR APPROVED REBUILDING OF NEWTON FOOD CENTRE ON LOTS 98974K PT, 00132-0004 PT, 00732L PT AND 99245A PT TS 27 AT NEWTON CIRCUS / CLEMENCEAU AVENUE NORTH
  17. ^ Teo, Pau Lin; Lim, Alan (13 August 2006). "JUNK FOOD". The Straits Times. p. 24. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  18. ^ a b Tan, Dawson (19 March 2023). "Guide to Newton Food Centre: tourist trap or hawker haven?". TimeOut. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  19. ^ "Hawker at Newton Food Centre suspended for one month for touting". National Environment Agency. Archived 6 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 October 2006.
  20. ^ Tessa Wong, "Newton Food Centre: Are they touting... or just being pushy?", The Straits Times, 30 October 2006
  21. ^ "NewspaperSG - Terms and Conditions". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. The Straits Times. p. 7. Retrieved 10 November 2022 – via NewspaperSG.
  22. ^ "Newton Stall Suspended". Today. 19 March 2009. p. 6. Retrieved 10 November 2022 – via NewspaperSG.
  23. ^ "7 New MICHELIN Plate Hawker Stalls In The MICHELIN Guide Singapore 2019". MICHELIN Guide. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  24. ^ Lim, Tammy (11 October 2021). "13 Best Newton Food Centre Food To Eat Like Rachel Chu From Crazy Rich Asians". EatBook.sg - New Singapore Restaurant and Street Food Ideas & Recommendations. Retrieved 12 November 2021.


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