Ong Ye Kung celebrates new hawker centre, says ‘I am really happy that Sembawang is now part of the story’

SINGAPORE — Health Minister Ong Ye Kung celebrated the new hawker centre in Sembawang over the weekend, noting that it was the first to open in that area in 30 years. The Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre opened on Dec 17 (Saturday) after a lengthy delay of about three years because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Hawker centres are an institution in Singapore. It is our heritage and also part of our future. I am really happy that Sembawang is now part of the story,” wrote Mr Ong, who has been representing the Sembawang Central division of Sembawang GRC since 2015, in a Facebook post. 

Vikram Nair, Lim Wee Kiak, Poh Li San, and Mariam Jaafar are the other Sembawang MPs, and Mr Ong wrote that to mark the opening of the hawker centre, they “had to ‘tarik’ a hot flask of coffee.”

The Health Minister said that a wide variety of food is offered at the Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre “from traditional hawker fare to more ‘modern’ ones like Korean, Mexican, and Middle East cuisines.”

He described the area as “green and airy, one of the most pleasant hawker center environments I have experienced.”

Also, he wrote in his post that he met several young hawker entrepreneurs who were starting out for the first time in the industry.

“It also has many new features, like calorie count indications on the menu and an electronic system to ‘belanja a meal’ to less fortunate members of the community,” Mr Ong added.

The new hawker centre has made the news already due to the high price of the biodegradable takeaway containers, which the hawkers are required to use, reported Shin Min Daily News.

Some customers have reportedly walked away from buying food from the hawker centre upon finding out that the additional charge for the takeaway containers could be as high as $.80.

Shin Min Daily News also reported that the vendors were charging between $.20 to $.80.

Nevertheless, netizens commenting on Mr Ong’s post had positive things to say about the new hawker centre.

Others, however, voiced out helpful suggestions.

/TISG

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