Whenever you think about having satay, where comes to mind? Newton Food Centre is one of my go-to places for a BBQ feast. Whether it’s chicken wings, sambal stingray, or ketupat, you have it there. When they announced the 3-month closure for their renovation project, I was honestly devastated. But here’s some good news— it’s finally open again!
Newton Food Centre re-opened on 1 Feb 2023 and all 82 stalls are officially back in business! You can now bring your international friends over for the full Singaporean feast. Want to know what’s different?
Walking in, you’ll notice that the immediate difference from before is that some of the stalls have new signboards to commemorate a new start. With a fresh coat of paint and installation of new pipings, there’s no major changes on the outlook. However, the whole community has been anticipating the opening of this popular supper spot, so be sure to bring some tissues to chope your tables as well, because it’ll surely be crowded!
First things first, the main difference in terms of setting is the addition of newly installed large HVLS fans and wall fans at the sheltered portion of Newton Food Centre. This makes the space even more airy and spacious than it already is. Some might say that the fans might cool your food faster than it cools you! I would say, it’s a give and take.
With the GST hike, it is expected of stalls to increase prices. However, there wasn’t any unreasonable increment, and the increments were all within 50 cents to a dollar. Hajah Monah Kitchen, the nasi padang stall that perpetually draws a queue, still kept their prices to S$4.60 for about 4 non-meat dishes, which is still fairly affordable.
Of course, there has to be new faces too. Durian Desserts by Tiong Bahru Durian might be familiar to some of you, as they came into Newton Food Centre in Oct 2022. Focusing on the obvious, durians, they will be serving unusual combinations of local desserts with fresh durian flesh.
Think inventive forms of Durian Mousse with Traditional Beancurd, with very experimental toppings too! A bowl of Sultan King costs S$4.50. If you pay an additional 50 cents, you can add nata de coco, New Zealand honey, or lotus biscoff crumbs!
Conversely, despite the differences, some things remained the same. Popular stalls that sold iconic Singaporean dishes were obviously the ones with the longest queues, so the waiting time for those were expectedly long. I guess I wasn’t the only one who missed this place!
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