10 Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre Food

[Adrianli]

Stay strong bro and take care :)

Thanks. Will do.

 

We even bought a niche space at Bright Hill yesterday. So its a great day for us today that my mum is responding to the antibiotics medication.

 

 

Ok. Enough of my mum in this thread. Lets move on to makan.

[Kxbc]

Sure. If i am around.

 

Past two weeks, in Loyang.

 

Past two days, at TTSH. Lunching alone. Nearly lost my mum yesterday. But she managed to pull thru. I am doing the day shift and my bro doing the overnight shift.

Speedy recovery.

Think next meat up at TTSH canteen better based on Dachâs daily lunch pattern...ðð»ð

Ttsh kopi tiam has crap food. If meat up there, can always do at wee Nam kee at united Square.

[DACH]

Finally went there yesterday.   

 

Level 2

More for younger crowds.

Serve mostly fusion food and more specialised food.

Stalls are mainly from the younger entrepreneurs and creativity can be seen on the food and the plating.

Generally the food is nice although modern and prices are pretty reasonable for most of the stalls.

Can even get a steak and spaghetti at less than 10 dollars.   

 

Level 1

More of the traditional stalls we see in the other hawker centers.

 

Verdict:

Probably the best of the 3 new hawker centers I have been (Kampung Admiralty, Pasir Ris Central and Yishun Park).

A wide variety of food from the modern hawkers to the traditional ones. Ample parking spaces. 

 

[kdash]

bo jio...

[Discoburg]

LETS GO!!!! WHEN???? 

Actually Army Market also can go.

 

But I only suggest nia. 

 

[DACH]

LETS GO!!!! WHEN????

I suggest only.

 

Not going.

[Discoburg]

Chey   

I suggest only.

Not going.

 

[Mcf777]

NTUC FOOD FARE system sucks

 

Look like another New hawker going down the drain

 

Each of them pays $4,000 to $5,000 a month, which includes $850 for dishwashing, $550 for table-clearing, and $150 for the cashless payment service.

So X, how to survive?

 

======================== 

 

Hawkers at new Pasir Ris centre upset over cashless payment system

Several hawkers complained of tables not being cleared by the cleaning contractors, and that plates and cups were constantly damaged by the dishwashers. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/BILL FRANCIS

Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre tenants send formal e-mail complaining about delay in disbursed takings from cashless transactions, uncleared tables

 

 

Jul 30, 2018 06:00 am

Several hawkers have complained about the alleged poor management of the Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre.

The centre, which had its grand opening on July 14 after starting operations in January, is run by NTUC Foodfare and has 42 stalls over two floors.

Some stallholders told The New Paper, on condition of anonymity, that NTUC Foodfare disbursed takings from cashless transactions to them only after five months.

They also complained of tables not being cleared by the cleaning contractors, and of crockery being damaged by the dishwashers.

Each of them pays $4,000 to $5,000 a month, which includes $850 for dishwashing, $550 for table-clearing, and $150 for the cashless payment service.

 

A tenant who contacted TNP said the management had initially informed tenants that the cashless transactions would be disbursed within 1½ months.

 

 

 

 

Jul 30, 2018

He said: "It was only after a formal e-mail was sent to higher management with a copy to the CEO that action was taken."

When TNP went to the centre, several hawkers said they were upset with how it was being run.

A stallholder said that about five stalls had closed since its opening in January because of poor business.

The hawkers also shared photographs of some of the cleaning crew sleeping, and piles of dishes left untouched on tables.

When TNP was there, several trays and dishes remained uncleared for close to an hour.

There have also been complaints about uncleared tables on the centre's Facebook page.

DIFFICULTIES

Replying to TNP's queries, a NTUC Foodfare spokesman said it had faced some difficulties because of a delay in the extraction of transaction records for disbursement.

"However, we managed to make the first tranche of disbursement for Feb/March transactions to the tenants on June 1," she said.

After the system stabilised, a second disbursement was made on July 1, and subsequent transactions will be disbursed monthly, the spokeman added.

NTUC Foodfare has refunded the fees for the cashless system up to June 30 out of goodwill.

 

However, it refuted the claims about the non-clearing of tables, stressing that the cleaning contractors had perforrmed their duties as set out in the contract.

It was previously reported that the opening of the centre, which was touted as offering both traditional fare and "hipster" cuisine, was marred by delays after being scheduled to open last November.

A stallholder said: "There have been problems with the management since the beginning, and while there has been slight improvements, the problems are still there."

 

Edited July 30, 2018 by Mcf777

[kdash]

seems like may revert back to old system...

[13177]

Uncleared tables is an issue which happened in all hawker centre, cashless transaction seems like not able to take off, many people still dont like cashless at hawker centre?!

[Jnageb18]

have been there a few times,
like a previous forum member mentioned, bottom floor is more traditional / usual hawker centre style. second floor is more hipster and attract young crowds

bottom floor: place is nice, doesnt feel warm or crampped like older hawker centres.

(only tried one stall, the cai peng stall but was an unpleasant experience... the menu says 2veg1meat = $2.70 then I ordered 3veg1meat become $4.10. and for th meat only gave 2 small pieces of chicken)(dont mean to complain :P)

 

second floor: been there few more times, its a place with more hipster food ie poke bowl, burgers, etc

most popular is Wild Olives, a western stall that used to be at Changi Airport T2 staff canteen. very good pricing and very good food. by far most popular, queue is always very long. other cool stalls around too

quite nice place to have diinner and chill at night

[Lala81]

have been there a few times,

like a previous forum member mentioned, bottom floor is more traditional / usual hawker centre style. second floor is more hipster and attract young crowds

 

bottom floor: place is nice, doesnt feel warm or crampped like older hawker centres.

(only tried one stall, the cai peng stall but was an unpleasant experience... the menu says 2veg1meat = $2.70 then I ordered 3veg1meat become $4.10. and for th meat only gave 2 small pieces of chicken)(dont mean to complain :P)

 

second floor: been there few more times, its a place with more hipster food ie poke bowl, burgers, etc

most popular is Wild Olives, a western stall that used to be at Changi Airport T2 staff canteen. very good pricing and very good food. by far most popular, queue is always very long. other cool stalls around too

quite nice place to have diinner and chill at night

 

the hawker stalls below not enticing enough for me to travel there. But it's an option if i go pasir ris park.

 

no wonder. i thought that stall has too many customers for a new stall haha

[Jnageb18]

the hawker stalls below not enticing enough for me to travel there. But it's an option if i go pasir ris park.

 

no wonder. i thought that stall has too many customers for a new stall haha

haha ya I think they good business cause they are the only HC in the area. 

 

[Kxbc]

 

 

DIFFICULTIES

Replying to TNP's queries, a NTUC Foodfare spokesman said it had faced some difficulties because of a delay in the extraction of transaction records for disbursement.

"However, we managed to make the first tranche of disbursement for Feb/March transactions to the tenants on June 1," she said.

After the system stabilised, a second disbursement was made on July 1, and subsequent transactions will be disbursed monthly, the spokeman added.

NTUC Foodfare has refunded the fees for the cashless system up to June 30 out of goodwill.

 

However, it refuted the claims about the non-clearing of tables, stressing that the cleaning contractors had perforrmed their duties as set out in the contract.

It was previously reported that the opening of the centre, which was touted as offering both traditional fare and "hipster" cuisine, was marred by delays after being scheduled to open last November.

A stallholder said: "There have been problems with the management since the beginning, and while there has been slight improvements, the problems are still there."

 

imagine your Feb salary only paid in Jun. if ntuc foodfare staff say the same treatment for their own salaries, then the hawkers have no case. but i am sure that is not the case.

 

And it is not clear from this article if Mar to Jun disbursements were made 1 shot in Jul. If not, the hawkers are perpetually 4 months unpaid. most of them work on tight cash flows, unlike bigger companies with deeper pockets.

[13177]

I have been to pasir ris hawker centre once, nothing much there la. 

[Mcf777]

NTUC Foodfare bid for foodfcourt and coffeeshop.

But they dont run it. Outsourced to 3rd party operators.

Eg. Koufu

 

The recent Rivervale Mall NTUC Foodfare food court also closed down. Now taken over, I think Food Republic.

 

In Punggol, there is also one NTUC foodfare coffeeshop. I think change hands 1-2 times operators.

There is also a NEW NTUC Foodfare foodcourt at Punggol Polyclinic. Also outsourced to Koufu

Edited July 30, 2018 by Mcf777

[DACH]

Wah, please don't close down.

There are many good food there.

[Mcf777]

All the New Hawker Centres really CMI. Only know how to squeeze you dry to maximise profit.

 

Look at recent Hawker Centre managed by Fei Siong and NTUC 

 

================ 

 

At least 10 hawker stalls folded at Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre run by NTUC Foodfare

Correspondent  2018-09-07 Current Affairs, Opinion

 

When Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre (opposite White Sands mall) run by NTUC Foodfare opened in Jan this year, there was a large fanfare. ST reported that people had been eagerly waiting for it to open.

 

"It's well worth the wait," ST quoted a 50-year-old education coach living in Pasir Ris. "The food is cheap too," she added.

 

"(It) is a place that offers traditional and hipster cuisine at affordable prices, as well as a taste of the arts and music," reported ST. "Patrons can also attend events at the hawker centre, such as art markets, craft fairs and music gigs."

 

ST revealed that the hawker centre also features centralised dishwashing and common crockery systems. An NTUC Foodfare spokesman said that an online ordering system will be implemented to enable diners to order food via an app before collecting it at the hawker centre.

 

There are some 42 stalls located on two floors but 9 months later, at least 10 stalls have already thrown in the towel.

 

More than 10 stalls have quit

 

Last week (28 Aug), Makansutra food guru KF Seetoh published a blog revealing the sorry state of affairs the whole Social Enterprise Hawker Centre (SEHC) initiative is in.

 

To find out more, TOC went down to Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre to talk to the hawkers. It was revealed that at least 10 stalls have already quit from the hawker centre.

 

Those interviewed by TOC also said that they intend to close shop. Many simply couldn't afford to pay the high costs, including rental and other ancillary charges imposed by NTUC Foodfare, with the low traffic of customers that they get each day.

 

In fact, it was found that according to the agreements signed by the hawkers with NTUC Foodfare, there is a whole bunch of ancillary charges amounting to more than $2,000 the hawkers have to contend with, in addition to paying rentals:

 

S&CC Charges - $350 per month

Table Cleaning Service - $550 per month

Dishwashing Service - $850 per month

Rental of Cashless System - $150 per month

Food Waste Recycling Management - $40 per month

Concept and Marketing - $300 per month

They also have to pay and participate in the use of common crockery and cutlery at the hawker centre including yearly replacement and replenishment. In addition, they must buy gas from NTUC Foodfare's own supplier.

 

Other than coping with the costs, stall operators are also made to cut down the prices of their food. While that may work with the normal food stalls, but stalls on the second floor which offer premium dishes even find it hard to make break even with the low selling price mandated by NTUC Foodfare and the high cost of their food ingredients.

 

Speaking to TOC, one stall owner complained particularly about NTUC Foodfare's monthly collection of $300 for marketing purposes. He noted that there has been no effort to publicise the hawker centre by the management over the past few months. He feels that if the money collected is to be used to run promotional events at the hawker centre, the business will surely pick up. But as it stands, the human flow does not justify the high cost.

 

Even Gen Y Michelin hawker Douglas Ng finds it hard to operate hawker stall

 

Douglas Ng is Gen Y hawker who became famous when his complaint about the rising cost of running a hawker stall was responded to by then Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in 2015.

 

In 2015, Douglas who runs the famous fishball noodle stall Fishball Story, wrote an extensive post on Facebook to highlight the rising cost of running a hawker stall. He also said that the social enterprise model is not sustainable since hawkers have to cap their food prices.

 

Minister Vivian replied saying that based on his government study, stall rental was not the main cost faced by hawkers. "The reality is that rentals constitute a small fraction of the overall cost of running a hawker stall. The major cost drivers are actually ingredients and manpower," the Minister said.

 

"I have made it very clear to (NTUC) Foodfare that they are not to charge high rents. The top priority is to have good affordable food for my residents in Bukit Panjang. That is why every stall must have at least two low cost main courses," he added. Minister Vivian was referring to the social enterprise hawker centre run by NTUC Foodfare at Bukit Panjang in 2015.

 

Last month, writing on his Facebook page on National Day (9 Aug 2018), Douglas lamented that all the new hawker centres are run by corporations. "Nowadays, new hawker centres that are built, are all managed by private companies and these premises operate more like food courts than hawker centres. The rent is 3k average or 15% GTO (gross turnover)," he said.

 

"And furthermore, you have to pay 3 months deposit which is more than a coffeeshop which normally only take 1 month. For new hawkers, the money can be used to buy kitchen equipment or use as cashflow."

 

He added that hawking is no longer attractive to young Singaporeans anymore and said that even though, the various government agencies have been trying to help, but the real issues "have not been addressed".

 

"So, to the community that I can reach out to. This national day, when you go to any hawker centres out there. After you order your food, give them a thumbs up and tell them, 'thank you for keeping our culture and heritage alive, you have done our nation proud!'" he wrote.

 

On his blog, Mr Seetoh also said, "They (social enterprises) operate the new hawker centres like a hardcore commercial Food Court management system. Hence, I am seeing some issues that raises some concerns."

 

By law, all hawker centres are supposed to be run and managed by NEA. But these days, NEA is increasingly outsourcing its new hawker centres to middlemen like NTUC Foodfare to manage, all in the name of "social enterprise". And don't forget, middlemen also have to pay good salaries to their CEOs, directors, chiefs and heads.