"I just moved here, so it's going to be difficult lah," says Stephen Suriyah.

The 31-year-old runs The Original Vadai in Golden Mile Food Centre's basement, and its impending renovation has left him somewhat vexed.

Suriyah reveals that he first got wind of the upcoming renovations from neighbouring stallholders after opening for business at Golden Mile in late April.

However, Suriyah and many other hawkers were under the impression that the works would be delayed till 2021 due to the unstable Covid-19 situation at the time.

He later received news that the renovation works would be proceeding in 2020 after all.

Untimely news

The renovation is especially untimely for Suriyah, who has only had his newly-opened stall for around six months.

The news reached him “just when I’m settling down”, he laments.

Prior to moving into Golden Mile Food Centre, the family-run business operated in various night markets for over 30 years, before they first secured a permanent space at Haig Road Hawker Centre in Katong, in 2019.

However, their time in Katong was short-lived, as they were forced to shutter less than one month after opening.

Suriyah shares that after the closure of their stall at Haig Road Hawker Centre, they went back to operating at night markets, which then had to stop due to Covid-19.

The renovation means yet another disruption to his business, which is his main source of income.

Suriyah, despite his struggles in finding a stable place to operate, concedes that “this place is a bit run down”.

He recalls an incident in July earlier this year when a concrete slab fell from the ceiling in one of the basement level stalls.

While no one was hurt, he recognises it is indeed cause for concern, and a likely reason why the renovation seems to be brought forward abruptly, after getting postponed from its initial October start date.

On the bright side, Suriyah says his stall renovation costs were minimal, as he initially had to improvise using materials he had from previous bazaars.

He was unable to find contractors to even make a signboard earlier this year — a blessing in disguise.

Golden Mile Food Centre's newest entrant

Golden Mile Food Centre's newest entrant, a 59-year-old surnamed Xie, looks forward to the new space although she only moved in at the start of August, less than two months ago.

Xie, who runs a drinks and coffee stall in Golden Mile Food Centre, finds that the exhaust in her stall is "very weak", making her work conditions uncomfortably warm.

She shares that she was informed of the renovation works sometime in mid-August, and was not told about it when she signed the contract for the stall in July.

Before setting up shop in the food centre, she was working at a coffee shop, but decided to move here in hopes of better prospects.

After failing to secure a space elsewhere on five previous occasions, she decided to settle for her current stall, even though the rental rate was higher than what she was initially prepared to pay.

She's not too clear about what the renovation will cover, but hopes it will involve a lift being installed, as some of her customers — especially the elderly — have trouble climbing the steps that lead to her stall.

Reaching consensus

Even though the renovation will likely impact them in very different ways, all the hawkers we spoke to agree that there is a relatively urgent need for it.

But a hawker surnamed Chng is the one with arguably the clearest idea of what has been going on behind the scenes.

Chng, who sells traditional Yong Tau Foo out of a nondescript stall in the basement level, Golden Mile Special Young Tau Foo, steps out of the frame politely when we asked for a photo of his stall, before being told that our intention was for him to appear in the picture.

As it turns out, however, he is the chairman of the hawkers' committee and oversees administrative matters relating to hawkers on both floors — such as administering the CDC voucher scheme.

He's even been asked for input on the new fans for the food centre, after a test unit was installed near his stall.

Chng has quite a history at the food centre, having played there as a boy when his father, formerly a street vendor, joined the pioneer batch of hawkers who set up shop at Golden Mile Food Centre, over 40 years ago in 1975.

Chng would help out at the stall, eventually taking over the business.

Putting the renovation in context

Sitting with us at a vacant table, Chng puts the renovation in context, explaining that planning started back in 2019.

The renovation was initially scheduled for October 2020, but was postponed when construction and renovation work had to be stopped due to Covid-19, he says.

While work has resumed gradually, he explains that December ended up being the preferred date as it would give more time for the situation to stabilise.

Revealing that some hawkers raised various issues and concerns, Chng says that all of them eventually signed off on a document indicating that they acknowledged the renovation.

20 years since the last major renovation

We were introduced to Chng by the hawker in the stall next to his, Peh Rui Hai, who was keen to share his thoughts about the renovation as well.

Peh explains that the last major renovation took place in 2002, almost 20 years ago.

While renovation work was carried out in 2012 and 2016, those were more of a "facelift", he says, where repainting was done and tables were replaced, but issues relating to plumbing, electrical work, and ventilation, were not dealt with.

What will be renovated?

Peh and Chng talk about the renovation plans with some enthusiasm.

Peh thinks the centre's twice-yearly maintenance is insufficient. Over time, grease collecting in exhaust vents creates a fire hazard that can only be effectively solved by replacing the exhaust systems.

The two are also looking forward to the levelling of a lowered seating section near their stalls, as the step has caused unsuspecting patrons to have a number of accidents over the years.

Peh, while being much younger than Chng, is also from the new generation of his family's business, Ah Xiao Teochew Braised Duck, which prides itself on its traditional family recipe.

The amount of time that Peh and Chng have spent in the hawker trade, and in Golden Mile Food Centre, appears to have given them a longer-term view of issues.

This becomes apparent in what Peh lists as his concerns about the renovation, which are along the lines of how it will be received by the food centre's patrons, rather than the immediate impact it will have on the hawkers.

Will prices increase at Golden Mile Food Centre after its renovation?

Peh worries that the news of the renovation is giving rise to sentiments among his customers that prices at the food centre will increase when it reopens.

He and Chng have been there long enough to see footfalls to the food centre decline over the years — in part because the introduction of SAF's in-camp e-marts made it less essential for national servicemen to shop at the army market upstairs — and hope that the renovation will not result in even more attrition.

And for those who might have wondered about rental rates post-renovation, Chng assures us that rent is not going to increase for now, as any rental increase will be governed by the hawkers' preexisting contracts.

Hawkers are also not required to pay rent during the renovation period itself.

Price increases are more likely to be from non-renovation sources

However, to Peh, price increases, like renovations, are inevitable.

“What people don’t understand is, for raw ingredients, we have to get the best quality [for customers] to get the best food.”

For Peh, it is the price of ingredients, rather than a renovation, that dictates a price increase, especially in light of Covid-19 making certain ingredients more expensive or difficult to procure.

He further urges people to see hawker fare as not mere food to be purchased, but also an investment in the skill and expertise of the hawker who brings the ingredients together.

With that in mind, prices must be “reasonable” in the sense that it they should cover not just the ingredient cost, but also be able to compensate the hawkers, who are “experienced people who know how to do”.

Chng adds that he would be surprised and suitably impressed if he meets a household who can recreate food that they get from a hawker centre.

Using his own stall's fare as an example, he asks rhetorically:

"You can’t possibly buy a whole bittergourd just to make a few pieces of bittergourd Yong Tau Foo, right?"

It's pretty clear that the renovation, while disruptive, isn't exactly what keeps them up at night.

After all, this renovation has been a long time coming, a point both Peh and Chng stress.

Where are the hawkers going during the renovation?

Suriyah explains that he has been looking for alternatives to continue operating during the closure, whether it is a temporary set-up in another stall elsewhere, or a small kitchen from which he can serve customers via delivery.

Plans have yet to be firmed up, he says, but updates will be posted on the stall's social media pages in due course.

One imagines that his energies have been so consumed by the here and now of constant disruption, starting since the Haig Road debacle in 2019, that it is difficult for him to plan ahead.

In fact, he had initially wondered why he was getting more customers lately, not realising that it was due to the news of the renovation being circulated.

Xie, however, has not seen the crowds making much difference to her business, which remains rather lacklustre, as she doesn't have regular customers just yet.

Given her higher-than-expected rental, she's barely breaking even. While she is able to put food on the table, she has yet to make a profit.

When asked about her plans during the renovation period, Xie says, coolly, that she will probably take up a part-time job at another coffee shop.

Status quo

A definite start date for the renovation has yet to be announced.

Till then, it is business as usual.

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Top image by Nigel Chua.