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Seah Im Food Centre at the Harbour Front area is officially closed for renovations for six months.

Stalls located there were seen packing up and moving out over the past week before the temporary closure.

A video less than a week before the closure showed only a handful of hawkers left.

A sign put up at the hawker centre said the renovation works will last from Sep. 1, 2022 to Feb. 28, 2023.

One stall, Aspirasi, which sells fried chicken, put up a post on Facebook mourning the loss of the space.

Its owner started out in the hawker centre in 2001 and has built up the brand and grew its following almost singlehandedly.

The post read: "Big Boss is very sad because this was where it all started for him, in 2001. When it was just him, handling the stall by himself, with the occasional weekend help from family."

Background

Seah Im Food Centre is managed by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).

The closure was announced by SLA on July 5.

The hawker centre was built in 1984.

It is not under the direct purview of the National Environment Agency.

NEA manages 114 markets and hawker centres in Singapore, and Seah Im Food Centre is not one of them.

It was reported that 80 per cent of the stalls will return to operate in the hawker centre following its renovation.

The rest, unfortunately, will retire.

One hawker stall owner that Mothership.sg spoke to said murmurings of the hawker centre undergoing renovation were first heard as early as 15 years ago, but none materialised.

Known for its affordable fare, Seah Im Food Centre houses multiple stalls that have been serving the Telok Blangah community, Sentosa visitors, and nearby workers with cheap fare.

Its biggest draw is its close proximity to two huge open-air car parks and being conveniently located next to the bus interchange and HarbourFront MRT station.

All-time favourite stalls include Cai Ji Boneless Duck Rice Porridge, Thaksin Beef Noodles, Farasha, and Aspirasi Food Galore.

The owner of Cai Ji Boneless Duck Rice Porridge confirmed that his stall will return.

Top photos via