While many may think that bidding for a hawker stall would cost an exorbitant amount of money, one man proved otherwise.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) recently released a report on the highest bids for market and cooked food stalls across the island in September 2023.

While some stalls located in Chinatown Complex Food Centre had bids going up to a whopping $4,000, one stall reportedly had only one offer of $1 made by a man named Ng Khai Choon. 

Shin Min Daily News reported that the stall is one of 15 located at the last row of the food centre, with a sparse flow of patrons. Six of the stalls in the row had no signboards and only three were still open when a Shin Min reporter visited in the afternoon. 

A 67-year-old hawker, who goes by the surname Chew, told Shin Min: “We have been able to run our stall for so long mainly because of regular customers, otherwise it would be very difficult to continue.”

Chew, who is the first-generation owner of the neighbouring stall Jin Ji Teochew Braised Duck & Kway Chap, added: “Many people in this line of work will give up after three or four months because there is no business.” 

Adding that she has been running the stall for over 40 years, Chew revealed that the $1 bid shocked her as such a low offer for a hawker stall was “unheard of”.

Nurjahan Lim, 38, who runs a nasi padang stall in the same row recalled how she once wanted to bid nearly $2,000 for a stall in the row, but ended up winning the bid for less than $100.

“We were already a home-based business before we opened the store and accumulated a group of customers, and I actively promoted it on social media to maintain the business,” explained Nurjahan.

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However, she admitted that diners did report that it was difficult to find her stall, and the limited demand for Indian and Malay food in hawker centres are causing her to face some challenges.

According to NEA’s records, the stall with the $1 offer has been bid by three people in the past 10 years, with the highest bid being $512. The most recent bid was in 2020, with a bid of $11.

Earlier this year, the stall was put up for tender but received no interest, with only one bidder bidding $101 in July.

Looking at the regulations for tendering hawker stalls, if only one bid is received in the second tender, Ng will be able to successfully win the bid if he meets the conditions and passes the review by NEA.

ALSO READ: Exodus of 15 hawker stalls at Amoy Street Food Centre, high rental bids cited as main reason 

syarifahsn@asiaone.com