For those living at the North East, odds are you’ve heard of Ci Yuan Community Club (CC). Opened by our Prime Minister last September, this CC has its own food court, clinic and karaoke establishment. Did we also mention that it has a 500-seater performance theatre that is fully furnished with light and sound equipment?
The reasons every neighbourhood deserves a CC like Ci Yuan are pretty self-explanatory by now, but we thought we’ll add more to the list to prove our point.
1. Affordable food from $2.80
The cost of living in Singapore can get pretty high and sometimes, all you want to do is to tuck in a bowl of affordable and frills-free bak chor mee. For those on a tight budget, you’ll be glad to know that food at the hawker centre situated in the CC are priced as low as $2.80. From Nasi Goreng to Chicken Rice, enjoy a variety of your favourite hawker dishes without feeling the burn!
Besides the low cost, this is also a non-profit hawker centre. Half the profits earned from the relatively low stall rental prices (from $1500 to $1800 per month) go into community funding like coupons for the poor. The other half is used to help hawkers ‘upgrade’ themselves. So you are doing a good deed whenever you dine at Ci Yuan.
2. Self-payment kiosk
This hawker centre is the first and only in Singapore to go ‘cashier-less’. There’s a self-payment kiosk at every stall that accepts cash (notes and coins), and returns the exact amount to you. What a great way for stalls to increase productivity. Diners don’t have to worry about counting change; it’ll never be wrong!
It also shows how our hawker scene has caught up with times. These places are no longer the stereotypical ‘old and dirty’ food places in Singapore!
3. Great variety, good food
One dish we recommend is the Salted Egg Prawn Ball ($18) from the Hong Kong Chef’s Kitchen stall. It is run by a former Crystal Jade chef from Hong Kong. Talk about having good credentials!
Our food recommendations:
Hong Kong Chef’s Kitchen Stall
Hong Kong Chef’s Kitchen Stall:
Stall number: #01-23/24
Operating hours: Daily, 11.30am to 2pm and 5pm to 11pm
Traditional Pork Ribs Prawn Noodle
One of the best prawn mees we’ve tried. The broth is dark orangey-red, sweet and savoury, with strong prawn and pork flavour. This rendition of Prawn Mee is a Penang version – rock sugar is added to the broth. More options, such as prawn mee with big prawns and pork ribs, or dry prawn mee, are available at $4 – $5.
Traditional Pork Ribs Prawn Noodle
Stall number: #01-29
Operating hours: Daily, 6am – 9.30pm (usually sells out by 7pm)
ABC Fatty Cheong
Another stall which caught our eye is the famous ABC Fatty Cheong’s Char Siew Rice ($4) which is often touted as one of the best in Singapore. This stall is manned by the father himself (his sons run the other stalls). If you are in the mood for some great roast meat, head over and check it out!
ABC Fatty Cheong
Stall number: #01-22
Operating hours: 11am to 8.30pm, closed on Thursday. Usually sells out by 7pm.
4. 24/7 food stalls
Since some stalls at Ci Yuan’s hawker centre, like Teochew Handmade Fishball Noodle, are opened around the clock, feel free to grab your khakis for a supper session whilst catching up on the latest gossip.
Teochew Handmade Fishball Noodle stall
Stall number: #01-07
Operating hours: Daily, 24hrs
5. More Job Opportunites
This CC has also created more job opportunities, especially for the elderly residents living nearby.
Not only are the elderly workers at Ci Yuan given the freedom to work at their own pace, but each of them is also assigned to a specific area. They do not have to comb the entire hawker centre to clean and collect used cutlery. Also, the use of dishwashers help lessen the burden of the elderly workers. You won’t see any elderly scrubbing the dirty dishes at the back of the stalls.
Besides the elderly, more jobs are available for youngsters as well. Amongst the grey-haired hawkers, you will be able to spot some young adults. They are likely to be recent graduates from the Entrepreneurship Programme run by Fei Siong Food Management in a bid to keep traditional Singaporean flavours and hawker trade alive.
6. Elderly Care Services
If you don’t already know, Ci Yuan is the first CC so far that offers a Senior Care Centre. For some, this comes as a relief as some elderly may need constant supervision. For those who are unable to afford domestic help or are from low-income families, government subsidies for the Care Centre are available as well.
To make it even more convenient, transport can be arranged at a nominal cost. For patients who are bedridden, fret not for they do offer at-home services besides day care.
Silver Circle
Address: Ci Yuan Community Club 51 Hougang Avenue 9 #03-01 S538775
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 6715 6762
Operating hours: Monday to Friday: 7.30am-6pm, Saturday: 9am to 5pm
7. Entertainment
Yes, there is a Teo Heng tucked away in the CC. It may be no KBox, but at $18/3 hours for a small room, we think its ambience and convenience is well worth the price.
Since Teo Heng sells only beverages, feel free to da pao some food from the hawker centre below. However, do remember to clean up after yourselves and you’re good!
Besides Teo Heng, there is a Toastmasters Club as well! Interested to improve your public speaking or leadership skills? Look no further for the Toastmasters Club has got it all covered. Get your khakis (friends) to join in! Best of all? It is free, nuff said!
Teo Heng KTV Studio
Address: Ci Yuan Community Club, #02-02 S538776
Operating hours: Mon to Fri: 1pm-1am, Sat: 12pm-2am, Sun: 12pm-1am
Contact: 6385 3766
Address: Ci Yuan Community Club, 51 Hougang Avenue 9 Singapore, 538776 Singapore
Operating hours: Every 1st Saturday of the month at 2pm
Contact: 9847 2509
If you are a North Eastsider who has yet to visit Ci Yuan, we’d recommend you to explore the place and make use of its facilities. For non-North Eastsiders, all that’s left to do is seethe in jealousy. We kid.
Have you been to Ci Yuan CC before? What do you like most about it? For those of you who have not, what would you like to see? Which facility do you use in your CC the most? Let us know in the comment box below!
(Header image by Today and words by writer)
Also read: Hipster Hawkers: 5 Stalls That Are Redefining Hawker Culture
