When a long-running hawker<\/a><\/span> stall shuts, we are conditioned to mourn it. But longevity alone does not guarantee value \u2014 and perhaps not every closure deserves nostalgia.<\/p>\n Upon learning that Hup Chong Yong Tau Foo at Block 203 Toa Payoh North would be closing for good<\/a><\/span>, I decided to have one final meal there.<\/p>\n The popular stall has been around for as long as I have been working at Stomp (i.e. a very, very long time \ud83d\ude02) and I used to frequent it pre-Covid-19.<\/p>\n Over the years, I have seen staff come and go as well as prices going up and up. Ingredients went from $0.60 per piece to $0.80 each. Some were even labelled ‘premium’ and priced at $1.<\/p>\n Don’t expect seafood or anything extraordinary though \u2013 by ‘premium’, the stall is referring to ultra-processed food infused with cheese and the like.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, regular ingredients include vegetables you can get for cheap at the supermarket, processed items such as hotdogs which I can find in my fridge, and fried food soaked in oil.<\/p>\n Portions also used to be bigger, though that might be because the staff at that time recognised me as a regular.<\/p>\n I stopped patronising the stall in 2023 after a bill shock that left me wondering why I was paying more for less than what I used to get, and have not returned since \u2013 until now.<\/p>\n I recently decided to have one last hurrah at the stall, costs be damned, and helped myself to a variety of ingredients with kway teow.<\/p>\n The staff said they did not have enough bean sprouts and topped up the shortfall with more broccoli (ironically known to be a premium vegetable at many stalls including economy rice), which I thought was a nice gesture.<\/p>\n Having braced myself before ordering, I was not shocked when I was charged $9.20 for my meal \u2013 though my family and colleagues were when I told them.<\/p>\n That amount for lunch at a stuffy coffee shop in the heartlands is indeed not cheap, even when you take rent, labour and overhead costs into consideration.<\/p>\n Then again, no one said running a F&B business was easy. Industry experts have told Stomp that hawker culture is dying<\/a><\/span>, while The Straits Times recently said The Best Disappearing Act Award<\/a><\/span> of 2025 goes to the Singapore diner.<\/p>\n Will I miss Hup Chong Yong Tau Foo? Unlikely, seeing how I’d gone without it for over two years. In fact, with so many better dining options<\/a><\/span> in the area, I’d almost all but forgotten about the stall’s existence until news of its impending closure.<\/p>\n Speaking of which, it’s interesting that Hup Chong’s owner blamed competition in the area<\/a><\/span> and work-from-home culture for a dip in business but seemed to utterly lack self-reflection<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n One thing about Singapore is that good food is always just round the corner if you know where to look. And for every F&B establishment<\/a><\/span> shutting comes two new ones in its place.<\/p>\n Goodbye, Hup Chong Yong Tau Foo.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/stomp\/0b659b759aa53c6631df10f9c26f792572e91536e9d4bab96db1fa5185d9d0ab\/IMG_5243.jpg?w=360&f=webp)
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