Toa Payoh night market: The final countdown to closure

The Straits Times documents the last days of the open-air vegetable market and speaks to vendors and customers about the place where they have spent many nights of their lives.

By RYAN CHIONG | Published: JULY 12, 2023

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For over six decades, six nights a week, while most parts of Singapore are winding down, a quiet stretch of road in Toa Payoh East transforms into a bustling open-air vegetable market.

Lorries laden with fresh produce from the region pop up along the lamp-lit 200m street that leads to an industrial park.

Men unload carts of vegetables and fruits onto the street.

During its heydays, hundreds of people from near and far would throng the market at night till the wee hours of the morning to buy fruits and vegetables at wholesale prices, with no minimum quantity required.

The vendors begin setting up as early as 7.45pm every evening, but the crowd reaches its peak at around 10pm when customers turn up after work or dinner.

“The vegetables here are fresh and cheap,” said Mr Musa Musa, 42, who has been buying his weekly supply of vegetables from the market for the past 14 years. “Don’t close better lah.”

Marketing manager Musa and his family – (from left) son Ibnul Imran Sarkar, 8, his wife Poly Akt, 32, and daughter Sumaiya Akter Moriyam, 3 – live in nearby Kim Keat.

When The Straits Times visited the market on July 1, there was a crowd of around 200 people, including first-time visitors and long-time customers – a larger-than-usual turnout.

It was the final night for four of the eight vendors, who were leaving ahead of Aug 19, when the market will close to make way for redevelopment works in the area.

Some 200 types of fruits and vegetables are sold at the market every night. The produce comes mainly from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and China, although some Korean strawberries and Australian pumpkins are known to make a seasonal appearance.

Mr Yang Hui (in black), 60, and Mr Chan Kim Hong (in red), 65, preparing for another busy night on July 1.

Another worker Tan Teng Kuan (in blue), 33, moves about 20 pallets of vegetables in one night, each weighing above 100kg.

Madam Tan Sai Guay (below, left), 71, and her husband Lim Peng Kong, 73, have been visiting the market daily for some 37 years to buy supplies for their vegetable stall in Bedok.

“It will be so lonely and quiet here when everyone moves,” said Madam Tan.

The couple will have to make a much longer trip to Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre next time to collect their daily supply of greens.

Toa Payoh resident Abdullah Arba’a has been visiting the market twice a week with his family for the past 15 years. “I’ll be very sad when it closes,” said the 50-year-old.

Wet market vegetable stall owners buying supplies on May 5.

Mr Yang unloading boxes of pandan leaves on July 1.

The night market began as a pasar malam (night market) on an empty patch of dirt in the 1950s, even before Toa Payoh was developed.

Farmers and fishermen living in nearby Potong Pasir – then a kampung – would sell their goods here, recounted Mr Ong Eng Seng (below), one of the longest-serving vendors and the owner of the largest stall in the market. He was one of the four vendors who packed up after July 1.

Mr Ong Eng Seng posing with his customers on July 1. A larger-than-usual crowd turned up on his last day of business. Curious first-time visitors came to see the market before it is closed for good on Aug 19, while long-time customers dropped by to bid farewell.

Mr Ong Eng Seng has watched the surrounding area develop through the decades and lived through many memorable events in Singapore.

He recounted episodes such as the major flood of 1972 when the vendors had to wade through waist-deep waters as boxes of vegetables floated away. During the 2003 Sars outbreak, people swarmed the night market to stock up on vegetables after Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre was ordered to close. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the night market was ordered to shut for two weeks in 2021.

The 78-year-old, who started his wholesale vegetable business in 1968, first visited the pasar malam as a young boy.

“I used to cycle here from my house in Ang Mo Kio,” said the sprightly man. “People also sold bee hoon, kopi and other kinds of cooked food until the government disallowed street hawkers to operate.”

He added: “Farmers from Lim Chu Kang would also come here to sell their vegetables, and that’s how this place came to be known for cheap produce.”

Mr Ong Eng Seng at his makeshift stall on June 30. “All the old people are gone, it’s just me left,” he said. “I grew up here, of course I’ll miss this place very much.”

Mr Chan Kim Hong keeping tabs on the vegetables sold at the stall on April 17. He has spent over a decade working for Mr Ong Eng Seng and his son Ong Chai Meng, dealing with regular customers who would purchase bulk standing orders.

It’s business as usual on a rainy night on March 4.

Mr Tan Teng Kuan (second from left), 33, setting up shelter on Mr Ong Chai Meng’s (far left) lorry as rain begins to fall. “I won’t miss this place, because there’s no shelter when it rains,” he said.

After a busy night, second-generation stall owner Ong Chai Meng (left), 52, and Mr Chan tally their records in the wee hours of May 6. Mr Ong first began helping out at his father’s stall during the primary school holidays more than four decades ago.

The rent-free market grew in size and popularity as the surrounding area developed.

Eateries and vegetable hawkers in wet markets would come to stock up on their supply, while residents nearby would visit regularly to save some dollars on their shopping.

Mr David Po, 53, and his wife Yong Miau Eng, 57, run a yong tau foo stall in an industrial estate in Kaki Bukit. The couple have been buying vegetables for their stall from the night market since 2001, even before they were married. “We come here every day. Even rainy day, we also come,” said Mr Po.

At its peak in the early 2000s, some 50 vendors occupied the entire stretch of the street every night, said vendor See Kin Choon (below).

Over the years, however, the number became smaller.

UNSUSTAINABLE

“The old people don’t want to continue. Young people don’t want to take over. Those supermarkets, with their air-con lorries and distribution lines – we just can’t compete,” said Mr Ong Eng Seng.

ST VIDEO: RYAN CHIONG

Earlier in 2023, there were some 10 vendors operating at the market. They were informed in February of the impending closure.

“With the upcoming housing developments in Toa Payoh East, higher traffic use on the road is expected, which would make the place unsuitable for the market operations,” said the Singapore Food Agency.

END OF THE ROAD

The market has to close to make way for upcoming housing developments in the area, such as Kim Keat Ripples, the Build-to-Order (BTO) project seen under construction on the right.

ST PHOTO: RYAN CHIONG

Construction site supervisor Xing Hong Fei, 51, with a bag of vegetables meant for three people. He visits the market daily after work at the nearby BTO project.

(From left) Plumber Islam Haiul, 24, electrician Ahad Ali, 37, and driver Sheikh Shakil, 30, spend about $20 each for their weekly supply of vegetables.

Just four vendors, including Mr See, will remain at the market until Aug 19. The rest decided to leave earlier.

Mr See driving to Toa Payoh in his lorry to begin his night at the market on April 17, 2023.

Some of the vendors will shift their business to Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, while others will retire as the certificates of entitlement (COE) for their lorries is due to expire. Some, like Mr See, will continue to deliver vegetables to their clients without setting up a physical stall.

Mr Lee Thiang Huat, 65, runs a vegetable delivery service. He plans to retire after the market closes.

Mr Lew San Woon, 71, sweeping the street at the end of a night on May 6. For over 40 years, after selling vegetables every night, he would clear the rubbish for a small fee from the vendors.

Workers packing the leftover greens into plastic cartons on May 6. Unsold vegetables are picked up by Willing Hearts, a local soup kitchen that prepares and distributes meals.

A representative from Willing Hearts loading up a lorry with unsold vegetables just before dawn on May 6. “At least the vegetables don’t go to waste,” said wholesaler Ong Chai Meng when The Straits Times asked about the initiative. “It’s a small thing lah.”

As the familiar faces of the market go their separate ways, 63-year-old See could not help but feel a tinge of sadness. He has been in the business since he completed his national service 42 years ago.

Then a farmer by day and a wholesale vendor by night, he sold vegetables from his farm in Lim Chu Kang. With the farmland reclaimed by the government, Mr See now sells vegetables from SG Veg Farm, a hydroponics farm located on a Housing Board rooftop in Sembawang.

“The reality is that when they move to Pasir Panjang, we won’t be in touch any more.

“Even if we do keep in contact, it wouldn’t be like this, walking up and down the street to chat with our old friends,” said Mr See.

“Old friends slowly getting busy and losing contact… it’s the reality.”

ST VIDEO: ONG SWEE LIN & JACEN TAN