Residents can get traditional wet market experience at new 24-hour FairPrice supermart in Pasir Ris

SINGAPORE – Pasir Ris residents now can get their fresh fish, vegetables and fruit at a new 24-hour FairPrice supermarket that aims to give shoppers a traditional wet market experience with fresh fish counters and personalised service.

More than half the store space is used to stock fresh, chilled and frozen food products, with some counters spanning at least 7.3m, with two rows offering fresh fish and seafood – the largest in all FairPrice outlets.

Customers can ask for services such as scaling and slicing of fish, similar to those offered in traditional wet markets and a few other FairPrice outlets. Vacuum-packing of fish is also available at the Elias Mall outlet.

Service ambassadors will be on hand daily during the morning peak hours to dish out suggestions on the pick of fresh food available, and offer cooking tips.

Sales at the store, in the basement level of Elias Mall, started on Sept 1, and it was officially opened on Sept 20 by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah, who is an MP for Pasir Ris-Changi GRC.

Indranee, who is also Second Minister for Finance and for National Development, said in a Sept 16 social media post that she and Pasir Ris grassroots leaders offered feedback to FairPrice on what residents wanted in the supermarket before it opened.

She said: “The site originally used to be a wet market and residents wanted to keep part of that concept.”

The Elias Mall outlet is the second FairPrice supermarket in Pasir Ris that operates round-the-clock.

FairPrice said face-to-face and online surveys were conducted to seek feedback from residents on their expectations for the new store’s offerings.

Halal products at the outlet are placed on shelves marked with green labels throughout the store, so that shoppers can find them easily.

There will also be trained pharmacists at the outlet, who will provide consultations and wellness recommendations for shoppers who undergo a free three-minute body composition analysis at Unity pharmacy.

Besides traditional Western supplements, the pharmacy offers wellness remedies such as ginseng products and herbal blends.

The supermarket also houses a dedicated pork counter selling fresh meat – the largest among more than 50 FairPrice supermarkets with similar counters.

FairPrice Group is the only importer of live pigs in Singapore, through its subsidiary OJJ Foods, a pork processor and supplier.

The group imports about 3,000 live pigs from Malaysia every week, making up almost half of its pork sales. It started importing live pigs from Malaysia in 2017, after a ban in place since 1999 was lifted.

Pasir Ris residents welcomed the opening of the new supermarket. Many of them had visited the store before its official opening.

Priscilla Heng, 62, said she used to take a 15-minute bus ride to the wet market at Pasir Ris Drive 6 and now has to walk just five minutes to the new FairPrice outlet.

She added that was pleased with the variety of choices at the new store, although the prices are usually higher than those at the wet market.

“It is very convenient for me as I need to visit every day to buy fresh produce for my meals”, said Heng, who had already made two trips in the morning to split her load.

Homemaker Shabina, 40, said the store has a larger range of offerings than several other outlets, and she thus visits it almost every other day.