A Taste of Bedok Corner, As It Once Was

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We are pretty sure this 1985 photograph of the original Bedok Corner Food Centre - which first began operations in 1971 - will stir up memories of the sedap kind. Not just for us, but for every Bedok kampong foodie (and former Bedok army camp mate) who still carries these gastronomic delights close to heart.

Before its refurbishment in 2005 transformed it into the food centre we recognise today, this humble structure served as a gathering point for the itinerant hawkers in our kampong. Many of them operated just across the road at the sandy patch outside the old Bedok Rest House, bringing with them the aromas and flavours that many a kampong folk still carry in our minds today.

Thanks to Jayne Krishna, who captured this scene from across the road and generously shared it with us, we can now savour a rare moment in time - a framed piece of culinary time‑travel indeed.

Beyond the well‑remembered cheng teng and dried cuttlefish stalls, one hawker our family recalls fondly was Mr Tan, affectionately known as Nano. He sold wantan mee here in the evenings, after completing his school‑bus rounds. Resident Marhamah Sapandi of Jalan Greja remembers him too - not just as a hawker, but as the very same bus driver who ferried her, and us, to our schools in the Siglap area in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Even after our family moved from the kampong to Marine Parade in 1975, we made it a point to return to this food centre from time to time - to enjoy its familiar treats and to greet Mr Tan, who remained a comforting constant in our lives.

So now, with this photograph anchoring our shared nostalgia, we open the floor to you. Who else has memories of Bedok Corner Food Centre to share? The comments section is now tastefully yours.



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