Chomp Chomp Food Centre and Serangoon Garden Market: Timing, Cleaning Dates and the Bus from Hougang

Serangoon Gardens has two NEA hawker centres within a few minutes’ walk of each other, and they suit different times of day. Serangoon Garden Market is where the estate buys fish and eats breakfast; Chomp Chomp Food Centre is where the grills are lit after dark. For anyone living at LinkTown Residences (Hougang Central Residences), both are one bus ride away. This guide puts them side by side, with NEA’s figures and cleaning dates, so you can plan the trip.

The two centres at a glance

	Chomp Chomp Food Centre	Serangoon Garden Market & Food Centre
Address	20 Kensington Park Road, S557269	49A Serangoon Garden Way, S555945
Cooked food stalls (NEA)	36	46
Market stalls (NEA)	None	36
Best time	Dinner and supper	Breakfast and lunch
Next NEA cleaning	14–16 December 2026	5–6 October 2026

Cleaning dates are from NEA’s dataset on data.gov.sg, checked in September 2026. NEA can change them, so check before a special trip. Our hawker centre cleaning schedule lists every centre in the North-East.

Chomp Chomp Food Centre

Chomp Chomp is compact and mostly open-air, and it comes alive in the evening. NEA describes it as known for its dinner and supper crowd, with dishes such as char kway teow, barbecued chicken wings and seafood. Satay, fried Hokkien mee, carrot cake and sugarcane juice are other regular orders. Friday and Saturday nights are the busiest, and seats go fast.

Its history

According to Roots.sg, hawkers began selling in the new Serangoon Gardens estate in the 1950s and 1960s. After years of crowded roadside trading, the government built Chomp Chomp, which opened in May 1972 with 36 built-in stalls. Its English name comes from a Teochew rendering of the Chinese name. By 1987 it was among the busiest food centres on the island, and it was voted Singaporeans’ favourite hawker centre from 2011 to 2013.

The 2025–2026 upgrade

NEA closed Chomp Chomp for repairs and redecoration from 27 October 2025 to 26 January 2026. If you last visited before that, expect a refreshed centre. Its regular 2026 cleaning closures were 30 March, 22–24 June and 28 September, with the next on 14–16 December.

Serangoon Garden Market & Food Centre

The daytime centre combines a wet market with 46 cooked food stalls. It is at its liveliest from early morning to lunch, when regulars come for the market and stay for breakfast. In November 2024 it won the first Favourite Hawker Centre award at the Singapore Hawkers’ Seminar and Awards, a prize decided entirely by public votes, which says a lot about how attached its regulars are.

Expect long-running stalls selling kway chap, braised duck, carrot cake, noodles and traditional buns, with queues on weekend mornings. Many stalls close by mid-afternoon and take a weekly rest day, often early in the week. A few trade into the evening.

Serangoon Garden Market, NEA cleaning (2026)	Dates
Q1	16–17 March
Q2	25 May
Q3	Listed as to be confirmed
Q4 (next)	5–6 October

Hawker etiquette for first-timers

• Find a seat first: at busy times, one person holds the table while others queue.
• Return your tray: tray return is expected at NEA hawker centres; look for the return points.
• Payment: many stalls accept PayNow or cards, but some smaller ones prefer cash.

Getting there from Hougang Central

Both centres are about 3 km west of Hougang MRT in a straight line (OneMap). There is no MRT station in Serangoon Gardens.

• Bus 136: board on Upper Serangoon Road, a few minutes’ walk from Hougang MRT, and alight at Serangoon Garden Circus. About 20–25 minutes.
• NEL and bus: Hougang (NE14) to Serangoon (NE12), two stops, then feeder bus 315 or 317 from Serangoon Interchange. About 25–30 minutes.
• Taxi or car: about 10 minutes; roadside parking near Chomp Chomp is hard to find in the evening.

All times are approximate. Our Serangoon Gardens guide covers the rest of the estate, including the country club next door to Chomp Chomp, and our Serangoon Garden cafés guide lists the coffee stops.

Compared with Hougang’s own hawker centres

Hougang has three NEA hawker centres of its own, covered in our Hougang hawker centres guide, plus plenty of coffee shops, so a Hougang Central resident does not need to leave town to eat well. Serangoon Gardens is the treat: a Saturday breakfast at the market, or a late dinner at Chomp Chomp with friends. For supper closer to home, see our guides to Kovan food and late-night supper in the North-East, and for seafood and wok dishes near Hougang, our zi char guide.

What this means for LinkTown Residences

Hougang Central Residences is part of a mixed-use development planned to be directly linked to Hougang MRT, with a new bus interchange, a mall of about 300,000 sq ft and a town plaza with diverse food and drink. Serangoon Gardens stays a short bus ride west for the famous stalls, while daily meals can be much closer to home. If you are also comparing homes on that side, our Serangoon condo guide looks at seven condos near Serangoon, Lorong Chuan and Kovan.

See the location page for transport, and the showflat page for how previews will be announced.

Sources: stall counts and cleaning dates from NEA on data.gov.sg (list of hawker centres and closure dates); history from Roots.sg; award from NEA; distances from OneMap. Checked September 2026.

Register to get LinkTown Residences prices and preview dates as soon as they’re released.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Chomp Chomp Food Centre?

At 20 Kensington Park Road, Singapore 557269, just off Serangoon Garden Circus in Serangoon Gardens.

What time does Chomp Chomp open?

Chomp Chomp is mainly a dinner and supper centre; most stalls trade from late afternoon into the night. Each stall sets its own hours and rest day, so check before you go.

When is Chomp Chomp closed for cleaning?

NEA’s 2026 dates show the next closure as 14–16 December 2026. The third-quarter clean was on 28 September 2026. Check NEA before a special trip, as dates can change.

Are Chomp Chomp and Serangoon Garden Market the same place?

No. They are two separate NEA hawker centres a few minutes’ walk apart. Serangoon Garden Market at 49A Serangoon Garden Way has a wet market and is busiest in the morning; Chomp Chomp is an evening spot.

How do I get to Chomp Chomp from Hougang?

Bus 136 runs from Upper Serangoon Road near Hougang MRT to Serangoon Garden Circus, a short walk from both centres. Allow about 20–25 minutes; this is approximate.