Kovan Food: A Morning-to-Midnight Guide One Stop from Hougang

Kovan food works best if you think about it by time of day. The market is at its peak from breakfast to lunch. The mall covers the afternoon and rainy days. The shophouses along Upper Serangoon Road come alive in the evening and some keep going past midnight. All of it sits within a few minutes of Kovan MRT (NE13), one stop from Hougang (NE14) and the site of LinkTown Residences (Hougang Central Residences).

Kovan food at a glance

Time	Where	What to eat
Early morning	Kovan Market & Food Centre	Fishball noodles, kopi, kueh
Late morning	Upper Serangoon Road shophouses	Teochew kueh to take away
Afternoon	Heartland Mall	Chains, kaya toast, bubble tea
Brunch	Simon Road	Café brunch and cakes
Evening to late	Upper Serangoon Road	Curry rice, zi char, supper

Morning: Kovan Market & Food Centre

The Kovan hawker centre, known locally as Kovan 209, is at Blk 209 Hougang Street 21. NEA says it was built in 1983 and lists around 65 cooked food stalls and about 120 market stalls, making it the largest of Hougang’s three NEA centres. The cooked food section surrounds a busy wet market, so a morning visit doubles as a grocery run.

Noodles are what Kovan 209 does best. Fa Ji Minced Meat Fishball Noodle at #01-05 is one of the long-running family stalls, serving bak chor mee and fishball noodles; weekend breakfast brings a queue. Around it you will find fish soup, economical rice, roast meats, kueh, Malay and Western stalls, and drinks stalls doing kopi the old way.

As of 28 September 2026, NEA’s next scheduled cleaning closure for the centre is 16 to 20 November 2026. Check NEA’s schedule before you go. Our Hougang hawker centres guide compares it with Ci Yuan and the Hainanese Village Centre.

Late morning: Teochew kueh

Yong’s Teochew Kueh, at 1022 Upper Serangoon Road, is a Kovan institution for handmade Teochew kueh: soon kueh with turnip, ku chai kueh with chives, yam kueh and the pink, rice-filled png kueh. It is mainly takeaway. Popular items can be gone before the afternoon, so this is a morning stop. Kueh travel well, which makes them a good thing to bring back to Hougang.

Afternoon: Heartland Mall

Heartland Mall, at 205 Hougang Street 21 beside Kovan MRT, opens from 10am to 10pm. Its directory, checked in September 2026, lists these food outlets among others:

Type	Outlets
Local breakfast and snacks	Toast Box, Ya Kun Kaya Toast, Old Chang Kee, Ho Kee Pau, Mr Bean, Toast & Roll by Swee Heng
Meals	Saizeriya, Sushi Express, MOS Burger, Popeyes, WOK HEY, Sanook Kitchen, Ivins Peranakan Restaurant, Vegetarian Express
Drinks and dessert	KOI Thé, LiHO, Mixue, Mr. Coconut, Munchi Pancakes, The Summer Acai

The Cold Storage supermarket on level 1 is handy for groceries on the way home. Heartland Mall is the easy choice with children or when it rains.

Brunch: Simon Road

Across Upper Serangoon Road from the station, Simon Road has Kovan’s best-known café, Lola’s Cafe at 5 Simon Road, open daily from 9am per its website and active on social media through September 2026. For more, see our cafes in Hougang guide.

Evening and supper: Upper Serangoon Road

Once the market closes, the shophouses along Upper Serangoon Road take over. The strip is a mix of coffee shops, zi char and casual eateries, and some stay open into the small hours.

Sin Chie Toke Huan, at 1018 Upper Serangoon Road, is the one supper regulars mention first: a Hainanese curry rice shop where you choose from home-style dishes such as braised cabbage, pork chop and stewed meats, then have curry gravy poured over the rice. It opens in the evening and trades into the early hours, and peak-time queues can be long.

Tips for eating in Kovan

• Exit for the market: Kovan 209 and Heartland Mall are on the same side of Upper Serangoon Road, a few minutes’ walk from the station.
• Rest days: many small stalls take one weekday off, so check before going for a particular stall.
• Payment: e-payment is widely accepted, but carry a little cash for older stalls.
• Seats: at the hawker centre, a packet of tissues on a table means the seat is taken.

A short ride further

• Chomp Chomp Food Centre, 20 Kensington Park Road in Serangoon Gardens, is a short bus or taxi ride west. It is busiest in the evening. NEA lists 36 stalls.
• Hainanese Village Centre, Blk 105 Hougang Avenue 1, about 900 m from Kovan MRT, for lor mee and market breakfasts.
• NEX at Serangoon, one more stop south, for food courts and restaurants. See our NEX guide.

Kovan from Hougang Central

Kovan and Hougang are neighbours on the North East Line, about 1.5 km apart. From LinkTown Residences, planned directly above Hougang MRT, Kovan is one stop by train, a bus ride along Upper Serangoon Road, or a long walk on a cool evening. That puts Kovan’s market and supper strip within easy reach of home, alongside Hougang Mall and the new mall planned in the Hougang Central integrated development.

For the neighbourhood beyond food, including housing and transport, read our Kovan guide. To see where Hougang Central Residences sits on the map, visit the location page, and for indicative layouts, the floor plans page.

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

Frequently asked questions

Where is the Kovan hawker centre?

Kovan Market & Food Centre is at Blk 209 Hougang Street 21, Singapore 530209, a short walk from Kovan MRT (NE13). NEA lists around 65 cooked food stalls and about 120 market stalls.

When is Kovan Market & Food Centre closed for cleaning?

NEA’s schedule lists the next closure as 16 to 20 November 2026. Dates can change, so check NEA before you go.

Where can I eat late at night in Kovan?

Upper Serangoon Road near Kovan MRT has eateries that open into the early hours, including Sin Chie Toke Huan, a Hainanese curry rice shop at 1018 Upper Serangoon Road. Check current hours first.

How far is Kovan from Hougang?

Kovan (NE13) is one stop from Hougang (NE14) on the North East Line, about 1.5 km apart in a straight line.

What food is in Heartland Mall Kovan?

Heartland Mall’s directory lists outlets such as Toast Box, Ya Kun Kaya Toast, MOS Burger, Saizeriya, Sushi Express, Popeyes, Ivins Peranakan Restaurant and Old Chang Kee. The mall opens from 10am to 10pm.