Kovan: Food, Heartland Mall, Housing and Transport One Stop from Hougang

Kovan is the small, busy corner of Hougang that people tend to visit for one reason, usually food, and then keep coming back to. It sits around Kovan MRT (NE13) on Upper Serangoon Road, one stop south of Hougang (NE14). For anyone looking at LinkTown Residences (Hougang Central Residences) above Hougang MRT, Kovan is effectively the next neighbourhood along: close enough to walk on a good day, one stop by train on any other.

Where Kovan is

Kovan is a sub-area in the south-west of Hougang town. The MRT station sits under Upper Serangoon Road at No. 900, with the market and Heartland Mall on one side and quieter private streets on the other. Serangoon Gardens lies to the west across Yio Chu Kang Road, and Serangoon, with NEX and the Circle Line, is one stop further south.

From Kovan (NE13) to	By NEL
Hougang (NE14), for Hougang Central	1 stop north
Serangoon (NE12), for NEX and the Circle Line	1 stop south
Dhoby Ghaut (NE6)	7 stops south
Outram Park (NE3)	10 stops south
HarbourFront (NE1)	11 stops south

Kovan MRT is about 1.4 km from Hougang MRT in a straight line on OneMap. Many bus services also run along Upper Serangoon Road between the two.

Food: why most people come

Kovan Market & Food Centre

The NEA market and food centre at Blk 209 Hougang Street 21 is the anchor of Kovan. NEA’s data lists 66 cooked food stalls alongside about 120 market stalls, and locals often just call it Kovan 209. Noodles, fish soup, economical rice, kueh and old-school drinks are the staples. Breakfast and weekend lunch are the busiest times, and many stalls take a weekly rest day or sell out early, so check before you go.

Upper Serangoon Road

The low-rise shophouses along Upper Serangoon Road near the station keep the food going after the market quietens down, with long-running eateries, zi char and supper spots, some of which open late. Opening hours change, so treat any list you see online as a starting point.

Our Kovan food guide goes stall by stall. For supper further afield, Chomp Chomp Food Centre in Serangoon Gardens is a short ride away.

Heartland Mall

Heartland Mall, at 205 Hougang Street 21 beside Kovan MRT, is a neighbourhood mall rather than a destination one. It covers the weekly basics: a supermarket, pharmacy and household shops, casual chain food, services such as clinics and salons, and a floor of tuition and enrichment centres. Some people search for it as Hougang Heartland Mall; it is the same place. Tenants change, so check the mall’s directory before a special trip.

For department stores, a cinema and a much larger range of shops, NEX in Serangoon is one stop south. Our NEX guide covers it.

Housing in Kovan

Kovan has a more mixed housing picture than most of Hougang:

• Landed homes: terrace, semi-detached and detached houses on the quieter roads off Upper Serangoon Road, which give parts of Kovan a low-rise, leafy feel.
• Condominiums: several private developments close to the station, popular with buyers who want to walk to the MRT. Some of them feature in our Serangoon condo guide.
• HDB flats: older and newer blocks around the market and Hougang Street 21, where most of the everyday bustle is.

That mix is part of Kovan’s appeal and part of its limit: it is compact, and new private supply near the station tends to be small in scale. The larger new-home supply in the area is planned at Hougang Central.

Pros and cons of Kovan

Pros	Cons
One of the north-east’s best-known food areas on your doorstep	Heartland Mall is modest; bigger shopping means NEX or Hougang Mall
Direct NEL, one stop from both Serangoon and Hougang	Upper Serangoon Road is busy and noisy near the station
Landed streets and quieter pockets close to the MRT	Limited large parks within the sub-area itself
Serangoon Gardens nearby for more food and cafés	No future CRL station at Kovan; the interchange will be at Hougang

Kovan and Hougang Central, side by side

For buyers comparing the two, the difference is mainly scale and future transport. Kovan is established and food-first, with a compact neighbourhood mall. Hougang Central is the town centre, with Hougang Mall, the bus interchange, the polyclinic and sports centre nearby, and it is where the Cross Island Line interchange is planned, with Phase 1 targeted for around 2030.

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. From there, Kovan’s market and shophouses are one stop away, which is how many Hougang Central residents would likely use them: a weekend breakfast trip, an evening supper run.

See the location page for transport details, the price list page for the estimates and how they will be updated, and the indicative floor plans.

Sources: station and mall addresses and distances from OneMap; stall counts from NEA’s list of hawker centres on data.gov.sg. Checked September 2026.

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Frequently asked questions

Is Kovan part of Hougang?

Yes. Kovan is a sub-area in the south-west of Hougang town, built around Kovan MRT station (NE13) on Upper Serangoon Road.

How far is Kovan from Hougang Central?

One stop on the North East Line. Kovan MRT is about 1.4 km from Hougang MRT in a straight line (OneMap), so you can also walk or take a bus along Upper Serangoon Road.

Where is the Kovan hawker centre?

Kovan Market & Food Centre is at Blk 209 Hougang Street 21, a short walk from Kovan MRT. It has a wet market and more than 60 cooked food stalls.

What is Heartland Mall?

The neighbourhood mall at 205 Hougang Street 21 beside Kovan MRT, with a supermarket, everyday shops, casual food and tuition centres. Some people search for it as Hougang Heartland Mall.