To many people working in the Central Business District (CBD), Amoy Street Food Centre is a godsend. Right beside Tanjong Pagar MRT station and within walking distance from Raffles Place, it provides a wide range of cheap and good local food.

On weekends, parents and grandparents would travel as far as half of Singapore to bring the young ones there for breakfast. “I remember my dad used to bring us here for the fish soup on Saturday mornings when I was young,” says Serene Lim, who is now working in the CBD and sometimes goes there for lunch.

Amoy Street Food Centre was built in 1983 to house the street hawkers as part of the country’s plan for urbanisation. Some of these hawkers have stayed at the food centre since, repeatedly cooking the same dish and producing the same flavours every single day.

But Amoy Street Food Centre may be calling it a day, as it is sited within the annex of the Ministry of National Development’s (MND) main building, and the latter has announced its plan to move its offices to Jurong East by 2015.

According to the ministry’s spokesperson, no decision has been made on the future of the hawker centre. Which is why when we asked some of the hawkers about their plans, most of them said they had not thought about it yet.

“All my customers are asking me to inform them if I move. But I don’t know whether I’ll be moving. I don’t even know if I’ll still continue this business as I’m so old already,” says Ong Ah Cai, owner of the lor mee stall.

Others are more optimistic about the longevity of their business. “Of course I will continue. I’m only forty years old, still have time you know,” says Rafee of a teh tarik stall, Rafee’s Corner.

We list down some of the favourites of this significant hawker centre. As for the future of the rest of the hawkers, your guess is as good as mine.

Yuan Chun Famous Lor Mee

#02-79/80, Wed to Sun, 9am to 3pm

Food stalls like to claim to be the original, but hardly anyone dares to declare their popularity. Well, this stall clearly has no reason to be humble, if they, like what the owner had claim to us, sell up to 400 bowls of lormee a day. What you’ll get here is the traditional Hokkien version, which consist only fish flakes, braised pork belly and crispy chunks of ngohiang. The gravy leans towards the water side, but it is flavourful and has a good balance of pepper, garlic and vinegar. Of course, you could always add more of these condiments if you want.

Fried Kway Teow

#01-01, Mon to Fri, 8am to 7.30pm

This stall was one of the firsts to serve a lime along with the noodles to give it a refreshing sensation. However, their char kway teow can be inconsistent. Sometimes it’s dry, sometimes it’s wet. Sometimes it’s pale, and sometimes it’s black. On the flip side, it satisfies all kinds of palates, as one can tell from the long queue during lunch hour. Or perhaps, people flock there because it is the first at the entrance? Hmmm…

Han Kee

#02-129, Mon to Fri, 10am to 3pm

They have been in the news for good and bad reasons. Good because their fish soup has very fresh and springy sliced Batang fish, and a light broth that is flavoured pepper and fried garlic. Bad because the auntie who takes the order doesn’t really bother to smile, so some people think that she’s rude. But you got to somehow forgive her, as she has to remember dozens of orders, some of them idiosyncratic, from the long line of customers.

Rafee’s Corner

#02-85, Mon to Fri, 6.30am to 6pm, Sat to Sun, 6.30am to 2pm

The teh tarik here is smooth and concentrated with a hint of smokiness. If you are lucky, the owner would exaggerate the tarek, or pulling, just to entertain you. However, do emphasise that you want it less sweet, unless, you are sugar deficient.