New World tenants move on

One relocates within NTU, others looking for options

By Karl Lim, Janell Chu

NEW WORLD NO MORE: Former stall holders are seeking new locations to set up shop.
PHOTO: HILLARY TAN

Stall holders of the New World Café that closed unexpectedly in March have come to terms with their sudden setback and have moved on.

One has found a new place in an NTU canteen, while others are still keeping their eye out for food courts in good locations.

Responding to queries from the Nanyang Chronicle, a spokesperson from NTU’s Office of Housing and Auxiliary Services said, ”We understand the stall holders’ plight and know that some of these stalls serve food that is popular with the NTU community. Chinese stall Mala Talk is now at Canteen 1, and HAS is assisting the rest to find a suitable venue.”

Speaking in Mandarin to the Nanyang Chronicle, Mala Talk’s owner, Ms Kan Ying, 30, said, “Business here is not as good as it was in New World. It is only about half as good.”

“However, I am going to stay here for a year at the very least because I have signed the contract already,” she added.

Mr Frankie Teo, 37, owner of the western stall, has found work as a sous chef at a French restaurant in Shenton Way, but still hopes to return to NTU to reopen his business.

“At the moment, I am keeping my fingers crossed,” said Mr Teo.

Another sub-tenant has yet to find a suitable spot with enough customer traffic and affordable rent.

Owner of bubble tea stall, Q Essentials, Ms Elizabeth Zheng, 28, said, “We cannot open another stall at the moment because we lost a lot of money.”

Ms Zheng has two other Q Essentials outlets to fall back on — one in NTU’s Pioneer Food Court and another in Boon Lay. She said that business at New World was the best among all her outlets.

She added that she might consider opening another stall in future, if HAS could offer her a busy location at a reasonable rent.

“The university told me about Canteen 16. I rejected the offer because traffic is quite low there,” said Ms Zheng in Mandarin.

The Managing Director of Komala’s Restaurants, Mr R.T. Sekar, 56, said he has no plans to open another outlet in NTU for now.

New World Café, which was located near Canteen A, was popular with students and faculty alike.

“I miss the coffee there the most. It costs only 50 cents and if you exclude the hall canteens, it was the coffee that tasted closest to real hawker coffee”, said Larval Goh, 23, a first-year student from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Theodore Yzelman, 22, said he missed the bak chor mee the most. The first-year student from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences added that he would never forget the stall holders, as “they were always friendly and positive, even while taking orders”.

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