FOOCHOW fishball noodle seller Siah Wee Leng had to close his shop just four hours after re-opening it at the newly upgraded Block 51 Old Airport Road food centre.

He had sold out everything.

Business is back and even better at the 34-year-old food centre, which closed in March last year for a $5.8 million facelift under the National Environment Agency's Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme (HUP).

It re-opened last Sunday.

Of the 180 food stalls operating at the centre before the upgrading, 163 have returned, including popular stalls such as Toa Payoh Rojak and Mattar Road Seafood Barbecue (see other story).

When the centre closed for renovations, 74 food stalls relocated to a temporary spot behind the centre, including most of the famous ones.

However, many old-time customers stopped patronising the relocated centre.

'The old food centre was bad but the temporary site was even hotter and more stuffy,' said Mr Robin Koh, 35, a manager in the optical industry who used to eat there two to three times a week prior to its revamp. He stopped dining there during the centre's closure.

According to 10 hawkers LifeStyle spoke to who moved to the temporary centre, business dropped by 20 to 30 per cent.

The revamped hawker centre, which has 168 food stalls - five are yet to be occupied - has, however, won back its regulars with its clean look and better ventilation.

Filthy floor and wall tiles and grimy tables and stools have all been replaced.

A new mechanical exhaust system, which reduces cooking fumes, was installed.

There is even an alfresco dining area with 30 umbrella-shaded tables located in the food centre's open plaza.

Curious visitors checking out the improved two-storey food centre have added to the re-opening buzz.

Technician Jeffrey Tan, 42, who had never been there, came on his day-off from work last Tuesday.

'If I'm ever around the area again, I'll be sure to drop by to enjoy good food in a clean environment,' said Mr Tan, who lives in Bedok.

The hawker centre is one of 80 selected for HUP, a 10-year plan launched in 2001 at an estimated cost of $420 million.

To date, 58 have been upgraded, including Adam Food Centre, Chomp Chomp Food Centre and Newton Food Centre.

Renovations are going on at six other locations, including Block 37A Teban Gardens Road, slated to re-open by the end of this year, and Block 335 Smith Street, to be completed early next year.

The list of 16 other food centres scheduled for upgrading has not been finalised, said an NEA spokesman.

Most customers embrace the improvements at Old Airport Road, but Mr David Ngu, 60, who has frequented the food centre for the last seven years, cautioned: 'This place is new, so naturally, it appeals to the senses. The challenge lies in maintaining the place as it is in the long run.'

While the stalls on the first floor are drawing crowds, business is a lot quieter for the 54 shops on the second floor which sell everything from clothes to children's toys.

Madam Lily Tan, 52, who owns a store providing alteration services, said in Mandarin: 'There has been no spill-over from the food business downstairs.

'I hope things will change in the next few weeks.'