Imagine this: You’ve finally waited for lunchtime to come around, and you can’t wait to get your favourite dish at the nearby hawker centre alongside an ice-cold drink.

But then you’re greeted with the one sight that no hawker centre patron wants to see: a drinks stall with a queue longer than the last train of thought you had when you were daydreaming at work.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Singaporeans at the One Punggol Hawker Centre have been going through.

Over the past few months, netizens have been complaining online about the long waiting times at One Punggol Hawker Centre’s drinks stall, especially during peak periods.

In fact, some even claimed that they had to wait up to 30 minutes just to buy their beverages at the hawker centre.

Only 2 of 34 Stalls Sell Drinks; Queues Get Extremely Long from Friday to Sunday

When reporters from Shin Min Daily News visited the hawker centre yesterday (2 May), they noted that only two out of the 34 stalls sold drinks.

One was a typical drinks stall that sold beverages like kopi and teh, while the other sold fruits, fruit juice and canned drinks.

A stallholder of a stall opposite the former shared that large crowds often visit the hawker centre on Fridays to Sundays and that snaking queues form in front of the drinks stall during peak hours.

In fact, the stallholder even recalled seeing 30 to 50 people queuing up for drinks at that stall in the past.

According to the stallholder, the queue got so long that patrons had to form a “U-turn” to accommodate everyone who was lining up.

A cleaner named Li Xiumei (Hanyu pinyin) echoed similar sentiments.

She added that even though the queue usually moves in a relatively fast manner, the waiting time for a queue of around 20 people would still be over ten minutes.

Based on reports by Shin Min, around six to seven employees work at the drinks stall during peak periods.

On a separate note, Shin Min also noted that the drinks stall also sells other products like youtiao (fried dough fritters), buns and other breakfast foods.

Some Patrons Buy Drinks From the Vending Machine Instead

Apart from that, reporters from Shin Min saw two vending machines selling canned drinks at the hawker centre.

A hawker named Ms Cai (Hanyu pinyin) shared that some patrons choose to purchase drinks from the vending machine instead of lining up at the drinks stall during peak periods.

Compared to the drink stall’s prices of $1.20 to $2.50, drinks at the vending machine cost $1.40 to $1.50.

However, there were no straws or ice provided at the vending machine.

Management to Introduce New Drink Store

With regards to improving the situation regarding long queues at the drinks stall, One Punggol Hawker Centre’s management announced that it would look into setting up another drinks stall to help manage the crowd during peak periods.

Although not much has been revealed, it seems like the drinks sold at the new drinks stall will not be exactly the same as the ones sold at the current stall.

More details regarding the new drinks stall will be revealed by the management in due time.

Drink Stall Has Utilised Robot Barista to Make Drinks Since Its Opening

Additionally, when the hawker centre opened last October, the drinks stall started employing the help of a robot barista to help cope with the manpower shortage.

Apparently, it was to increase the efficiency of making drinks, especially during peak periods.

Logically, this would result in shorter waiting times and queues during peak periods.

Well, I guess the barista’s been slacking off then.

The robot barista, named “Lim Ah Huat”, can work up to 112 hours per week and can make 150 cups of coffee and tea every hour.

And it (or he?) doesn’t even need to take any leave at all.

However, just two days ago, Lim Ah Huat made its way around the internet after knocking over a jug of hot liquid and spilling a hot drink on the floor while patrons looked at it (or him) fail miserably at his job.

And as youngsters nowadays would say… You had one job.

Beyond that, the management emphasised that the employment of Lim Ah Huat was not to replace human workers but to speed up the process of making drinks, allowing employees to provide patrons with better service.

Well, I’m definitely glad that they didn’t make Lim Ah Huat completely replace the human employee… Because drinking spilled coffee on the floor doesn’t sound appealing at all.

For those who haven’t been to One Punggol Hawker Centre before, it first opened its doors on 31 October last year as part of a “soft launch”.

Thereafter, the hawker centre was officially opened at its full capacity in end-March this year.

In total, the hawker centre, which is managed by Timbre Group, has 34 stalls and around 700 seats.

If Timbre Group sounds familiar to you, it’s because the organisation also manages the Yishun Park Hawker Centre.

For more information about the hawker centre’s stalls, check out its website here.

Additionally, don’t say bojio: Patrons who use the Timbre mobile application to pay for their meals at One Punggol Hawker Centre will be entitled to a 10% discount off their meals, so don’t forget to download the application if you’re heading down!