Canteen 398, more fondly known as Boh Geh Uncle Canteen, closed its doors on Friday (Sept 18) after more than 57 years.
Opened in 1969, the establishment at 398 Piccadilly was once part of the nearby Seletar Camp back when it was a British Royal Air Force base, serving as a corporal’s mess before becoming one of Singapore’s oldest-surviving coffee shops.
Three stalls at the canteen had offered drinks and dishes such as economic rice, ayam penyet, mee hoon goreng, lontong and sambal goreng, priced between $1 and $5.
Owner William, the titular Boh Geh Uncle, told We Are Majulah in a video posted on Wednesday that he felt “okay” about the closure as he had worked there “very long already”.
“58 years, I think you all know me very long already,” he added.
All this time, he had worked continuously with no holidays, beginning his preparations at 3am daily.
But now, William’s post-retirement plan is to rest for a bit and maybe travel afterwards.
“Thank you for your support all these years,” he said.
“One of my favourite places to eat. Cheap and good,” a netizen commented on the video.
Another wrote: “Used to eat there a lot of times during my NS (national service) and reservist.”
Some netizens also tagged their army buddies in the social media post to share about Boh Geh Uncle Canteen’s closure and reminisce the times they had there.
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Fond memories from NS
Military and aviation Facebook page Alert 5 also shared about the coffee shop’s closure and invited those who had been stationed at the Seletar Camp to share their stories.
The camp was home to the air force’s 160 and 170 Squadrons and the army’s Singapore Combat Engineers.
“A life saver during bad cookhouse days,” one comment read.
A netizen wrote: “Served in the 35th SCE (active and reservist). [Went] to canteen when visiting the Seletar Medical Centre, or after booking out and walking out to the bus stop to catch the bus home. Good memories. But like all things, life is constant. Hope Uncle Boh Geh and all the others there get their well-deserved rest.”
“Our signal unit SRRU was just a stone’s throw away,” a netizen who had done his NS back in 1973 shared. “Our unit was without ration support, had to eat from the canteen or buy in food from Jalan Kayu food stalls.”
Another comment read: “Served at CCO Seletar during my NS period and Reservist Unit at 35SCE. Always had cheap and good breakfast at the canteen before booking in.
“Really pity the canteen had to close down. Brings back good memories.”
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drimac@asiaone.com
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