5 Things You'd Know If You Go to Hougang Mall (Escalators Included)

The escalator situation

If you grew up in Hougang you already know. You walk to the escalator, it is roped off, you walk to the next one, it is going the wrong way. That is slides one and three of our post, Broken Escalators and Escalator Roulette, and the comments agreed fast.

We did the same kind of list for NEX next door in Serangoon, and the escalators there get their own mention too. Every heartland mall has its thing. Hougang's is that you never know which way up is today.

The mushroom chair and POPULAR

Slide two is the red and yellow mushroom seat in Cheng San Public Library, the one every kid in the area has sat on while a parent hunted for Geronimo Stilton. Slide four is POPULAR, which we called a must-stop for window shopping, because nobody leaves Hougang Mall without walking past the stationery.

The bad news for the mushroom fans: NLB closed Cheng San Public Library on 1 October 2025 for a revamp. It is moving from level 3 to level 5 and growing to about 2,500 sqm, with reopening targeted for the first half of 2027. NLB has not said if the mushroom is coming along.

Why it is always under reno

Slide five, Always Under Reno, with the caption "here we go again". Fair. Frasers Centrepoint Trust's portfolio page for Hougang Mall says it is undergoing asset enhancement works expected to complete by September 2026, and the library move is being done together with that upgrade.

So the hoarding you keep walking around has a reason. Whether the escalators come out of it fixed is the part nobody can promise.

Hungry after all that walking around hoarding? Here are the Hougang supper spots we rated.