BEDOK 85 hawker centre has always been a gem of the East. It boasts a wide spread of local fare such as BBQ chicken wings, sambal stingray, fried oyster omelette and, of course, the famous bak chor mee.

So when 39-year-old Ivan Teo first opened his gelato parlour IScream, he was eager to tap the supper crowd that would swarm the area every night without fail. "There's a lot of night traffic here, so we thought Bedok as a neighbourhood is a good place to start a business," says Mr Teo, who also runs other F&B ventures such as Arteastiq at Mandarin Gallery.

"The rent is not that expensive, and the risk is less. So we wanted to use this as a testbed for the business." He adds that while looking for a good location, he found similar-sized spaces in other heartlands going for four times his current rental price. And it seems he wasn't the only one scoping out Bedok North as a good place to start a business. In fact, two other cafes have popped up in the vicinity in the last few months, adding to the variety of dining options that can be found in the area.