// SINGAPORE
“ The streets were abuzz with the colorful cacophony of hawkers ”
t en dollars probably won ’ t get you very far in Singapore — except when it comes to food . For that princely sum , you can tuck into a hearty multi-course meal , drink included , and perhaps even have some change left over . All you have to do is head to one of the city ’ s ubiquitous hawker centers — open-air food complexes where numerous vendors dish up diverse , affordable and utterly delicious street food under one roof .
“ The beauty of hawker culture in Singapore lies in the way stalls serve food from different cultures side by side ,” says Sarah Huang Benjamin , a Singaporean chef , content creator and co-founder of research consultancy Ethnographica . “ In one meal , you could dine on Teochew fishball noodles , Hainanese chicken rice , Malay nasi lemak [ coconut rice ] and Indian roti prata [ flatbread ]. That variety is something I always miss when I ’ m away from Singapore .”
COMMUNITY DINING ROOMS
More than just a place to refuel , these venues also function as “ community dining rooms ” — so described by Singapore ’ s prime minister , Lee Hsien Loong — where locals regularly come together , be it over a large spread or a mug of kopi ( strong coffee ). “ The hawker center is where so many of us go for breakfast , lunch and dinner ,” says Huang
Benjamin . In fact , hawker culture is so integral to the Singaporean way of life that it was recently inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020 .
This enduring legacy traces its roots all the way back to the 1800s , when Singapore ’ s status as a bustling entrepôt drew settlers from all across the region . Enticed by the low capital needed to start a street food business , many immigrants set up makeshift roadside stalls , hawking ethnic dishes from their respective homelands . Soon , the streets were abuzz with the colorful cacophony of hawkers dishing up everything from char kway teow ( stirfried noodles ) to satay ( flame-grilled meat skewers ). In a bid to improve public sanitation and traffic , the government began relocating these street food peddlers to purpose-built open-air premises in the early 1970s — and thus the humble hawker center was born . “ The move from pushcarts to sheltered markets was a huge shift in Singapore ’ s hawker culture , and shaped the way hawker food was cooked and sold ,” says Huang Benjamin .
Today , there are over 100 hawker centers all across Singapore which , along with kopitiams ( smaller open-air dining establishments , typically located at the foot of apartment blocks ), form the lifeblood of the city ’ s culinary landscape .
34 // pos t c a rds