Member-only story
What Would Singapore Be Without Her Hawkers?
“The hawker’s life is a hard one but many do it with passion. To them, it is not just a livelihood, but a piece of art”.
Mr Baey Yam Keng — Singaporean politician.
What you are seeing above is a picture of an everyday scene at a Singaporean hawker center. Singaporeans regardless of social class or age, congregate in shared spaces like these for one reason alone — to enjoy good food and maybe a laugh with some friends.
Hawker centers, as we affectionally call them, are street food collectives on steroids.
There’s the smell of simmering soups, the clang of iron-clad spatulas onto flaming woks, the sizzle of ingredients being tossed and the constant hustle and bustle of stall owners taking orders, barking out instructions and serving customers hungry for sustenance.
It is a riot on the senses.
To us Singaporeans however, hawker centers are home.
When I was studying overseas in the UK, hawker food was one of the main things we missed from home.
