Page 13 - Our Hawker Stories

Have you ever been to the hawker centre? It was a
bright and peaceful Sunday, and birds were chirping
merrily. Suddenly, my parents walked into the living
room and announced that we were going to eat lunch
at the hawker centre. “Woohoo!” My sister and I chimed
in unison, jumping up and down. My father, my mother,
my sister and I all piled into the car and made our way to
the hawker centre.

As we stepped into the hawker centre, the smells
of different dishes from different cultures mingled
together, and my stomach rumbled with hunger. Rows of
stalls selling mouth-watering food were lined up neatly,
looking as if they were waiting for their customers. My
sister, having an eagle eye, immediately found an empty
table. Fortunately, there was no packet of tissue on it, or
it would mean someone “chope” the seat.

Next, it was the hard part - choosing what to order. This trip to the hawker centre certainly has been an
The smell of satay was calling out to me while the kway educational experience for me. I hope that when I grow
chap stall uncle beckoned me to buy a bowl: “Xiaomei, up, hawker centres will still be around and I can share
come and try, it is very good!”. I finally settled on carrot them with my future family.
cake and char kway teow. While my father and I were
queuing for the carrot cake, my father shared that it was
the exact carrot cake he ate when he was a child, and
the stall was passed down through the family. Finally, we “The same carrot cake my dad ate as a child is
were at the end of the queue. We quickly ordered our now my favourite too — I hope hawker centres
food, and soon, we had to squeeze everyone’s dishes on will still be around when I grow up.”
the table, making it feel like a tin of sardines.

After we finished eating all our food, I was as bloated as Lim Kay Anne
a balloon. But before we left, my mother reminded us Compassion 1
to return our plates and utensils to the designated tray Bukit Panjang Primary School
return area. She told us that we had to keep it clean for
the next customers, as we would want a clean table and
had to do what we wanted to be done by.

Our Hawker Stories 9