Page 58 - Our Hawker Stories

I went to Maxwell Hawker Centre during the weekend
to eat Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice. I could not get
my mind out of it, as I had never returned here since I
was young.

My eyes widened in shock as the hawker cCentre
changed a lot! The place was neater and the chairs
were new. Almost all the stalls had changed, except for
the hainanese chicken rice. The only thing that did not
change was the bustling crowd and the long queue in
front of the hainanesechicken rice.

After waiting so long, we finally got to eat chicken rice.
When I tried it, my eyes lit up as the chicken was tender,
smooth, and juicy. Each grain of the rice is distinct, and it
was infused with the fragrance of chicken oil, which was
utterly satisfying. It tasted better than before. Curious, I
went to ask the stall owner.
“From rice balls on the roadside to famous
The stall owner had changed and said she had slightly hawker stalls, chicken rice carries my
altered the recipe to make it taste better. She also told grandmother’s story — a taste passed down
me the story that her grandmother told her. They started through generations.”
to make chicken rice in 1986. No hawker centres existed
then, so they began as humble roadside stalls. They first
made the rice into rice balls so that they could keep the Khoo Xin Chen
food warm. Then the government gathered the roadside P6.3
stalls together and created a hawker centre. North Spring Primary School

This act brings together Chinese, Malay, Indian, and
Peranakan cuisines. They were not just about food; they
were living museums of Singapore’s history, diversity,
and innovation. The culture and the recipe will be passed
on from generation to generation.

54 Our Hawker Stories