Page 61 - Our Hawker Stories

Singapore is our homeland, a special one. Why? One of
the reasons is the hawker culture. Until now, people from
all over the world have only tasted authentic hawker
food in one place. Singapore! To many Singaporeans,
going to the hawker centre has become an integral
part of their way of life. Hawker culture reflects the
multicultural identity of our society. It also brings us
together, as hawker centres are familiar places where
families celebrate their weekends. But what makes
hawker culture so unique to Singapore? You can find
restaurants, shops, and houses worldwide, but why can
you only find hawker centres in Singapore? To answer
this question, let us go back to the 19th century, when
everything started.

In the 19th century, people worldwide, mainly from Asia, Hawker centres are special, too. Though they may sound
travelled to Singapore. These early migrants worked as like restaurants with local food and more affordable
street hawkers and sold their food on the streets. In the price, hawker centres are also places where people play
1960s, hawker centres were built to enable hawkers to instruments and participate in traditional arts and other
work and provide freshly cooked food in a clean and leisure activities. People who visit the hawker centres
hygienic environment. Since then, hawker culture has very often will know that community bonding usually
continuously evolved with hawkers inventing creative happens between hawkers and customers.
ways to meet the demands of an ever-changing nation.
Today, hawker centres serve as the community dining Our unique homeland, Singapore, comprises unique
rooms of Singapore, promoting cultural diversity while people, technology, landmarks, history, and, most
bringing people of all ages, ethnicities, genders, and importantly, food, especially hawker food!
religions together under one roof. Now, over 100 hawker
centres are spread around the island, located in the
public housing estates where 80% of the population “Our hawker centres are more than food
lives, as well as the city and recreational districts.
courts — they’re where generations meet,
Most hawkers use recipes passed down from generations cultures mix, and the spirit of Singapore
before and have specialised culinary practices transmitted lives on in every dish.”
over generations. But that is not all about hawkers.
Hawker food is affordable, local, hygienic, tasty, fresh,
and, most importantly, familiar. This is unsurprising, as Zhou Kexin
hawkers spend years honing their culinary techniques to P6.5
perfect their signature dishes. Each dish is special in its North Spring Primary School
way, and you can find it in any hawker centre.

Our Hawker Stories 57