Page 62 - Our Hawker Stories

If you come to Singapore, one of the places you must
go to is Singapore’s Hawker Centre. Hawker centres
are open-air or enclosed food courts where various
independent food stalls sell different dishes at affordable
prices. They are considered “ community dining rooms”
and important social spaces where people can gather
and enjoy meals. Hawker centres are a significant part
of Singapore’s culture, representing its multicultural
heritage and serving as a place for community bonding.
They are mostly conveniently located at the housing
estates, usually with an adjoining wet market.

Yesterday, my mummy and I went to the One Punggol
Hawker Centre. I tried a traditional dish called bak kut
teh. Mummy told me it was healthy and delicious, which
is why I tried it, and then I found the flavour to be quite
good. Even the soup base has a herbal taste. Bak kut
teh is one of the most famous foods in Singapore. It
is a pork rib dish cooked in broth; it can also be made With such experience. I strongly feel that the hawker
with seafood, chicken or other meat. Many tourists who centre is significant in our daily lives. Our parents are
come to Singapore will try it or bring the ingredient pack busy with work and have no time to prepare meals for
to their hometown. us. We can go there and eat directly or pack food and
take it away. Other than that, it saves our time so we
After I finished the dish, I asked the owner of the bak could have more time to work on our things, like doing
kut teh stall some questions. I asked Auntie how long homework, attending tuition class or other enrichment
she has been a hawker. She told me that she has been classes. Hawkers certainly make our lives convenient,
working there for more than two years. The reason she and I am happy to introduce Singapore’s hawker centre
became a hawker was to earn a living. During the 2 years, culture to visitors who come to Singapore.
she encountered a lot of challenges. Till now, the most
challenging thing for her was the price increase. The
raw materials, ingredients, and other necessary items “Hawker centres are part of our lives — they
were getting more and more expensive. She worried bring people together, save time for busy
her business might be impacted if the price kept going
up. Other than that, long working hours were also a families, and share our Singapore culture
challenge for her and her partner. Because they needed with the world.”
to work more than 12 hours every day, she also agreed
that Singapore’s hawker culture was vital as it made
people’s lives convenient, which was part of our lives. Jacob Liu Yucheng
P5 Emerald,
Punggol Cove Primary School

58 Our Hawker Stories