Page 76 - Our Hawker Stories

Clang! Clang! Ting! Ting!

The rhythmic sounds of the metal spatula against the
woks contributed to a delightful food orchestra. As my
family and I stepped inside the hawker centre, we saw
an array of delicious food, but we were there only for
desserts!

But first, let me talk about how hawker centres are
synonymous with hawker culture. It is the practice
of dining and mingling at hawker centres, and it is an
integral part of the Singapore way of life. It evolved from
street food culture into what we know now as hawker
centres.

I visited Anchorvale Village Hawker Centre with my
family last week to try out a scrumptious bowl of
dessert. Hawkers are trailblazers of tradition as they As Singapore is a multi-racial and multi-cultural nation,
preserve the popular desserts such as chendol and ice most of our gastronomical delights are fusions and
kachang. The cold, sweet, and vibrant dessert with loads adaptations of dishes from every culture. There is always
of interesting and must-try toppings culminates in a rave something for everyone here at the hawker centre. Every
party in your mouth. They would shave ice and add a culture has its cuisine, and Singapore is the ultimate food
bunch of mouth-watering syrups and toppings such as paradise where families and friends can come together
beans, grass jelly, corn, and many more options I could to bond over food – whether it’s a bowl of fishball soup,
barely pronounce, giving it the perfect sweetness. I love or a simple plate of cooling and comforting ice kachang
that I got the mango version, which stands out from the to stave off the tropical heat.
ordinary, typical ice kachang!

I sat at one of the tables to enjoy my ice kachang while “One bowl of ice kachang showed me that
watching the many kids darting around the hawker hawker centres are more than food stalls —
centre. From the corner of my eye, I saw a long, snaking
queue at the fishball soup restaurant. In Singapore, they’re where every flavour of Singapore’s
long queues typically equate to fantastic food. I made a culture comes to life.”
mental note to try a bowl on my next visit!
I Made Praditya Ajnyana
P5.1
North Spring Primary School

72 Our Hawker Stories