Page 96 - Our Hawker Stories

From breakfast to lunch and dinner, you have got yourself
covered for all meals at the hawker centre. Affordable,
palatable, and family-friendly — hawker centres have it
all. In my humble opinion, they are my go-to places, any
time, any day. Hawker centres are perfect for those who
have trouble deciding which cuisine they want to eat.
I often find myself in a dilemma over whether to buy
chinese food or korean food.

Hawker centres are essentially an evolution of street
food from back in the day, infused with culture at every
layer. In Singapore, we bond with people of different
races through food. We respect each other’s traditions,
as they are part of Singapore’s foundation. Back in the
1800s, there were no hawker centres. Instead, street
vendors sold ambrosial and aromatic food. Then, in food that was both delectable and nutritious. Tourists
the 1970s, the Singapore government created hawker can surely find something to suit their tastes.
centres, leading many street food sellers to move their
stalls into the newly built centres. I even interviewed a hawker selling fried chicken. Her
name was Jaycee. She had continued her family’s legacy
Without a shadow of a doubt, I think this helped reduce after her mother had to give up the stall due to health
traffic congestion and free up space on the roads, issues.
leading to a more pleasant environment. As a result,
Singapore gradually became a more developed and In the end, Singapore’s idea of building hawker centres
cleaner country. This also contributed to a reduction in has helped people enjoy a great meal in a clean,
carbon emissions. With this improvement, tourists can convenient, and culturally rich environment.
enjoy a pleasant and fuss-free experience, making their
visit a memorable one.

In addition, cleaners no longer have to struggle with “From sizzling street food to spotless hawker
cleaning up messy streets. Cleanliness is a concern for centres, every meal we enjoy is part of a legacy
both tourists and locals alike. Today, hawker centres that keeps Singapore clean, united, and full of
offer gastronomical delights ranging from malaysian flavour.”
food to japanese cuisine.

From my experience, I visited the Anchor Village Centre Vasanth Akshath
with my family for dinner. There was a wide variety of P6.1
North Spring Primary School

92 Our Hawker Stories