Singapore`s Hawker Centres

A friend from Singapore came to visit recently, and asked what I miss most about Singapore. Well, I could easily make a long list, but what is so strikingly different between my past Singaporean routine and my current lifestyle is the lack of Hawker Centres in London. 

 

Eating at one of my favourite Hawker Centres, in Holland Village.

 

Hawker Centre is a traditional open-air complex which houses numerous stalls that sell cooked food at very reasonable prices. Chinese, Thai, Northern and Southern Indian, Japanese, and many, many more, including Western food such as fish and chips, can be found in any establishment. They offer freshly cooked food and are typically located near public housing estates; shopping malls; and transport hubs.

Queuing for my favourite Tapioca cake at a street food stall near Commonwealth MRT station.

 

In Singapore Hawker Centres developed in the 1950s and 1960s, from the earlier form, where street food sellers (hawkers) would travel with portable carts and offer nourishment to workers (mostly men at that time) who did not have their families/ wives with them, and therefore appreciated a warm meal, easily available on their doorstep.

In the National Museum of Singapore, in front of a photograph depicting hawkers` carts.  

The museum`s exhibition of traditional ways of living, offered a chance to smell the

most commonly used spices.

 

Today, hawker centres are often being replaced by food courts, which are indoor, and air conditioned. Often located in shopping malls or other commercial venues, they charge slightly higher prices and are not as charming as the traditional ones.