A part of Singapore’s hawker culture will always be inside all of us

[EunoiaJAYCEE]

Good food can be found all over the world.

So what makes Singapore's hawker culture our national treasure and pride?

Delicious food is just the foundation. An important must, but this is way more than that.

Beyond great food, there are many more layers beneath, each contributing in its own way - giving rise to the colorful and vibrant culture we witness today.

In our younger days, we have fond memories of our parents bringing us to the nearby hawker centre for Sunday breakfast.

I missed those yesterdays. Fragrant wok-fried carrot cake, the blacker the better for me. Freshly-cooked roti prata with crisp burnt edges.......served with a spoonful of sugar because hey we were kids back then. Wanton mee tossed with a dollop of ketchup because we couldn't quite endure ingesting chilli yet.

During my student days, I used to play soccer in void decks of flats and basketball courts after school. We’d get all hot and sweaty after a game under the scorching afternoon sun. I relished trotting to our favorite dessert stall in Tanglin Halt Food Centre afterwards and devouring a huge mountain of ice kacang or sometimes cheng tng.

More at https://tinyurI.com/yxwdvfd9

 

[laksaboy]

So what makes Singapore's hawker culture our national treasure and pride?

Count me out.

 

[A Singaporean]

Sinkieland must be running out of idea. Which country in Asia does not have hawker food. ?

 

[laksaboy]

Sinkieland must be running out of idea. Which country in Asia does not have hawker food. ?

Maybe election is coming, so some 'genius' at MICA is chasing this frivolous accolade to boost the feel-good vibes of the 200th anniversary of getting colonised by the Poms.

If there is indeed a 'hawker culture', the pappies have killed it. Look no further than the Chinatown Food Street and the Gluttons Bay. Contrived bullshit.

 

[zhihau]

If there is indeed a 'hawker culture', the pappies have killed it.

free market is the best, let the natural forces of demand and supply take charge.

 

[glockman]

If there is indeed a 'hawker culture', the pappies have killed it. Look no further than the Chinatown Food Street and the Gluttons Bay. Contrived bullshit.

We had our "street food", our hawker culture. And like you said, the pap killed it. The hawkers were chased off, and forced to operate at a higher cost in hawker centres. Road side stalls were our favourite. We knew where this and that hawker would be, stop our car along the road and have a feast. Hawkers those days cooked with passion and we trusted their hygiene. As far as I know, none of us got food poisoning. And the food was super delicious!

Roadside Hawker Stalls

Carpark next to Specialists' Shopping Centre

Whitley Road Hawker Centre (under the Toa Payoh fly-over)

Simon Road Market

Siglap Market

 

[EunoiaJAYCEE]

I thought the last photo was thompson.......

 

[Damien-Mystic]

Good food can be found all over the world.

So what makes Singapore's hawker culture our national treasure and pride?

Delicious food is just the foundation. An important must, but this is way more than that.

Beyond great food, there are many more layers beneath, each contributing in its own way - giving rise to the colorful and vibrant culture we witness today.

In our younger days, we have fond memories of our parents bringing us to the nearby hawker centre for Sunday breakfast.

I missed those yesterdays. Fragrant wok-fried carrot cake, the blacker the better for me. Freshly-cooked roti prata with crisp burnt edges.......served with a spoonful of sugar because hey we were kids back then. Wanton mee tossed with a dollop of ketchup because we couldn't quite endure ingesting chilli yet.

During my student days, I used to play soccer in void decks of flats and basketball courts after school. We’d get all hot and sweaty after a game under the scorching afternoon sun. I relished trotting to our favorite dessert stall in Tanglin Halt Food Centre afterwards and devouring a huge mountain of ice kacang or sometimes cheng tng.

More at https://tinyurI.com/yxwdvfd9

Blogger reminiscing about past experiences with hawker food, whereas National Geographic is asking about present day experiences to support SG's nomination.

 

[Damien-Mystic]

Thanks glockman for sharing.

I miss the food at carpark next to Specialists' Shopping Centre.

Those days, I recalled one well-to-do Indon client, whenever time for dinner, he'll frown on dinner suggestions to go this hotel, go that restaurant, then he'll suddenly smile and say "heh, let's go carpark!". Fish ball mee pok dry was his favourite.

Yup, I miss those memories ...

 

[JohnTan]

the blacker the better for me.

I would be really upset if my daughter said that when it comes to choosing boyfriend.

 

[laksaboy]

I would be really upset if my daughter said that when it comes to choosing boyfriend.

You can let them use your master bedroom, and then listen to the delightful screams of your daughter as she gets plowed by her black bull.

 

[JohnTan]

You can let them use your master bedroom, and then listen to the delightful screams of your daughter as she gets plowed by her black bull.

How dare you! No darkie shall touch my daughter! Only fair skin handsome young man is allowed to.

 

[laksaboy]

Update: I might have just found the genesis of the 'UNESCO hawker culture bid' nonsense.

Protecting Singapore’s hawker culture
07 November 2018

http://news.nus.edu.sg/highlights/protecting-singapores-hawker-culture

Apart from making our hawker centres and food a ‘must see and experience’ cultural phenomenon for people across the globe, succeeding in the UNESCO bid will render hawker culture a source of national pride; motivate our hawker-entrepreneurs to be even more creative in living up to and even surpassing what makes it a recognised UNESCO world heritage addition; and attract new entrants to a respected profession that caters to locals and the rest of the world.
-- Assoc Prof Tan Ern Ser, NUS Sociology

It's probably a ego-boosting wankfest from some academics in the NUS Department of Sociology, abetted by several stat boards.

 

[a_korusawa]

how can our hawker culture be revived and protected when all their stores are dominated by gahmens organizations, big company, kopitiam etc. where they all serve as landlords these food hawkers !!!??? i bet rentals will go up tenfold once the unesco bid is successful. and so benefits the landlords only!

 

[steffychun]

Penang has better hawker culture.

 

[eatshitndie]

yeah, a part of sinkie hawker "culture" will always be inside our gut - bacteria and parasites from the filth.

 

[jw5]

What doesn't kill us can only make us stronger.

yeah, a part of sinkie hawker "culture" will always be inside our gut - bacteria and parasites from the filth.