Tourists compare Thailand and Singapore, don't like how street food is in hawker centres and not along the road
PUBLISHED ONJanuary 05, 2024 3:42 PM
ByMelissa Teo
Singaporeans take huge pride in our hawker culture, and you can easily find local food at hawker centres all across our little red dot.
However, two tourists feel that such food should be served on the streets instead, like how it used to be many decades ago.
In a YouTube video uploaded last Saturday (Dec 30), American Robbie Michael Shipman and his Thai companion, Kitty, shared their honest thoughts about the food scene in Singapore.
While the pair do think that Singapore has great food options and complimented the quality of food here, they much prefer what Thailand has to offer.
"I like [some of the] food [in Singapore]. But Thailand is the best for food," Kitty admitted.
She also pointed out that unlike Thailand, you cannot find street vendors along the roads in Singapore.
"That was one thing we didn't like [about Singapore]. There isn't any street food. You'd have to go to certain areas in the city like hawker trucks and stuff like that," Robbie added on.
"The food here is excellent. That was like a huge plus here. But [there's no] no street food, no street vendors, you have to hunt for your food here."
It didn't help that the price point was a little steep to them.
"The other thing we didn't like is when we did find food, everything was so darn expensive," lamented Robbie.
"The quality is great, I can tell you that. But it is a lot more money."
To cite an example, he shared that a typical lunch for himself and Kitty back in Thailand would cost around 200 to 300 baht (S$7.70 to S$11.50).
However, in Singapore, a meal for two can cost "just over $30".
Kitty added that when she previously visited Maxwell Food Centre for lunch, individual dishes ranged from $5 to $10.
In total, the pair spent more than $20 for street food at the hawker centre.
For some context, before Singapore had hawker centres, street vendors were a common sight during the 19th century to mid-20th century, selling food and sundries along the streets.
While such services were seen as a necessity, the colonial government was concerned about hygiene, traffic obstruction and improper disposal of refuse, according to an article by the National Library Board.
So, hawker centres were created to house these street vendors, and between the 1960s and 1980s, the government carried out an island-wide registration exercise to relocate hawkers.
But the duo did sing high praises for other things during their time here.
Something that really surprised them was the traffic - or the lack thereof, in their opinion.
"There's hardly any cars here. Who drives?" said Robbie.
"It's really calm. The streets here are just slow and safe and clean."
He also noted that because of this, the air quality is "really good", especially in comparison to Bangkok and other big cities in Thailand.
They also loved how Singapore has plenty of activities to try.
"There are so many things to do. You've got giant malls, you've got big centres, you've got sightseeing," Robbie elaborated.
And of course, the pair loved how clean our country is.
"One thing I really, really liked about Singapore is everything is so clean. It does rain a lot, but everything is clean, there's a lot of greenery," said Robbie.
