Hawker Centres in Singapore Society
The urban transformation of Hawker Centres
Alongside this modern urban planning approach, food vending and service also evolved. When Singapore was still a swamp village, mostly Chinese migrant hawkers (street vendors) would go about the streets selling their wares - such as food, household goods, shoe repairs - mostly around the Singapore River. This continued into the 1960’s given its high economic value, and ability for low barrier entry for the unemployed. Yet there was a taboo for this sort of labour, the 1950 Hawkers Inquiry Commission reported that “there is undeniably a disposition among officials to regard the hawkers as primarily a public nuisance to be removed from the streets” (Chan, 2013).
The fundamental issues were health and hygiene. Inappropriate disposal of food waste led to an increase in vermin and insects, which resulted in outbreaks of cholera and typhoid (Ghani, 2011). Hawking also affected traffic and street cleaning. Despite these problems and government interventions, hawkers were popular with the public.
Source: A J Hawker Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore - Food hawkers and customers along Singapore River (1970). This picture depicts some of the issues around the hawker stands from the 1950's to the 1970's such as unhygienic food preparation, no running water and crowding of the footpaths.
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The government wanted a cleaner and safer way for the hawkers to trade, so created markets and sheltered spaces around prime areas including HDB developments. Conveniently removing the cluttered public hawking impediment from the Utopian city vision being created by the government.
Initially, the hawkers were charged a similar amount to the previous licensing fees on the street, and now had the availability of undercover facilities, running water, seating for patrons, electricity as well as proper waste disposal away from nature’s elements (Ghani, 2011). Hawker stalls were also used as a social structure for the needy having a ‘hardship policy’ - making stalls available for those who met certain financial criteria (Tan, 2015). It further established a fondness and admiration towards the hawkers themselves, of the struggle they had been through, and also the heritage that they were nobly carrying on.
Today, hawker centres are a microcosm with which to view everyday Singaporean life, where people of different social classes, religion and races converge to enjoy the cuisine, which is at the hub of the community.
It’s truly a social occasion for all who pass through the hawker centres. By day, grandparents bring their grandchildren for early lunches, city workers take a quick break from their desks, gentlemen soak up the scene, smoking and drinking beers. At night, families enjoy dinner together mingling with tourists after a budget meal, but with a cultural side order.
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Image Source: AsiaOne, 2011
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Society’s view on the hawkers
Singaporeans who grew up going to hawker centres and hearing stories about them generally hold a nostalgic view of them (Chew et al.,[no date]). There’s a national pride in the hawkers, which is regularly displayed in movies, television and advertising, portraying them as humble and hardworking toilers in society.
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Source: Michelin Guide Singapore, from YouTube.com
Chef-owner, Chan Hon Meng of Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle receives his award. He's presented in a humble, hard-working light. He’s a Malaysian in Singapore, using a Hong Kong-style recipe, which demonstrates the level of multiculturalism.
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The Singapore Tourism Board also worked on the development of the World Street Food Congress, a council and annual global “jamboree” fronted by Anthony Bourdain, who's a long time public supporter of Singapore street food. The five-day event includes daily conferences, a food festival and awards ceremony, which is designed to encourage more street food initiatives (World Street Food Congress, 2016).
To improve the hawker infrastructure, the National Environment Agency plans to build ten more hawker centres by 2020 (National Environment Agency, 2015). The government is trying to entice younger people to become ‘Hawkerpreneurs'. A Hawker Master Trainer Pilot course was established in 2013, which includes training on food operations and mentoring from veteran hawkers. However, this program has seen minimal success, with a small number of graduates entering the trade (Siong, 2016).
There has been an evolution of some of the hawker stalls, shifting from the traditional fare and now serving international food (eg. gourmet burgers, Costa Rican cuisine). Some stalls are changing to what Bourdain called “retro, hipster hawker” stalls (Lee and David, 2014). In Chinatown Food Complex, ‘The (Good) Beer Company’ opened in 2011, selling craft beers and ciders from all around the world, highlighting a definite shift from the traditional drink stands selling soft drinks and local coffee.
Source: Tiger Beer, from YouTube.com
This year’s Tiger Beer campaign draws on society’s emotional attachment to the hawker. While Tiger Beer is served in the hawker centres, the primary focus for the campaign is the actual hawker. It follows a day in the life of Madame Wong, who owns the ‘Cambridge Road Hong Kong Roast Pork’ stall. Rising in the early morning from her modest HDB apartment, she distributes paper ‘free meal’ coupons to the needy. The emotive advertisement focusses on themes of community and the hard toil of life. It plays on the important role of the hawkers in Singaporean society, finishing with the slogan: ‘For all that they do, it’s time to say thank you’.
Inside the hawker centre there is solidarity amongst the vendors, workers and customers, in some instances their relationship goes back decades. Older people, often neglected in Western societies, are employed to collect trays, wipe down tables and sell tissue packets. Hawker centres are a source of national pride, some 42.8% of the population visiting the centres more than seven times per (Ling Ang and Foo, 2002).
But it’s still poorly paid, stall owners earn between $2500 and $3500 a month, although the more popular ones can make upwards of $7000. Factor in that hawkers work 80-hour, seven-day weeks, in a sweat ridden, humid environment with no holiday or sick pay, it’s not a job for the faint hearted. After overhead and rent costs, a hawker will earn about the same as a waiter in a restaurant, who takes home $1500 a month, which is barely enough to survive in a city frequently voted the world’s most expensive (Gupta, 2015).
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Are Singapore’s Hawkers at Risk of Extinction?
Singaporean society has changed substantially, and so have eating habits, which is impacting on the hawker industry. People are more conscious of leading a healthy lifestyle. At the hawker centre this presents a challenge as the cuisines on offer aren't known for their healthy ingredients. The Health Promotion Board is trying to promote healthier hawker options by highlighting healthier dishes and incentivising store owners to promote nutritional meals (Health Promotion Board, 2013).
Greater spending power and a buzzing ‘foodie’ culture is driving young consumers to other dining establishments outside of the hawker centres. Exported TV programs like Australian MasterChef and famous chef restaurants - such as Gordon Ramsay and Mario Batali - are expediting the problem. Beng Huat Chua (2000) describes this "Asian-ness that is supposedly under siege, via consumption, by ‘Westernisation/ Americanisation" given that the youth are early adopters of foreign trends, especially in affluent areas.
Hawkers are less likely to pass their trade onto younger generations, who are generally better educated and demand higher salaries. Why would a university student consider a career at a hawker stand, with a starting wage of $2000 a month, compared to a new graduate salary of around SG$3,300 (Teng, 2016)?
But hawker centres aren’t being allowed to die by the government. They’re an essential part of residential and commercial zones that rely on them for their regular meals, and they are a part of the national cultural identity. It is also fundamental from a tourism perspective, as hawkers are successfully used in destination marketing to drive tourists to an authentic food experience (Henderson et al. 2012).
Initiatives from the government have been put in place to try and support the hawker centres – sometimes working in partnerships with international brands or associations to promote hawkers. In 2016, the Michelin Guide was launched in Singapore and two street vendors received Michelin Stars, providing the most affordable Michelin meals in the world (Kim, 2016).
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Source: Travel & Leisure Asia - Spencer, 2013
New hipster hawker stalls are starting to pop up, including The (Good) Beer Company that sells over 50 types of craft beer from around the world.​
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It remains to be seen whether this is enough to keep up with the rapid modernisation of Singapore, it’s also worth noting that a lot of the initiatives are driven towards tourists, who make up a small percentage of hawker consumers.
But the food community are optimistic about the hawker industry’s future. Seline Asril, food editor of Hungry Go Where, struck a chord when she commented: ‘Hawker centres are here to stay although they will continue to evolve in terms of authenticity.’ (Weber Shandwick, 2014).
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Unique Hawker Centre Behaviour
In the hawker centres, diners display behaviour unique to the environment. For example, to ‘chope’ a table is to place a packet of tissues, work pass or umbrella on a table to ‘reserve’ the table while selecting food from the stalls. The strategic placement of the item clearly identifies the number of seats required.
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Queueing is also prevalent in the markets with the most popular stalls having a longing wait line. People usually choose the largest queue as this is a reflection of the stall’s quality and popularity. (Chew et al., [no date)