"Hawker Centres" from Foreigner's Perspective - Ayumi
In Singapore, from the morning to midnight, we may see many people who sit by tables and drinking and eating with their friends. Singapore is a tropical island where eating is a national passion but an addiction, I will say. Anywhere I walk, I will find some place to eat. There are a lot of variety of delicious, reasonably priced dishes.
For a nation of three million, there are over 20,000 eating establishments. When I think Singaporean food, I think not of the artistic expensive restaurants but of hawker food, or street food. Moreover, coffee shops and eating houses are also the Singaporean culture. Singapore hawker food is hot, cheap, often messy and most of the time it seems like unhealthy. But if I think of the place that has good Singaporean food, I will say "Hawker Centres" are the place!
Wherever in Singapore, there is a hawker centre, a food court, a coffee shop, a canteen, or an eating place of other sort near you. These are places where locals eat and where you'll find the most delicious and inexpensive food.
A "Hawker Centres" is a great Singaporean tradition people can find throughout the city. These centres are packed with a variety of food stalls with communal seating areas. They collect at least 20 food stalls. From the stalls people get a variety of dishes from drinks, soups, rice, noodles to desserts, from vegetarian to halal. The food is tasty and cheap, often less than S$5. Some are in the open air, some cramped into basements of building complexes or the first floor of residential housing complexes. It is a very casual place to eat. Moreover, it is a place I may not find in Japan.
Similar to hawker centres, food courts can be seen as a nice place for food in Singapore. Food courts are million-dollar, air-conditioned, cleaner-on-duty, and at-least- twice-the-hawker-centre-price version food places. At food courts, we will encounter dishes ranging from Local to Korean and Japanese. Many stalls are franchised operations. For that reason, most of the time, it lacks the charm of the tropics the adventurous tourist is looking for.
To go into the hawker centre was the most exciting moment during my first week in Singapore.
It was because I could feel the atmosphere of Singapore and also I could feel like I have become a Singaporean. The food they have, the way they sell, the way people eat, and the way people leave are very "Singaporean."
At hawker centres, we will find many stalls. Some of them sell same food as his/her neighbour sells. Some of them sell just one kind of food, for instance, carrot cakes, fishball noodles, or hokken mee. Some of them sell only Muslim food, while the others sell Chinese or Malay. Some of them put "B" papers on the wall, while the other put "C" papers on the wall. Everything I see at hawker centres is interesting. Especially the papers on the wall that tell the level of food sanitation for each stalls are very unique. I have never thought I chose the stall to buy food looking at the sanitation mark.
Looking at the table, there are some other marks that Singaporean hawker centres would bring. First, how they eat food with friends at hawker centres are different than the way we do in Japan. Whether it is morning or night, Singaporean tend to drink coffee and tea with milk and sugar, rather than to drink alcohols, I suppose. From the childhood, I was taught it's not nice to drink sweet drinks with food. Also, I was surprised to see people drinking coffee(copi) at night. The reason why they love to drink coffee and tea with milk and sugar all day long can be said because of the Singaporean climate. Singapore is very hot and humid, so they may need to keep their energy having caffein and sugar from coffee and tea. Thus, I may say the Singapore culture is somewhat the coffee culture.
Furthermore, the way people eat food with friends at tables are different. They buy many variety of dishes, from vegetables to desserts, and then share with friends. We, Japanese, do same kind of the sharing at Izakaya restaurants, but not at hawker centres.
From my perspective, food centres are the place for lunch, where people eat fast and leave(like within 15 minutes). Thus, it is very surprising when I see people gather and chat for an hour or more in the morning or at night.
Also, when I see people leave plates and glasses on the table when they leave, I thought who would clear the table. Then after I see the workers for clearing the tables, it made sense. I can say that many people are involved in the hawker centres.
There are many things that make me surprised. "A large shaved ice with four color syrups with beans, jelly, sweet corns and condensed milk." "Roasted whole chickens hanging on the polls." "Colorful fruits, for instance, dragon fruits and durians."
Everything in hawker centres is the unique Singaporean culture that can make people happy.
In Singapore, from the morning to midnight, we may see many people who sit by tables and drinking and eating with their friends. Singapore is a tropical island where eating is a national passion but an addiction, I will say. Anywhere I walk, I will find some place to eat. There are a lot of variety of delicious, reasonably priced dishes.
For a nation of three million, there are over 20,000 eating establishments. When I think Singaporean food, I think not of the artistic expensive restaurants but of hawker food, or street food. Moreover, coffee shops and eating houses are also the Singaporean culture. Singapore hawker food is hot, cheap, often messy and most of the time it seems like unhealthy. But if I think of the place that has good Singaporean food, I will say "Hawker Centres" are the place!
Wherever in Singapore, there is a hawker centre, a food court, a coffee shop, a canteen, or an eating place of other sort near you. These are places where locals eat and where you'll find the most delicious and inexpensive food.
A "Hawker Centres" is a great Singaporean tradition people can find throughout the city. These centres are packed with a variety of food stalls with communal seating areas. They collect at least 20 food stalls. From the stalls people get a variety of dishes from drinks, soups, rice, noodles to desserts, from vegetarian to halal. The food is tasty and cheap, often less than S$5. Some are in the open air, some cramped into basements of building complexes or the first floor of residential housing complexes. It is a very casual place to eat. Moreover, it is a place I may not find in Japan.
Similar to hawker centres, food courts can be seen as a nice place for food in Singapore. Food courts are million-dollar, air-conditioned, cleaner-on-duty, and at-least- twice-the-hawker-centre-price version food places. At food courts, we will encounter dishes ranging from Local to Korean and Japanese. Many stalls are franchised operations. For that reason, most of the time, it lacks the charm of the tropics the adventurous tourist is looking for.
To go into the hawker centre was the most exciting moment during my first week in Singapore.
It was because I could feel the atmosphere of Singapore and also I could feel like I have become a Singaporean. The food they have, the way they sell, the way people eat, and the way people leave are very "Singaporean."
At hawker centres, we will find many stalls. Some of them sell same food as his/her neighbour sells. Some of them sell just one kind of food, for instance, carrot cakes, fishball noodles, or hokken mee. Some of them sell only Muslim food, while the others sell Chinese or Malay. Some of them put "B" papers on the wall, while the other put "C" papers on the wall. Everything I see at hawker centres is interesting. Especially the papers on the wall that tell the level of food sanitation for each stalls are very unique. I have never thought I chose the stall to buy food looking at the sanitation mark.
Looking at the table, there are some other marks that Singaporean hawker centres would bring. First, how they eat food with friends at hawker centres are different than the way we do in Japan. Whether it is morning or night, Singaporean tend to drink coffee and tea with milk and sugar, rather than to drink alcohols, I suppose. From the childhood, I was taught it's not nice to drink sweet drinks with food. Also, I was surprised to see people drinking coffee(copi) at night. The reason why they love to drink coffee and tea with milk and sugar all day long can be said because of the Singaporean climate. Singapore is very hot and humid, so they may need to keep their energy having caffein and sugar from coffee and tea. Thus, I may say the Singapore culture is somewhat the coffee culture.
Furthermore, the way people eat food with friends at tables are different. They buy many variety of dishes, from vegetables to desserts, and then share with friends. We, Japanese, do same kind of the sharing at Izakaya restaurants, but not at hawker centres.
From my perspective, food centres are the place for lunch, where people eat fast and leave(like within 15 minutes). Thus, it is very surprising when I see people gather and chat for an hour or more in the morning or at night.
Also, when I see people leave plates and glasses on the table when they leave, I thought who would clear the table. Then after I see the workers for clearing the tables, it made sense. I can say that many people are involved in the hawker centres.
There are many things that make me surprised. "A large shaved ice with four color syrups with beans, jelly, sweet corns and condensed milk." "Roasted whole chickens hanging on the polls." "Colorful fruits, for instance, dragon fruits and durians."
Everything in hawker centres is the unique Singaporean culture that can make people happy.
posted by Joyce Huang at
8:15 PM
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