Hawker Centres
When we talk about food in Singapore the first thing that comes to mind is the hawker center. Hawker centers have been around for a few decades and play a very important role in Singaporean culture. Hawker centers perfectly reflect the Singaporean culture as each of the stalls represents one part of the local population. These food centers came into existence in the 50s and the 60s. They were introduced by the government to put a stop to the problems that the food cart owners were causing. These so called food carts were mobile and the vendors would push them across the country selling food on the street. This was an issue of major concern because of the unhygienic conditions prevailing at the carts and the traffic congestion that was caused by these slow moving vehicles. To address this problem the government decided to group all the cart vendors into one massive area where they could all sell their respective dishes. This way the government could also enforce and maintain strict hygiene standards.

Since their introduction in Singapore hawker centers have become very popular. They are great places where people gather to grab a quick bite or come down with the family and have a big three course meal. Hawker centers are very convenient as the stalls serve tasty food in a jiffy and at a very reasonable price. This is one of the main reasons why they are so popular with the local working population. These centers are frequented by all the different communities and races in Singapore. Hawker centers serve great Malay, Chinese, Indian and western food. Due to their reputation of being the traditional fast food joints in Singapore and the fact that they are virtually located everywhere hawker centers are frequented almost on a daily basis by the working population.

Hawker centers are found in almost all housing estates and other residential areas. Usually consisting of about 10-20 stalls each of them serving their own specialties which could include nasi lemak, turtle soup, prawn noodles and the famous roti prata. These open air food centers are not as hygienic as their more sophisticated air conditioned counterparts called food courts. This is the main reason why some of the tourists are a little reluctant to eat at hawker centers. Food courts are very clean and are meant to cater to the tourists and the richer section of the population. Although the hawker centers are not very clean this does not seem to affect the local population which frequents these places everyday.

Be it breakfast lunch or dinner hawker centers are the places to go to as they serve different varieties of food at anytime. Hawker centers are crucial structures in Singaporean culture. A visit to Singapore is not complete if you have not experienced eating out in a hawker center which is essentially something very Singaporean.

First Food Court in Singapore

In Singapore, you do not need to be afraid that you can't get food. Everywhere you go, there's bound to be either a coffeeshop, hawker centre or food court within walking distance. In fact, hawker centres can be seen in the neighbourhood of HDB, and food courts are such a common sight these days that every new shopping mall has to have one in it.

So, which was the first food court that opened in a local shopping mall???? It was the Picnic Food Court at the basement of Scotts Shopping Centre. Scotts Picnic Food Court has had been around for some 19 years, being a pioneer in establishing an upmarket, trendy, and air-conditioned food court in the Singapore marketplace. When Picnic opened for business in the 80s, it sure created a big hooha among Singaporeans who had never really experienced hawker centre-styled dining in air-conditioned comfort before. Everyone was excited with the variety of cuisine all conveniently located in one food centre and didn't mind paying a little bit more for the comfort and coolness. Today, many of the tenants at the food court may have changed but we fondly remember the ice-kachang at Picnic. For less than $2, you'll get a huge mountainful of shaved ice and generous amounts of red beans and jelly and syrup drizzled on top.

About a decade later, the food court underwent a revamp and was re-opened in 1997. One gripe, however, is the perpetual crowds at the food court. Even till today, getting a table in any popular food court requires a great deal of patience and, not to mention, agility to get to the seat before someone else does.

Hawker Centres/Food courts : A Singaporean's perspective - Joyce

As like almost every other singaporean, i grew up with hawker food. i fondly remember the days when my family and i would at least frequent nearby hawker centres at least once a week. almost every sunday morning was spent patronising the same 'lor mee' stall at the hawker centre nearby while my parents did the weekly grocery shopping at the wet market.
growing up, it seemed like the hawker centre is a really practical and matter-of-fact 'creation' or idea. stalls selling different kinds of food under on roof so that people can eat whatever they want, regardless of what other people are having. it seemed like such a natural concept, i only realised that this hawker centre phenomenon is indigenous to this region later on in life.
chinese food, malay food, indian food. whatever you want, whenever you want. usually located in HDB/residential areas, hawker centres, to me, reflects what singapore is all about - a conglomeration of different ethnicities under one roof, existing in harmony and serving one another.
with a bit of research done, i've come to realise that hawker centres were actually created out of the combination of what was mobile stalls, hawkers plying their trade along the streets made to have a permanent location. the main reason for abolishing the mobile hawking was due to management. this mobilty caused much disarray in traffic when stalls kept blocking streets; questions of hygiene were posed; many more management issues were put across and before the idea of just housing all these hawkers under one roof came about, the then municipals were even intent of just abolishing hawking altogether.
hah! to think, what is now considered one of our main cultural identity, our singaporean icon, one of the main tourism draws, could have not existed because the government wasn't too keen on it. (brings to mind the whole singlish issue too doesn't it?) something that they were unhappy about but yet celebrate like they've always been proud of it.
and now that we have our food courts. it seems like almost a natural progression that we move from the hawker centre to the air-conditioned, much more hygenic and clean and orderly food courts. just like how everything in singapore is changing and always being 'upgraded'. never really thought how different hawker centres and food courts are. probably cos i sorta grew up with both and both seem so natural to me. but slowly, through this project, through what this project has made me observe, it hits me that there is a reason for this progression of hawker centre to food courts, just as how there was a progression from road side hawkers to hawker centres.

food courts from Foreginer's perspective - Chisako

Food court

First of all, I would like to talk about some differences between hawker center and food court. Compared to Hawker centers, most of food courts are located within shopping malls so that people can enjoy shop and have an easy access to their food. Since food courts are located in shopping malls, the price of food is more expensive than hawker centers. In addition, food courts are more hygienic than local hawker centers. We’ve been to Newton circus as a part of research, and I found it out that hawker center is more hygienic than local one, but still food courts are more hygienic. Also, people are different. You can find ‘real’ locals in local hawker centers, but you can see tourist, foreigners living in Singapore and Singaporean in food courts. I think this is because food courts have more varieties of food. For example, they have Singaporean cuisine, Western food, Vietnamese food, Japanese food, Chinese food, and so on. Also, people works there are different. Since food courts attract not only tourists but also local people, they understand English, however, people work in hawker center, there are less people use English when they work. I (Japanese, sometime look like Chinese??) usually talked in Chinese when I go to hawker centers to eat. From one of foreigners view, I think hawker center is more local. Furthermore, the quality food is different. The food in food court, anyone can make it same. However, hawker center, they have a kind of specialties. They’ve been researched their way to make dishes.

In this section, I would like to mention about some similarities between food courts and hawker centers. They are both nice place to eat, compared to restraunt. It is much cheaper to eat. Also, most Singaporeans are busy working, studying. They don’t have so much time to eat, but both food courts and hawker centers are for people who don’t have so much time. It doesn’t take to get the food, and finish the food. I think that both food courts and hawker centers are kind of iconic things to represent busy Singapore.

From my foreigner’s prospective view, hawker centers are more adventurous, and food courts are safe place to eat. When I didn’t get used to the taste of Singaporean food, hawker centers are more adventurous, because sometimes I got something I didn’t like. Once I got to used to, it is really good to eat hawker centers because it’s cheap, and taste local. You can find really nice food in hawker centers.
However food courts’ foods are kind safe to me, because they usually have some Japanese food, or Chinese food, which is more familiar to my tongue.

"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.

Foreigners perspective - Sandeep

Hawker centres are great places where people gather to eat food. Hawker centres offer an amazing variety of food. Coming from a place like Mauritius i have never seen a lot of hawker centres or food courts since the concept is not very popular there. I believe that the concept of having stalls which offer their own specialities is very innovative. Food courts and hawker centres offer great fast food at amazing prices. Many of the foreigners come to singapore to try the local cuisine. Invariably all of them end up going to either a hawker centre or a food court. Not only do the stalls offer local delicacies, many of them also provide western food and food from other parts of the world.

Some foreigners find it difficult to eat at hawker centres as they cant find good vegetarian food and some of them feel that they are not very hygienic. Food courts on the other hand are quite popular with all types of tourists because they cater to everyones taste and are very clean because of the strict hygiene standards that they have to maintain. Food courts are usually always crowded because of their strategic locations for example in malls and commercial buildings. The average food court tends to be slightly more expensive then the hawker centre. But i guess thats the price you pay for the cleanliness and the ambience.

All the different stalls in the food courts and the hawker centres work well together as units. People who come for lunch can eat lunch from one stall, get a drink from another stall and dessert from yet another one. To conclude i would say that food courts and hawker centres offer something very different to the foreigners something that they most probably would not have seen or experienced back home.

Kopitiam/Coffee shops

Not quite your grand-scaled larger than life Hawker Centres, but not quite your air-conditioned international cuisine food court either. So what is a kopitiam?

Kopitiam's were originally set up mostly by hainanese immigrants. A small shop along or at the corner of a street, with a counter in the front for you to place your order before you take a seat at one of those marbled tables. it always served strong coffee together with the ever famous kaya toast and probably a half-boiled egg thrown in. This is where it's name came from. 'kopi' - coffee with both hokkien and malay origins and 'tiam'- hokkien for 'shop'.

Soon, these kopitiams started to serve more than just coffee, toast and eggs. the transformation to what it is today started out by created small side stalls within the shop and leasing them out to others to whip up something else other than coffee/toast/eggs. one stall, two stalls, before you know it, we have what we singaporeans proudly call a kopitiam.

kopitiams are usually shops with about 6-10 stalls selling local fare. typically, the shop is owned by the vendor who runs the drinks stall, who in turn leases out the other stalls to other independent stallholders who prepare a variety of food dishes. Traditional dishes from different ethnicities are usually available at kopitiams so that people from different ethnic backgrounds and having different dietary habits could dine in a common place and even at a common table.

Like their hawker centre counterparts, kopitiams are usually found near residential areas but are also found in business and industrial districts. however, they are also similar to food courts in terms of size, order and style, they just don't have the air-condition as well. Kopitiams are kinda like a hybridization of the hawker centre and food courts. however it's hard to say because there could have been a direct progression from kopitiams incorporating elements of a hawker centre before evolving into the modern day food courts.

in fact, it almost seems as if kopitiams nowadays are incorporating more elements of food courts than of hawker centres. Food sold at kopitiams, although maintaining the traditional drink stall selling coffee and toast and other traditional local cuisine, have started to cater to a more international taste buds with stalls selling japanese/indonesian/american food popping up all the time.

so are kopitiams the poor man's food court? would they eventually be taken over by food courts?

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS: HAWKER CENTRES VS FOOD COURTS
Differences:
LOCATION - Hawker Centres are usually located next to a wet market and together they are found usually in residential areas/ housing estates. Food Courts on the other hand, are almost always found in a shopping mall, or other commercial areas.
-> Convenience is vital to Singaporeans; food courts as ‘rich man’s’ hawker centres, ‘higher class’ compared to hawker centres.

CONDITION - Hawker centres utilize the open-air concept while Food Courts are air conditioned. Food courts are also generally cleaner although much efforts have been placed by the government to upgrade Hawker centres and make them more orderly and clean.
-> Reflects Singaporean’s, or more likely the government’s desire to constantly ‘upgrade’ and to be better than before/others. The government’s need to show or portray to other countries Singapore’s advancement/refinement.
-> upgrading of hawker centres – would it eventually lead to their ‘take over’ by food courts? Difference of opinions: yes because food court’s advantageous more attractive and would eventually ‘buy’ over customers. No because hawker centres intrinsically ‘singaporean’. Until singapore becomes so affluent that the government can tax more of our money to upgrade all hawker centres to be food courts, hawker centres will still be around.-> government wants to upgrade? Maybe. Does the inclusion of air condition naturally change a hawker centre into a food court?

CUSTOMERS - Hawker centres, probably due to their location, attract the residents, the locals. Food courts although also attract some of the same people, also attracts a more 'international' array of customers.
-> the current plans of upgrading hawker centres as a means to attract more ‘international’ customers as well. To ‘trick’ people of their money. Marketed as a tourist attraction to entice customers.
-> purely economical reasons? Foreigners see singapore’s government as just a ‘money making machine’?

FOOD - Hawker Centres almost distinctively only serve local/traditional food (there is the random western food stall but hey, that can be considered a 'local' creation as well no?). whereas food courts, on top of local fare, also have other countries' cuisine like for example a stall selling 'jap food of korean food or indonesian food etc. Hawker centre stalls tend to specialise in one type of food to sell, like a wanton mee stall only sells wanton mee. but in a food court it is not strange to find a stall that sells, asides from wanton mee other kinds of noodle dishes. The food served in Food courts generally tend to be served faster than in the Hawker Centres, as it also employs a method of 'self-service', customers are not required to wait long. In Hawker Centres, not all food are served fast/immediate. customers are served at their tables so are required to wait and at times can wait up till 45 minutes.
-> serving of other counties’ cuisine not only a reflection of singapore’s globalisation and increasing cultural diversity, it also subtly reflects the government’s need to cater to everybody and it’s usage by the government as a mechanism of maintaining racial harmony.
-> government’s desire to educate singaporeans to be globalised?
-> reflection of Singapore’s desire to be good in everything – Jack of all trades, master of none.
-> self/fast service a reflection the importance of efficiency to singaporeans.

COST - hawker centre’s food are normally relatively cheaper than food court’s due to the lack of amenities
->cater to different classes of singaporeans

HAWKER - Hawkers in Hawker centres tend to be masters of their own craft. can't really say the same for the cooks in food centres.
-> with the passing of current hawkers, would there be continuation/ passing down of their ‘culinary’ skills? Could this lack of people interested in the hawking business signal the end of hawker centres and the eventual take over by food courts?
-> reflects singaporean mindset of wanting to always change for the better and ‘disregard their roots’
-> for the sake of air condition, hygiene and efficiency, singaporeans are willing to give up quality?

SIMILARITIES:
AIM – both to provide cheap food alternatives to restaurants etc.

LAYOUT - Individual stalls, communal dining
-> singaporean’s want to have the best of ‘all’ worlds

LOCATIONS: widely spread out across the island
-> singaporean’s need for convenience

IN SEARCH OF A NATIONAL IDENTITY
Singapore is a tropical island where eating is a national past-time but also an addiction. An addiction to perpetuate, to reinforce and to validate our sense of national identity. Anywhere we go, we will find some place to eat. For a nation of over 4 million people, there are over 20,000 eating establishments, including over 120 Hawker Centres and many more Food Courts scattered over the island. These cultural icons – Hawker Centres and Food Courts – not only just provide us with a place to enjoy delicious and reasonably priced food, they serves as a reflection of our Singapore identity.
Be it next to a wet market, in residential areas or housing estates, in shopping malls or within commercial areas, there is bound to be either a Hawker Centre or a Food Court, or both (and then maybe some more) to be found. There is no such thins as going out of one’s way to get food, it is unnecessary for people to travel long distances to satisfy their cravings. Time and energy is saved on traveling. Hawker Centres and Food Courts usually operate the whole day everyday (some even operate 24 hours every day), so you can have breakfast, lunch or dinner at any time you want, whenever is best for you. Moreover, at Hawker Centres and Food Courts, there are many stalls that sell different varieties of cuisines. Therefore people can enjoy diverse cuisines in the comfort of a single location. Again, time and energy is saved, without have to go to the trouble of finding different places to enjoy different cuisines. Although in Hawker Centres customers are sometimes still require to wait to be served after ordering their food, stalls are increasingly operating like those in Food Courts where the customer is served almost immediately upon ordering and they practise self-serving. Here time and energy is saved on waiting for food. Clearly, Singaporeans are a bunch that values convenience and efficiency a lot. Practical by nature, they do not appreciate spending so much time and energy unnecessarily.
Hawker Centres have been around for a long time, since the 1950s when the government abolished the practice of street hawking. With the introduction of the air conditioned Food Courts, which are generally more hygienic and orderly, many Hawker Centres have either been replaced by or are being renovated to be more like Food Courts. These Food Courts are more often than not franchised – the leading Food Court brands include ‘Kopitiam’ and ‘Banquet’ - and the methods of food preparation pale in comparison to that of supposed culinary masters in Hawker Centres, most of who have honed their skills for many years. Thus, inevitably, food standards and quality are generally lower in Food Courts than in Hawker Centres. This, however, does not deter Singaporeans from patronizing the Food Courts. In many instances it is because the Food Courts have air conditioning and better sanitary conditions. This preference of material comforts over food quality is symbolically reflective of how Singaporeans’ pursuit of the material – the 5 Cs (or is it 6 now?) - has led to the subsequent negligence of the quality of life.
What is this blind pursuit of the 5 Cs – the epitome or emblem of materialism? It seems like the whole purpose of Singaporeans’ lives, the finish line in this rat race is when one attains all 5 Cs – Career, Car, Condominium, Credit Cards and Cash (or some say Country Club membership but you get the picture). There is this invisible driving force enveloping the city, making Singaporeans always wanting to change for the better, to improve and to always excel in everything they do. The whole country is always changing always upgrading. Even Hawker Centres are not left behind. Hawker Centres and now increasingly being replaced by better, cleaner, and more importantly, cooler Food Courts and even is they are not replaced, they are undergoing renovation or upgrading to become better, cleaner. Nothing stays the same in Singapore; it must always become better. Driven by the principle of meritocracy, Singapore’s economy always favours those who excel, forming an innate Singaporean need for self improvement and this is manifested and perpetuated by the constant upgrading of Hawker Centres into Food Courts. Is this truly who Singaporeans are or is it merely a system imposed on Singaporeans by the government?
As time changes and the world becomes closer through globalization, there is always a struggle between wanting to keep up with the world and at the same time holding on to our traditional, cultural or even national roots. To avoid standardization, people fervently embrace their cultural differences while increasingly more people call out for a national identity. Not one to lose out, Singapore is too, fighting to keep up with globalization. Singaporeans see the need and the government highlights the need to be in touch with the world around us, to be more international. This is even reflected in the operations of Food Courts. Although Hawker Centres still typically serve local and traditional food (“Western Food” is arguably local), it is not surprising to find stalls in Food Courts serving international cuisines such as Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, and many others. Granted they may be served to cater to tourists or expatriates in Singaporean, but who is not to argue that they are also means of enabling the people with lower income, who cannot afford to patronize fancy restaurants selling international cuisine, to join in the globalization phenomenon. Yet at the same time, the government perpetuates or reinforces the notion of a national identity by enthusiastically promoting Singapore tourism through Hawker Centres and celebrating the claim that they are indigenous to the region and endorsing it as a national or cultural icon.
Singaporeans readily embrace this idea or notion of a national identity or culture in form of a food culture, in form of Hawker Centres and Food Courts, be it due to the lack of other significant national or cultural icons or otherwise. Can this truly be reflective of Singaporean culture or are Hawker Centres and Food Courts mere tools of the government to construct a cultural ideal by which they want us Singaporeans to live by?
We have already come across how the government uses the upgrading of Hawker Centres and the proliferation of Food Courts as a means of disseminating their belief in the principle of meritocracy, of constantly needing to change for the better. By expounding on Hawker Centres being national icons of Singapore, the government uses them as mechanisms to promote cultural diversity and to signify racial harmony and tolerance. The whole premise of a Hawker Centre is to bring people of different races and ethnicity together under one roof, too cook as one family and to eat as one family. Citizens dining in the mass communal eating area are a simulation of a family gathering together, eating together. The standardization of food found in Food Courts is symbolic of a united Singaporean entity. Whichever Food Court one patronises, one will find stalls selling the same or similar varieties of food. On top of all these, the government exploits the indigenity and allure of Hawker Centres as a revenue making institution by promoting it as a tourist attraction. Renovation works on one of the previously most celebrated local Hawker Centre, Newton Food Circus, have turned it into a full fledged tourist attraction complete with signboards explaining the origins of Hawker Centres and even a ‘Top Ten list of Local Hawker dishes’ one must try.
In Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities, he proposed the following definition of the nation: it is an imagined political community. “It is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion.”
The concept of Hawker Centres as a national icon, our way of consumption as an idea of national identity, could all just be a construct of the government to create this imagined communal identity for Singaporeans to believe in.
James Donald’s How English is it? draws on Anderson’s imagined community and carries on to say “the apparatus of discourse, technologies, and institutions (print capitalism, education, mass media and so forth) produces what is generally recognized as ‘the national culture’.” “ ‘the nation’ is an effect of these cultural technologies, not their origin. A nation does not express itself through its culture: it is culture that produces ‘the nation’. What is produced is not an identity or a single consciousness – nor necessarily a representation at all – but hierarchically organized values, dispositions and differences.”
The government uses Hawker Centres as institutions to create a ‘national culture’ and this ‘national culture’ is in fact a set of beliefs and values that the government wants us to believe is our own culture, is the make up of our identity – the values of racial harmony, of meritocracy etc.
Going back to even before the 1950s when there were no Hawker Centres, there only existed hawkers and their mobile stalls, selling their food from street to street. This was the true Singaporean culture. To think that the government then had initially intended to abolish street hawking altogether before coming up with the idea of housing them under one roof. The whole practice of street hawking is a tactic – there were no laws permitting or forbidding the practice of street hawking and hawkers went about their business always on the look out for fear of being stopped on the grounds of blocking traffic or not having substantial sanitary standards. By housing the Hawkers together under one roof and then market them as Hawker Centres, the government succeeded in repackaging and reproducing what is Singapore culture and creating a national identity, and at the same time take over what was essentially a tactic and then reinventing it into a strategy of its own.