Hawker Street Food Revival In Singapore

Singapore is home to the Hawker Culture, where community dining rooms are shared among the country’s citizens of all backgrounds. These hawker centers sell some of the best, iconic Asian dishes–such as the Laksa, Satay, and Cheong Fun–where the taste and cooking technique involved stay unparalleled even to those of Michelin-starred chefs.

This culture will not die down anytime soon despite the rise of technology in the culinary world. The Singaporean youth knows exactly what significance the Hawker Culture brings to their heritage and cuisine, and why this sets them apart from modern dining. 

The country’s economic growth over the years has opened doors to many job and academic opportunities for the youth, which became a challenge to attract the newer generation to join the trade. Nonetheless, most hawker shops are family-run which enables the third and fourth generations to become successors carrying this culture forward. 

Many young hawkers are preserving Singapore’s most iconic dishes and some are even coming up with innovative and creative twists. They are also setting up storefronts that appeal to younger customers and hosting food festivals such as the Heartlands Festival, which helped hawkers to rake up to SGD 3 million in profits, according to ChannelNews Asia (CNA) in February.

This revival of the Hawker Culture has also triggered positive developments in hawker centers such as inclusivity and accessibility to all, including those with special needs. Besides door-to-door food delivery for senior citizens, it is also extending initiatives to provide training for adults or the elderly to run hawker stalls.