Do you know that there are more than 100 hawker centres in Singapore? The terms food centre and hawker centre are used interchangeably and they basically mean the same. In many countries especially outside of South-East Asia, the term hawker centre does not exist and it is therefore quite unique to Singapore.
'Food court' refers to food centre that are usually air-conditioned and they tend to be located in buildings such as shopping complexes or malls. So, as you can guess food centre or hawker centre is not an air-conditioned and is ventilated naturally or via the good old-fashioned ceiling or wall fans. Which is good for the environment as less heat from the air-con condensers will be emitted in the already hot and humid tropical city.
Many people swear that food tastes better in hawker centre than in air-conditioned food-court. Maybe because the recycled conditioned air in food-court mixes the flavours and smells of food. However due to the local climate of high humidity, most people are practical and do not linger too long in hawker centres. Once food is consumed, people will move on.
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| A typical hawker or food centre |
Sometimes the sight of pigeons and mynahs helping themselves to left-over food can be quite unsightly and unhygienic. Birds have learnt to eat spicy food here. Hence in the near future, it is mandatory that you have to clear your tray, crockeries and cutleries to the tray stations. Unfortunately, the habit of clearing table after eating have not caught on here.
Up until the 1970s, eating out in Singapore usually involved finding a make-shift sidewalk seat and calling out to hawkers plying their food from street to street. These hawkers would be selling food items in simple baskets or tin boxes, or preparing cooked food using push carts or trishaw stalls which housed cooking utensils and stoves.
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| Queueing for favourite food |
The
street art or wall mural shown here by Yip Yew Chong shows a hawker scene called 'Pasar (Market) Tiong Bahru' prior to 1970s where hawkers plied their goods and food on the streets to make a living.
Singapore's itinerant street hawkers were relocated to purpose-built permanent food centres known as "hawker centre" during the 1970s to address public hygiene issues caused by unregulated street hawkersThese hawker centres offer a variety of hawker food sold by different stalls. They adopt a "no- frills" and "no-fuss" approach and offer hungry patrons food at affordable prices.
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| Tiong Bahru Market in the 60s |
It is not uncommon for patrons to endure long queues and waiting times for their favourite hawker dishes. It is not an exaggeration to say that Singaporeans love food and one of their favourite past-times is eating. The other being strolling in shopping malls to avoid the heat. :)
Some hawker or food centres are part of a larger complex that include wet market such as
Geylang Serai Market, Chinatown Complex or Tekka Centre at
Little India. Non-air-conditioned wet market for fresh produce, vegetables and meat as opposed to air-conditioned supermarkets. Some of the local lingo like hawker centres or wet markets are peculiar here.
Do check out some hawker centres to enjoy local delicacies. These are just few selection. More will be added soon. As you can see the hawker or food centres are named after their locations. So what can you find at hawker centres? Too many to mention like chicken rice, rojak,
mee goreng,
roti prata, char kway teow, nasi lemak, mee rebus, mee siam, hor fun, hokkien mee,
satay,
laksa, biryani, sup kambing (mutton soup), carrot cake, ayam penyet,
kaya toast set, etc. etc.
One recent exciting news is the hawker culture in Singapore may be internationally recognised by UNESCO for inclusion on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Not that the delicious dishes here are not known already. Just hoping the tissue
choping part is not part of it :).
And yay, an update: Singapore's hawker culture is recognised by UNESCO and officially included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
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| Tiong Bahru Market today |
Food is such an important part of Singapore's heritage and identity and hawker culture is not just about food but about people as well. Keeping the hawker culture alive not only safeguards the livelihood but also ensures that a wide range of delicious local food remain affordable for everyone. Local lingo such as 'makan-ing' (to eat or eating) and 'tarpau-ing' (take-away or to go) are commonly uttered here.
There are a couple of hawkers who made it into Singapore's Michelin Guide and have been awarded one Michelin star, namely Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle in Crawford Lane and Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle at Chinatown Complex Market and Food Centre.
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| A hawker at Tampines Round Market |
There are also a number of hawkers who are mentioned in the Bib Gourmand category, that offer quality local dishes at moderate prices, including Hajah Maimunah which has a couple of restaurants at Joo Chiat Road and Jalan Pisang near Kampong Glam, but also has hawker style outlet at Tampines Mall Kopitiam food-court. They won the award in 2016 and 2019.
It has to be stressed here that 'quality' is subjective. There are so many local dishes or cuisines that every person palate and preference are different. As the saying goes, if undecided, just follow the queue. But then if you cannot wait and are hungry, find the shortest queue stall. It may turn out to be as yummy as well. There are more than 14,00 food stalls in Singapore, which include those at hawker centres and food-courts. Yep we are indeed a small nation who eats all the time. Deep-fried snacks and bubble teas in-between meals which some visitors may find really perplexing.
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| A hawker stall preparing food during lunchtime |
Hawkers and hawker centres are indeed an integral part of everyday life in Singapore and it is a culture worth safeguarding for generations to come and for all visitors to enjoy not only the local delights but appreciate the heritage as well whether over breakfast, lunch or dinner.
After enjoying your tasty meals, just another gentle reminder, please help to clear the table of left-over food, and return the tray, crockeries and cutleries to the tray return stations, so that other patrons can enjoy their meals on pleasant and clean tables. Please also dispose of any litters in the bin. From first of September 2021, diners who do not clear their trays, crockery and litter will have their particulars taken down. A fine is possible too. It should not have come to this if diners are being considerate.
Bedok Food Centre is a hawker or food centre more commonly known as
Bedok Corner. Simply because it is located at the corner of Bedok Road and Upper East Coast Road. The architecture features Minangkabau style of the distinctive steeply pitched roof. Minangkabau comes from the the highlands of West Sumatra.
The food centre's interior is arranged around a circular central courtyard and it represents the communal life of Bedok's kampong's past. This hawker centre is not large but packed a good selection of local dishes.
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| Geylang Serai Market |
Geylang Serai Market is located at the junction of Changi Road and Sims Avenue. It consists of wet market at level 1 and a hawker centre at level 2. A market for fresh groceries, vegetables, seafood and meat and tasty, delicious yet affordable Malay food and snacks all in one building. It was first opened in 1964 by the first prime minister of Singapore Lee Kwan Yew. It was redeveloped in 2009.
It is especially busy in the morning as people go there for fresh produce and to tuck in some tasty local breakfast. If you go later in the afternoon some stalls may have already wrapped up for the day.
However, there is a 24-hr food court on the ground floor called Mr Teh Tarik that will cater to all hungry persons all day long. So, a food-court within a hawker centre. This food-court has a famous Haig Road
putu-piring stall that was shown in Netflix Food Series.
A popular Alhambra
satay stall is also inside this food-court. Just like
Bedok Food Centre, the architecture of Geylang Serai Market has distinctive pitched roof that represents Malay kampong style houses. The motifs are also inspired by the Malay cultural heritage.
Originally known as Kandang Kerbau Market, Tekka Centre or Tekka Market is located at the junction of Serangoon Road and Buffalo Road in
Little India. It is a complex of wet market at the lower ground floor, a hawker centre on the upper ground floor, and stores selling Indian clothing on the level 2.
Kandang kerbau literally means buffalo cage in Malay.
Historically the area was a cattle trading area. The Chinese called it
tek kah because of the wild bamboo found in the area. During the redevelopment of the Serangoon area in the early 1980s, the market was demolished, and most stallholders were relocated to the present site, which was renamed as Zhujiao Market, which is a Chinese transliteration of 'Tekka'. In 2000, the market was renamed Tekka to better reflect the history of the place as Zhujiao bore little resemblance to its former name.
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| Indian rojak |
A wide range of local fare, including Indian rojak, biryani,
roti prata, murtabak, snacks such as vadai or samosa, can certainly be enjoyed there. Known as the 'people's market', there is also a big section selling Chinese cuisines at Tekka Market, which just like any hawker or food center, will have various types of dishes catering to different communities and ethnic groups. So you can certainly enjoy whichever dish you prefer in
Little India.
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| Adam Food Centre |
Adam Food Centre is located along busy street of Adam Street at Bukit Timah area. This round-shaped food centre is not big but is congested with a good selection of stalls and local delicacies around a central courtyard, similar to
Bedok Food Centre. A circular-shaped courtyard gives a communal feel.
Adam Road nasi lemak is among a household name there, which has since been franchised and you can now find Adam Road nasi lemak elsewhere too. Apparently in the 1980s it was a popular lunch stop for policemen on patrol. There are schools nearby so it was also a food place for students and staffs alike.
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| Mutton soup at Adam Food Centre |
Another crowd favourite at Adam Food Centre is the delicious mutton soup (sup kambing). Mutton soup is usually eaten with French baguette. A twist of european flair, probably more tasty than dipping baguette in a hot cup of coffee, french style, :). Expect long line at Barahkah stall during lunch peak hour.
If you just want a simple peanutty snack, there is a stall selling home-made soft and chewy
muah chee with generous amount of sprinkled peanuts. Well, certainly not for patrons with peanuts allergy. Due to its location, the crowd at this food centre tend to be from people staying or working nearby, or visitors on their way to or from Singapore Botanics Garden that is not too far away.
Located at the eastern corner of Singapore, and right in front of
Changi Village Bus Terminal is
Changi Village Food Centre. It is located near Changi Beach and Changi Point ferry terminal to
Pulau Ubin. It is a big hawker or food centre consisting of blocks 2 and 3 at Changi Village Road. It is famous for nasi lemak (coconut milk rice), among others.
You can find at least five nasi lemak stalls at Changi Village Food Centre and they are all delicious. A typical plate of nasi lemak shown here (with fried chicken, egg and anchovies or
ikan bilis) costs $3.50.
Over the years, the hawker centre has retained the laid-back and rustic atmosphere and is an iconic landmark in Changi for the weekend trip to
Pulau Ubin, for Changi beachgoers, and fishing and biking enthusiasts or just for the casual weekend food hunters.
Changi Point has a long history due to previous British military barracks that dotted around
Changi Village, many has since been turned to other uses such as holiday bungalows or chalets. During
Singapore's darkest days of World War II, the greater Changi area was turned into prisoners-of-war (POW) internment camps and hold more than 50,000 POWs.
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| Chinatown Complex Market and Food Centre |
Located at the heart of Chinatown just opposite Buddha Tooth Relic Temple,
Chinatown Complex Market and Food Centre, was first opened in 1983 as the Kreta Ayer Complex. Kreta Ayer is a Malay word for 'water cart'. Kreta or kereta literally means car. and Ayer or air is water. In 1984, it was renamed Chinatown Complex.
Its Mandarin name is Niu Che Shui Da Sha, with Niu Che Shui literally meaning 'Bullock Cart Water' while da sea means 'Complex'.
Located along Smith Street, Chinatown Complex was built to house the last of Chinatown's street hawkers and is still home to a number of hawkers who have been plying their trade in the area since the 1950s. Consequently, it has earned a reputation for traditional Chinese hawker cuisine.
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| Buddhist Temple opposite Chinatown Complex |
The complex features design elements such as clay-tiled pitched roofs, column bays and small balconies, which pay tribute to the architectural facades of Chinatown. With around 700 stalls, the Chinatown Market is one of the largest hawker centre and market today.
And just like Geylang Serai Market and Tekka centre, Chinatown Complex is a combo of wet market at lower ground floor, a hawker centre at the second floor and some shops selling clothes and some knick-knacks on the first floor. Some popular stalls include stalls selling handmade
popiah or spring rolls, peanutty
muah chee snacks,
chendol dessert, Hainanese chicken rice and fried kway teow. A one Michelin star Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle can be found in Chinatown Complex.
The area surrounding the complex is as interesting and busy as the market or hawker centre itself. Apart from Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and the congested street markets nearby, in front of the complex entrance, you will see senior citizens pitting their skills playing Chinese chess, so there is always a festive vibe to the area. In Singapore we called the senior citizens the Merdeka Generation, the nation builders who were born during the tumultuous years prior to 1960.
Merdeka is a Malay word for independent.
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| Pasir Panjang Food Centre |
Conveniently located next to Pasir Panjang MRT Station at the western part of Singapore,
Pasir Panjang Food Centre caters mainly to workers working nearby. Expect this hawker to be busier during weekdays lunchtime.
It is quieter during weekends and not all stalls will be opening. This food centre is shaped a bit like a shipping container maybe due to its location near shipping ports. There is a popular
satay stall there and the wait can be 30 minutes long.
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| Maxwell Food Centre |
Maxwell Food Centre is located along Maxwell Road in-between Chinatown and the Central Business District. Maxwell Food Centre started out as Maxwell Road Market in 1929 selling mainly fresh produce. Cooked food stalls and eating facilities were added a year later. One of the household names there is Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice which is listed in the Michelin Bib Gourmand.
"The chicken rice is so fragrant and delicious that it can be eaten on its own", remarked the late Anthony Bourdain! So as you can see many celebrated chefs enjoyed the local hawker food.
The Singapore City Gallery is located just across the street of Kadayanallur Street. The food-centre has triangular pitched roof similar to other many other food centres, probably for better natural ventilation. It is also architecturally pleasing compared to flat box-type building.
Historically also, Maxwell Food Centre was one of the former Social Welfare sites that provide cheap meals for the poor and displaced after WWII. The tallest building in Singapore, the 290 metres Guoco Tower is a 10-minute walking distance from the food centre.
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| Lau Pa Sat Festival Market |
Surrounded by skyscrapers in the Central Business District, this octagonal-shaped festival market called
Lau Pa Sat was built in1894 on reclaimed land. It was designed by Municipal Engineer, James MacRitchie, of which the oldest reservoir here,
MacRitchie Reservoir is named after. The greenish ornamental cast iron work (not so visible here) was imported from Glasgow.
Early colonial architect George Coleman came up with its distinctive octagonal structure and greenish ornamental columns back in 1833. The clock tower sticking out from the roof is dwarfed by tall buildings behind it.
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| Lau Pa Sat Festival Market |
Lau Pa Sat Festival Market was previously known as Telok Ayer Market. Telok Ayer means 'water bay' in Malay. 'Teluk' is bay and 'ayer' is water. As the name implies its location was by the water. This food centre was gazetted as a national monument in 1973. Most people will know this place as the place to get their fix of
satay.
The open-air
satay stalls open every evening along Boon Tat Street.
Satay is barbecued meat on stick very popular in South-East Asia and of course in Singapore.
Lau Pa Sat literally means Old Market in Hokkien, a Chinese dialect. In Malay 'market' is also called 'pasar'. 'Pasar' and 'pa sat' likely came from a Persian loan word 'bazaar'. Apart from the traditional satay stalls, Lau Pa Sat has transformed with some modern cafes inside. Maybe surrounded by financial markets, it has turned a bit 'atas', or upmarket. The poster outside looks traditional, but the traditional feel has somewhat diluted.
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| Newton Food Centre |
Newton Food Centre was opened in 1971 as Singapore's first hawker centre designed and built with a garden setting befitting the city's city in a garden image. By 1977, it had brought more than 100 street hawkers who had been plying their trade in Orchard Road Gluttons Square and Bukit Timah Road. Gluttons Square used to be located at a carpark opposite Centrepoint along Orchard Road.
Due to its location near the main shopping belt of Orchard Road, Newton Food Centre became popular amongst locals and tourists alike for its wide variety of food and convenient downtown location. The food centre has a horseshoe like arrangement of the hawker stalls with a dining area in the central courtyard.
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| Carrot cake at Newton Food Centre |
Many plants found in the colonial-era plantations of the Newton-Orchard areas, such as pepper, palms and nutmeg have been planted around the food centre. The food centre has a distinctive triangular pitched roof just like many other food centres.
This hawker centre was previously notorious for touting and over-priced seafood, ironic for a hawker centre, which is meant for affordable dishes. However, all is good now. Prices for all hawker fares are written on each stall board and no touting is allowed at all hawker centres here. You are free to sit anywhere, and no bookings required. The 'choping' of tables with tissue paper hopefully will be a thing of the past. If you are not sure of the price you can certainly ask before ordering any dishes.
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| Old Airport Road Food Centre |
Located at 51 Old Airport Road,
Old Airport Road Food Centre was opened in 1973 to mostly resettled street hawkers at the nearby Kallang Estate. As like some food centres, the ground floor of the building consists of food stalls while the upper floors consist of shops.
As it is quite large and has more than 100 food stalls, lunch time can be quite a crunch and some stalls attract long queues such as Roast Paradise and Selera Rasa's $3.50 biryani. At Selera Rasa, if you want to try out their biryani, you will have to come between 11am-1pm, for lunch or brunch, because they only operate for two hours! And they only only during weekdays. That's how popular the stall is.
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| Selera Rasa's $3.50 chicken biryani |
Apparently, the name Selera Rasa is quite popular as you have seen above. There is a Selera Rasa nasi lemak at Adam Food Centre. Selera Rasa is a Malay word. Literally it means taste bud. It certainly also means tasty.
The food centre's flat roof blend with the nearby apartments or flats. It may look boxy and simply, but in 1973 it was considered modern with the latest architectural design. While the building may look outdated now, when it comes to hawker centres, they are supposed to be functional. Tasty and affordable food is the word. Old Airport Road used to be near Kallang Airport, the first civil international airport in Singapore, hence the name.
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| Ang Mo Kio Central Market and Food Centre |
Ang Mo Kio Central Market and Food Centre is located at Block 724 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6, about 10 minutes walking distance from Ang Mo Kio MRT Station. Ang Mo is a colloquial term for a Caucasian person.In Hokkien, a Chinese dialect, And Mo Kio literally means 'red-haired man's bridge'. As the name implies it is both a market and cooked food centre housed in the same building just like many other multi-functional complexes here.
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| Mee rebus tarik at Ang Mo Kio |
Among popular stall at this hawker centre is Yunus N Family stall with its signature
mee rebus tarik dish which always has a queue. This mee rebus sells for $3 a bowl or plate. The yummy gravy is made from sweet potato and peanut with a tinge of
sataygravy taste.
Tarik is a Malay word which means 'pull'. Just like
teh tarik, there is also mee rebus tarik. The Malay word 'rebus' means 'boil'. So literally it means boiled noodles. Yunus N Family has been around for about 40 years.
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| Tampines Round Market and Food Centre |
Tampines Round Market and Food Centre is located at 137 Tampines Street 11, in the eastern part of Singapore. It is called a Round Market or Pasar Bulat in Malay, because architecturally it has a round shape with a cluster of betel nut palm trees standing in the middle of the courtyard. The main entrance (not shown here) has a a distinctive Minangkabau steep-shaped roof similar to
Bedok Food Centre and
Geylang Serai Market.
The town of Tampines is named after a tree called Tempinis, a bushy evergreen heritage tree which used to be abundant in Tampines. Tampines is one of the largest housing estate in Singapore.
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| Tampines Round Market Wet Market |
The Round Market is both fresh produce and wet market and cooked food centre in the same building, similar to some markets in Singapore, especially the bigger ones like Geylang Serai and Tekka Market that have both wet market and cooked food hawker sections.
A number of the hawkers at the Round Market have been operating for more than three decades, and they have cultivated a loyal clientele. Among the initial group of hawkers were 72 stallholders who moved to Tampines as a group in 1983, after a market and hawker centre at Block 176 in Toa Payoh Lorong 2 was demolished to make way for a MRT line.
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| Makansutra Gluttonsbay |
Makansutra Gluttonsbay is located smacked in the touristy Marina Bay Area which is great not only for the views and the outdoor-ish vibe, but also the affordable and tasty local dishes especially if you happened to be in the location and hungry.
Given the location expect to pay about 20% more of the hawker centre price, but if you are in-between your sight-seeing or going to a concert at the nearby Esplanade (do check out the regular free outdoor convert at the nearby event plaza), then having a hot freshly cooked local meal sitting under the stars is a cool experience.
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| Makansutra Gluttonsbay |
Being outdoor-ish Gluttonsbay open from late afternoon at 4pm till late in the evening at 11:30pm. It opens earlier at 1pm during the weekends, but it can be rather hot, hence you will see many large parasols for shade and rain. However if the rain is too heavy or if there is thunderstorm it can get rather uncomfortable.
Average price of dishes is about $6. A plate of delicious satay gado-gado is $6. As the name implies, satay gado-gado is a combination of both gado-gado and
satay. Mee rebus and mee goreng also costs about $5-$6, so certainly not hurting the pocket given its touristy location. Makansutra is founded by a well-known local foodie celebrity KF Seetoh.
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| East Coast Lagoon Food Centre |
Located just next to beach and a cable ski lagoon,
East Coast Lagoon Food Centre can be considered one of the most scenic places to have a good meal of local dishes. Whether you are craving for seafood,
satay or just a simple noodle or chicken rice, East Coast Lagoon certainly have the ambience and a fun relax vibe.
Opened in 1978, most of its earliest stallholders were street hawkers relocated from Alkaff Lane at Serangoon Road. This hawker centre is built on a reclaimed land just like many buildings located along the shoreline.
This hugely popular hawker centre retains its rustic seaside feel with its Balinese style pitched roofs and pavilions. East Coast being a long stretch, if you are a first timer, East Coast Lagoon Food Centre is located at Area E near Castle Beach. It is also located next to Cable Ski lagoon, hence the name.
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