Hawker Centres in Singapore
Places to Experience Singaporeans’ Way of Life and Sample Local Food
A brief history of Singapore's hawker centres and several iconic food centres worth visiting.
Hawker centres are unique to Singapore. These food huts were purpose-built after the country’s independence in 1965 to house itinerant hawkers who were cleared from the streets. They were also built in public housing estates to provide residents with a source of cheap cooked food and to create employment opportunities.
Over time, even as the country developed, hawker centres remain an important part of Singaporeans’ life and act as the social platform where people from all walks of life interact. In recent years, to meet the people’s rising expectations, many centres have undergone upgrading and refurbishment. With the improved dining environment comes their new branding as food centres.
When visiting Singapore, there is no better place to go than hawker centres to sample and taste the wide variety of local food, as well as experience the local way of life. Here are several well-known and iconic hawker centres worth visiting.
1. Newton Food Centre:
Located off the main shopping belt, Orchard Road, this food centre has gained international acclaim as a tourist destination. The food stalls are arranged in a horseshoe-shaped layout. Sitting in the central alfresco dining area, you will have a panoramic view of all the different food available to tempt your palate. This food centre is famous for barbequed seafood and satay (grilled meat on skewers).
2. Tiong Bahru Food Centre:
This two-storey structure houses a wet market below and the food centre above, which can be accessed via a lift or the escalator. Like Newton Food Centre, there are sheltered and alfresco dining areas.
The layout is triangular, with each side having a different color theme for the ceiling. The three primary colors of red, blue and yellow stand out even more at night when the lights are on.
This centre is famous for many local delights such as porridge, steamed buns, roast meat and fried carrot cake.
When there, take the opportunity to look at the conserved 4-storey flats built by the Singapore Improvement Trust in the 1960s. The unique architectural style, with prominent circular staircase cores, is not found elsewhere in Singapore.
3. East Coast Lagoon Food Village:
This is the only food centre that is located next to the sea. It was designed with the theme of a seaside resort, with the use of timber, sand at the dining area and lots of palm trees. Having a relaxed meal and a drink here while enjoying the sea breeze will certainly help you get away from the hustle and bustle of city life.
4. Chinatown Complex Food Centre:
Located in the middle of Chinatown and famous for various Chinese dishes such as clay pot rice and char kway teow (stir fried noodles), this centre is currently undergoing renovations and will be ready in 2008. Most of the stalls are currently located in a temporary site at Outram Park.
For those who wish to have a better understanding of this social institution and its relevance to Singaporeans, look out for the book Singapore Hawker Centres – People, Places, Food published by the National Environment Agency in 2007.
