Hawker centre

A hawker centre in Chinatown, Singapore. The upper floor is for food stalls and the lower is for stalls selling goods

Hawker centres sprang up in urban areas following the rapid urbanisation in the 1950s and 1960s. In many cases, they were built partly to address the problem of unhygienic food preparation by unlicensed street hawkers.[1] More recently, they have become less ubiquitous due to growing affluence in the urban populations of Malaysia and Singapore. Particularly in Singapore, they are increasingly being replaced by food courts, which are indoor, air conditioned versions of hawker centres located in shopping malls and other commercial venues.

In the 1950s and 1960s, hawker centres were considered to be a venue for the less affluent. They had a reputation for unhygienic food, partly due to the frequent appearance of stray domestic pets and pests. Many hawker centres were poorly managed by their operators, often lacking running water and proper facilities for cleaning. More recently, hygiene standards have improved, with pressure from the local authorities. This includes the implementation of licensing requirements, where a sufficient standard of hygiene is required for the stall to operate, and rewarding exceptionally good hygiene.[2][3] A score of 85% or higher results in an A, and the lowest grade is a D, which ranges from 40–49% passing standards. These grades are required to be displayed on hawker stands. Upgrading or reconstruction of hawker centres was initiated in the late 1990s in Singapore.

In 1987, a point demerit system was introduced to account for stand's food and personal handing hygenie. Six demerit points yield a US$400 fee (HK$2470). Individual fines will be solicited for larger violations such as putting unclean materials in contact with the food. Failure to display issued licence will result in a US$200 fine.[3]

The hawker centres in Singapore are owned by three government bodies, namely the National Environment Agency (NEA) under the parent Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR), Housing and Development Board (HDB) and JTC Corporation. All the centres owned by HDB and NEA, in turn, are regulated by NEA with the individual Town Councils managing the HDB owned centres. JTC owned centres are self-managed.[3] This allows the government to directly intervene when it feels necessary.

Hawker centres include

• Newton Food Centre, which was in a scene filmed from Crazy Rich Asians.
• Maxwell Food Centre, which includes the Bib Gourmand awarded Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice.

In 2011, Singapore announced plans to develop 10 hawker centers, which equates to 600 stalls in the next decade. This will stabilise food prices and reduce rent of hawker stands over time.[3]

As of 2016, two Singaporean food stands, both located in hawker centres, became the first street food vendors to be awarded a Michelin Star for excellence in eating. The two stalls are Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle and Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle.[4]

Thanks to the gentrification of Singapore, more hawker centres are getting a face lift to reach out to younger Singaporeans. These new, modern hawker centres[5] are not only decked up in stylish furnishings, they also sell food commonly found in restaurants and cafes like ramen and poke bowls.

On 27 March 2019, Singapore submitted its nomination to inscribe its hawker culture on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.[6]

On 26 March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Singapore government released a second stimulus package. As part of the package, those who were eligible would be granted rental waivers of three months, with a minimum of $200 per month.[7] On 3 April, the government announced that people could no longer eat at the hawker centre (or any other F&B outlets) in order to help reduce the community spread of the virus.[8]

Hawker House in Canary Wharf, London

The following lists some notable hawker centres:

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hawker centres.

• Public Markets and Cooked Food Centres in Hong Kong – fehd.gov.hk