Roadside Hawker Stalls

A very common source of nice food in the early 1960's. Those were the days before hawkers stalls were "regulated" and moved to hawker centers with each stall having a cleanliness sign (A, B or C).

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W_5W9Wp0Fz8/T17US59vkPI/AAAAAAAAQz8/nvRJem6-HvU/s1600/03%2Bsingapore%2B1970s%2Bstreet%2Bhawker2.jpg

KSN-1, that is such a surreal picture. You can even see the sign that says "BO BO CHA CHA" on the top left corner!

Here is a picture of old bugis street. I'm not sure what time period this is in though.



Interesting point to note, most hawker food stalls from back then usually only sell 1 main dish. Nowadays, if you go to hawker centers or food courts, usually the chicken rice will sell roast pork/charsiew rice, wanton mee, sometimes even porridge.

I found another interesting fact. According to the 1950 Hawkers Inquiry Commission report, back then 84% of the hawkers were Chinese. And most of them are from southeast China.

Hokkien hawkers formed the largest group followed by Teochews and lastly other dialect groups like Hakka and Hainanese. The Hokkiens and Teochews often sold market produce whereas the Hainanese mostly sold cooked food.

Hey guys, remember the "sng bao" we used to have as kids that went for 20cents tops?



People in the 60s used to make their own using plastic strips, water and syrup, but now, it's making a comeback.

Check out the article here: http://www.iremember.sg/index.php/2013/12/06/frozen-memories/

Wow Jovita! I do remember those ice popsicles and still see them being sold these days! Maybe it's just a neater packaging of the iceballs Singaporeans of the past used to eat heh. image here: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UqFBOWFLuio/TIdcBK1quAI/AAAAAAAABRs/BhRq8GMvp50/s1600/58690_437153058814_648823814_5091526_7203968_n.jpg

nothing beats having one of these on a hot day! yummmmz

Can you imagine this scene?



Contrast the restaurants we have next to the riverside to the hawker stalls that used to be there!

I went to visit the National Museum of Singapore the other day and found this interesting 'The People's Collection' showcasing memoirs of Singapore. There was one particular information put up which I find relevant to this forum.

When the population in Singapore grew, so did its appetite. Thus hawker stalls were born. Initially associated with just a push-cart (although with suspected levels of hygiene) the hawker stalls gained much traction as it provided affordable, convenient and tasty food. Up till late 1960s, less than half of the estimated 24, 000 hawkers were licensed.

For those of you who are interested to see 'The People's Collection', you can find out more information at the National Museum of Singapore Website here http://www.nationalmuseum.sg/NMSPortal/

HI guys!

in light of the issue of hawkers, my dad once mentioned that my grand aunty used to be a sought after hawker who would sell pig trotters along the roadside! it was her way of making a living to support the family! in fact if I'm not wrong, he mentioned that she would go out late into the night to sell her food because she would wait outside the movie theatres etc for people who desired a late-night treat! i think these hawkers, as all here seem to agree, form a huge part of singapore society. they shaped our culture in two ways (i) their food (food is always a large part of culture) contributes to the gastronomical landscape of our country and through (ii) forming a community/creating spaces for people to hang around -- food as a means to gather the masses.