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Hawker Culture in Singapore
Hawkers traditionally sell their food on streets. Uniquely in Singapore though, they ply their trade in fixed stalls in hawker centres. Ryan Kueh, author of the bestselling From Streets to Stalls, tells us how the hawker culture has evolved in Singapore since the colonial period and what hawker centres have come to represent.
Ryan Kueh holds a master’s degree from Tsinghua University under the Schwarzman Scholars programme and completed his bachelor’s at Yale–NUS College, where he read philosophy, politics, economics and history. His key research focus is consumption culture and history, with a secondary interest in international affairs. He is the author of From Streets to Stalls: The History and Evolution of Hawking and Hawker Centres in Singapore.
What Ryan Talked About
- 00:00 – How the term “hawker” is understood differently in Singapore, compared to in other countries
- 04:44 – When hawking might have started in Singapore
- 05:20– Preconditions for hawking
- 07:11– Colonial records, and hygiene and urban discipline issues during colonial times
- 09:06 – Why hawking was an attractive and accessible job then
- 10:39– Challenges colonial authorities faced in controlling hawkers
- 11:47 – Post-independence reforms in hawking
- 14:25– Establishment of hawker centres and their purpose
- 15:47 – How rent subsidies keep hawker food affordable
- 17:43– Origins of the first hawker centre and differences from hawker shelters
- 20:12– Loss of food heritage
- 23:27– Gentrification in hawker centres
- 25:27– Hawking as a vocation in the past and today
- 27:44– Why Singapore’s hawker culture won the UNESCO recognition for intangible cultural heritage
- 30:04– Contemporary political use of hawker centres
- 31:51– What Ryan is working on and what his favourite hawker centre is
- 36:47 – Hawking is…
Transcript
- Read the transcript: https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/podcast/hawker-culture-in-singapore-ryan-kueh/transcript
Subscribe to BiblioAsia for more stories about Singapore.
This episode of BiblioAsia+ was hosted by Jimmy Yap and produced by Soh Gek Han. Sound engineering was done by Nookcha Films. The background music “Di Tanjong Katong” was composed by Ahmad Patek and performed by Chords Haven. Special thanks to Ryan for coming on the show.
BiblioAsia+ is a podcast about Singapore history by the National Library Singapore.
View all episodes
By National Library, SingaporeHawkers traditionally sell their food on streets. Uniquely in Singapore though, they ply their trade in fixed stalls in hawker centres. Ryan Kueh, author of the bestselling From Streets to Stalls, tells us how the hawker culture has evolved in Singapore since the colonial period and what hawker centres have come to represent.
Ryan Kueh holds a master’s degree from Tsinghua University under the Schwarzman Scholars programme and completed his bachelor’s at Yale–NUS College, where he read philosophy, politics, economics and history. His key research focus is consumption culture and history, with a secondary interest in international affairs. He is the author of From Streets to Stalls: The History and Evolution of Hawking and Hawker Centres in Singapore.
What Ryan Talked About
- 00:00 – How the term “hawker” is understood differently in Singapore, compared to in other countries
- 04:44 – When hawking might have started in Singapore
- 05:20– Preconditions for hawking
- 07:11– Colonial records, and hygiene and urban discipline issues during colonial times
- 09:06 – Why hawking was an attractive and accessible job then
- 10:39– Challenges colonial authorities faced in controlling hawkers
- 11:47 – Post-independence reforms in hawking
- 14:25– Establishment of hawker centres and their purpose
- 15:47 – How rent subsidies keep hawker food affordable
- 17:43– Origins of the first hawker centre and differences from hawker shelters
- 20:12– Loss of food heritage
- 23:27– Gentrification in hawker centres
- 25:27– Hawking as a vocation in the past and today
- 27:44– Why Singapore’s hawker culture won the UNESCO recognition for intangible cultural heritage
- 30:04– Contemporary political use of hawker centres
- 31:51– What Ryan is working on and what his favourite hawker centre is
- 36:47 – Hawking is…
Transcript
- Read the transcript: https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/podcast/hawker-culture-in-singapore-ryan-kueh/transcript
Subscribe to BiblioAsia for more stories about Singapore.
This episode of BiblioAsia+ was hosted by Jimmy Yap and produced by Soh Gek Han. Sound engineering was done by Nookcha Films. The background music “Di Tanjong Katong” was composed by Ahmad Patek and performed by Chords Haven. Special thanks to Ryan for coming on the show.
BiblioAsia+ is a podcast about Singapore history by the National Library Singapore.