A new wave of hawkers is entering the trade, preserving the beloved local culture by reinventing the scene in traditionally unconventional ways
By Tang Jia Wen
Published 7 August 2019
Nestled amongst the visibly aged hawker stalls of Beauty World Food Centre, the unassuming storefront of Hambaobao is tended to by two fresh faces; Ryan Wee, 30, and his wife Clare Ng, 27.
A play on the direct Mandarin translation of “hamburger”, Hambaobao brings back a familiar childhood nostalgia for many customers, while serving up a traditionally unconventional hawker stall menu. Relatively well-known, many would consider Hambaobao the poster child of a new generation of hawkers stepping up to preserve the hawker culture while keeping up with the times.
Based on an independent survey conducted by The Walking Sun, nine in ten respondents consider hawker centres to be an important part of the Singaporean identity. Furthermore, in a 2018 public survey by the National Heritage Board, “food heritage” was shown to be the most important aspect amongst respondents. While there has been much talk surrounding the sustainability of the local hawker food heritage, keen observers would have noticed a quiet but steady rise of unconventional stalls popping up all over the island.
In fact, the steep surge in the number of “hawkerpreneurs” led to the suspension of a hawker training programme by Fei Siong Food Management as a result of overwhelming response.
A combination of the words “hawker” and “entrepreneurs”, these new-generation hawkers are no longer novel sights in the industry, especially with their growing social media presence.
“There is definitely a trend of more new-generation hawkers rising up to the challenge of sustaining the local hawker culture. Most of them have realised that in order to stay afloat, they have to adapt to the times not only in terms of updating their recipes, but in terms of how they communicate with their customers. Their enthusiasm and creativity bring a breath of fresh air to the industry,” says Ms Lim Su Fern Linda, 41, who is the course manager of the Diploma in Food & Beverage Business in Nanyang Polytechnic.
Over at Yishun Park Hawker Centre, Mr Andri Jamil, 36, is the owner of The Outslider. Having been opened for eight months, The Outslider has a following of close to 800 on Instagram. Recognising the rising prominence of social media amongst the general public, Mr Jamil has taken to Instagram as the main channel of publicity and communication for The Outslider.
The usage of social media platforms as a form of engagement between hawkers and their customers was popularised by new-generation hawkers such as Mr Jamil. “Now that times have changed, we have to adapt as well. We quickly realised that social media is where we could get all these young people to pay attention to us. It is a tool that hawkers in the past did not have,” explains Mr Jamil.
The Outslider specialises in fusion sliders at an affordable price. When Mr Jamil returned from his cooking stint overseas in late 2018, he decided to set up a hawker stall selling food that the local crowd is not used to seeing in hawker centres.
While some may lament that the serving of non-traditional hawker fare in hawker centres by new-generation hawkers will lead to the destruction of local food heritage, there are others who disagree.
“I frequent the Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre with my family and friends,” says Perlyn Chew, 19, who is a university student living in the area. The Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre was opened in January 2018, and offers a wide variety of options. The second level of the hawker centre is dedicated to non-traditional food, and even a space for craft markets and art workshops.
“We find it very refreshing that they have all these stalls with non-traditional options like fusion Japanese rice bowls,” explains Ms Chew. “While we will always love our nasi lemak, having these alternatives will definitely keep us going back to the hawker centre for more.”
Life as a new-generation hawker is not a bed of roses. However, the fate of the Singaporean food heritage lies in their hands, and with enough support from the general public, the trend will evolve into the dawn of a new hawker era.