Our ever diminishing hawker foods

Hawker food, like this plate of fried carrot cake, may be a thing of the past in Singapore in the near future.Singapore’s ever changing landscape throughout the years has improved drastically. Thus, more people have at least a certain level of education before starting out to work, unlike the old days where it was more of a labor job.

In the past, education was more of a luxury than a necessity. Thus, people might start their own business, such as owning a small convenience shop or just selling food by the roadside. With stalls selling food sprouting around Singapore at roadsides, wide arrays of food could be found. Over time, they would hone their culinary skills, tweaking their recipes so as to sell the perfect bowl of bak chor mee or laksa for example. Thus, everyone might have a particular liking towards that particular stall. It could be of sentimental value such as the first date there. Other times, it could simply cause the food was just that good. When word spread that someone is selling something delicious, everyone would flock to try it. This trend still carries on as of currently.

However over time, when Singapore’s economy became stronger, education became more of a necessity rather than luxury now. What their forefathers and ancestors might have proved to be a successful formula, by selling that perfect bowl of food, might not be able to survive in this current economical state. The high cost of perishable goods, weight-conscious people, direct competition are just some examples why the current generation do not want to take over the reins of their family’s hawker business. Furthermore, they might not want to slog it out from dawn to dusk preparing ingredients and doing countless cleaning everyday. This is why some people would rather be working an office job, probably earning more than what they could earn by selling hawker food.

The rise of fast food, sprawling in every parts of the island, may tempt us to grab a quick bite at their outlets due to the hectic lifestyle. Whereas life was more laid back during the early days of Singapore. Everyone is rushing off to somewhere, heading to work, attending that important meeting or clinching that special deal that finding a hawker centre to have a meal might be hard too.

We should preserve our hawker heritage such as the Hainanese chicken rice or fried carrot cake, for the people of the future might not even have the chance to savour Singapore’s local delicacy.