(Editor’s note: this is an old post by Min from the SIGIR ‘08 blog, but still relevant today).
Bak Kut Teh (pork rib soup), another local fav (courtesy u m a m i@flickr)
While Singaporeans are well renowned for their attention to detail, this carries on most distinctly in food. Yes, Singaporeans are especially proud (read: finicky) of their local food sources. No trip to Singapore is complete without a trip to a local culinary institution, the hawker stand.
(Hainanese Chicken Rice, S'pore style? (courtesy currypuffy@flickr)
There are many food stands here, gathered into “food courts” (air conditioned centers or hawker centers: open air plazas. What we’re after here is the hawker center. Why hawkers? Well, they are called hawker centers, named after the hawkers (callers) who used to go around the neighborhood crying out to advertise the food that they had to offer (”get your fresh fishball noodles here!!”). In more recent times these mobile food vendors were legislated and localized to a specific food stall for inspection purposes, among other things. Each center consists usually of about 15-50 stalls (although usually many fewer will be actually open) offering various Chinese, Indian, Muslim and occasionally other foods, such as Japanese, vegetarian or Italian. Within each plaza there is always a central stand serving drinks (thus you buy your beverages at a different stall), which sometimes doubles as a fresh fruit stand (because many of the beverages are freshly squeezed/pulped fruit juices). There are many variants of Chinese food that I didn’t recognize here when I first arrived in SG and for the most part I have been ordering what I can pronounce reasonably ok (it’s easier to use English and you probably sound less like you’re trying hard if you do). Also, family is a big thing here. There are practically no single people eating at these plazas, unlike the food courts of the US. Mostly families or friends or couples going out. The price of food at these hawker stands is also very cheap. Your average dinner at the food plazas will be around 6 SGD (4 USD), although our local school’s canteen, you might be hard pressed to spend more than 4 dollars for a regular meal. Eating times vary a bit from other global metropolises, where it is always possible to get a meal 24 hours a day. That can be done easily in Singapore too, but just in certain areas (ask me!). I find the hawker food good to eat and sometimes have a hard time in justifying the difference in cost to eat at an actual restaurant (the cost is about 15-20 SGD or much more), since the hawker food is already quite good for my taste.
Hawker Center at Ghim Moh (courtesy food_in_mouth@flickr)
Hawker food comes in many different varieties but there are some simple rules to remember about eating out:
- Bring tissues. Those small packs of tissue are essential for the traveller in Asia. If you don’t have one by the time you are at a hawker center, buy one from the drink stand (there’s always one open), or borrow one from your friend who came along and was better prepared than you 
- Make sure to reserve a seat. One of the customs here is to “reserve” a seat at a table. Send your friends to buy their food first and then when they return it’s your turn. You did bring someone to eat with, didn’t you? Yes, it does waste valuable table space, seeing as many people in a hawker center are there just to reserve a space. But when in Rome…
- “Self-service” In the US, this means you pump your own petrol. But in Singapore, it means that you have to get the food after it’s cooked and return to your seat. If there’s no such sign, you can let the stall owner have their helper deliver it to your table (yes, that’s what the table number is for).
- “$2 $3 $5″: Don’t let someone fool you into thinking these are different prices for locals, expats and tourists. Nah, it’s for the portion size you might want to eat. Many dishes can be made with more ingredients to make a richer plate of food. You can tell the stall owner how much money you wish your food to cost. Typically, a higher price corresponds to more meat/veggies and not carbo, so it’s not quite the same as upsizing your McMeal.
- So are you ready? Listen to what locals tell their hawkers when ordering. If you can pick out the meaning, you’ll hear the dialogue being negotiated in a semi-fixed order. Usually, people tell the hawker what dish they want, followed by the dollar amount, whether they want chili or not, and specify *exactly* how they want it cooked (Burger King’s got nothing on this.) Other details follow: whether they want it “packet” (to go) or to “makan” (eat here, “makan” is eat/food in Malay) and where they are sitting (if it is to be delivered to your table).
-Min’s 2009 ACL-IJCNLP update. ‘Food Republic’ downstairs from the conference venue is *not* the same as a hawker center, no matter what it advertises. That’s not to bash Food Republic, just that the atmosphere (and heat and humidity) are completely different. Go out and explore. The closest (food-wise) bearable hawker center to Suntec City would be Lau Pa Sat, Newton Circus or the Bugis (pronounced ‘BOO-gis’; try saying ‘BUG-is’ to a local is a sure way to get them to fall over laughing) hawker center.
Talk to any Singaporean or resident here and they will always be able to chat about their favorite hawker stands. Beats talking about the weather for a conversation opener (”Man, it sure is hot and humid these days…”). Wise up by checking out some of the hungrygowhere or makansutra websites (you do remember what ‘makan’ means, right?)
keropokman commented on this post in SIGIR ‘08, so I’ll just share it here too. (Visit his site if you want to salivate about food):
The term Hawker Centre is an oxymoron.
A Hawker moves around
If you realise, they have all been renamed “Food Centres” in almost all the ’so called hawker centres”
