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 About00:00 – How the term “hawker” is understood differently in Singapore, compared to in other countries04:44 – When hawking might have started in Singapore05:20– Preconditions for hawking07:11– Colonial records, and hygiene and urban discipline issues during colonial times09:06 – Why hawking was an attractive and accessible job then10:39– Challenges colonial authorities faced in controlling hawkers11:47 – Post-independence reforms in hawking14:25– Establishment of hawker centres and their purpose15:47 – How rent subsidies keep hawker food affordable17:43– Origins of the first hawker centre and differences from hawker shelters20:12– Loss of food heritage23:27– Gentrification in hawker centres25:27– Hawking as a vocation in the past and today27:44– Why Singapore’s hawker culture won the UNESCO recognition for intangible cultural heritage30:04– Contemporary political use of hawker centres31:51– What Ryan is working on and what his favourite hawker centre is36:47 – Hawking is…TranscriptRead the transcript: https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/all-sections/podcast-hawker-culture-in-singapore-ryan-kueh/Subscribe to BiblioAsia for more stories about Singapore.This episode of BiblioAsia Podcast 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.The BiblioAsia Podcast by the National Library Singapore tells stories about Singapore history.