I’ll admit that I was at first skeptical of hawker centers, wondering what the government’s underlying agenda was in a country that seems to have everything in perfect order; organizing street food was yet another step in striving for an idyllic country but at the sacrifice of losing out on the life on the street usually surrounding such vendors. After a few days in Singapore I realized that, while this may be true, what is lacking on the streets is more than made up for inside. Here is what I understand hawker centers to be.

Numerous

Dinner time, Holland Village Market and Food Centre

Hawker centers are easy to find; with over 100 throughout the city there is sure to be at least one in almost every neighborhood.

Affordable

Chwee kueh, a steamed rice cake topped with preserved radish, a popular breakfast item, costs less than $2 US — *Chwee kueh*, a steamed rice cake topped with preserved radish, a popular breakfast item, costs less than $2 US

Singapore is an expensive city; order a domestic beer at happy hour price at any bar and pay $7 US minimum, more than you might find in New York. The government subsidizes rent of about half of hawker center stalls, allowing the vendors to provide affordable food for tourists and locals alike. We spent no more than $4-10 US for two of us on any given meal.

Protected

Hawker centers are all indoors, providing shelter from the rain and the sun. With the perpetual warm climate of the country, cool temperatures outside aren't an issue so the centers are open-air.

Hygienic

Prem's favorite fish ball noodles uncle, Tiong Bahru Food Centre

The city has worked hard at improving hygiene of both its businesses and its residents. For example, the courtyard of the apartment building we stayed in had statues representing actions of a healthy lifestyle including washing hands and keeping toilets clean.

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice stall, Maxwell Road Hawker Centre

Hygiene of hawker center vendors are managed by the National Environment Agency, which, among other forms of regulation, requires food vendors to register with them by taking a "Basic Food Hygiene" course, provides numerous food safety resources, posts a visible hygiene rating at each vendor's stall and asks customers for assistance by reporting vendors who don't use rubber gloves, for example.

Service fees are subsidized by the government to ensure there is paid staff to maintain cleanliness of the public areas. The hawker centers we ate at even had restrooms and washing stations for personal hygiene and comfort.

Delicious and Fresh, with Variety

Hainanese Chicken Rice at Maxwell Road Hawker Centre

Fish Ball Noodle Soup at Tiong Bahru Food Centre

Grilled Fish at Holland Village Market and Food Centre

Vendors arrive in the early morning hours to start preparing food for that day, following the many guidelines that the NEA makes public on their website. Hawker centers provide numerous options of local cuisine, pulling influence from Malaysia, Thailand, India and China; all the food we had was flavorful. The variety allows everyone in your group to order their preference and come together to eat at one of the communal tables. We especially enjoyed Hainanese chicken rice, laksa, char kway teow, fish ball noodle soup and chee cheong fun.

Accessible

Along with early opening and late closing hours and the open communal seating, each of the above attributes makes hawker centers accessible and attractive to people from all walks of life and all ages. We saw families, students, singles, couples, locals, tourists, elderly people, business people and groups of friends enjoying food and drink at all times of the day.

more travel posts

Where to Drink Specialty Coffee in Lisbon, Portugal: Fall 2016 Edition

Specialty coffee is still a relative novelty in Lisbon, but it's growing, and we tell you where to find it.

Visiting Lisbon, Portugal: What to See, Where to Eat and Drink, Fall 2016 Edition

As soon as our taxi left the highway leading from the airport and started navigating the narrow cobblestone streets lined with colorful tiled buildings, we were smitten with beautiful Lisbon. The hilly topography, which we would spend hours walking up and down over the next week, only added to the charm, especially as it provided frequent miradouros (views) of the city and the coast.

Zagreb: A Rough Guide to Coffee and Food, Fall 2016 Edition

I have taken a liking to Zagreb, since my first visit in 2014, and feel more comfortable with each annual visit I’ve made since then — I have my regular coffee and food spots I make the rounds of, and friends I visit.

Eating & Drinking Denver, Colorado: Fall 2016 Edition

Earlier this year our friends moved from Brooklyn to Denver, Colorado. This fall we had the chance to visit Denver so we could see their new lives and explore the Mile-High City for our first time. In just a few short days we ate and drank a bunch (shocker!); here are some of the spots we really enjoyed.

Sporadic Bursts of Instant Gratification (or, The Most Memorable Bites of the Year), 2016 edition

This year saw a lot of travel as we kicked off the year traveling around Southeast Asia for six weeks, visiting India, Singapore, southern Thailand and Vietnam. We ate a lot of incredible food on our inaugural visit to Vietnam, many of which made it here. There was always fish sauce on the table and, on occasion, a “grand cru” from Phu Quoc.

Drinking Chiang Mai, Thailand: Specialty Coffee, Fall 2016 Edition

Not only is Chiang Mai close to the origins of much of the Arabica (and specialty) coffee grown in Thailand, it also embraces a culture of experimentation.

An Ice Cream Tour with Meghan in Chiang Mai’s Nimmanhaemin

As soon as we arrived to Chiang Mai and started walking around our neighborhood of Nimmanhaemin, my well-trained eye noticed the abundance of ice cream shops. I made it my personal challenge to try as many of them as I could, in between bowls of khao soi and plates of mango sticky rice. Here are the ones I got to.

A Day at Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand

After researching ethical options for hanging out with elephants in Thailand, we ended up at Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary for rescued elephants as well as water buffaloes and dogs. We highly recommend spending a day of your trip here; it’s well worth it. To prepare, here is how you can expect your day to go.

Transit Travel: A Summer Day in Helsinki, Finland

I spent a leisurely Saturday exploring the specialty coffee scene in Helsinki, concluding my evening with a delightful meal that let me vicariously explore Helsinki and its surrounding forests. Instead of indulging in the almost masochistic pleasure that can only arise from knowing the pain of separation that comes from familiarity, transit travel allows one to experience the beauty in fleetingness itself

Eating Chiang Mai, Thailand, Fall 2016 Edition

A handful of street food vendors dot the streets of Chiang Mai during the day, but once the sun goes down and the night markets are set up, the street food really comes alive. Most of these dishes won’t be on the menu at your local pad Thai take-out spot back home.

Visiting Chiang Mai, Thailand: An Overview, Fall 2016

Despite being the largest city in Northern Thailand, Chiang feels manageable and laid back, in part due to far less traffic and a smaller city center than its southern counterpart, Bangkok. Here is the practical information we observed in our time there.

Where to Drink Specialty Coffee in Bangkok, Thailand: Fall 2016 Edition

On the surface Bangkok is still a place for Thai iced teas and sweetened coffee drinks, but the specialty coffee scene here is growing rapidly. Unlike New York or London, Bangkok has an advantage neither of those cities have — Thailand is also an origin country.

Drinking Bangkok, Thailand: Cocktails, Fall 2016 Edition

While we primarily ate on the streets, Bangkok is also a cosmopolitan world city — you can eat Thai food at fancy places, spend the evening at a wine bar, or have a nightcap at one of the many cocktail bars.

Eating Bangkok, Thailand, Fall 2016 Edition

Bangkok has a street food life that doesn’t sleep. You can find vendors pretty much everywhere and at all hours selling savory foods, sweet foods, drinks and fruits. There are also many shophouses and trendy restaurants serving up Thai food. Opinions are to be had about whether street food or shophouses are better, but either way you won’t go hungry.

Visiting Bangkok, Thailand: An Overview, Fall 2016

On our second visit to Thailand we spent time in Bangkok, the country’s most populous city. Our first visit to Thailand was earlier this year to Koh Lanta, a small laid back island in the south, a far cry from the busy metropolis that is the country’s capital. Over our 6 nights in Bangkok, here’s the practical information we observed.

Drinking Singapore: Coffee & Cocktails, Fall 2016 Edition

Singapore is no stranger to specialty coffee. It has become increasingly easy to find a good cuppa. The city has also taken a liking to cocktails, and while the New York influence is inescapable, many of these "speakeasies" and cocktail bars bring their own originality, both to the cocktails and the space.

Eating Singapore, Fall 2016 Edition

How can we talk about Singapore and not talk about hawker centers? Well, that’s kinda the point of this post. We love Singapore for the mix of fantastic hawker center fare and international cuisine from around the world. This time we want to highlight just the latter, from our most recent visits.

Tallinn, Estonia, Spring 2016 Edition

As a child, having lived only in cities in India, when someone asked me where in the world I'd like to go, Estonia firmed its way into my imagination before I had any conception of what I might want a place I visited to be like...

Eating Vietnam, Part 5: Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon, is a bustling metropolis with millions of people and, probably even more, motorbikes. It’s a sprawling city with much more of a Western influence than Hanoi. Nestled among this modern culture are alleys full of local food vendors serving up traditional and inexpensive food.

Looking Back: 1 Year Anniversary

It’s been a little over a year since we put our idea of a blog to action and exactly one year since our first blog post.

Eating Vietnam, Part 4: Da Lat

Due to transportation logistics, Da Lat (Đà Lạt) was not our next stop in Vietnam, but geographically it makes sense to talk about it after Hoi An (Hội An). Settled in the south-central highlands of the country and surrounded by nature, the region’s climate...

Eating Mexico City, Spring 2016 Edition

During our recent visit to Mexico City, which was Prem’s third time and my first, we ate and drank our way through the capital with a vengeance.

Eating Vietnam, Part 3: Hoi An

This is Part 3 of a 5-part series on eating our way through Vietnam. We spent three weeks in Vietnam, starting with Hanoi in the north, making our way down over 1,000 miles to Ho Chi Minh City in the south. See Part 1: Introduction and Part 2: Hanoi.

Eating Vietnam, Part 2: Hanoi

This is Part 2 of a 5-part series on eating our way through Vietnam. We spent three weeks in Vietnam, starting with Hanoi in the north, making our way down over 1,000 miles to Ho Chi Minh City in the south. Click here for Part 1.

Traveling by Long Distance Train and Bus in Vietnam

We hadn't planned transportation between any Vietnam cities in advance of our 3-week stay since we didn't know if our rough itinerary might change as we learned more about the country. In the end we visited five different cities and took a train or bus to get between most.

Eating Vietnam, Part 1: Introduction

This is Part 1 of a 5-part series on eating our way through Vietnam. We spent three weeks in Vietnam, starting with Hanoi in the north, making our way down over 1,000 miles to Ho Chi Minh City in the south.

Street Food in Singapore, Off the Streets

I’ll admit that I was at first skeptical of hawker centers, wondering what the government’s underlying agenda was in a country that seems to have everything in perfect order...

Packing for a 7-Week Journey in Asia

Until our recent 7-week trip through India and southeast Asia neither of us had ever traveled for longer than a two-week period at a time, making for all sorts of new experiences, not just during our travels, but also while preparing. How to pack for 7 weeks?

Breakfast in India

The vocabulary, once foreign to me, is now becoming more comfortable, as these types of words often do. They conjure up feelings of hunger, satisfaction and familiarity. They represent family, community and tradition. ..

They are the foods that Prem grew up eating for breakfast and I now crave and find comfort in, alongside him, with each trip to his home country, India.

Chai

In a dense, populous city like Bombay you don’t need to go very far for good chai. My favorite chai in the world is the chai I can find in my neighborhood, and it happens to be pretty damned good...