SINGAPORE: Singaporeans bonded together in an online forum, sharing their most underrated hawker stalls and dishes after an online user created a thread appreciating the hidden gems in hawker stalls around the country. As a result of the thread, which many Singaporeans added to, a list of food stalls and dishes was created, giving food lovers new things to try.
“There are so many good gems in Singapore that are disappearing or unheard of,” the online user wrote on Wednesday (Nov 20). “When I was young, my parents brought me to Taman Jurong Market/Hawker Centre every Saturday and Sunday morning for breakfast, where there was a hawker stall that sold the best economical beehon and kway teow that I ever had. It may sound simple, but it was so delicious with the sambal and crispy chicken wings. Sadly I don’t know where they moved to after the renovations.”
Read also: MPs unite in support of measures to strengthen Singapore’s hawker culture
The post created by the writer was titled, “What’s an underrated hawker stall or dish you swear by, but most people don’t know about?”
From secret food stalls to recommended dishes and well-priced food with good quality, all about food was shared by Singaporean foodies or food lovers who responded to the call and took to the comments section to drop their favourites. “Royal Dum Biriyani at Tekka Market,” said one. “No queues or crowds at this shop. But their biriyani is amazing. It’s the only shop I know where they use olive oil for their biriyani. Highly recommended.”
Another shared, “Tau kwa pau at Dunman Food Ctr. It’s not S$2 per piece, but it’s still authentic and original. You probably won’t find a similar version in any other hawker centre. The only trouble is, their opening hours depend highly on the orders for that day. Some days, they close early because many people order. Some days, they have to throw away unsold tau kwa because business is slow…and you cannot keep tau kwa because it goes stale.”
“There used to be this noodle stall inside Telok Blangah Crescent FC that sold dry chicken noodles, and I would willingly queue for at least 30 minutes for this as a primary school kid in the 90s,” said a third. “It was just egg noodles, some chye sim plus hand-shredded poached chicken all coated in a light brown, slightly gooey sauce full of chickeny goodness. Sadly, they moved away and I never did find out where they went. I also never found any place that served a similar dish.”
According to the National Environment Agency, hawker culture is considered a central part of Singaporean life, as it gathers people from all cultures and backgrounds, and allows them to enjoy hawker food together. As such, hawker centres have become symbolic of a sense of community. Furthermore, hawker culture celebrates a diversity of cuisines of different cultures that ended up settling in Singapore.