What would you do or feel if the Singapore government closed all the hawker centres?

Question

And, instead, all the stalls and dishes reappear in cafés and restaurants with prices to match?

Answer 1

Either will gather lots and lots of people and we go for hunger strike, or we gather lots and lots of people and pray to God or we gather lots and lots of hawker and ask them to open within shoppin complexes and ask Government for subsidy for rental cost.

Answer 2

That is an invitation so COZY, and to note that it is not so COSTLY! Kidding aside, this will be a good move and will surely attract foreigners to dig in the local food. But I hope the quality and quantity of servings will not suffer because of these.

Answer 3

Of cos i will feel very very very  sad. Y. Becos the food at hawker is so good, and most of the time the food is way too good compare to restaurant. Than the price is also extremly reasonable, not like restaurant. A plate of chicken rice can go up to double digi. LIke that not worth it la.

Answer 4

Frankly in my opinion, from those black and white pictures I have seen from books on historical Singapore, the meaning of food doesn't lie with the food solely.

I would not feel like a Singaporean if there are no longer hawker centres around, and the word 'Hawker' would be deleted in those dictionaries which would be available in Singapore, as there won't be real hawkers around to mark one of the special representation of Singapore. Those people who cook in cafes and restaurants would be 'cooks' or 'helpers', but not 'hawkers'.

There will not be familiar hot smoke in the air which gives out that oily yet fragrant smell of Singapore's authentic foods. The cafes and restaurants might be able to produce the same kind of food with similar prices, but how about that warm and memory-picking-up smell and hawker centre styles? They would be lost too.

Also, where would be the traditional atmospheres and sightings go? One historical National Stadium would be gone soon, and most of the kampongs were gone, if the widely spread and common hawker centres were gone too, what else could represent Singapore?

Not many significant places left to do that.

Answer 5

It wouldn't be the Singapore we know and love. Hawker centres are part and parcel of our lives and oh-so-quintessentially Singapore!

Answer 6

I would just have to clone my grandmother then, so that she can be my cook for all the dishes that they have at the hawker centres. she cooks better and it's free, to boot! a win-win situation! ;)

Answer 7

I will do home cook food for my family and I think they would prefer to eat more healthier food at home.  I feel that it will be more inconvenient to go to cafes and restaurants because of additional cost to pay for gst and tax.

Answer 8

What to do? Great food at the expense of deep pockets. No choice right? Still need food to survive. So "die die" must eat the best possible food from these cafes and restaurants to satisfy that "high-class" tummies of ours.

Singaporeans, being a unique bunch, will do the expected. Price increases will definitely lead to complaints, complaints and more complaints! BUT when these people pay and get themselves satisfied on that familiar great-tasting plate of char kuay teow or chewy barbequed chunks of meat on that flaming hot charcoal, all the complaints will go the same way as their great food within their tummies - OUT!

Answer 9

Hawer centre is like a historical part of everyone's life. The simplicity of lifestyle, the sound of wok 'king king and keng keng' gives you the joy of enjoying the food served. Casual as it is, to put that in the resturant, it's just don't have that carefree feeling anymore.

Answer 10

cannt la... takin away all those friendly hawkers every sporean makan for so long  and see them being replaced by air con resturant and english speakin waiters.. feel very sad  and oddward one... hawker centre are part of the things that makes sporeans feel they are at home.. also spare a through to those hawker who cant afford exp rental fee. and also by sayin prices to match is quals to prices goin up, like tat will burn everyone ones pocket.. so ans is disagree to the ques posted..

Answer 11

i will be very sad if all hawker centres are close down.

i will be sadder if the prices of chicken rice is charge at $10 in a cafés and restaurants. worst still the taste of chicken rice is what we get from hawker centres.

i will be happy and delight if the prices of food in the cafés and restaurants is the same as what we get from hawker centres. Furthermore, we will also enjoy the cosy environment.

lastly, it depends on the pricing of the foods that hawker centres offers.

Answer 12

i feel that Singaporeans will still vote for them no matter what they did.

Answer 13

If the price is as low as hawker, in fact i don't mind. The hawker centres sometimes are wuite dirty and inhygenic.. And there are cats, birds and flies. If the stalls in restaurants can provide good food with cheap price, i will prefer it.

Answer 14

IT WOULD BE GREAT IF THIS HAPPEN.I WOULD ADAPT MYSELF TO THIS NEW CHANGE AND START GOING TO RESTAURANTS MORE OFTEN .

Answer 15

I would be very shocked then disappointed...Hawker centres play such big roles in our culture. Where am I to get my weekly dose of 60 cents teh tarik then?

Answer 16

I guess if all hawkers are closed, most people will head on to kopitaim/coffee shops. The ambience and atmostphere between cafes/restaurant and hawker/kopitams are very different. Those posh places give a sense of class and serene, usually they are very quiet. Hawker centres are very different, they are messy and very noisy, but there is something in it that just seems to emits a kind of friendlyness in it. People in a hawker centre seems so much more vibrant and alive. It is also a part of our culture. In most of the restaurants, they are not even serving dishes that give you a sense that you are in singapore. They just plainly serve you western food. Like  say, its most, not all. But to really undersatnd what the singapore culture is about, especially in food, you have got to go to hawker centres, stalls with history. Its not just about the price, but also about the culture and heritage. Its quite unimaginable to have no hawker centres, imagine that you have no place to eat, laugh, shout and being plain stupid, can't imagine anyone doing so in a restaurant.

Answer 17

I will protest and protest and protest like there's no tomorrow. Food is VERY important to Singaporeans! No exception for me!

Answer 18

Closed all the hawker centres!?!?

That would be TRAGIC for so many reasons!

Hawker centres are where we find the best food in singapore. They serve as a one stop centre for pig out sessions with friends and family because all hawker centres have a wide variety of food; from hokkien mee to indian rojak to roti jala to carbonara. Some are open 24-hours. This was extremely convinient during the world cup season where i could just pop down during the half time and be back before the second half with 2-3 packets of mee goreng with me.

We cannot close the hawker centre for another important reasons: it imbibes a sort of community spirit in folks. It is where residents can partake in singapore favourite pastime (eating if you already didnt know) with their friends and family from neighbouring blocks. It is a place where people can come together and indulge in something that is common to them, regardless of race.

My father himself is a hawker and i can see this community spirit when i help him out at the shop. He has made many friends with the residents and with his fellow hawkers, even those that he should consider as business rivals. They even come together and have drinks or supper after the day is done.

One may argue that you can do this at a food court in one of the shopping centres, but i say that it would be totally different. The atmosphere in a shopping centre is very different from the laid back, lazy feeling at a hawker centre. And whatmore with Singapore's fast-paced life, i believe that we need hawker centres even more.

What about gatherings at a community centre? True, the community centre is another great place for buliding relationships and fostering friendships with fellow residents, but i have to admit, not alot make an effort to go down to the community centre to participate in classes and whatnot. Food however is a great motivator. One always has to eat sometime. Besides, conversation is always better with good food on the table.

The government CANNOT close hawker centres!!! It's to important to Singaporeans and i believe that it is an integral part of our lives.

Answer 19

I will set up a mini stall nearby a bus terminal and name it " Famous Hawker Centre - Established Since 2006".....

And if I get shut down by the government, I'll switch to Plan B.

Which is to open up a café nearby to senior citizens populous area, remove all the interior decors,place numbers on the tables and hire a couple of elderly 'uncles' to give a hawker centre feel to the "cafe".....A hawker centre inside a café!!

Business will boom as elderly folks will flock in to relive the golden days!!

Answer 20

oh my word is wat i would say! would it happen? i don't think so..... IMPOSSIBLE.....

Answer 21

In this case, I do not mind as I prefer more hygienic eating places. However, the feeling will be different as the atmosphere is going to changed. At any case, it is impossible that Singapore Government will close all hawker centres as it is one of the Singapore attraction.

Answer 22

If all the hawker centres are close when can we go if we want to have food at night? as we all know that the stalls at the hawker centre have their own working hour, so even at 3am in the morning we can still get some food. But if no more hawker centre where can we go for food at night..... And that will mean no more satay club or newton food centre.... ;~(

Answer 23

I would see that day as Singapore being a cosmopolitan city!

All food retailers will be aware of the importance of cleanliness and service standards. Having all the goodies reappear in cafes and restaurants will surely make every Singaporean happy!

We are seeing foodcourts as the replacement of hawker centres already.

Answer 24

My first reaction would definitely be outrage. I would be angry that cheap and tasty fare would cease to exist.

My second reaction would be pity. Hawker centres are a unique feature and trademark of Singapore. It would be a painful loss to the history and heritage of the Singapore food scene should such an atrocity happen. The food would never taste the same again in cafes and restaurants. Even if they reduce the selling price of the food to it was once sold in hawker centres, the atmosphere is totally different. The 'food' had been sanitised. Gone would be the unique aroma coming from the different stalls and the unique tables and chairs that are so characteristic of Singapore's hawker centres.

My last reaction would be opportunity. I might even thank the government for presenting me with such a wonderful chance to make money. Given that hawker fare has migrated to cafes and restaurants, Singaporeans being expert bargain hunters would look to the coffee shops for their favourite food. If I have the capital, I would set up coffeeshops in every nook and cranny of Singapore featuring famous dishes sampled and lauded by 'foodie experts' like you, Mr. Seetoh. I believe business would be brisk and good.

Answer 25

I will definitely be extremely upset and disappointed with the Singapore government. What I would do is to ask fellow Singaporeans to sign a petition and then bring this matter up to the authorities to ask them to reconsider this move. I am sure with the help of our MPs and our unity, together we can stop the change and have our hawker centres in place.

Singapore is a food paradise and in order for food lovers to enjoy local delicacies, prices must be affordable as it is now, although prices have gone up along the years.

A hawker centre is a place where multi-racial harmony can be seen as Singaporeans of all races come together to eat food prepared by people of different races. We can see Chinese locals eating Halal food, Satays, etc. We can see Indians and Muslims eating Chinese food, say, Rojak or Popiah.

Besides eating, hawker centres are also places for Singaporeans to just sit down and spend their time away on a lazy day/night. Singaporeans are able to do this because drinks sold there are cheap and they can have rounds after rounds of beverages. If hawker centres were to have prices of cafes and such, who, especially the elderly or older generation would want to stick around at hawker centres?

What would become of the usual weekends where people can be seen gathering at hawker centres as well as coffeeshops, watching football? There won't be as much interaction amongst Singaporeans as it is currently.

What will happen if inbound tourists were to come to Singapore and find out that the food prices are no longer as cheap as before? They might reconsider the next time they plan a trip to Singapore and tourism is Singapore's main source of income. This will definitely affect Singapore's economy.

Hawker centres will no longer be buzzing like they are now and local delicacies will no longer taste as nice due to the expensive prices.

Moreover, hawkers will lose their rice bowls as it will not be too feasible to open a cafe selling hawker foods and this may increase the unemployment rate. Everybody will stop eating out, or maybe not as often and that reduces our multiplier effect as people will be spending less on food.

Somehow or rather, I strongly believe the Singapore government will not be so foolish to implement such a decision which affect Singaporeans and the country itself so drastically.

Answer 26

It would be alright if our salaries were increased to match that level cost of living. They do the same thing in other countries, but the salary they earn there is 2 or 3 times more. In addition, if they do that, they have to ensure that the quality of the food matches the price. and I can safely say that in Singapore, the quality is generally low. Everyone uses MSG and food's just not fresh and you get ill from eating out.

Answer 27

Sad and disappointed. Reason being that what you can find in eating at a hawker centre can never be found in a resaturant. A hawker centre will always be special in their own way and no one has the right to take it away. The reason why Singapore Government spends money on facelifting our hawker centres is because they also feel its never replaceable and no one would spend that kind of money in a restaurant when it could be found in a hawker centre.

If the Government were to close down all the hawker centres, I would start an online petition and also write in to the press, asking for the reason fo rthe closure.

Answer 28

that's great! BUT will not happen here ever! unless our standards of living drop.

Answer 29

If that happens, i'll gather all resources and hawkers, start up an association.

Probably start up an 'air-con' hawker centre (not like food court) to cater to the younger crowd.

Maybe even adopt the concept overseas to 'exert' pressure on whoever to maintain or re-open hawker centre in Singapore!

Answer 30

Frankly speaking.. If all hawker centres are changed to cafes/restarurants, I don't really mind as long as the prices are comparable to what hawker centres are offering. Of course not forgetting the quality & quantity of the food served. Having good food, with good environment, I guess we don't have to sweat and eat at the same time. Hahahaha....

However, on the contrast, if hawker centres are gone, something seems to be lacking.. The familiarity of uncles shouting 'kopi-gao'(strong coffee) or someone calling from back saying 'sio'(hot) are gone. I guess this will only be felt from the people who know there's hawker centres.

Well, I guess there is always good and bad when there are changes. But coming back to the point, I feel that hawker centres should stay! =)

Answer 31

I will be very upset. Hawker centers have become so much a part of our lifes.. The government shuould consult the people first before making such a decision.

Well, I guess if that really happens, the next best places to go  will the food courts and coffee shops...