Most younger Singaporeans wouldn’t know it, but the term ‘hawker’ centre is quite a misnomer. I remember my own English-language teacher telling me about how hawkers were itinerant food sellers who moved about frequently, rather than the static food stores that we have today. The ygblog reminisces about the days when ‘hawkers’ were still hawkers.
Photo credit: National Archives of Singapore
in those days, the people hawking food actually moved from place to place according to a schedule which they drew up themselves. much unlike today’s “hawkers” who are housed at a fixed place – a so-called hawker centre.i remember the putu mayam man who balanced a big, shallow basket on his head. he would make his appearance in the morning because most people, regardless of race, preferred to have their putu mayam for breakfast. the putu mayam came with brown sugar and grated coconut.
Interested to find out what other foods were hawked? Read yg’s blog!
Tags: Singapore Hawker foods
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