Singapore's foodie "hawker" culture given UNESCO recognition

[Saya]

Well deserved!

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's tradition of communal dining at hawker centres, open air food courts popularised by celebrity chefs and hit films such as 'Crazy Rich Asians', has been recognised by UNESCO for its cultural significance.

The United Nations' cultural agency announced late Wednesday it had added the city-state's "hawker culture" to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, nearly two years after Singapore submitted a bid to be included in the list.

Singapore's hawker centres were set up to house former street vendors, or "hawkers" in an effort to clean up the island in the 1970s and serve a variety of cheap, no-frills dishes to locals as well as providing a social setting.

"These centres serve as 'community dining rooms' where people from diverse backgrounds gather and share the experience of dining over breakfast, lunch and dinner," UNESCO said.

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Singapore's hawker culture added to Unesco list of intangible cultural heritage

Having hawker culture on the list commits Singapore to protecting and promoting it. Read more at straitstimes.com.

www.straitstimes.com

In virtual proceedings that took place on Wednesday night (Dec 16), a 24-member international committee unanimously accepted Singapore's application.

The process took all of three minutes, after nearly three years of work by the National Heritage Board, the National Environment Agency and the Federation of Merchants' Associations. As Singapore's application fulfilled all criteria, it was decided that there was no need for debate on it at the 15th session of the intergovernmental committee.

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Speaking to representatives from 117 states and non-governmental organisations, he said: "Singapore's hawker culture is a source of pride for Singapore and all Singaporeans. It reflects our living heritage and multiculturalism, and is an integral part of the daily lives of everyone in Singapore regardless of age, race or background.

"I thank all our hawkers and Singaporeans for their overwhelming support of this nomination... We pledge to do our part to safeguard our intangible cultural heritage."

Having hawker culture on the list commits Singapore to protecting and promoting it. The country will have to submit a report every six years to Unesco, showing the efforts made to safeguard and transmit hawker culture to future generations.

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I saw this too on Twitter yesterday, just gonna add it:



Can't wait to go back there

 

[Hallucinations]

A tad confused but seems cool. But what exactly makes it so need to be protected aside from it being a particularly diverse blend of people and nice food? Is it that its particularly cheap?

I mean I can go down to the Queen Victoria markets in Melbourne and get some nice food from different cultures as well in one place.

Edit: Lol looks like Melbourne is trying to get a bid for a place too.

 

[Zukuu]

I don't get what's the uniqueness about it?

 

[signal]

I've never been, but it always seemed like a night market just indoors. I guess it's unique enough 🤔

 

[Hollywood Duo]

Great decision. I'm sure at some point there would have be temptation to sell out to a multinational corporation.

I don't get what's the uniqueness about it?

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It's not about uniqueness, it's about cultural importance and authenticity. Being recognized like this helps preserve it for future generations.

 

[Lishi]

A tad confused but seems cool. But what exactly makes it so need to be protected aside from it being a particularly diverse blend of people and nice food? Is it that its particularly cheap?

I mean I can go down to the Queen Victoria markets in Melbourne and get some nice food from different cultures as well in one place.

Edit: Lol looks like Melbourne is trying to get a bid for a place too.

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Well, for one is dying.
Average age of one of those cooks it's quite high, probably will not survive 2-3 generation.
Having said that is good food, cheap with huge variation, and it's kind of embedded in the life of most people living in Singapore.
Be it a citizen, foreigner, tourist, rich, poor etc.

 

[clay_ghost]

I don't get what's the uniqueness about it?

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Street Food but clean lol


Edit

/S in case

 

[Saya]

I don't get what's the uniqueness about it?

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It's not about being unique, but about the hawker history which has become an intangible part of the culture of Singapore.

 

[Crazymoogle]

A tad confused but seems cool. But what exactly makes it so need to be protected aside from it being a particularly diverse blend of people and nice food? Is it that its particularly cheap?

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Apart from the history and culture, what makes Hawker Centers so important is that it's an accessible and minimalist style of eating that can support the broad spectrum of cultures and incomes of people living in Singapore.

I can buy breakfast or lunch or dinner for a few dollars. I can find options for western, indian, malay, chinese, indonesian, etc at basically any Hawker Center. It's equally accessible if I'm a poor retiree or a foreigner in a condo. The stalls are small (basically food truck size) which allows them to focus on specific food. And since there is no added tax or tip on the sticker price, what you see is what you pay.

I agree that the business is in trouble, with tons of competition (they are everywhere!), COVID and the price of business going up, but its vital to sustain the sheer variety of people here and how they live. In Canada, if I wanted a bowl of wonton noodles, I'd go to a Chinese restaurant and pay $10-$15 dollars. Here I just casually walk up to a stall and pay maybe $3 depending on the place. Want to add curry or fried rice? Just grab another plate from another stall.

 

[ItsTheLittleThings]

<3

 

[Pandora012]

This is pretty awesome recognition, and i hope it helps to keep the culture going. i know when i finally get to visit Singapore, I'll be checking out a few of these places.

 

[tiebreaker]

Cool. Hope I'll be able to visit again sometimes next year.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

Deserved. That stuff is so good. And impressively cheap - especially given how expensive Singapore can be.

 

[kagete]

I know it's good but communal dining halls and street food exist all over the world. Many with unique stalls serving indigenous food that likely won't survive past their current owners.

 

[squall23]

I remember watching about this on the Somebody Feed Phil episode that came out only a few months ago.

Good for them.

 

[Hallucinations]

Apart from the history and culture, what makes Hawker Centers so important is that it's an accessible and minimalist style of eating that can support the broad spectrum of cultures and incomes of people living in Singapore.

I can buy breakfast or lunch or dinner for a few dollars. I can find options for western, indian, malay, chinese, indonesian, etc at basically any Hawker Center. It's equally accessible if I'm a poor retiree or a foreigner in a condo. The stalls are small (basically food truck size) which allows them to focus on specific food. And since there is no added tax or tip on the sticker price, what you see is what you pay.

I agree that the business is in trouble, with tons of competition (they are everywhere!), COVID and the price of business going up, but its vital to sustain the sheer variety of people here and how they live. In Canada, if I wanted a bowl of wonton noodles, I'd go to a Chinese restaurant and pay $10-$15 dollars. Here I just casually walk up to a stall and pay maybe $3 depending on the place. Want to add curry or fried rice? Just grab another plate from another stall.

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Interesting. Sometimes when businesses don't compete on price and rather simply on quality... people naturally gravitate there. Low margins and high demand.

Mix in quality chefs and cooks (with I'm sure a much more sanitary careful culture like Singapore) and you're gonna get a proper gem of a place. Yeah I think I can definitely see why it's deserving.

I've been randomly thinking about living in Singapore for at least a little while. Would be a good place to not die of starvation on my poverty budget.

 

[squall23]

EDIT: Never mind. Didn't read correctly.

 

[Crazymoogle]

Interesting. Sometimes when businesses don't compete on price and rather simply on quality... people naturally gravitate there. Low margins and high demand.

Mix in quality chefs and cooks (with I'm sure a much more sanitary careful culture like Singapore) and you're gonna get a proper gem of a place. Yeah I think I can definitely see why it's deserving.

I've been randomly thinking about living in Singapore for at least a little while. Would be a good place to not die of starvation on my poverty budget.

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I won't lie, food is fine but rarely five stars or anything. You are buying cheap. But it's not cheap like a 99 cent mcdonalds item; each stall focuses on its own food and effectively specializes. The stalls aren't farming out their work to kids; they are usually very small operations. Don't like a particular plate? Well, you can always try the same thing at another Center (and honestly, the bigger markets usually have 2-3 copies of each major food anyway). Even Kaya - the famous toast staple - has a variety of flavors and your experience can vary a lot based on the bread. I'd say most people usually narrow down a specific favorite stall for any given thing.

 

[Smitington]

One of my very favorite parts of Singapore.