Street hawkers were the norm until the late 1970s but by the mid 1980s, all street hawkers had been licensed and made to move into purpose build hawker centers as this helped ensure food preparation, handling, sale and disposal were done in a clean, hygienic environment and priced affordably to customers.
Today, Singapore has 114 Hawker Centers all over the island with the smallest having less than 30 stalls (Dunman Hawker Center) and the largest over 200 stalls (Chinatown Complex Food Center).
All Hawker Centers are regulated by the NEA (National Environment Agency).
Interestingly, NEA only directly manages 26 Hawker Centers with the remaining 88 Hawker Centers managed by either the Town Councils or the new privately managed Hawker Centers, also known as SEHC (Social Enterprise Hawker Centers).
The Telok Ayer Hawker Center is the oldest “Hawker Center” in Singapore and was constructed on its existing site in 1894 but ceased operations in 1986 to allow the construction of the MRT which runs below the building. In 1989, it was renamed as the Lau Pa Sat (Old Market) and reopened for business as a privately run Food Court in 1991. Today, it caters mainly to the office and tourist community in the vicinity and the building owned and operated by NTUC Enterprise. As it is designated as a Food Court and not a Hawker Center, the food pricing reflects the different status.
Officially, the oldest Hawker Center in Singapore is the Maxwell Road Food Center. It was build in 1928 and became a must go eat place after the street hawkers in China Street were relocated to the Maxwell Road Food Center in 1987.
Today, many of the 3rd Generation family members of the original China Street Hawkers still carry on the proud tradition in making great food for the adoring public.
The largest Hawker Center in Singapore is the Chinatown Complex Food Center was opened in 1983.
There are more than 200 hawker stalls at the Chinatown Complex Food Center and one can actually get lost there.
To address this, the Authorities divided the hawker center into 4 colour zones, ie Red, Yellow, Blue and Green. This went a long way to allow stalls to be found and for customers to make their way out of the building.
Today, many stalls there have made their mark with locals and many tourists making a bee line to dine or takeaway on a very regular basis.
Majority of the hawker centers are located within the public housing estates to cater for the needs of the community.
To the credit of the Authorities, many of the older hawker centers have been upgraded with floors retiled, new tables and chairs fitted, & better ventilation installed for the benefit of both the stall operators and customers. Spring Cleaning is a quarterly norm to ensure the environment continue to remain hygienic and even the stall operators have to undergo mandatory annual medical checkup.
Today, almost all Singaporeans will have at least a daily meal at one of the 114 Hawker Centers and the quality of our food certainly brings a smile on our lips.
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