Hawker centre
Encyclopedia
A hawker centre or cooked food centre is the name given to open-air complexes in Hong Kong
, Malaysia, Singapore
and Riau Islands housing many stalls that sell a variety of inexpensive
food
. They are typically found near public housing
estates or transport hubs (such as bus interchanges or train station
s).
Hawker centres sprung up in urban
areas following the rapid urbanisation
in the 1950s and 1960s. In many cases, they were built partly to address the problem of unhygienic food preparation by unlicensed street hawkers. More recently, they have become less ubiquitous due to growing affluence in the urban populations of Malaysia and Singapore. Particularly in Singapore, they are increasingly being replaced by food court
s, which are indoor, air conditioned
versions of hawker centres located in shopping malls and other commercial venues.
In the 1950s and 1960s, hawker centres were considered to be a venue for the less affluent. They had a reputation for unhygienic
food, partly due to the frequent appearance of stray
domestic pet
s and pest
s. Many hawker centres were poorly managed by their operators, often lacking running water
and proper facilities for cleaning. More recently, hygiene standards have improved, with pressure from the local authorities. This includes the implementation of licensing requirements, where a sufficient standard of hygiene is required for the stall to operate, and rewarding exceptionally good hygiene. Upgrading or reconstruction of hawker centres was initiated in the late 1990s in Singapore
. At the same time, hawker centres were renamed food centres.
The hawker centres in Singapore are owned by three government bodies, namely the National Environment Agency
(NEA) under the parent Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR), Housing and Development Board (HDB) and JTC Corporation
. All the centres, in turn, are managed by NEA. On 5 March 2010, NEA launched www.myhawkers.sg, which is an interactive web portal that offers useful information on hawker centres and food stalls. The portal allows registered users to review or recommend hawker stalls or hawker centres and to provide feedback to NEA on hygiene matters in hawker centres.
In Hong Kong, hawker centres are located in market complexes of residential districts. Stalls from hawker centres are converted from Dai pai dong
by strict regulations and management. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department
manages hawker centres in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Malaysia, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and Riau Islands housing many stalls that sell a variety of inexpensive
Price
-Definition:In ordinary usage, price is the quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services.In modern economies, prices are generally expressed in units of some form of currency...
food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
. They are typically found near public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
estates or transport hubs (such as bus interchanges or train station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
s).
Hawker centres sprung up in urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
areas following the rapid urbanisation
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
in the 1950s and 1960s. In many cases, they were built partly to address the problem of unhygienic food preparation by unlicensed street hawkers. More recently, they have become less ubiquitous due to growing affluence in the urban populations of Malaysia and Singapore. Particularly in Singapore, they are increasingly being replaced by food court
Food court
A food court is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dining. Food courts may be found in shopping malls and airports, and in various regions may be a standalone development...
s, which are indoor, air conditioned
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
versions of hawker centres located in shopping malls and other commercial venues.
In the 1950s and 1960s, hawker centres were considered to be a venue for the less affluent. They had a reputation for unhygienic
Hygiene
Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...
food, partly due to the frequent appearance of stray
Feral
A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...
domestic pet
Pet
A pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person's enjoyment, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful...
s and pest
Pest (animal)
A pest is an animal which is detrimental to humans or human concerns. It is a loosely defined term, often overlapping with the related terms vermin, weeds, parasites and pathogens...
s. Many hawker centres were poorly managed by their operators, often lacking running water
Tap water
Tap water is a principal component of "indoor plumbing", which became available in urban areas of the developed world during the last quarter of the 19th century, and common during the mid-20th century...
and proper facilities for cleaning. More recently, hygiene standards have improved, with pressure from the local authorities. This includes the implementation of licensing requirements, where a sufficient standard of hygiene is required for the stall to operate, and rewarding exceptionally good hygiene. Upgrading or reconstruction of hawker centres was initiated in the late 1990s in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. At the same time, hawker centres were renamed food centres.
The hawker centres in Singapore are owned by three government bodies, namely the National Environment Agency
National Environment Agency
National Environment Agency formed on 1 July 2002, is a statutory board under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources in Singapore. As a statutory board, it gives NEA greater administrative autonomy to be more nimble in the protection of the environment...
(NEA) under the parent Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR), Housing and Development Board (HDB) and JTC Corporation
JTC Corporation
JTC Corporation , formerly the Jurong Town Corporation, is Singapore's principal developer and manager of industrial estates and their related facilities.-History:JTC was established on 1 June 1968 to develop industrial estates...
. All the centres, in turn, are managed by NEA. On 5 March 2010, NEA launched www.myhawkers.sg, which is an interactive web portal that offers useful information on hawker centres and food stalls. The portal allows registered users to review or recommend hawker stalls or hawker centres and to provide feedback to NEA on hygiene matters in hawker centres.
In Hong Kong, hawker centres are located in market complexes of residential districts. Stalls from hawker centres are converted from Dai pai dong
Dai pai dong
Dai pai dong is a type of open-air food stall once very popular in Hong Kong. The government registration name in Hong Kong is "cooked-food stalls", but dai pai dong literally means "restaurant with a big license plate", referring to its size of license which is bigger than other licensed street...
by strict regulations and management. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department
Food and Environmental Hygiene Department
Food and Environmental Hygiene Department , or FEHD for short, is a department of Hong Kong Government, reporting to the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau. It is The department is responsible for food hygiene and environmental hygiene...
manages hawker centres in Hong Kong.
Singapore
- Adam Road Food Centre
- Alexandra Road Hawker Centre
- Amoy Street Food Centre
- Bedok Central
- Bukit Timah Market and Food Centre
- Changi Village Food Centre
- Chinatown Complex
- Chomp Chomp Food Centre
- East Coast Park Food Centre
- East Coast Seafood CentreEast Coast Seafood CentreThe East Coast Seafood Centre is a tri-block food centre in East Coast Park, Singapore, best known for co-locating several major local seafood restaurants, including Jumbo Seafood and Long Beach Seafood Restaurant. Jumbo Seafood established its first and flagship oulet at the Centre in 1987, with...
- Geylang Serai Market and Food Centre
- Ghim Moh Market and Food Centre
- Glutton's Square (defunct)
- Golden Mile Food Centre
- Golden Shoe Hawker Centre
- Hong Lim Complex
- Lau Pa Sat
- Lavender Food Square
- Maxwell Food Centre
- Newton Food CentreNewton Food CentreNewton Food Centre is a major food centre located in Newton, Singapore. The food centre was promoted by the Singapore Tourism Board as a tourist attraction for sampling Singaporean cuisine. It was first opened in 1971 and it closed down in 2005 as the government wanted to revamp the food centre...
- Old Airport Cooked Food Centre
- People's Park Food Centre
- Serangoon Garden Market and Food Centre
- Satay Club
- Seah Im Food Centre
- Shunfu Mart
- Tanjong Pagar Plaza
- Tekka CentreTekka CentreTekka Centre is a multi-use building complex comprising a wet market, food centre and shops, located in the northern corner of Bukit Timah Road and Serangoon Road, in Little India, Singapore.- Etymology and history :...
- Tiong Bahru Food Centre
- West Coast Community Centre (Clementi Woods)
- Whampoa Food Centre
Malaysia
- Jalan Alor, Kuala LumpurKuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia - TaipingTaiping, PerakTaiping is a town located in northern Perak, Malaysia. With a population of 191,104 , it is the second largest town in Perak after Ipoh, the state capital. Taiping took over Kuala Kangsar's role as the state capital from 1876 to 1937, but was then replaced by Ipoh...
, PerakPerakPerak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...
, Malaysia
Australia
- Sussex Centre, SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... - Market City, Sydney, Australia
- Dixon HouseDixon House-Places in the United States:*Dixon–Markle House, Aspen, Colorado, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Pitkin County, Colorado*S. P...
, Sydney, Australia - Eating World, Sydney, Australia